It has been quite a while since an update on the Turkish blogosphere has been done, and rather than trying to update you on every detail that I have failed to report, I thought that this post should focus on the most interesting posts of the summer. Granted, the information given with be subjective to my own whims…but hopefully our interests will collide.

Idil from Ignore Me If You Can talks about the expectations of Turkish men for women to submit to them and the reasons why trying to date in Turkey can be very difficult if you have been raised in a more “western” background.

It seems that the womans importance is undermined and that the general perception that Turkish men have of women is that they own them and can decide of how they should act or what they can or can’t do. This is seen in all Turkish villages, submission has become part of the womens daily life, could we blame that on the lack of education? What about the men in the cities? I just think it’s some sort of virus. The boy sees it from his father who then applies it to his own wife and his own son keeps the tradition going. I certainly don’t think that there is equality in this country.

If I’m expected to serve my husband and be his slave then I’m certainly not about to marry a Turkish man anytime soon. God forbid. Everything should be mutual, love and respect, trying to please one another, I don’t believe in having the upper hand in relationships, it ends up destroying them.

Talk Turkey has an excellent piece asking what the next step is in the war against terrorism, is it in fact, a war against all Muslims, and what are in fact the implications of such action?

It's over everyone! The golden years of individual liberties are coming to a very sudden end. Every time a terrorist plot is uncovered, the odds makers are taking no bets on Muslims being the culprit. The secret is out; Islam is being dictated by fascists (sounds political and not religious, but who is paying attention,) according to not only Bush, but the ‘real’ policy makers as well. Furthermore, very very soon there won't be such a species as a ‘good’ or moderate Muslim. In fact, once a Muslim, you will automatically receive a lifelong ‘felony’ on your record, even if you haven't committed any acts deserving of a trial by your peers, and without any hopes for a presidential pardon. No pun intended when it comes to pardoning the current Prez who is no longer commanding the respect of even the terrorists.

I am often asked why Muslims in the US (meaning me) do not do anything to respond to the atrocities being committed by fellow Muslims. Somehow, this has become a ‘religious’ war between ‘Islam’ and everyone else. It is no longer a ‘political’ matter between ‘Israel’ and its supporters, mainly the US and Great Britain, and Arabs.

Two of the authors of Metroblogging:Istanbul, Erkan and Idil, relate their tale of getting trapped in a protest in Istanbul where the police used tear gas to dispell the crowd:

That's when all hell broke loose..
I'd like to remind you that Erkan and I were further down the road, watching the crowd from afar because we knew that at any time, it could all turn sour and that we'd have to run for cover, which didn't take long. The demonstration was held in an already very busy street and a lot of normal civilians were trapped on the wrong side of the police barricade and they were also watching from afar or trying to get away from the side streets.
The first thing I heard was a loud explosion and screams coming from the group. People started running towards us and gas started propagating from the gas bombs that were flying in the air. The propagation was way too fast and even though we were already running for cover, Erkan and I were choking on pepper spray and whatever it is that they were gazing us with. We found ourselves in a parking lot, surrounded by gas and looking for a place to hide. Everyone was locking their doors so there wasn't much hope there. We were lucky enough to find the parking lot guard who helped us into his little cabin and locked the door after us. We watched the people run by us while trying to get rid of the burning sensation which was taking over our faces and throats. I had a hard time not having an asthma attack and not rubbing my eyes. I only found later that rubbing your eyes, even an hour or two after, made things worse.

Glutton Cat mentions the health benefits of yogurt and gives tips on how to make your own home-made version:

Majority of people eat it, because they have been told it is good for them. Not many people know that daily use of yogurt ensures regular habits, the blood is purified and skin diseases cleared in a very short time. For feverish conditions it can be given safely when no other food is allowed; it induces sleep and calms the nerves and thus has a remarkable affect on hysterical subjects.

Erkan from Erkan's Field Diary gives us his opinion on the reactions of Turkish officials in response to a comment made by the Pope that many view as negative towards Islam:

Well, this is Turkish Islam. Turks deserve to be the most secular ones among the islamic countries, and they are probably less attentive of rituals then all others but when it comes “defend islam” they might be quite outspoken although Pope ‘meant no offence’ to Islam claims Vatican. I did not care much about his speech. Maybe I should have. Sorry for that. But I believe no religious leader should claim that the other religions are more violence-prone than his own. All religions have enough bad stuff in their histories. Man, how come the leader of Catholic Church can do that particularly? it is just laughable. Pope may not meant offence but he is already notarious of being less tolerant to Islam than his predecessor did. If he is really sincere, as a public figure he should more careful. But it seems that right wing (sometimes religious) European leaders have already chosen to be confrontative (i.e. Sarkozy)…

ZiddiBLOG writes about the search for the mysterious Ninki-Nanki and other supernatural creatures:

The ninki-nanka is a mysterious creature that lives in the swamps of West Africa. Witnesses are few and far between; only because they tend to die within a few weeks of seeing this monster, said to have a “horse-like face, a long body with mirror-like scales and a crest of skin on its head”.

I’m always fascinated by stories like these. The expedition’s official website looks extremely sketchy, the actual team itself looks even sketchier. It’s pretty damn obvious this whole thing is a big waste of resources but, nevertheless, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with believing in something greater than ourselves.

I don’t even remember how many hours I spent watching the Lochness webcam as a kid, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Lake monster. Like I said, I don’t think there’s any harm in believing in the superhuman; if anything it helps us keep our feet on the ground.. reasses the purpose of our existence.

Best sites to visit this week:
1.Joe's Ramblings, musings from an Australian living in Turkey.
2.Izmir Blog-travel-blog dedicated to the city of Izmir in Turkey.
3.Turkish Business-a blog site devoted to Turkish business news started by our friend at Turkish Torque.
4.Binnur's Turkish Cookbook- another wonderful Turkish foodblog!
5.Along with celebrating his 500th blog post, Amerikan Turk also celebrates the beginning of a new blog on cycling called the Union Velo Blog.