I'm surprised and gladdened to read that loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) are now nesting on Mezitli beach, just a short distance down the coast from Mersin.
I would have thought Mezitli was too polluted by the untreated sewage flow that blights Mersin's bay. Indeed, when I used to live at Mezitli, few people swam there because of the pollution.
When I next go to Mezitli I will keep my eyes peeled for the turtles. Besides birds, there is very little evidence of wildlife around Mersin.
- Toroslar Belediyesi, one of the 3 local suburban Mersin councils painted a 4,500 square metre flag on the side of a hill overlooking Mersin. As this editorial concludes, the flag was a piece of self-promotion. Unfortunately, all levels of government waste far too much money promoting themselves at the expense of decent services.
The flag in question
- Plans for a ski resort at Karbogazi in the Gulek region of Tarsus, Mersin Province were made.
- Today's Zaman, a new English language daily newspaper began publication in Turkey.
- Hrank Dink, a Turkish journalist of Armenian origin, was shot dead in Istanbul. This incident shook the whole country. Here is an editorial surrounding the incident I largely agree with.
- An American basketballer, Nikki Blue, shared her experiences living in and playing for Mersin
- I went to the Adana races with Peter. This was my first ever day at a Turkish race meeting. I didn't win any bets.
- Vodafone has quickly taken over Telsim's name after purchasing the mobile phone service provider.
- After seemingly years under construction, the multi-storey Marina Vista Shopping Centre opened in Mersin. Located next to Burger King and adjacent to the yacht harbour, Marina Vista is in a very good position. The centre was opened prematurely with most of the spaces then still vacant. That is slowly changing. The top floor has a 4-screen cinema and below that is a food hall including a McDonald's restaurant. McDonald's has not had a Mersin presence for 3 or 4 years. When I first came here there were two restaurants, including one I went to for my second ever Turkish date (she chose the venue).
On Sunday the 26th of November I borrowed Levent's bike and rode down the coast with Peter and Michael Can to the new Marina complex for the Mersin Car, Commercial Vehicle and Motorcycle Fair (Mersin Otomobil, Ticari Araclar ve Motosiklet Fuari). The weather was brilliant - sunny and mild, like most of the past month.
2.50 YTL each later we were inside the exhibition. As the names suggests, the fair was divided into 3 sections: motorbikes, commercial vehicles and cars.
MOFO'6 sounds better than MOF'06 (Mersin Oto Fuari 2006), doesn't it?
Peter and Michael Can's dream family bike
Earlier this year, Mersin's government-run bus system entered the 20th century, introducing new buses containing electronic signs and air conditioning.
A slightly better sound system than my 1979 Chrysler Sigma's (R.I.P.) AM radio
No Ferraris, Rolls Royces or Lamborghinis were on display but EUR 178,000 for a Mercedes 4WD is still impressive.
I don't know how effective this backdrop for the Skoda display was
Peter accidentally set off this Ford's car alarm
The gorgeous sunset, automobile style
Overall, a great day, except...
Part of the way home, we stopped at the park next to Cep Sinemasi for a kick of soccer. Unfortunately, at some stage my Canon A710 sustained damage to the lens cover. The camera is now at the Canon service centre in Istanbul and I'm waiting to find out how much the repair will damage my wallet. In theory, the replacement lens cover part should only cost a few cents. An alternative option is to fly to the US and get the camera repaired under warranty. However, the return flight maybe more expensive than the repair in Istanbul.
I saw Chinese cabbage ('Cin Lanasi') in Mersin for the first ever today, at the weekly fruit and vegetable bazaar ('pazar') outside the stadium. As my fridge is full, I didn't buy a monster 3 kg cabbage but my boss did and I took a quarter of his. Bring on the stir fries and salads...yum!
This week, the above poster advertising Yves Larock 'Africanism' was plastered around Mersin. What caught my eye was the fact Yves Larock obviously was not a Turkish act, and, judging by the 'CH' on the poster, probably came from Switzerland.
Last night, after some umming and erring, flatmate Levent and I decided to go. The Armada is a new (opened this year) multi-purpose venue located on the coast east of the Hilton Hotel. Earlier in the day, a workmate called The Armada to see if males without female company could enter. A common policy in Turkey for decent nightspots is to bar single or groups of males. In typical Turkish fashion, the answer was 'maybe'.
The bouncers did accept our 20 YTL and we were allowed in. A decent crowd (500?) was in attendance, and, although not completely full, it made a perfect fit. Following a mix of Turkish and foreign dance music, Yves Larock came on after midnight. With the theme 'Africanism' on his posters, I was expecting more tribal music, than the house he played. As a person who has not been to a real disco for a long time, I did not care about semantics. Neither did Levent. We enjoyed grooving on the dancefloor almost continuously for more than 3 hours.
The great light and smoke show complemented the music. Sometimes the machine smoke was so thick the visibility was zero. The tobacco smoke also hung around.
Last night reminded me of my escapades at The Planet nightclub in Adelaide several years ago. The number of people of Mediterranean origin was the same, althought there were no broken glasses underfoot at The Armada, only cigarette butts.
By 2:30 I had tired and was ready to leave, although Levent, with the combination of raki and beer in his veins, wanted to keep going.
After 3 am we left and walked into town to Haci Baba Restaurant. I ate kelle-paca corbasi (sheep's head and feet soup) whilst Levent settled for mercimek corbasi (lentil soup).
After a great night, at 4:45 am I collapsed asleep in bed.
Reading Yves Larock's website this morning, I see that the Mersin gig was his only performance in Turkey. He came to Turkey just to perform in Mersin!!!! He must have a Mersin girlfriend, know The Armada owner or something...
This restaurant sign is displayed outside the 'Antik Han' complex in Mersin's centre. It is obviously aimed at the sailors coming off the nearby port's ships.
Anybody for CALAMARY with LIVING MUSIC at SEA MAN'S CLAP'S?
