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xXx  Royal Portraits in Ottoman Miniature

*By Elmon Hançer Karoğlu


Portraits of the sultans became a feature of Ottoman
miniature painting thanks to Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror (1451-1481)
who patronised Italian artists. Islam banned the use of objects
decorated with human figures to prevent idolatrous practices, but this
prohibition was modified by subsequent Islamic jurists, and Sultan
Mehmed believed it could be lifted altogether by the leader of a
powerful Islamic state like himself. Sultan Mehmed developed both
diplomatic and trade relations with Italy, and through the Venetian
embassy in Istanbul invited painters expert in depicting the human
form, sculptors and bronze casters, to Istanbul to work at the Ottoman
palace.

In this way Constanza da Ferrara (who sculpted bronze medallions
bearing a bust portrait of Sultan Mehmed in profile), Matteo di Pasti,
Bertoldo di Giovanni, Gentile Bellini (who painted portraits of the
sultan in oils), and other Italian artists came to Istanbul.

Portraiture was continued by Turkish artists who saw their work, and
although their figures were not anatomically perfect they were
realistic in concept. Sinan Beys portrait of Sultan Mehmed smelling a
rose differs from the western idea of portraiture in its schematic
aspects, but nonetheless displays a sensitive and warm realism.

This is regarded as the first true portrait by a Turkish painter, and
resulted in a tradition of portrait albums known as Silsilenâme in
Turkish art. These are significant illustration of the attempt by
Sultan Mehmed II to undermine the ban on human representation,
although one that was not entirely successful. Portraiture as a whole
and specifically portraiture of the sultans survived only by fits and
starts in Turkish art, and not until the 19th century did the sultans
again commission western style portraits of themselves.

Some researchers believe that many works dating from Mehmeds reign
were destroyed by his son Bayezid II, who was a more conservative man.

However, miniature illustrations of literary and historical works
progressed under his successors. The Süleymannâme in the Chester
Beatty collection in Dublin is one of the most important of these
works, whose miniatures are valuable historical documentation of their
time.

A medallion 38 mm in diameter depicting Sultan Selim I Yavuz in
profile can be seen in the Museo Nazionale in Florence. His features
are hard and he has no beard. He is wearing a quilted turban. On the
reverse are the Egyptian pyramids and a castle, so the medallion must
post-date Selims Egyptian campaign and therefore date from 1517 to
1520. The artist is unknown.

Portrait painting fell into abeyance under Bayezid II, but regained
momentum with the painter Nigarî during the reign of Sultan Süleyman I
(the Magnificent, 1520-1566). Nigarî was the cognomen of the
miniaturist Nakkaş Reis Haydar who executed portraits of Süleymen I,
his son Selim II and Lord High Admiral Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa. During
Süleyman Is reign notable Flemish and Austrian artists like Peter
Ceoq, Melchior Lorich, Jerome and Daniel Hopfer came to Istanbul.

Under Murad III (1574-1595) the greatest example of Ottoman royal
portraiture was created, a Silsilenâme album by Nakkaş Osman
containing portraits of all 12 Ottoman sultans up to that time. These
portraits are realistic in character, complying with historical
accounts of the physical features and personalities of each sultan. As
only to be expected they differ from western art in terms of their
colours, drawing techniques and materials, instead complying entirely
with the miniature tradition.

Portrait painting lost what momentum it had in the 17th century,
reflecting political and economic decline, although Turkish commercial
painters continued to produce portrait albums based on earlier
şemailnâme, books containing descriptions of famous figures.

The 18th century saw an expansion of Ottoman relations with Europe, an
interest in western culture among the sultans, and an influx of
western artists who exerted an influence on local artists. This laid
the ground for a new style in Ottoman miniature painting. This new
style is first seen in the imperial portraits painted early in the
century by Levnî, a miniaturist whose real name was Abdülcelil Çelebi.

This portrait album entitled Kebir Musavver Silsilenâme depicts the
sultans in a style with affinities to both miniature and western
traditions. They represent a transitional period in which the artist
combines a realistic depiction of facial features with a somewhat
superficial attempt to leave behind the meticulous detail of miniature
while retaining its traditional layout.

The second half of the 18th century saw another Ottoman artist,
Rafael, take these innovations one step further. He used more natural
colours, shaded one colour into another and softened the boundaries
between colours. He used new materials: tempera and oil colours on
paper. Gradually portraits spilled out in the pages of books onto
canvases, although the detail typical of miniature painting continued
to occur from time to time.

Between the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, the
work of Kapıdağlı Konstantin finally left traces of miniature painting
behind altogether in favour of western style portrait painting in oils
on canvas. Kapıdağlı Konstantin painted small portraits in oils in
which the sultans are framed by medallions and depicted in
three-quarter profile, half length and standing. Medallion portraits,
which were a tradition begun probably by Rafael during the reign of
Abdülhamid I (1774-1789), were mass produced by painting studios, and
took the form of family trees with the portraits hung on the branches
of the tree. These family trees covering an entire canvas and painted
in oils reflect the synthesis of Central Asian Turkish and Western
European culture as it emerged under the Ottomans.

Despite the process of change from 16th century manuscripts
illuminated with miniatures to large 19th century oil paintings, and
changes in the dress of the monarchs themselves, the Ottoman sultans
were instantly always recognisable as such, whether in portrait albums
or family trees, artefacts or postcards.

* Elmon Hançer Karoğlu is an art historian.

* The 25TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE BERKELEY LINGUISTICS SOCIETY
   * SPECIAL SESSION:  CAUCASIAN, DRAVIDIAN, AND TURKIC LINGUISTICS
* YILBASI BALOSUNU
* INTENSIVE OTTOMAN TURKISH SUMMER SCHOOL IN TURKEY [IOSS]

* The 25TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE BERKELEY LINGUISTICS SOCIETY

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY
FEBRUARY 12-15, 1998
CONFERENCE PROGRAM

   * SPECIAL SESSION:  CAUCASIAN, DRAVIDIAN, AND TURKIC LINGUISTICS

Fri Feb 12, 1999, Alumni House, UC Berkeley
PARASESSION:  LOAN WORD PHENOMENA
Together with the General Session:  Sat-Mon Feb 13-15, 1999, Room C230
Cheit Hall, UC Berkeley
Further info: http://www.linguistics.berkeley.edu/BLS/


FRIDAY - FEBRUARY 12, 1999:  SPECIAL SESSION

8:00    REGISTRATION

MORNING SESSION
9:00    Word games and the hidden phonology of Tuvan
         K. David Harrison, Yale University
9:30    Epenthesis-Driven Harmony in Turkish
         Abigail Kaun, Yale University
10:00   TBA
         Johanna Nichols, University of California, Berkeley
10:40   Language policy and reforms of Uighur and Kazakh writing systems in
China
         Minglang Zhou, University of Colorado at Boulder
11:10   Interpreting genitives in Turkish
         Mürvet  Enc, University of Wisconsin, Madison

11:40    **********                     LUNCH                   **********

AFTERNOON SESSION
12:40   Suffix-order variability in Turkish:  How it works and why one should
care
         Jeff Good & Alan Yu, University of California, Berkeley
1:10    Attractiveness and relatedness:  Notes on Turkic language contacts
         Lars Johanson, Universität Mainz
1:50    The phonology of the past tense in Tamil
         Caroline Wiltshire, University of Florida, Gainesville
2:20    Analyzing contact-induced phenomena in Karaim
         Eva Agnes Csato, Uppsala University

2:50    **********                      BREAK                   **********

LATE AFTERNOON SESSION
3:00    Evidentiality in the Caucasus:  The category 'Witnessed' in Tsez
         Bernard Comrie, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
         & Maria Polinsky, UC San Diego
3:30    Kannada gerund in adnominal positions:  A functional perspective
         Mirjam Fried, UC Berkeley
4:00    Indefinites, questions, and correlatives in a Dravidian language
         Hany Babu, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena









Turk Amerikan Toplumu Merkezi
Kibris Turk Kiultur ve Egitim Dernegi
                  ve
Istanbul Spor Kultur ve Egitim Merkezi

Cumhuriyetimizin 75. Yilinda

* YILBASI BALOSUNU

       sunar
31 Aralik 1998 Persembe aksami saat 8pm-2am Freehold Gardens Oteli Grand
Ballroom'unda
(RT.537 Gibson Place,Freehold NJ 07728     Tel: 732-780-3870) ILHAN USTUNLUK
ORKESTRASI
ve Surprizler. Yemek dahil GIRIS $65, 12 yasina kadar olan cocuklar $40.

Rezervasyonlariniz icin:

Tijen Akada      732-727-6511
Kezban Carrier        972-9166
Berrin Onbas          536-5178
Mustafa Kamil        536-5059
Ismet Sark             974-9287
Osman Gebizlioglu 973-252-4293
Alp Travel               201-478-0022
Club America         212-972-2865

                     TACC Yonetim Kurulu
http://www.turkish-american-cc.org


PROGRAM INFORMATION- Ottoman Turkish Summer School

                             ANNOUNCEMENT

        * INTENSIVE OTTOMAN TURKISH SUMMER SCHOOL IN TURKEY [IOSS]
               Alibey Adasi [Cunda]/Ayvalik-Turkey
                      <July 1 - August 15, 1999>

        Harvard University and Bursa Uludag University (Turkey) announce
the INTENSIVE OTTOMAN TURKISH SUMMER SCHOOL IN TURKEY [IOSS] to be held
July-August of every year in Alibey Adasi/Ayvalik in Turkey.
        The school provides proficiency-based instruction in the reading
and translation of Ottoman materials, both printed and hand-written, and
in developing skills in paleography to prepare students to use the
original archival documents written in divani, siyaqat and riq'a.
        In addition to daily four-hour instruction in Ottoman there will be
daily one-hour conversation based on advanced reading of Modern Turkish texts.
        Formal course work will be supplemented by weekly seminars taught by
leading scholars of Ottoman and Turkish philology.
        Courses in Ottoman have two level: INTERMEDIATE and ADVANCED. They
will be conducted by the leading experts in Ottoman paleography. The course
will equal a full-year course at any university in the world. The teaching
language will be mainly modern Turkish, especially in advanced classes.
        This coming summer (1999) will be our third summer; previously we
had 15 and 14 students in a row.

        OFFICIAL APPROVAL & FUNDING:
        The IOSS  has been approved by the U.S. Dept. of Education.
        FUNDING: The prospective students who are already enrolled in
MA and/or Ph D programs and/or who hold teaching or research positions
at any academic institution may apply to various sources [FLASS, ITS
<Institute of Turkish Studies, Washington, DC>, MELLON Foundation etc.]
through their respective centers or departments, following their
guidelines.
        BUDGET: Tuition: $ 3,500,oo, lodging: $ 300.oo, Teaching materials:
$ 100.oo [Round trip airfare and meals are not included!]
        The total of $ 3,900.oo must be paid by the first week of May
to the OTTOMAN STUDIES FOUNDATION:  IS BANKASI, AYVALIK/TURKEY. Act. No.
2120 301120 261 231. The payment should be notified immediately:
Harvard University, NELC. Ottoman Summer School, 6 Divinity Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02138/USA
        ADMISSION AND CONTACT: Send application form along with supporting
documents to INTENSIVE OTTOMAN SUMMER SCHOOL IN TURKEY, Harvard University,
NELC. 6 Divinity Ave. Cambridge, MA. 02138/USA; or call 617 495 5757 or
fax 617 496 8904 or 781 585 8796 OR:
                             E-Mail: stekin@...

