Yunus Emre

Yunus Emre - Büyükçekmece, Istanbul

Let a word mature inside yourself.
Withhold the unripened thought.
Come and understand the kind of word
that reduces money and riches to dust.

-Yusuf Emre
from The Drop that Became the Sea
Good quote for a writer, don't you think?

While Rumi is technically my favorite Sufi poet, I find Yunus Emre interesting too. Some of his verses about love and destiny are just breathtaking. Others? Very didactic.

The poem above, for example, is really refering to peaceful coexistence. Here's the entire section:

A single word can brighten the face
of one who knows the value of words.
Ripened in silence, a single wordacquires a great energy for work.

War is cut short by a word,
and a word heals the wounds,
and there's a word that changes
poison into butter and honey.

Let a word mature inside yourself.
Withhold the unripened thought.
Come and understand the kind of word
that reduces money and riches to dust.

Know when to speak a word
and when not to speak at all.A single word turns a universe of hell
into eight paradises.
Follow the Way. Don't be fooled
by what you already know. Be watchful.
Reflect before you speak.
A foolish mouth can brand your soul.

Yunus, say one last thing
about the power of words—
Only the word "I"
divides me from God.

See? I was reading happily along, and then he refers to himself in third person?

There might be a reason for that though. No one is sure of who this guy really was, if he was one person, or a group of people. (Hey! In the 13th century, all kinds of village people might have written this stuff.) The ambiguity makes him even more interesting, legendary, which is not a bad thing at all, IMHO.

Nazim Hikmet

Nâzım Hikmet Ran

I'm in revisions right now, so my research-type blogging is on hold (until June 10), BUT I thought I'd feature some brilliant Turkish writers who inspire me.

The poet on the right is Nobel Peace Price winner, Nâzım Hikmet. His life story is very long, very international, and very interesting. He's one of those Third Culture Kid (TCK) people I so admire.  I won't go into details here, but I do suggest you go read his biography.

His work has a haunting quality that people connect with, so much that his work has been translated into many languages.

So, in honor of the Olympic Games, the British Arts Council will be featuring "World Poems on the Underground", (metro system walls) and the project has chosen to display Hikmet's poem:

Baku at Night

Reaching down to the starless heavy sea in the pitch-black night,

Baku is a sunny wheatfield.

High above on a hill, grains of light hit my face by the handfulls,

And the music in the air flows like Bosphorus. High above on a hill, my heart goes out like a raft into the endless absence,

Beyond memory down to the starless heavy sea in the pitch dark.

You might have heard some of Hikmet's poetry in other places, for example:

"I Come and Stand at Every Door" from Mortal Coil.

This same song was a release by The Byrds too. That was before my time, but some messages are immortal. Ha! An immortal message sung by Mortal Coil.

Hande Yener

handeyenerfanclub

Thought I'd share some music today. (Read: Quick post because I still have shopping, wrapping, decorating to do.)

This is Hande Yener, one of Turkey's top female pop artists. Like Madonna and Lady Gaga, she likes to change up her look often and shares a similar energy on stage. Jet black, blonde, raucous red, pink, orange...I don't think there's a hair color she hasn't tried. She's back to natural brown at the moment.

These are a few that were huge hits for her. I had a hard time choosing my favs, but these show her versatility the best.

Romeo: This song has solid, staying power. I shuffle back to it every once in a while.



Bana Anlat, 2011: This is her latest single, and most days it's playing in my car.



Hipnoz: She tried her hand at electropop with this album. She didn't do it again.

Dr. Öz

image via wikipedia.com

Everybody knows Dr. Oz is Turkish, right?

Mehmet Cengiz Öz, who we all like to call Dr. Oz,
is actually Turkish-American. He was born and raised in the US, and he retains his Turkish passport. Culturally, he retains every bit of his Turkishness, which I find extremely cool. You need to look to see it though.

