Hayat Hikayem – Vehbi Koc
İstanbul’a en son gidişimde aldığım Vehbi Koc’un otobiyografisi. Kitabı okuduktan sonra, ülkemizin en önemli iş adamı hakkında hiç bir şey bilmediğimi farkettim. İnsanı sürükleyen, düşündüren bir eser. Herkese tavsiye ediyorum.
Confucius (2010)
One of the best movies i have seen recently. It tells later part of Confucius’s life, great Chinese philosopher and thinker. I recommend to those, who likes ancient historical movies. It is not a blockbuster, but i hope to see this movie translated to another language except Russian 🙂 Here is the IMDB page for the movie.
On the Way to Tula
We have been to Tula, a city approximately 200 km’s from Moscow, with some friends. Our trip was for short stay. We planned to see three places in our trip, since we have limited time. These were, Ostriches (in Russian страус), auroches (in Russian зубр) and Yasnaya Polyana (in Russian Ясная Поляна).
Ostriches were not so interesting, but animals were very funny.
Auroches were under protection in a natural park. They are giants, which are a little bit dangerous. Thanks God, we have fences between us. Auroch looks similar to a bison, but they are different. After a while you start to make distinction between them.
Yasnaya Polyana is the property of L. N. Tolstoy, famous Russian novelist. He is also buried in a modest tomb. I had been here, when it was summer. I have to note that, it seems magnificent at winters also. As usual we tipped the security guide at the entrance (here is Russia :)), since it was 8 of March, International Women’s Day.
That was a nice trip, with lots of memories from Russia. Once again, i understood Russia is a vast country with lots of treasuries and ambiguous people. Below there are some shots which we recorded during trip.
Black Swan (Cisne Negro)
An interesting film. Unexpected and full of tension. Was not what i was expecting.
All-Time Bar
A nice sport bar at center of Moscow. Nice interior, moderate prices, caring stuff. What do we expect more than a warm, cozy place? There are 3 LCD’s to stare. Famous for cocktails, but i was there for lunch. They have very delicious mushroom soup. Strongly recommend to everyone, who has the chance to live in this awesome city. Check out their website for details and address.
Кафе Пушкинъ (Café Pushkin)
This cafe is located at the hearth of Moscow, a few meters from famous Tverskaya ulitsa. Excellent service, nice interior. But i can not repeat the same for the food. I ordered borsch, chicken roasted with mushrooms and mors. Mors was fresh and nice, but soup and chicken were far from my expectations. I think the price for this quality is too much. It means, as usual, we pay for presentation 🙂 The place seems to be popular among expats. It was too noisy, with lots of different languages. You can check their website for more details.
Day of the Dead (El Día de los Muertos)
This weekend at Cervantes Institute in Moscow, during class, our lovely Spanish professor made us a nice surprise. During class we went to hall of expositions and learned about an old Mexican tradition which is dating back to indigenous Mexican tribes like Aztec, Maya, etc… , altars. Altar is a table which is prepared for the day of deads, which is known in Spanish as El Día de Los Muertos. This holiday is celebrated at 1-st and 2-nd of November. After catholics conquered Mexico, this ancient tradition is mixed with Catholic religion. On this day, people go to cemeteries, build private altars for the relatives whom they have lost. They believe that, the souls of death people will come back and enjoy this table. Therefore, at this table, they prepare foods and drinks that they liked to eat and drink when alive. The altar consists of 3 different levels which tells us about the life and death cycle. There are many symbols of this day. Among those, i can say catrina (the lady of dead, a skeleton dressed in an elegant way), the Cruz (catholic addition), the bread of dead (el pan de muerto), calaveras (skulls), deserts and toys for children (dulces).But be careful, don’t eat the bread, it is for dead, not you. There were many details which i skipped here, for more details, you should google a little bit. Here are the keywords for you: El Dia de Los Muertos, calavera, catrina, el pan de los muertos.
Суп-кафе (Soup-café)
A restaurant located near metro Beloruskaya at 1-я Брестская, 62/25, стр. 3. Prices are reasonable. You can find variety of soups. Even deserts are soups 🙂 I can not say that i liked the food, it was not so delicious or maybe was not right choice, but service was very good. The interior is nice and cozy. You can give it a chance.
El Secreto De Sus Ojos (2009)
Spanish movies are really attracting me. I like how they mix humor with action, love and reality. The actors in the movies look like the real persons who walk on the street near you. I watched a new movie in cinema. Actually the film is shown at 2009, but in Moscow, i am used to late arrivals :).
El Secreto De Sus Ojos (The Secret in Their Eyes) tells the story of Benjamín Esposito, a former agent at Federal Justice Department at Argentina. He decides to write a novel about a not completely solved crime case which he is involved with 25 years ago. As he goes through the process he will make a sentimental travel to his love to his superior Irene. Film deserves its fame and it is one of the best movies i have seen in last years. Certainly recommend to everyone. Check IMDB for further details.
Aşkname (İskender Pala)
“Senin beni unutma ihtimalini hatırlayıp çıldırıyorum bazı günler ve bazı geceler yüzünü eskisi gibi hayal edemeyeceğimden korkup kahroluyorum. Sonra tevbeler ediyorum. Seni unutma ihtimalini düşündüğüm için.”
İskender Pala’nın enfes kaleminden aşk üzerine yazılmış, kısa öykülerden oluşan akıcı bir kitap. Okunması keyifli, aynı zamanda öğretici bir eser. Herkese tavsiye ederim. Detaylı bilgi icin idefix’e bakabilirsiniz.
journey 