Needle Lace

  Taciser Onuk

No country in the world is as rich as Anatolia in the field of
folk-art. Anatolia is the cradle of various civilizations. Every
corner of Anatolia reflects the culture of these civilizations.
Although rapid production technology and tastes are changing,
Anatolian handicrafts continue to survive with the skillful hands
and contemporary understanding of the Turkish nation. (Onuk,
1981-1988)

Handicrafts are one of the most important vehicles in which the
Turkish nation can easily reflect its sentiments. It also traces
its life style. While the beauty of traditional culture will be
carried on in future generations, handicrafts are also the most
vivid and meaningful documents of the cultural identity of a
nation. Thus handicrafts reflect the century during which they are
produced. (Onuk 1981-1988)

Needle lace, a traditional handicraft, is one of the best examples
that reflects Turkish culture. Needle lace comprises a tatting
technique used only by Turks as a means of ornamentation. Examples
of needle lace dating back to 2000 B.C. have been found. It is
also said that embroidery was transferred from Anatolia to Greece
and then to Europe via Italy in the 12th century.

Needle lace holds a special place in the realm of needlework. It
is also used as a means of communication to express one'e feelings
and thoughts by way of the motifs and colors used.

According to a survey carried out in Icel's Camliyayla (Namrun)
district, the needle lace around the scarf of a newlywed who
cannot speak freely to her husband and his relatives in line with
old traditions, represents her inner thoughts. For instance, green
and different tones of green reflect the satisfaction and
happiness of the bride in her marriage while yellow and different
tones of yellow signify that she is unhappy and annoyed. The
pepper motifs around her scarf is a message to her mother-in-law
that their relations are as hot as pepper. During the traditional
religious ceremony held the day after the marriage ceremony, the
daughter-in-law sends a message to her mother-in-law by covering
her head with a scarf called "Sea-holly", which means that her
mother-in-law shouldn't sting her like a thorn. According to
Turkish culture, the sister-in-law wears a head-scarf which is
decorated with needle lace called "Kutule", the name of a wild
flower. She wears this scarf at the religious ceremony held after
the marriage ceremony. Needlework symbolizes peace.

Needlework not only contributes to the economy of a family but
also is instrumental in creating friendships and social
cooperation among people. Needle lace reflects the elegant taste,
intelligence, kindness and creativity of the Turkish woman. It is
also intrinsically beautiful.

Today needle lace is made in Rize, Konya, Bursa, Kastamonu,
Inebolu, Izmir, Balikesir, Gonen, Kutahya, Gediz, Bafra, Mugla,
Safranbolu, Koycegiz, Mardin, Ordu, Bolu, Elazig and Icel.

Prof. Taciser ONUK, Head of the Applied Arts Department of the
Professional Educational Faculty at Gazi University

Sait Halim Pasha Villa

The fame of the Bosphorus rests largely on the seaside villas
which dot its shoreline. These villas - yali - were built from the
18th century onwards. The Sait Halim Pasha yali, which is also
called the "Pink Yali with a Lion" or just the "Yali with a Lion"
is one of the finest and best preserved buildings of the
settlements built later on the Bosphorus. It would appear to be a
product of western style with empire overtones. The reception-room
has Egyptian motifs since the Pasha was born in Cairo, Egypt.

Furniture in the yali are in European, Egyptian and Ottoman
styles. There are various statues, pictures and examples of
calligraphy here, all of which have artistic value. The floors of
the rooms and halls are covered with valuable hand-woven carpets.
There are ceremony-halls, large-halls, reception-halls and
working-halls all of which have different interiors. There is also
a pool in the garden.

Sait Halim Pasha

Sait Halim Pasha was born in Egypt in 1863. At the age of fifty he
became grand vizier. He resigned from that post in 1917 and was
assassinated by an Armenian agent in Rome.

Sait Halim Pasha was an Egyptian prince and Ottoman pasha. He was
well-educated and familiar with both oriental and western
languages. He wrote in French and had his original texts
translated into Turkish. The pasha also had a considerable
knowledge of music. He was from a musical family and played the ud
(Turkish lute).

{26dec98.trh}

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NEWS BRIEFS

* Mr. Yalim Erez, a businessman-turned-politician, was
charged with forming the next government of the  Republic of
Turkey after the failure of  the leader of the Democratic
Left Party Mr. Bulent Ecevit.
  After a no confidence vote on Mr. Mesut Yilmaz due to the
allegations made by a businessman linked to organized crime,
Mr. Ecevit was charged by the Turkish president Suleyman
Demirel to form a government first.
   Mr. Erez is currently an independent member of the Turkish
parliament. He was elected on a ticket from Mrs. Tansu
Ciller's True Path Party, but has resigned from the True
Path after Mrs. Ciller's participation in a coalition with
the Islamist Welfare party.

* After an Italian court's order to release the leader of
the  rebel Kurdish Workers Party Mr. Abdullah Ocalan from
house arrest two weeks ago, not much has changed in his
status.
   Italian officials seem to be hoping that another country
can take him, but no one so far seems to be interested in
giving sanctuary to Mr. Ocalan whose organization is seen
deeply involved in violence. During this week both Russian
and South African officials denied that Mr. Ocalan will be
coming to their countries.
   Turkish officials and Turkish public are demanding that
Mr. Ocalan be extradited to Turkey to stand trial  for the
death of 30,000 people.
   After residing in Syria for almost 15 years, Mr. Ocalan
was asked to leave when Turkey threatened Syria with
military force. Mr. Ocalan later appeared in Moscow, but
Russia also bowed to Turkish and possibly to U.S.  pressures
and by some accounts, forced him to fly to Italy.
   Italy is refusing Turkey's requests for extradition on the
grounds that Turkey has death penalty.

* The Greek Cypriots will be sending Russian-made missiles
they purchased to Greece news agencies are reporting. Turkey
has threatened to destroy the missiles if they are deployed
on the island. However, Turkey is also objecting to the
deployment of these missiles on the Greek island of Crete,
which is being mentioned as a possible site.

* Turkish papers reported that the latest UN Security
Council resolution, criticizing the "militarization efforts"
in Cyprus, continued to draw strong criticism from Turkey
and Turkish Cypriots. The President of the Turkish Republic
of Northern Cyprus, Rauf Denktas, said that the latest UN
Security Council resolution, that also extended the mandate
of the Peacekeeping Force on the island for another six
months, is repeating the mistake of recognizing once again
the Greek Cypriot Administration as the sole authority on
Cyprus. In a written statement yesterday, Denktas noted that
the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus would not accept the
above mentioned "mistaken attitude" and that his displeasure
had been conveyed to the UN Secretary General. Speaking on
the shuttle diplomacy carried out by UN Special Envoy Ann
Hercus, Denktas stated that the envoy's goodwill mission can
only be carried on with the consent of both sides on the
island.

* Turkish Parliament extended the mandate for Operation
Northern Watch for a further six months. The US, British and
Turkish force, based at the Incirlik base near Adana, Turkey
was formed after the Gulf War and enforces the no-fly zone
in northern Iraq.
   Meanwhile, a Turkish official disclosed that the closed
border gate to Iraq due to the recent bombing of Iraq by US
and the Britain is reported to be costing Turks $30 million
per month. Turks have been carrying out trade with the
Kurdish controlled Iraq through this gate.

ECO

* Turkey's Privatization Board decided to sell 51% of the
state-run oil company Petrol Ofisi A.S. for $1.15 billion to
the second highest bidder after the winning consortium
demanded back their original deposit. The Garanti Bankasi
AS-Dogus Holding AS consortium has now been declared the
winning bid.

* SODEX '99, the Natural Gas, Air-Conditioning Heating and
Installation Fair, will be held in the Istanbul Dunya Trade
Center between May 6-May 9, 1999.

* Turkey's foreign trade volume has increased, according to
a World Trade Organization publication entitled "World Trade
1998", in spite of the global crisis. however the Russian
crisis has had an adverse effect on this trend.
   -- Turkey's share of total world trade volume is 0.5 %.
   -- In commodity exports, Turkey ranks 33rd.
   -- In exports ranks 25th.
   -- In export of services ranks 17th and has a 1.5 % share,
ranked ahead of many industrialized countries such as
Australia, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Finland and
Ireland.

* Another success for the underdeveloped Southeastern
Anatolia Project region:  exported 43 thousand tons of
pulses worth $25.5 million in the first 11 months of 1998.
   Also from the same region, almost $ 278 million-worth of
textile goods have been exported during the same period, a
33 percent increase compared to last year.
   The increased economic activity in the region is
attributed to Turkey's success in defeating the separatist
Kurdish Workers Party, and its major economic incentives
program to attract investment in the region. However,
unemployment is still a major problem in this region.

* During his visit to Ankara, the Italian Minister of
Industry and Trade, Pier Luigi Bersani, evaluated the cost
of the economic boycott due to Italy's refusal to extradite
the Kurdish Workers Party leader to Turkey. Turkish
officials announced Italian firms had lost $ 200 million by
the end of one month boycott.
   Attending the banquet given by Turkish Industrialists and
Businessmen in Istanbul, Bersani pointed out that they did
not want the Turkish-Italian business relations to be
damaged as a result of the Ocalan issue. He gave a guarantee
to Turkish businessmen that political asylum could be given
to a person who was charged with committing terrorist
crimes.

* The Turkish Treasury will pay off $23 billion of its
domestic debt in the first four months of 1999. The total
amount of domestic debt the Treasury will pay off in 1999 is
$52 billion.

* There was great foreign interest in the 133-day bonds
exported by the Turkish Treasury. Nearly 35 % of these bonds
were purchased by foreign investors. Almost $190 million
from abroad has been received through this sale.

* The Turkish private company Akmaya Industry and Trade
Corporation, will buy a 65% stake in the state-owned
Petromedia refinery of Romania for $750 million. The
refinery is located in the Kostence region of Romania with
an annual processing capacity of 4.8 million tons of crude
oil.

* Turkey's first private wind energy power plant was
completed in Cesme, Izmir. Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz
yesterday opened the power plant, which belongs to
Gucbirligi Corp. and cost $ 8.7 million.

* The International Monetary Fund has revised its 1998
economic growth rate for Turkey and increased it from 3.7 %
to 4.4 %. Turkey's growth rate is estimated at 2.9 % in
1999.

* Istanbul, the Turkish economy's center, is moving towards
becoming a global economic center with its huge population
and increasing volume of trade. Istanbul accounts for 22.5 %
of the Turkish economy, and its economy is ranked 16th in
the world according to purchasing power parity and 23rd
according to nominal Gross National Product. Istanbul's
total income is more than that of 126 dependent and
independent states. According to 1997 data, there are only
50 dependent and independent states whose national incomes
are more than Istanbul's $43.1 billion Gross Domestic
Product. According to the calculations of the Anatolia news
agency based on data from the World Bank and the State
Institute of Statistics, Istanbul has more people than 129
of the 210 independent and dependent states of the world,
with a population of 9.1 million.

EXCHANGE RATE

Official exchange rate one U.S. dollar is 310,680 Turkish
Liras.

ARTS

* World renown British jazz singer Elaine Delmar is going to
visit Turkey as the guest of the Istanbul British Council.
During her first visit to Turkey, Delmar will give two
performances, the first one will be on 28 December at the
Istanbul State Theater Taksim Stage and the second one will
on 29 December at the Istanbul Hilton Hotel.

  * The French State Television Channel "France-3" is
preparing a documentary on Uzungol, one of the natural
beauties on the Black Sea coast of Turkey. During recent
years, many tourists visiting the Black Sea are from France.
It is expected that after the Uzungol documentary is
broadcast, there will be an increase in the number of French
tourists to travel to Turkey.