He walks that TCK walk with such confidence, I'll bet my yogurt soup that most Americans don't even know he speaks another language. (Turkish - not the medical jiberish he sometimes throws at us.) 

Whether you've followed his skyrocketing career or not, you have to be impressed with his achievements:

• Harvard - undergrad; University of Pennsylvania, TheWharton School - MD/MBA; Columbia University Professor; Cardiovascular Institute and Complementary Medicine Program, Director at New York Presbyterian Hospital
• Discovery Health Host; Oprah "Allstar"; Tuner Private Networks Host; The Doctor Oz Show, etc., etc., etc.
• Time magazine ranked Oz 44th on its list of the 100 Most Influential People in 2008 and Esquire magazine placed him on its list of the 75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century. He was called a Global Leader of Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum^[and one of “The Harvard 100 Most Influential Alumni” by 02138 magazine. He won the Gross Surgical Research Scholarship. He was listed in “Doctors of the Year” by Hippocrates magazine and in “Healers of the Millennium” by Healthy Living magazine. Oz is annually listed in the Castle Connolly Guide of the top United States doctors, as well as other ranking groups. - heck, just go to his wikipedia page if you need to know them all.

Writers and other frequent bookstore visitors might also recognize the New York Times bestselling series of  books Dr. Oz co-authored with Dr. Michael F. Roizen. You know, YOU: The Owner's Manual, etc.

Dr. Oz has taken personal health to a new high-profile, high priority level. My gosh! The other day he even had PAULA DEEN on his show. Yes. The Queen of Butter visited The King of Better. It was kind of a showdown.

The real controversy come in where his spirituality is concerned. He practices transcendental meditation, which wouldn't be a problem except he also believes in the healing powers of positive thinking. Not a bad thing really, just an unusual position for an MD to embrace. In public.

Overall, I think he does so much more good, encouraging people to take a more active role in their own health; telling people there's arsenic in apple juice. Well, so what if that's another one of his controversies. I want to know if there's arsenic in my apple juice. Don't you?

The Pekinel Sisters

image via hurriyetdailynews.com

I write lots about Turkish pop music, but next to nothing about classical music. (Shame on me. I was a violinist, once upon a time.) To remedy that, I give you the Pekinel Sisters.

They are identical twins (obviously).
They are Turks (not obviously).
They are internationally acclaimed concert pianists.

Güher and Süher Pekinel made their public debut at only six years old, and have swept people of all continents away with their piano duets.

Piano Magazine has an interesting article, The Pekinels in Harmony, where the sisters explain how independent they are of each other. They discuss the "twinness" they fought against and how it helped define their unique style. Rather than being identical, the music of one compliments the other, almost as if they are finishing each other's thoughts. But not quite. Apparently, understanding your twin doesn't mean you are the same as your twin.

The Pekinels speak five languages: German, English, French, Turkish, and I don't know what the fifth language is, but I think music should count as a sixth. Their distinguished education includes credits and/or degrees from:

Conservatoire de Paris
Musikhochschule of Frankfurt
Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia
The Juilliard School - Masters
Bogaziçi University - Honorary PhD

All that international study qualifies them for TCK status, in my book.

The Pekinel Sisters are also Honorary State Artists of Turkey, and they are enthusiastic supporters of music education in Turkey and abroad. They established three projects for children:

• G&S Pekinel Music Department at TEVITOL, a private boading school for gifted students in Turkey
• "Young Musicians on World Stage", 13 scholarships for Turkish students to study internationally
• "Orff Schulwerk Project" to encourage creativity in pre-school and primary school students. In Turkey, Austria, and Germany

Have a listen:



Related articles:

Pekinel sisters on stage with 13 young talents hurriyetdailynews.com

Teoman

image via beyazgazete.com

He has a new album this year - Aşk ve Gurur (Love and Pride) (2011), yet Teoman, beloved and troubled musician that he is, has decided to leave the music business. Disillusioned.

He wrote his concerned fans a letter explaining his reasons. This is his official statement:

‘Dear friends,

 I leave music for a very, very long time, or probably, never, never to return. The concert in Berlin on September 3 will be my last.’

In his farewell letter, he says not all of his songs made it to a recording studio. I wonder how much of his authenticity has been censored out of existence. Perhaps the nature of his musician's soul is simply more angst than anyone could handle.

Good luck to him.

Teoman is known for his acoustic rock, which is pretty tame, but my favorites have a little bit more of a fatalistic edge to it. Like the man himself.

Kupa Kizi Ve Sinek Valesi (Queen of Hearts and the Jack of Clubs) is one that I listen to the most.

Content warning: This is an animated clip, but there are scenes with a woman in the shower, in bed, etc. Little bit more than PG-13.




We were destined to each other by a card fortunetelling,
she was the beautiful queen of hearts, me being the jack of clubs..
That thursday by midnight I've met her by chance over the bridge,
I told her not to cry, but she kept on crying so far as she stepped down the banisters.
Is your hair soaking wet or the life is itself wet?
Does the wind always carry along rain within for you?
Are you gazing at the space or are you bored of the questions I've asked:
Does this autumn never ever leave your eyes behind?
Let you be a snowflake to perch on the tip of my tongue,
Be a snowflake to melt in my mouth...
She was dripping wet, she got undressed, touched my body
she found my living cells in my little coarse skin...
I was happy as she fell asleep I clasped her on my arms,
as she wandered in her sleep all those unknown names laying down all naked...
I was proud in my dream, " I've known it from the beginning" I murmured,
the card fortunes are surrprisingly meant to be something to believe in...
Then I woke up and froze imn wonder staring at the writing left on my misty glass by almost a ghost finger:
"Good-bye"...

 translation by Lyrics Translate


One that I listen to before I write for Sybil:

Senden Once, Senden Sonra (Before You, After You)


these screaming aloud waves
and gloomy beautiful gulls
keep crushing into wind
and (they) come to fill in my heart.
I'm alone on the edge of the cliff
between the life and death.
all my life passes away
under my feet.
how many more bodies should I have
to forget you?
before you, after you...

translation by Lyrics Translate

Emrah Yücel

ftnnews.com Turkey - Be our guest ad

Did you notice there are lots of great ads for Turkey lately? I have. In fact, I was watching Glee and saw the Times Square ad on the right, designed by Emrah Yücel.

Kudos to Yücel! Since his ad campaign started, there's been a measurable increase in tourism from the US. I'm talking a double digit percentage. After you've seen his ads, you'll want to go too. Don't take my word for it. The United Nations' World Tourism Organization voted his ad campaign the best 'country advertising' in Europe. In fact, you should really visit his link (above) and check out the other beautiful things he's done.



haberturk.com

 So who is this guy? He's a Turk. Grew up and went to school in Ankara. Lives in LA. (That's where talent like his likes to dwell, I guess!) Does important stuff, like found the Turkish Film Council so that Sony pictures can have people like Clive Owen run around the rooftops of Istanbul (The International).

Yücel has worked on high profile projects like Avatar, Kill Bill, Narnia, and What Women Want. Have to mention the last one, even though it's from way back in 2000, because Yücel certainly knows what what we Americans want - we want authentic adventure! Sure some of us are interested in dusty museums (myself included). We'll even settle for replica theme park. (OK, the theme parks are great, I admit.) But Turkey offers the real thing. That guy in the picture looks like he's climbing in Cappadocia. Yücel made another ad where there's a girl resting against a bas relief of Nike - the goddess, not the running shoe. Touch history! It's lying around all over the place in Turkey. Literally.

btw - Istanbul was voted number one place to visit for NY Times readers in 2010.

Dear agents and editors,
Want to ride this wave? I've got just the book for you.... I promise I'll get it to you as soon as I finish this last edit. ;)

More US Tourists Coming to Turkey Thanks to Designer's Ad Campaign

Turkey Gets It's Place At Times Square