* The European Culture Improvement Foundation under the
auspices of the European Council and European Union have
presented Professor Ihsan Dogramaci of Turkey with the
inaugural award for toleration.
   The European Council's Honorary Chairman Louis Jung
praised Dogramaci's life-long efforts in the field of
toleration and said that Dogramaci, who is a physician, had
approached each child with affection and approached other
people from different religions and of different view points
with the same toleration.

WEATHER

High and low temperatures in degrees C (and degrees F)

  Ankara   Cloudy  03/05 (37/41)

  Istanbul Cloudy  05/09 (41/48)

  Izmir    Rainy   07/13 (45/55)

  Antalya  Rainy   09/12 (48/54)

SPORTS

The first part of Turkish premiere soccer league ended this
week with Fenerbahce emerging as the leader.

   Wednesday, 23 Dec
  Ankaragucu   - Galatasaray  2-2
   Sunday, 19 Dec
  Erzurumspor  - Fenerbahce      0-2
  Ankaragucu   - Sakaryaspor     1-0
  Kocaelispor  - Adanaspor       2-1
  Altay        - KDC Karabukspor 1-0
  Istanbulspor - Genclerbirligi  0-0
  Gaziantepspor- Galatasaray     1-2
  Besiktas     - C.Dardanelspor  0-0
   Saturday, 18 Dec
  Antalyaspor  - Trabzonspor   0-1
   Friday, 17 Dec
  Bursaspor    - Samsunspor   2-3

Top five teams and the points they reached are:

   1.  Fenerbahce    38
   2.  Besiktas      38
   3.  Galatasaray   37
   4.  Trabzonspor   36
   5.  Antalyaspor   30

The bottom two are:

   17. C.Dardanel    10
   18. KDC Karabuk    8


*** ANNOUNCEMENTS

*** Turkish American Association of California has partially
     underwritten today's program. TAAC is a non-profit
     charitable organization established to promote better
     understanding between  Americans and Turks.

       If you have any questions about Turks and Turkey,
                       give them a call:

                        1-415-646-0946

                       or e-mail them at
                     taac at taaca.org

*** TAAC Sacramento Chapter invites you to:

                     New Year Eve's Party

                       December 31, 1998
                            8 P. M.

                 Holiday Inn / Rancho Cordova
               Highway 50 / Sunrise Blvd. South

          Chicken Kabob dinner or Steak Kabob Dinner

                       Seats are limited

For more information, call (916) 727-3033.

                     Cigdem & Serdar Askin
                     askin.com at juno.com

*** AEGEAN FRIENDS
                        Arkadas * Filoi

     AEGEAN FRIENDS is a social-cultural group of Greeks,
   Turks,  Cypriots, and other peoples of good will, coming
  together to  celebrate their rich heritage, explore common
        roots, and promote  peace in the Aegean region.

    Share music, food, and conversation. Dance. Create art.
            Discover  the generosity of the heart.

                 For more information contact
                        AEGEAN FRIENDS
                           Box 14022
                 San Francisco, CA 94114-0022

The next Aegean Friends potluck will be held in
Sunnyvale, CA Saturday evening 23 January 1999
                            Contact:
              e-mail:  aegfriends at aol.com


*** Turkish Folkdancing in Northern California:

*** Arkadash Turkish Folk Dance Ensemble, San
Jose
        Free classes, all ages are welcome
              Call Omer Uyuklu at (408) 374-5066
                   e-mail: ccc at calcc.com

*** Horon, Monterey
            For more information call Yavuz Atila:
                        1-408-646-1916

     Horon is a Turkish American Association of California
                    associate organization

*** Art for Peace, Stanford
                 For more information contact
            artforpeace-intnl at lists.stanford.edu
                  408-971-1376 Carol Leitner

*** Group Anadolum.
     For folk, pop and sufi music of Turkey,
        also for playing oud and saz.

     Group Anadolum is composed of about 25 musicians and
     singers.

      Group Anadolum is a Turkish American Association of
              California associate organization.

            Contact Sahin Gunsel at (415) 387-3399
                e-mail: sgunsel at hotmail.com

*** PROGRAMIN SONUNA DOGRU SU ANONSLARI YAP:

*** Tune in to the following broadcasts in the Bay Area:

     - Every Saturday at 5 P.M. to the
       Turkish Cultural Program on KUSF FM 90.3
     - Every third Saturday at 6 P.M.
       KKUP FM 91.5 to the Orient Express
     - Tune in to KPFA FM 94.1 every Monday at
10 A.M. for
       Music from Africa-Asia, hosted by Kutay
Kugay.
     - Mondays 7:00 - 10:00 P.M. 89.5 FM
       International Program KBES
       (covers Stanislaus County all the way to Manteca),
       hosted by George Geevargis.

*** Yayinlarimiz siz dinleyicilerimizin katkilari ile
     surebilecektir. Studyomuza telefon acarak nasil katkida
     bulunabileceginizi ogrenebilirsiniz.
                   Telefonumuz 415-751-KUSF
            e-posta adresimiz: trh at aimnet.com

     A service of the TURKISH RADIO HOUR
     On the airways since 1982

*** NEW CD ** NEW CD ** NEW CD ** NEW CD ** NEW
CD **

***************      JUST RELEASED    ****************

*** Yusif Savalan

     "Heydar Baba" features Yusif Savalan's silken voice and
     Azerbaijan's Ahmet Bakikhanov Music Ensemble. Mr. Savalan's
     interpretation of great Azeri poet Shehriyari's
     masterpiece Heydar Baba is the title song. Mr. Savalan
     was heard live on the Turkish Cultural Program in
     September 1998 and later gave a concert at a Turkish
     American Association of California  gathering where the
     Audience fell  in love with his singing.
     Among the songs featured: Kor Arab, Ana Kur, Ana,
     Azerbaycan Ogluyam, Heydar Baba, Dine Bilmedim, Intizar,
     Zerif Gulushlu

*** CEMALI
     CEMALI "The First Alternative Music Group from Turkey" have
     released  their first US CD "Whirl" and it is available
     through the Turkish  Radio Hour.  Cemali's recording and
     performing career took them from  San Francisco to around
     the world and back to San Francisco. A shorter  version of
     their CD sold 300 thousand copies in Turkey.

*** Chingiz Sadykhov
     Music of world-class pianist from Azerbaijan, Chingiz
     Sadykhov.  "Songs of Azerbaijan" is a new CD release
     from 7/8 Music.  Maestro Chingiz Sadykhov has been
     playing piano as a concert pianist and accompanist to
     the greatest singers of Azerbaijan and Soviet Union for
     over 50 years.  He has garnered the coveted title of
     "Peoples' Artist of Azerbaijan".  He has performed and
     taught music around the world.

*** Necati Celik
     7/8 Music Productions is proud to release new CD
                           "YASEMIN"
                        from oud master
                         NECATI CELIK.

     Necati Celik belongs to a group of musicians that are a
     rare breed Indeed. He is considered one of the great oud
     players in Turkey now. His command of this ancient
     instrument is so remarkable that even the uninitiated
     audiences are thrilled to listen to the stately
     classical Turkish music presented by this relatively
     young master. Necati Celik has a vigorous style full of
     sensitivity for the composition or the improvisation.
     His knowledge of the Turkish makams (maqamat) is so vast
     and thorough that he plays this infinite ocean of music
     without much repetition at each of his concerts. Yet his
     interpretation is always fresh and full of surprises.
     This CD includes one astonishing vocal track from the
     master.

                     ORDERING INFORMATION
All CDs are available through the Turkish Radio Hour:

    * From US and Canada you can order the CD by sending
      * Yasemin by Necati Celik:          US$ 18
      * Songs of Azerbaijan by C Sadykov: US$ 18
      * Whirl by Cemali:                  US$ 15
* Make checks payable to 7/8 Music

* Make check payable to TRH for Mr. Savalan's CD!
    * US$ 18 for Heyder Baba by Yusif Savalan.
    * Mail your payment along with your address to:

                      Turkish Radio Hour
                         P.O. Box 1332
                    Cupertino, CA 95015 USA

For more information about both CDs please contact us here
at  the studio  or e-mail
                        trh@...
       If you have e-mail, we can also send you a brief
                    description of  the CDs.

{26dec98.trh}

by Their Handwriting you Know Them

Inter Press Service
23-DEC-98

NEW YORK, (Dec. 23) IPS - Golden letters that came here from Turkey to
the United States in the closing months of 1998 have given many North
Americans their first view of an art form that began just as the first
Europeans landed on the continent.

"Letters in Gold," the star attraction of the Metropolitan Museum of
Art from September to December has now gone on to the Los Angeles
County Museum. It is the first major exhibition in the United States
to explore the 500-year-old tradition of Ottoman Calligraphy.

The some 70 exceptional calligraphic works from the personal
collection of wealthy Istanbul businessman Sakip Sabanci include
illuminated copies of the Koran, other religious works such as prayer
books, hukum (decrees) by various sultans and a Berat (title deed)
scroll. There is also a Hilye -- a calligraphic work containing a
verbal portrayal of the Prophet Mohammed since Islam rejects the
pictorial representation of anyone who might be idolized.

Also included are large scrolls, with imposing imperial monograms,
containing official documents such as imperial edicts of Suleiman the
Magnificent, warrants, and patents written by scribes of the
successive sultans of the Ottoman period.

One piece dated in Istanbul in 1513 is a decree by Selim I, the ninth
Sultan, confirming the grant of a village and farmland in Uskub, now
Skopje, capital of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Another berat scroll by Suleiman II, the twentieth sultan (1687-1691),
concerns tax-collecting rights in townships in the region of Avlonya,
now Albania.

A mensur, or imperial appointment, that Abdulhamid II sent to the Emir
of Mecca concerns real estate properties transferred to a foundation
for supporting poor people living near the holy shrines in Mecca and
Medina (present-day Saudi Arabia).

Sakip Sabanci owns the largest collection of calligraphy in Turkey, as
well as a collection of ancient sculptures and porcelain. Originally
from a family of poor farmers in central Anatolia, he has become one
of Turkey's wealthiest businessmen.

He owns Sabanci Holding, a conglomerate of more than 50 companies, 16
of them joint ventures with leading multinationals ranging from
Hoechst of Germany to Danone and France's "Carrefour" supermarkets.

A philanthropist, who believes the private sector has a role to play
in preserving cultural heritage and in development as a whole, he is
now involved in the construction of a $150-million university campus
in Istanbul. Many schools and hospitals bear his name in Turkey.

Calligraphy, written in the Arabic language from right to left, was
appreciated, collected and prized by individuals at every level of
Ottoman society and was greatly valued for its role in spreading the
word of the Koran, the Muslim Holy Book.

The same preoccupation with beautiful writing extended to other
languages within the Islamic world such as Persian, Turkish and Urdu,
which were rendered in Arabic script.

With the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the chain of transmission
extended to that town which, renamed Istanbul, became the
administrative and cultural center of the Ottoman Empire.

In an introduction to a book that accompanies the exhibition, Sabanci
says the Ottoman sultans, some of whom were themselves accomplished in
the art of writing, supported calligraphers in much the same way "as
princes and wealthy patrons in the West sponsored painters."

"Letters in Gold" takes the viewer on a journey through the art of
writing, from the master of calligraphers, Seyh Hamdullah (1429-1520)
to Ahmed Karahisari (d.1556), Hafiz Osman (1642-1698) and Mustafa
Kutahi, who died after 1787 and was one of the best calligraphers of
the 18th century.

It also presents several "tugras," the calligraphic emblem of the
Sultan's name, apposed to any documents, including the tugra of
Suleiman the Magnificent.

"What appeals to me most is the important relationship between master
and apprentices, and the infinite capacity of this art to renew itself
from one generation to the next," commented Sabanci.

"This notion of respect for and veneration of earlier generations has
special resonance for me."

Indeed, the exhibition shows that calligraphy was teamwork in which
calligraphers and illuminators pooled their talents. During the
Ottoman period (1281-1924), artists worked in calligraphy studios,
workshops of illuminators and painters, royal workshops and
institutions attached to religious colleges.

The process began with the selection of the text. The calligrapher
then determined the appropriate script and layout.

After copying each page, he inserted vowel signs and diacritical marks
using a small pen and, sometimes, colored inks.

Once the text is finished, he proof-read the document, removing and
replacing pages or words containing errors. The manuscripts are
illuminated only after the text is copied.

The opening page of the Qur'an (Al Fatiha) was the most lavishly
decorated while the following pages were left relatively undecorated,
as shown in many copies of Qur'an at the exhibition.

Small groups of craftsmen used to be responsible for each aspect of
the illumination, the general conception of the design and motifs, the
gold frames around the text, the black outlining of the gilded
illumination and the decoration of verse stop and other notations.

Furthermore, in the royal workshops, several teams were responsible
for preparing the gold ink, applying it and adding the other colors.
The richest and most sought-after color was lapis lazuli.

The last step was binding. The illuminators prepared the two
bookplates and the flap that protected the edges of the pages.

They used carved metal dies to stamp traditional designs into the
leather binding and decorated the embossed leather with gilding and
sometimes colors. Bookbinders completed the work.

The fact that the same word or phrase could be written in different
ways opened the door to an infinite variety of shapes with made a rich
visual impact when joined together. Some pieces exhibited in 'Letters
of Gold' show texts with the shapes of flowers, animals and elaborated
geometric forms.

Ottoman calligraphy flourished from the 15th century onward, during
the period of the sultans of the Ottoman dynasty in Turkey which ended
in 1923 with the proclamation of independence and of the Republic by
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1923, followed by the adoption of Turkish as
the official language.

Besides the imperial documents and famous copies of the Qur'an,
"Letters in Gold" presents albums of teaching exercises and the
calligrapher's tools such as burnishers, pen-cutting slabs, penknives,
marble paper, ink blotter, ruling frame and scissors.

Surprise find at Topkapi Palace

Istanbul - Turkish Daily News

As work was being carried out to clean the marble at Topkapi Palace, a
surprise find was made on the marble bench porticoes at the Revan
Kiosk. Engraving was uncovered as the marble was being cleaned.

Topkapi Palace Director Filiz Cagman made the announcement at a press
conference Friday held in the Revan Kiosk. It is estimated that the
engraving stems from the time when westernization was beginning to
take hold in the 18th century in the Ottoman Empire. "But it is
difficult to say exactly when the engraving was done," said Cagman.

The engraving may have been carried out for the circumcision
ceremonies for Sultan Ahmet III in 1702. Experts from the Istanbul
Architectural Design and Monuments Directorate will examine the
engraving and a decision made as to how best to restore it. Topkapi
Palace is in the process of being cleaned in a joint project sponsored
by Cif and the Ministry of Culture.

__________________________________________________________________
Copyright 1998, Turkish Daily News. This article is redistributed with
permission for personal use of TRKNWS-L readers. No part of this article
may be reproduced, further distributed or archived without the prior
permission of the publisher. Contact: Turkish Daily News Online on the
Internet World Wide Web. www.turkishdailynews.com

For information on other matters please contact hk11@...
__________________________________________________________________

Buckles and Belts

* By Mehmet Zeki Kuşoğlu

Belts have been a feature of Turkish costume since the 2nd
century BC and are a legacy of the equestrian steppe culture. While
primarily a functional accessory, the belt was also a vehicle for
ornament, and excavations of Turkish burial mounds known as kurgan in
Central Asia have brought to light numerous buckles in varying
techniques and styles made of gold and other metals. The belts and
buckles of ancient times are the ancestors of those made in later
centuries by the Turks of Anatolia.

The Turkish word toka for buckle originally meant the confluence of
two rivers, but over time came to be applied to various artefacts used
for joining things together.

The beautifully worked belts which apart from a few preserved in
museums exist today only in songs, poems and paintings, were an
essential part of costume and personal ornament. Whatever their social
class or gender, everyone possessed several belts for different
occasions. Belts even possessed symbolic significance, as illustrated
by those set with agate, blood stones and turquoises worn by dervishes
as an indication of the order to which they belonged.

While in some cases the belt itself was a work of art, usually the
buckle was the focal point for decoration. Valuable belts were not
worn for daily use, but reserved for wearing with fine costumes on
special occasions.

For example, it was customary for brides to be presented with a belt.

The brides father, or if he was not alive a close male relative, would
give the bride as valuable a belt as he could afford to complete her
wedding outfit. Having put on the belt, she jumped over a sword, upon
which her father would stroke her back and express the wish that she
would have children she could be proud of.

Belts acquired distinctive regional characteristics in different parts
of Turkey, such as the belts woven from gold or silver wire of the
Black Sea, the silver belts with niello decoration of eastern Turkey,
the inlaid gem studded belts of southeastern Turkey, and the filigree
belts of central Anatolia and Trakya. All of these were worn at
weddings and other festive occasions. In Istanbul belts were made of
precious fabrics with gold or silver buckles set with jade, coral and
similar stones. A type of belt found all over Turkey were made of
tombak (a kind of copper gilt), plain in style, with chased buckles.

The Ottoman sultans wore jewelled belts for the ceremony known as the
girding of the sword, which took place within a week of their
accession. After the dawn prayers he would take the imperial barge
down the Golden Horn to visit the tomb of Eyüp Sultan, where the
girding of the sword of sovereignty would take place. The sword was
affixed to the belt by one long and one short chain from the rings on
the swords scabbard.

Classifying Turkish belts according to the materials of which they are
made, we can begin with metal belts. Those of silver mainly feature
four types of decoration, niello, filigree, plaited wire or chasing.

Similar belts of gold were used by wealthy individuals. The second
category consists of fabric belts with ornamental metal buckles. The
fabric was generally costly, and the buckles set with emeralds, coral,
agate, jade and other stones, chased, or gold plated.

A third type of belt was again made of costly fabric, this time
embroidered with gold wire. Here a single coloured fabric was used. A
variation on this type had applied metal decoration in place of the
gold wire embroidery. Belts carved of stone, usually agate, with metal
borders were frequently worn by members of dervish orders,
particularly Bektaşi dervishes.

Ottoman belts attracted the attention of European visitors to Turkey.

For example, Lady Montague (1689-1762), wife of the British ambassador
Lord Manchester, described Turkish belts worn by women in a letter to
her sister in 1717 about her own Turkish outfit which was, she said,
admirably becoming: The first part of my dress is a pair of drawers,
very full, that reach to my shoes, and conceal the legs more modestly
than your petticoats.

They are of a thin rose-coloured damask, brocaded with silver flowers.

My shoes are of white kid leather, embroidered with gold. Over this
hangs my smock, of a fine white silk gauze, edged with embroidery.

This smock has wide sleeves hanging halfway down the arm, and is
closed at the neck with a diamond button, but the shape and colour of
the bosom is very well to be distinguished through it. The Antery
[entari] is a waistcoat, made close to the shape, of white and gold
damask, with very long sleeves falling back, and fringed with deep
gold fringe, and should have diamond or pearl buttons. My Caftan, of
the same stuff with my drawers, is a robe exactly fitted to my shape
and reaching to my feet, with very long straight falling sleeves. Over
this is the girdle, of about four fingers broad, which all that can
afford it, have entirely of diamonds or other precious stones; those,
who will not be at that expense, have it of exquisite embroidery on
satin; but it must be fastened before with a clasp of diamonds.

The French ambassador M.de Ferriol, realising that descriptions could
not always do justice to their subject, brought the Dutch artist Van
Mour to Istanbul, where he executed engravings of numerous people
including Sultan Ahmed III. These were published in the Ottoman
Costume Album with explanations in 1712. The album proved extremely
popular, and was reprinted twice within a brief time.

* Prof. Dr. Mehmet Zeki Kuşoğlu is a lecturer at Marmara University.

The Story of Heating and Lighting

* By Şengül Aydıngün

When we get home in the evening the first thing we do is turn
on the light switch, and instantaneously the houses is illuminated
ready for us to occupy ourselves as we please in the hours of
darkness. We all know that it took thousands of years to enjoy light
at the touch of a switch, but most people have only a vague idea of
how our ancestors managed before electricity. A new museum which has
recently opened in Istanbul is the place to discover how buildings
were lit and heated in past centuries. The Museum of Lighting and
Heating is situated in Sultanahmet near the Blue Mosque and Topkapı
Palace.

The discovery of fire provided man with heat and light, and was the
first step on the technological ladder, marking the beginning of the
entire process of discovery which is still continuing. Thanks to fire
human beings were able to live under more civilised conditions. Fires
were not only useful as a source of warmth and light, but for cooking
food, which therefore became more varied and delicious, and keeping
wild animals away at nights. Lighting fires and keeping them alight
required hours of hard work collecting fuel and tending to the fire.

At some point it was found that fire could be carried in the form of
torches and so used to move around in the dark.

Subsequently oil lamps were invented, and fire places which made it
easier to control the flames and cook. Each invention brought fresh
improvement in the quality of human life.

In Anatolia, which has been inhabited since extremely early times,
excavations have revealed a considerable body of material, such as
fireplaces and lamps, relating to the use of fire in prehistoric times
between 200,000 qand 10,000 BC. These artefacts represent the most
crucial needs of human beings, as their equivalents still do today.

A Turkish private collector, Mehmet Yaldız, has been gathering heating
and lighting equipment from Turkey and other countries for many years.

The collection was originally housed at the worlds first Museum of
Heating and Lighting which opened in Çamlıca, Istanbul, in 1991, but
has since moved to a new more central location provided by Eminönü
Municipality, a two-storey building opposite Arasta Çarşısı in
Sultanahmet.

The first section is devoted to prehistoric finds, such as stone and
pottery lamps, and primitive fire places in which grasses, wood and
animal dung were used as fuel. In the next sections we follow the
development of means of producing heat and light over thousands of
years. The exhibits include braziers, stoves of various types, early
irons which were heated on stoves, censers, a wide range of lamps
fuelled by oil, spirit, carbide and gas, candlesticks, light fittings
and chandeliers, lanterns, torches, and early electricity powered
heating and lighting equipment. There are hundreds of fascinating
examples from the Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman periods.

Beautiful Beykoz ware glass lamps, porcelain lamps, European
chandeliers and tiled stoves, a control lamp which served both as
lighting and to test whether eggs were fresh, and stoves with lamps
which combined the functions of heating and lighting are among the
most ingenious inventions in the museum. Many of the exhibits are
rare, and some unique, making the museum of great interest to scholars
as well as general visitors.

Mehmet Yaldız began his collection in an amateur spirit, but as it
grew he turned into a dedicated expert, and began to gather material
from abroad as well as Turkey. His Museum of Heating and Lighting
Equipment Over the Ages is the outcome of 48 years of patient work,
with 1500 exhibits representing mans endeavour to provide himself with
warmth and light over hundreds and thousands of years.

Address: Opposite Arasta Çarşısı

Dalbastı Sokak No.9, Sultanahmet,

İstanbul Tel: 0212 517 66 08

* Şengül Aydıngün is an archaeologist and art historian.

The holiday season arrives in Istanbul

* Special menu from Ciragan Palace Hotel Kempinski Istanbul
* Enjoying dining out -- Conrad International Istanbul
* Christmas at the Istanbul Hilton Hotel
* Christmas dinner at The Marmara Istanbul
* Holiday dining at swissotel The Bosphorus
* Special gift packages at the Polat Renaissance

Istanbul - Turkish Daily News

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro' the house Not a
creature was stirring not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the
chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

'Tis the season to be merry, jolly or whatever and Christians
throughout the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and the
arrival of Santa Claus bearing presents. A mixed up legend if ever
there was one which combines pagan beliefs, the winter solstice, three
wise men bearing gifts to the baby Christ and a Christian bishop in
southern Turkey. The official version is that Christ's birth was not
celebrated during the early centuries of Christianity because it was
not the custom. Deaths were considered more memorative. However in the
5th century, the western Christian church ordered that the feast be
held to offset other beliefs in the birth of the sun. Since there were
no records to give an exact date for Christ's birth, church officials
were able to ascribe a date which would allow them to proclaim the
birth, not of the sun, but of God's son and so take over the followers
of that belief. For example one such custom was the Saturnalia, a
Roman feast celebrated in mid-December. What better than to have a
feast, gift giving and candle burning. Add to it some of the northern
European traditions such as the yule log and wasail bowl. The use of
trees as part of the Christmas celebration doesn't seem to have
appeared until the 18th century. As for the use of ivy, holly and
mistletoe (and getting kissed under the mistletoe) was a Celtic
tradition.

There were many different streams feeding the tradition and there
still is such as the controversy over whether or not to give presents
on Christmas Eve or after church on Sunday morning. Nativity scenes
are among some of the older traditions related to the celebration of
Christmas. One of the ways that the Christian church taught people was
to present plays enacting the birth of Christ. And this dates back
well into the Middle Ages. It also became a time of revelry which no
well-meaning (or perhaps one should say evil-spirited) priest could
easily stop. The harvest was over, stocks of food were available which
would hopefully last throughout the winter until the first spring
harvest and one could get on with the ancient traditions aimed at
making the days grow longer again. There are many stories about
Christmas but none so familiar as that of Charles Dickens' "Christmas
Carol." The awful Scrooge, the invalid Tiny Tim and his father who is
the greatest example of a boss-ridden clerk that ever lived. Scrooge's
conversion into becoming a nice guy is a shining example of how
peoples' hearts can be changed at Christmas time. Today in Turkey one
can celebrate Christmas at a number of churches and if you aren't into
doing the cooking yourself, we suggest a number of Istanbul's top
hotels which are offering special programs for those interested in a
delightful evening full of holiday spirit and joy (not to mention not
having to clean up afterwards).

Special menu from Ciragan Palace Hotel Kempinski Istanbul

The Laledan restaurant offers a special menu for Christmas on December
24. The Laledan Christmas table includes an array of festive
delicacies such as turkey, cured and smoked fish, lobster, continental
delicatessen and a selection of seasonal appetizers and salads from
around the world. Guests may choose from the following entrees:
Sauteed fillet of salmon, asparagus risotto, leek and tomato fondue
with red wine sauce; roast prime rib of beef, mashed potatoes with
lentils, maple glazed carrots, chestnuts, Brussels sprouts in consume;
and a series of other European dishes that are as versatile and
elegant. Finally, the Laledan festive dessert table includes a
selection of Christmas cakes, gingerbread, fruit tarts, pies and other
Christmas specials. In addition, you may enjoy high tea at Christmas
in Ciragan's Gazebo cafe. The selections are English Christmas fruit
cake, strawberry almond tartlet, gingerbread cookie, fruit and minced
meat pie and chocolate eclair. The sandwiches in the Gazebo include
roast beef, smoked turkey, egg mayonnaise and smoked salmon. Christmas
dinner at Laledan is $60.00 including value added tax. On December 25,
there will be a Christmas brunch. The price of brunch at the open
buffet is TL 6,500,000. For reservations, call Laledan at (0212) 258
33 77.

Enjoying dining out -- Conrad International Istanbul

The Conrad International Istanbul Hotel can take great pride in its
Gulizar Cafe this holiday season. On December 25 between 12:00 and
16:00, guests will find turkey and all the trimmings along with prime
rib of beef, salmon baked in salt and a Japanese section at its
special Christmas Buffet. There is even a "make your own ice-cream
sundae station" for those who enjoy the dessert. A special visit from
Santa Claus will take place and you can be free from the children
because there is a supervised play area for children. The meal will be
made even more memorable with good jazz music played by Kent Mete and
his trio.

The price is $26 US per person. Children under six are free of charge
and under 12s are only half price. The price includes a welcome glass
of Kir Royal or Egg Nog and the buffet. Don't forget the Patisserie
Monet for your traditional holiday pastries (until January 1st).
There's a wide variety of desserts from Buche de Noel to Mince Pie,
Noel puddings to stollen. There is also a selection of excellent
foreign wines at excellent prices available for parties at home. For
people who would like to celebrate the breaking of their fast together
with friends, the Conrad International Istanbul's Manzara Restaurant
offers a rich "iftar" meal at sunset from 4:30 pm to 7:00 pm. Guests
will find a lavish buffet filled with traditional iftar dishes and
there is live fasil music for entertainment.

Christmas at the Istanbul Hilton Hotel

Christmas at the Istanbul Hilton Hotel's Roof Rotisserie Restaurant
will serve a special Christmas dinner on the evenings of December 24
and 25. The menu consists of a choice of terrine of salmon with herb
cream sauce or ravioli of duck river and figs in champagne sauce;
cream of celery with Roquefort borek; raki and orange sherbet; a
choice of stuffed breast of baby turkey with balsamico sauce, trio of
vegetable mousse, almonds and potatoes or pan-fried John Dory with
asparagus cream sauce, saffron risotto with seafood, spinach and
mushroom quiche; festive Yule log with rich chocolate sauce or
Christmas pudding with brandy butter and coffee and petit fours. The
price is TL 14,000,000 including value added tax and service charge.
At the Bosphorus Terrace, there is a Christmas Dinner Buffet on
December 24, a Christmas Lunch and Dinner Buffet on December 25, and a
Christmas Lunch buffet on December 26. The price is TL 10,000,000
including service charge and value-added tax. In addition, the
Christmas market is open from 10:30 until 23:00 every day, selling all
kinds of Christmas cookies and cakes, candies, Christmas baskets and
bags along with different kinds of wines and champagne.

Christmas dinner at The Marmara Istanbul

The Marmara Istanbul's Panorama Restaurant with its spectacular view
of the Bosphorus offers a special menu for the evenings of December 24
and 25. The menu for these special evenings consists of turkey liver
paste, jumbo baked with mille-feuille pastry, apple sorbet with
cinnamon, lamb over sauteed eggplant with Indian saffron, herb cheese
and cold chocolate souffle. The menu is TL 13, 500, 000 including
value added tax. On these evenings, Celal Akatlar will play the piano,
and Atakan Unuvar, Mehmet Horoz and Tahsin Unuvar will sing old,
unforgettable songs. For reservations, call (0212) 251 46 96.

Holiday dining at swissotel The Bosphorus

The menu at swissotel The Bosphorus's Swiss Chalet includes dried beef
garnished with Tete de Moine cheese, pot-roasted Christmas turkey with
gravy cranberry sauce served in poached apple, braised red cabbage
with chestnuts, and strawberry basket with rhubarb compote and
honey-vanilla frozen yoghurt. The menu costs TL 19,200,000 including
value-added tax. The menu at the Corne D'Or includes warm carpaccio of
shrimps with endive salad and caviar cream, mushroom cream soup with
lime julienne, steamed fillet of sea bass with cucumber with fennel
and sundried tomatoes, oven roasted goose served with leek and
potatoes, candied quince and port wine and passion fruit and bitter
chocolate marquise with marinated citrus salad. The menu costs
TL22,400,000 including value added tax. Other ideas for Christmas (and
for New Year's as well) are special Swissotel Gift Certificates for
friends and loved ones. They can be used for meals at which one will
savor French, Turkish, Japanese or Chinese cuisines, membership in the
Bosphorus Spa&Wellness Center, Bosphorus room accomodations and
swissotel weekend package. The delicatessen shop within the hotel also
provides various pastries, imported cheeses and desserts.

Special gift packages at the Polat Renaissance

The Polat Renaissance Istanbul Hotel's Patisserie is offering some
very special gift packages for the New Year. Every one has something
entirely different inside. Passion, Eternity, Treasury Island,
Memories, Desire and Jingle Bells only tease one with their names. For
more information and to place an order, call (212) 663 17 00, ext. 412
or 205.

Unusual gifts for the holiday season

If you are looking for something unusual in the way of a gift this
holiday season, try DEKAS where you will find the emphasis is on
silver. Gifts of many sorts are available from candlelabras to pen
sets, nut dishes to photograph frames to trays. Try DEKAS at Buyukdere
Avenue, Emlak Kredi Blocks, C-1 Block Floor 2, Apt. 8,
Levent/Istanbul.


__________________________________________________________________
Copyright 1998, Turkish Daily News. This article is redistributed with
permission for personal use of TRKNWS-L readers. No part of this article
may be reproduced, further distributed or archived without the prior
permission of the publisher. Contact: Turkish Daily News Online on the
Internet World Wide Web. www.turkishdailynews.com

For information on other matters please contact hk11@...
__________________________________________________________________

TRT VOICE OF TURKEY DAILY PROGRAM SCHEDULE
FOR TURKISH PROGRAMS.

Valid from 25 October 1998 till March 27 1999

***please note,
the frequencies schedule hereunder came from the TRT Web site at
http://www.tsr.gov.tr/  but was a kind of a mixed bag.

**The English schedule
at  http://www.tsr.gov.tr/tr/yabanci1.htm is still the summer schedule.

**Same goes for the Turkish schedule at,
at  http://www.tsr.gov.tr/tr/metre_tr.htm

**All the frequencies in English are OK, but are missing their target
area, at http://www.tsr.gov.tr/tr/metre_en.htm

During the above period frequencies can be subject to change, which will
be announced during the transmissions.

Since short-wave radio propagation varies, it^Òs sometimes a good idea to
try a frequency not targeted at your area.

                                 EUROPE

Frequency       (Times in UTC / GMT)    Meterband

9460            00.00-24.00                     31

5980            16.00-23.00                     49
                 Balkan

15350   08.00-17.00                     19

9445            22.00-08.00                     31

5980            23.00-05.00                     49

7300            23.00-05.00                     41


                                 N. AMERIKA

Frequency       (Times in UTC / GMT)            Meterband

9460            08.00-22.00                     31

9445            22.00-08.00                     31

7300            23.00-05.00                     41


                                 AUSTRALIA

Frequency       (Times in UTC / GMT)            Meterband

21715           05.00-13.00                     13

13750           13.00-17.00                     22

9560            17.00-22.00                     31

15105           22.00-04.00                     29


                                 AFRICA

Frequency       (Times in UTC / GMT)    Meterband

11955           05.00-17.00                     25

6120            17.00-05.00                     49

15615           11.00-16.00                     19
                 Friday^Òs only


                                 ASIA

Frequency       (Times in UTC / GMT)    Meterband

21500           05.00-08.00                     13

11605           05.00-08.00                     13

11925           05.00-10.00                     25

17715           05.00-10.00                     16

21715           05.00-13.00                     13

13750           13.00-17.00                     22

9560            17.00-22.00                     31

7110            17.00-23.00                     41

15105           22.00-04.00                     22

15615           11.00-16.00                     19
                 Friday^Òs only


                                   MIDDLE EAST



Frequency       (Times in UTC / GMT)    Meterband

11955           05.00-17.00                     25

5980            17.00-05.00                     49


[...................................................................]
For obtaining a program schedule contact,
TRT Voice of Turkey Radio
P.O. BOX 333 - 06443
Yenisehir Ankara
Turkey

Best regards,

Adrian

adrian@...

Turkish researchers receive awards from Kosovan Turks

Ankara- Turkish Daily News

The True Path Fine Arts Association of the Turkish minority in
Yugoslavia's Kosovo province has honored Gazi University Professor
Mustafa Isen and Dr. Irfan Unver Nasrettinoglu, the head of the
Turkish Folklore Institution, for their contributions in the
preservation and promotion of Turkish culture in the Balkans.

The annual award bears the name of Suleyman Brina, a prominent Kosovan
pedagogue who contributed significantly to the promotion of Turkish
culture throughout the Balkans. Professor Isen was granted the award
for 1998, and Dr. Nasrettinoglu for 1997. The turmoil in Kosovo last
year prevented the association from presenting the award to
Nasrettinoglu in 1997.

Dr. Nasrettinoglu was at the same time granted the title of honorary
chairman of the True Path Association.

Members of the True Path Association, Kosovan Turks studying in
Turkey, as well as a number of academics and Foreign Ministry
officials attended the ceremony. Speaking at the ceremony at the
Yugoslavian Embassy on Saturday evening, Ambassador Darko Tanaskovich
said:

"We do see our Turkish minority as a part of the majority. This is not
a diplomatic courtesy, but what we really feel in our hearts."

Ambassador Tanaskovich, one of Yugoslavia's most prominent
Turcologists, seemed particularly excited when presenting Professor
Isen's award. The two academics had worked together in the early 1980s
at Belgrade University's Department of Oriental Studies.

The True Path Association is based in the mainly-Turkish town of
Prizren. It was established in 1951 and since then has been a major
representative and promoter of Turkish culture in Yugoslavia and
outside the country.

__________________________________________________________________
Copyright 1998, Turkish Daily News. This article is redistributed with
permission for personal use of TRKNWS-L readers. No part of this article
may be reproduced, further distributed or archived without the prior
permission of the publisher. Contact: Turkish Daily News Online on the
Internet World Wide Web. www.turkishdailynews.com

For information on other matters please contact hk11@...
__________________________________________________________________

Turkey to host Science Olympics

Ankara - Turkish Daily News

Antalya will be the site of the 1999 International Computer Olympics,
according to a decision by the International Science Olympics
Committee, the Anatolia news agency reported over the weekend. Turkey
was also the venue chosen for the 2000 Biology Olympics and the 2001
Physics Olympics.

Preparations have already begun for the Computer Olympics, which will
be held between Oct. 9-16, 1999. Turkey is expecting to host students
from 78 countries at the event. Invitations have been sent out across
the globe, and the touristic value of Turkey in general and Antalya in
particular are being touted on an Internet web site established in
conjunction with the competition.

The Science Olympics will gather together the scientists of the
future, said Professor Mehmet Cankurtaran, the deputy chairman of the
Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK), who
noted the importance of the event in building close relations between
countries and in promoting Turkey internationally.

__________________________________________________________________
Copyright 1998, Turkish Daily News. This article is redistributed with
permission for personal use of TRKNWS-L readers. No part of this article
may be reproduced, further distributed or archived without the prior
permission of the publisher. Contact: Turkish Daily News Online on the
Internet World Wide Web. www.turkishdailynews.com

For information on other matters please contact hk11@...
__________________________________________________________________

{19dec98.trh}

A service of the TURKISH RADIO HOUR, producer of:

                   TURKISH CULTURAL PROGRAM
                     Saturdays at 5:00 PM
                  KUSF FM 90.3, SAN FRANCISCO

                            and

                       ORIENT EXPRESS
                 3rd Saturdays at 6:00 PM
                   KKUP FM 91.5,  CUPERTINO

*********************************************** *
  Today's news was edited by Ahmet Toprak
*********************************************** *

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and our radio broadcast.  Contact us at trh at aimnet.com
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NEWS BRIEFS

* The leader of the democratic Left Party Mr. Bulent Ecevit
has struggled through the week to form the next Turkish
government. However, he has not been able to get the
majority support neither for a coalition nor for a minority
government.
   After a no confidence vote on Mr. Mesut Yilmaz due to the
allegations made by a businessman linked to organized crime,
Mr. Ecevit was charged by the Turkish president Suleyman
Demirel to form a new government.
   If Mr. Ecevit's weekend efforts fail, he is expected to
withdraw from the task early next week.
   Political circles are  then wondering how  President
Demirel will evade giving the task to the leader of the
Islamist Virtue party. Virtue Party currently holds the most
seats in the parliament but are shy a significant amount of
seats from the simple majority to form a government on their
own. Islamists are also very much disliked by the military,
whose pressure made the previous coalition between the
Islamists and Mrs. Tansu Ciller's True Path Party resign in
1997.

* An Italian court ordered the release of the leader of the
rebel Kurdish Workers Party Mr. Abdullah Ocalan earlier this
week, much to the protests of Turkey and U.S.
   Mr. Ocalan, however, has not left Italy and has asked for
political asylum. He is also said to be jockeying for a
political leadership role for all of the Kurds of the Middle
East.
   Turkish officials and Turkish public are demanding that
Mr. Ocalan be extradited to Turkey to stand trial  for the
death of 30,000 people.
   After residing in Syria for almost 15 years, Mr. Ocalan
was asked to leave when Turkey threatened Syria with
military force. Mr. Ocalan later appeared in Moscow, but
Russia also bowed to Turkish and according to some, U.S.
pressures and by some accounts, forced him to fly to Italy.
   Italy is refusing Turkey's requests for extradition on the
grounds that Turkey has death penalty. Italian officials
were very hopeful that Germany would ask for extradition for
outstanding warrant they have, however, for fear of
disturbances among 1.5 million Turks and 400 thousand Kurds
who live Germany, German officials have been resisting this.

* In a related news, French courts sentenced 15 militants of
Mr. Ocalan's organization to jail sentences of 10 months to
5 years for extortion and other charges.

* Turkey's Foreign Minister Ismail Cem expressed concern
over the possible results of the US and British operation
against Iraq. Turkish officials immediately closed the only
border gate between Iraq and Turkey.
  Mr. Cem also expressed Turkish fears over a possible flight
of people from northern Iraq towards the Turkish border. Cem
pointed out that Turkey fully respects the territorial
integrity and political unity of Iraq and urged Iraq to
implement all relevant UN decisions so as to bring about an
end to sanctions on the country.
   The Turkish daily Cumhuriyet says the US operation against
Iraq would double Turkey's loss increasing the economic
problems that Turkey has been tackling with since the 1991
Gulf War.
    Prior to the Gulf War, Iraq was one of the major trading
partners of Turkey. Despite this, Turkey then participated
in the coalition against the Iraq.
   Before this week' strikes, the US Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright called Turkish President Suleyman Demirel
on Wednesday night a few hours before the attack and gave
him information on the operation.
    U.S officials did not, however, ask for the use of the
Incirlik base in Turkey, as they did during the Gulf War.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

Edited for Turkish Radio Hour by Mark Nowak

* The European Union  has decided to release ECU 113 million
for Turkey to be devoted to the financing of three major
projects. The EU contribution will cover almost 75 % of the
total cost of the projects. Projects include:
  * women's  health-care and safe motherhood,
  * vocational training and education,
  * restoration of Istanbul's historic Balat and Fener districts.

* Istanbul Giyim Sanayi Ticaret A.S. (IGS), Turkey's leading
manufacturer of men's clothing, is holding talks with
several American buyers to sell its quality clothes in the
US.

* The National Park on the Gelibolu Peninsula in Canakkale
will be turned into a 'Peace Park'. A giant project worth
$60 million will be achieved with the cooperation of Turkey
and the states that participated in Canakkale Wars, Britain,
Australia and New Zealand.

* First-round contacts concerning the Turkish-Egyptian Free
Trade Agreement started in Ankara. Trade volume between the
two countries in January-September 1998 reached $ 588
million. When  the free trade agreement begins to be
enforced this number is forecast to reach one billion
dollars in 2000 and two billion dollars in 2005.

* Sanliurfa Governor Sabahattin Harput, reported that
preparations to establish a free trade zone in the
Southeastern Anatolia Project region were almost finished.
He added that a 1.5 million meter-square region between
Sanliurfa and Gaziantep would become a free trade zone.
Harput also noted that a report concerning feasibility
studies for the second free trade zone along the Sanliurfa-
Gaziantep highway was prepared.

* Regulations prepared in accordance with the recent
decisions to vitalize the Turkish domestic market by
reducing the raw material costs of exporters and the cost of
foreign loans received by national banks, will be put into
effect by January 1, 1999.

* Turkey's Undersecretary of Defense Industry is beginning
to evaluate the bids offered for Turkish Awacs' by Lockheed
Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing and Rayhtheon. Four planes
are planned to be produced within the project which will
cost an estimated $2 million.

* Turkey paid off $675 million of her foreign debts in the
first two weeks of December. According to data provided by
the Central Bank, a total of $11.5 billion of foreign debt
has been paid by Turkey.

* Speaking at a conference held by the Istanbul Stock
Exchange, Gazi Ercel, the Governor of the Central Bank of
the Republic of Turkey, noted that measures against the
international financial crisis had already been taken and
the Turkish economy was quite far from a state of crisis
according to main economic indicators.  According to Ercel
there has been no real decrease in the GDP of Turkey. On the
contrary, the average rate of growth is around 4.5%.

* Turkey's Demirbank has received a $ 55 million syndicated
loan from a group of 15 Western and Japanese banks. The one-
year loan signed in London on December 16, brings to $355
million the amount raised by Demirbank on international
money markets.

* Turkey has obtained $406.1 million from her exports of
hazelnuts since September 1, 1998. Turkey exported hazelnuts
mainly to European countries.

* Turkish businesses that fire workers using the latest
crisis as an excuse will not be able to benefit from
Turkey's Eximbank loans, State Minister Isin Celebi
announced.

* Turkey's Treasury, which has exported bonds worth $200
million via Chase and Salomon Smith Barney on international
markets, received very favorable interest from foreign
investors. With the arrival of the money in the Treasury, it
is expected that interest rates in Turkey will decrease.

* Turkish construction firms are successfully developing
their investments abroad. According to the Turkish
Constructors' Union the total volume of the business of the
Turkish firms abroad up to now has reached $ 40 billion.

* Gazi Ercel, the chairman of the Central Bank, said that an
agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would
ensure $ 10 billion credit and also help to bring foreign
capital to Turkey.

*President Suleyman Demirel and Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz
opened two energy power plants yesterday in Marmara Eregli,
Tekirdag. Demirel and Yilmaz first opened the Trakya
Electricity Production and Natural Gas Transformation Power
Station. The plant was a Turco-American-British joint
venture and it cost $ 600 million. The US Ambassador to
Ankara, Mark Parris and the Special Representative of the US
Caspian Oil Energy Policies, Richard Morningstar. Later,
Demirel, Yilmaz, Parris and Morningstar opened the Unimar
Marmara Ereglisi Natural Gas Power Plant in the same region.
The plant was constructed by British Marubeni Euro Power,
National Power PLC, the Dutch Unit Investment BV, Belgian
Unit International SA, Japan Marubeni Corporation and
Turkish Entes firms and cost $ 622 million.

* Despite the global crisis, Paul and Shark, one of the
leading sportswear companies in the world, decided to
continue its investments in Turkey. Paolo Dini, the head of
Paul and Shark, noted that Turkey would become the center of
their investments in the Middle East and Asia, including the
gigantic Chinese market, and said: "Turkey is a real center
for us due to its industrial infrastructure and human
capital."

SPORTS,  MONEY, ARTS  and  CULTURE  NEWS

Edited  by  Aydin Koc

MONEY

12/18/98
                     Selling Rate  Buying Rate
One U.S. Dollar           304,190    305,660

SPORTS

* Results from the 16th week of the Premier Turkish
  Soccer League are as follows :

  Adanaspor      - Bursaspor     4-1
  Samsunspor     - Altay         1-0
  Dardanelspor   - Erzurumspor   0-0
  Karabukspor    - Gaziantepspor 2-6
  Fenerbahce     - Istanbulspor  2-0
  Trabzonspor    - Ankaragucu    1-0
  Sakaryaspor    - Besiktas      0-2
  Galatasaray    - Antalyaspor   3-1
  Genclerbirligi - Kocaelispor   1-1

Top ten rankings after the first 16 weeks are as follows :

  1.  Besiktas     37 6.  Genclerbirligi 25
  2.  Fenerbahce   35 7.  Kocaelispor    25
  3.  Trabzonspor  33 8.  Istanbulspor   24
  4.  Galatasaray  30 9.  Bursaspor      24
  5.  Antalyaspor  30 10. Gaziantepspor  23

* In the Premier League match, which had been postponed
because of Galatasaray's Champions' League games, Galatasaray
beat the leader Besiktas 2-0 with a fascinating play. The
goals that brought three points to Galatasaray were scored
by Fatih and Emre, the two young stars of Turkish football.

* In European Basketball play :

  a. In Group C, Ulkerspor lost to Kinder Bologna
   60-49.
  b. In Group A, Fenerbahce also lost to Varesse of
   Italy 92-78.
  c. In Group B, Efes lost badly to Panathinaikos of
   Greece 80-53 and won second place.
  d. In the second round of the Korac Cup,
   * Galatasaray beat BC Alita of Lithuania 74-67
    and advanced to the third round.
   * Besiktas lost to Vallodolit 81-80 but still
    advanced to the third round.
   * Daru$$afaka won its second game 94-83 against
    Neptunas of Lithuania and advanced to the
    third round.
  e. In the Saporta Cup,
   * TOFA$ won first place in its group and
    advanced to the second round despite a loss
    to Charleroi of Belgium 67-64 .
   * Turk Telekom also beat MTZ Uskup of Macedonia
    81-73 and advanced to the second round.

* During the fifth European Cross-country racing Championship held in
Italy, the Turkish Young Female National Team received the
gold medal and became the European champion. Chairman of the
Athleticism Federation, Fikret Cetinkaya, noted that this
was a great success and said: "We have worked very hard".

WEATHER

12/18/98

  High and Low temperatures in degrees C (and degrees F)

  ANKARA   : 1/6  (34/43) Cloudy
  iSTANBUL : 1/8  (34/46) Cloudy
  iZMiR    : 5/12 (41/54) Rainy
  ANTALYA  : 8/11 (46/52) Rainy

ARTS & CULTURE

* Turkish tourists have been declared as the best spending
tourists in Europe. In 1998, 150 thousand people are
expected to travel abroad on package tours. This number
reaches 4 million when one includes travel due to business,
tourism, education and sports. Several well-known European
department stores such as La Fayette and Printemps of France
and Harrods and Selfridges of London have declared Turks
among their best customers.

* The Sakip Sabanci Calligraphy Collection which has been
open at the New York Metropolitan Museum for the past three
months will be moving to the Los Angeles County Art Museum.
It is scheduled to open there on February 24, 1999. The
exhibit called "Letters in Gold  -  Ottoman Calligraphy from
the Sakip Sabanci Collection" was the first private
collection to be shown at the Metropolitan. When the
exhibition in Los Angeles ends, the collection will go to
Harvard University Museum in October 1999 where a course
will be taught on calligraphy while it is on display.

* Turkish based master musician and kemenche virtuoso Ihsan
Ozgen has completed a very successful tour of the
Northeastern United States and Canada. The tour started with
a week long stay in Boston where Ozgen conducted various
workshops at Boston University and performed two concerts
with Boston's own EurAsia Ensemble. After Boston, Ozgen
continued on to Canada where he performed two concerts on
November 27th in Toronto and November 28th in Ottawa.

* The Turkish film "Hoscakal Yarin", (Goodbye Tomorrow) by
Reis Celik, will be watched today by European Parliamentary
members and members of the European Court of Human Rights in
the Odyssee Cinema. The film is about the period after 12
March military coup in Turkey. Reis Celik will answer
questions put by European Parliamentary members and members
of the European Court of Human Rights.

* The ancient city of Troy in Western Turkey, the history of
which dates back 5,000 years, has been unanimously included
in the 'World Cultural Heritage' list by UNESCO, during a
meeting of the 'UNESCO World Heritage Committee' held in
Kyoto, Japan, on November 30-December 5.

* Out of $25,000, which the United Nations granted for
Devrek walking canes made in the Devrek district of
Zonguldak, $10,000 has been received. 14 masters of the
walking cane craft are able to continue their work in the
region.

* The noted Turkish satirist Aziz Nesin, who died two years
ago, will be commemorated with many recreational activities
including exhibitions, theater plays, concerts and panels
throughout Turkey as part of Aziz Nesin Week on December 18-
28. With the revenue to be received from the activities, an
Aziz Nesin primary school will be constructed.

* Spanish tenor, Jose Carreras gave a concert in Istanbul
last weekend. The concert was organized by the initiative of
Mrs. Berna Yilmaz for the Foundation for Children with
Leukemia.
   Mr. Carreras himself is a survivor of leukemia.

*** ANNOUNCEMENTS

*** Turkish American Association of California has partially
     underwritten today's program. TAAC is a non-profit
     charitable organization established to promote better
     understanding between  Americans and Turks.

       If you have any questions about Turks and Turkey,
                       give them a call:

                        1-415-646-0946

                       or e-mail them at
                     taac at taaca.org

*** TAAC Sacramento Chapter invites you to:

                     New Year Eve's Party

                       December 31, 1998
                            8 P. M.

                 Holiday Inn / Rancho Cordova
               Highway 50 / Sunrise Blvd. South

          Chicken Kabob dinner or Steak Kabob Dinner

                       Seats are limited
                               &
      Deadline to purchase the tickets is December 20th.

For more information, call (916) 727-3033.

                     Cigdem & Serdar Askin
                     askin.com at juno.com

*** AEGEAN FRIENDS
                        Arkadas * Filoi

     AEGEAN FRIENDS is a social-cultural group of Greeks,
   Turks,  Cypriots, and other peoples of good will, coming
  together to  celebrate their rich heritage, explore common
        roots, and promote  peace in the Aegean region.

    Share music, food, and conversation. Dance. Create art.
            Discover  the generosity of the heart.

                 For more information contact
                        AEGEAN FRIENDS
                           Box 14022
                 San Francisco, CA 94114-0022
              e-mail:  aegfriends at aol.com

*** Turkish Folkdancing in Northern California:

*** Arkadash Turkish Folk Dance Ensemble, San
Jose
        Free classes, all ages are welcome
              Call Omer Uyuklu at (408) 374-5066
                   e-mail: ccc at calcc.com

*** Horon, Monterey
            For more information call Yavuz Atila:
                        1-408-646-1916

     Horon is a Turkish American Association of California
                    associate organization

*** Art for Peace, Stanford
                 For more information contact
            artforpeace-intnl at lists.stanford.edu
                  408-971-1376 Carol Leitner

*** Group Anadolum.
     For folk, pop and sufi music of Turkey,
        also for playing oud and saz.

     Group Anadolum is composed of about 25 musicians and
     singers.

      Group Anadolum is a Turkish American Association of
              California associate organization.

            Contact Sahin Gunsel at (415) 387-3399
                e-mail: sgunsel at hotmail.com

*** PROGRAMIN SONUNA DOGRU SU ANONSLARI YAP:

*** Tune in to the following broadcasts in the Bay Area:

     - Every Saturday at 5 P.M. to the
       Turkish Cultural Program on KUSF FM 90.3
     - Every third Saturday at 6 P.M.
       KKUP FM 91.5 to the Orient Express
     - Tune in to KPFA FM 94.1 every Monday at
10 A.M. for
       Music from Africa-Asia, hosted by Kutay
Kugay.
     - Mondays 7:00 - 10:00 P.M. 89.5 FM
       International Program KBES
       (covers Stanislaus County all the way to Manteca),
       hosted by George Geevargis.

*** Yayinlarimiz siz dinleyicilerimizin katkilari ile
     surebilecektir. Studyomuza telefon acarak nasil katkida
     bulunabileceginizi ogrenebilirsiniz.
                   Telefonumuz 415-751-KUSF
            e-posta adresimiz: trh at aimnet.com

     A service of the TURKISH RADIO HOUR
     On the airways since 1982

*** NEW CD ** NEW CD ** NEW CD ** NEW CD ** NEW
CD **

***************      JUST RELEASED    ****************

*** Yusif Savalan

     "Heydar Baba" features Yusif Savalan's silken voice and
     Azerbaijan's Ahmet Bakikhanov Music Ensemble. Mr. Savalan's
     interpretation of great Azeri poet Shehriyari's
     masterpiece Heydar Baba is the title song. Mr. Savalan
     was heard live on the Turkish Cultural Program in
     September 1998 and later gave a concert at a Turkish
     American Association of California  gathering where the
     Audience fell  in love with his singing.
     Among the songs featured: Kor Arab, Ana Kur, Ana,
     Azerbaycan Ogluyam, Heydar Baba, Dine Bilmedim, Intizar,
     Zerif Gulushlu

*** CEMALI
     CEMALI "The First Alternative Music Group from Turkey" have
     released  their first US CD "Whirl" and it is available
     through the Turkish  Radio Hour.  Cemali's recording and
     performing career took them from  San Francisco to around
     the world and back to San Francisco. A shorter  version of
     their CD sold 300 thousand copies in Turkey.

*** Chingiz Sadykhov
     Music of world-class pianist from Azerbaijan, Chingiz
     Sadykhov.  "Songs of Azerbaijan" is a new CD release
     from 7/8 Music.  Maestro Chingiz Sadykhov has been
     playing piano as a concert pianist and accompanist to
     the greatest singers of Azerbaijan and Soviet Union for
     over 50 years.  He has garnered the coveted title of
     "Peoples' Artist of Azerbaijan".  He has performed and
     taught music around the world.

*** Necati Celik
     7/8 Music Productions is proud to release new CD
                           "YASEMIN"
                        from oud master
                         NECATI CELIK.

     Necati Celik belongs to a group of musicians that are a
     rare breed Indeed. He is considered one of the great oud
     players in Turkey now. His command of this ancient
     instrument is so remarkable that even the uninitiated
     audiences are thrilled to listen to the stately
     classical Turkish music presented by this relatively
     young master. Necati Celik has a vigorous style full of
     sensitivity for the composition or the improvisation.
     His knowledge of the Turkish makams (maqamat) is so vast
     and thorough that he plays this infinite ocean of music
     without much repetition at each of his concerts. Yet his
     interpretation is always fresh and full of surprises.
     This CD includes one astonishing vocal track from the
     master.

                     ORDERING INFORMATION
All CDs are available through the Turkish Radio Hour:

    * From US and Canada you can order the CD by sending
      * Yasemin by Necati Celik:          US$ 18
      * Songs of Azerbaijan by C Sadykov: US$ 18
      * Whirl by Cemali:                  US$ 15
* Make checks payable to 7/8 Music

* Make check payable to TRH for Mr. Savalan's CD!
    * US$ 18 for Heyder Baba by Yusif Savalan.
    * Mail your payment along with your address to:

                      Turkish Radio Hour
                         P.O. Box 1332
                    Cupertino, CA 95015 USA

For more information about both CDs please contact us here
at  the studio  or e-mail
                        trh@...
       If you have e-mail, we can also send you a brief
                    description of  the CDs.

{19dec98.trh}
{19dec98.trh}

Mevlana Festival in Konya

   * At every instant and from every side, resounds the call of Love:
     We are going to the sky, who wants to come with us? We have gone
     to heaven, we have been the friends of the angels, And now we
     will go back there, for there is our country. We are higher than
     heaven, more noble than the angels: Why not go beyond them?

  Huseyin Kandemir and Debbie Lovatt

Konya - Turkish Daily News

As the annual Mevlana Festival moves towards its climax, Konya is a
temporary home to visitors from far and near and there is much
laughter in the streets as non-natives get confused with locals as
the visitors try to find their way round the city for the Whirling
Dervish (Sema) ceremony.

Drawn by the universal and timeless message of one of Sufism's
greatest teachers and poets, Mevlana Jalal ad-Din ar-Rumi,
(1207-1273) this year marks the 725th year since his death on 17th
December, or as he described it, his "wedding with eternity...",
"Sheb-i Arus", Mevlana's final union with the Divine. Men of five
faiths followed his bier.

Living at a time of growing religious and political intolerance, the
time when Islam was experiencing great schisms, and the emergence of
many and varied sects was starting to have widespread repercussions,
the call of the Sufi, the spiritual exponent of God's unity and
indivisibility as well as His tolerance, was a reaction to those who
were acting in a divisive manner:

Tell me Muslims, what should be done? I don't know how to identify
myself. I am neither Christian nor Jewish, neither Pagan nor Muslim.
I don't hail from land nor sea. I am not a creature of this
world...

The son of a well-known scholar, Rumi's family fled from Balkh (in
present day Afghanistan) to escape the Mongol invasion. They spent
many years in the Muslim world's major cities before being welcomed
to Konya, the capital of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum, where, in
1231, ar-Rumi succeeded his father as professor in religious
sciences.

In 1244, he was introduced to the mystical path by a wandering
dervish, Shams ad-Din of Tabriz. His love and his bereavement for
the death of Shams found their expression in a surge of music, dance
and lyric poems. Shams, whose name means "sun" in Arabic, has
remained a mysterious figure in the history of the Mevlevi order
that Jalal ad-Din founded: Ar-Rumi wrote of him: "Sun of Tabriz...
the absolute light... the sun and the ray of the lights of the
Divine Truth."

Jalal ad-Din's teachings gained much popularity during his lifetime
and have become part of Muslim culture and beyond. His poems are
well-known and have been translated from their original Persian into
many languages, taking root in what is often somewhat dismissively
referred to as "folk Islam." Yet they find a place in the hearts of
all: his humanity and passion for all God's creations have remained
timeless in their message:

Come! Come, whoever you are. Doesn't matter if you are an
unbeliever.  Doesn't matter if you have fallen a thousand times.
Come! Come whoever you are. For this is not the door of
hopelessness. Come, Just as you are!

And so they come, every year between Dec. 10 and 17, to marvel at
the spectacle of the Whirling Dervishes. As the cloaked dancers
(semazen) file in the atmosphere in the hall fills with expectation,
conversations subside, and all settle into a relaxed frame of mind
as the musicians take up their instruments and the singers take up
their positions.

The Sema is accompanied by Sufi music, music that is listened to
with the heart, not with the ears. It is generally conducted by the
chief drummer. "Dervish music cannot be written in notes. Notes do
not include the soul of the dervish." Percussion accompaniment is
supplied by the kudums, small kettledrums and cymbals; melody is
provided by the ney reed flute, the string instruments and the
voice. The words and even syllables of the poetry are connected to
the musical sentences.

The Sema Ceremony, a symbolic journey to union with the Divine,
consists of seven parts, and the semazen effortlessly rotate, just
as the planets and all of creation rotate, portraying the mystical
journey to the Source and back again, a journey in which the semazen
reaches his right hand heavenwards for inspiration to be able to
impart it through love and service to all without discrimination via
the heart and out through the down-turned left hand.

Those watching are as much a part of the Sema as the dancers,
gradually becoming part of the symbolism and unity of the ceremony.
The semazen file in wearing their tall hats that represent the ego's
tombstone and black cloaks, they "unveil" themselves to sybolise
their coming to spiritual truth and reveal the white skirt, the
ego's shroud.

The seven part Sema begins with a eulogy, "Nat-i Sharif", to the
Prophet Muhammad, and all prophets before him, and is followed by a
recitation from the Koran. The kudums (small kettle-drums) then
break the silence in a portrayal of God's command to creation: "Be."
This then introduces the "ney" (reed flute) solo, a mournful
instrumental improvisation, "taksim", that conveys the yearning for
the union with God as well as the first breath which gives life to
everything: the Divine Breath.

The next step is the Sultan Veled Walk (Sultan Veled, son of
ar-Rumi) when the dervishes, following the pir (master), circle the
hall three times, stopping to bow to each other at the "post", the
highest spiritual position, a red sheepskin placed on the floor to
indicate both the direction of Mecca and the presence of Shams
ad-Din. This walk symbolises the salutation of one soul to another
concealed by shapes and bodies.

Discarding their cloaks, the semazen kiss the hand of the pir to
obtain his permission to whirl. This leads to the onset of the fifth
part, the Sema (whirling). The dancer holds his arms crosswise as a
physical representation of the number one, and, therefore, God's
unity. He gently unfolds himself and extends his arms whilst
beginning to turn, revolving around the heart, from right to left,
inaudibly repeating "Allah, Allah, Allah".

This part of the Sema comprises four salutes or "Selam"s: it is a
progression towards the attainment of unity with the Creator. After
each "flight" the semazen returns to complete awareness in order to
fulfill his role as a physical creation.

The sixth part ends with a reading of the Koran, notably from Sura
2, The Cow, verse 115: "Unto God belong the East and the West, and
whithersoever ye turn, you are faced with Him. He is All-Embracing,
All-Knowing."

The seventh part is a prayer for the repose of the souls of all
Prophets and all believers and the recitation of the Fatiha, the
opening chapter of the Koran.

Many in the audience feel themselves re-uniting with their life on
earth as they join in with the recital of the Fatiha. After loud
applause the hall gradually fills with the buzz of chatter and the
shuffle of feet as people make their way back out into the "real
world."

__________________________________________________________________
Copyright 1998, Turkish Daily News. This article is redistributed with
permission for personal use of TRKNWS-L readers. No part of this article
may be reproduced, further distributed or archived without the prior
permission of the publisher. Contact: Turkish Daily News Online on the
Internet World Wide Web. www.turkishdailynews.com

For information on other matters please contact hk11@...
__________________________________________________________________

Roof of Antalya

The Beydağ Mountains

*Bülent Çınar - Uğurhan Betin
_________________________________________________________________

When the coach draws in at Antalya terminal and you look westwards,
you see the Beydağ Mountains in all their splendour towering over the
city and the Mediterranean. In summer there is nowhere cooler and more
delightful than in these mountains, and if you are here towards the
end of March you can ski at Saklıkent and then descend to the coast
and enjoy a swim all in the same day. In the gentle Mediterranean
climate the sun shines on these mountains for almost 300 days of the
year, and even in cloudy weather they are a pleasant place to walk and
climb.

Saklıkent ski resort is just one and a half hours drive from Antalya
at a height of 2000 m. In winter, if you do not have a four-wheel
drive vehicle, you will need chains for the last few kilometres of the
dirt road. If you decide to spend the night at Saklıkent, which has
just one hotel, Nusret Abi will be your hospitable host. This youthful
50 year-old astonished us with his kindness. He and his young daughter
are always ready to assist you, whether you want skiing lessons or to
accompany him checking out the ski runs. Thanks to these friendly
people and the spectacular scenery you soon begin to love the place.
There are many good trails for walking at Saklıkent. To reach the
nearest peak of Bakırlıtepe (2453 m), climb to the top of the main ski
lift, then turn right uphill to Neslihan Pass. If you head directly up
from there you will reach the new observatory, but if you go around it
and climb for a further half hour you will come to the summit.

To reach the other peaks visible to the east and southeast you must
first go downhill from Saklıkent and take the track which leads
eastwards. If the snow is not deep you can reach the alpine pasture of
Karçukuru at 2000 metres in two and a half hours. As the name (Snow
Pit) suggests, this pasture is in a bowl-like depression. In summer
the villagers move up here to escape the heat of the plain. Their huts
of briquettes and wood are sometimes buried in the snow during winter,
so you might find yourself walking on a roof by mistake! If the door
of one of these huts is open you could spend the night inside,
otherwise camp next to one of the fountains.

When you look at the peaks arrayed to the south you see Alpin Pass to
the left. This pass leads almost up to the peak of Tunç Dağı. Once
through the pass turn left, and a five minute climb brings you to the
peak. Altogether it is a climb of at most one hour. The peaks around
are named after mountaineers who have lost their lives climbing them.
One of these is Hüseyin Ocak peak and another Recep Çatak peak. It
takes around 15 minutes to reach Hüseyin Ocak from the summit of Tunç
Dağı, from which the former can be seen to the southeast. Ten minutes
later you are there, and from this summit there is a superb view over
Antalya wreathed in haze far below and of the blue sea beyond. It is
well worth sacrificing a few hours sleep to come here at dawn to catch
the sunrise. As you watch the dazzling scene the desire to fly will
fill your being in a way you have never experienced before. If you
happen to have your paraglider with you, then dont hesitate; pull on
the strings, let the parachute fill with air, and waft as free as a
bird. In a light breeze and fine weather your pleasure will be
complete.

If you are one of those who prefers to keep your feet on the ground,
try walking above the clouds. Reaching a cluster of peaks around 2400
m in height, climbing them all and then walking back takes two or at
most two and a half hours. If that has not used up your energy then
you could climb the scree to the north of the pasture and reach the
summit of Alabelen in 45 minutes. Resting here is an exquisite
pleasure, with magnificent views in every direction over Geyik Hill,
Antalya, the Mediterranean, Tunç Dağı, Bakırlıtepe and Saklıkent.

In summer you should remember to take water with you, as you may have
trouble finding a spring and thirst would spoil what should have been
a marvellous day. In winter snow begins to fall on the mountains in
December and stays on the ground until the end of March. For three
months conditions at Saklıkent are ideal for winter sports.

* Bülent Çınar and Uğurhan Betin are photographers.

İstanbul Lighthouses

*By Aydın Hatipoğlu
_________________________________________________________________

İstanbul is one of the oldest and busiest ports in the world,
lying on the shore of the Marmara Sea at the mouth of the Bosphorus
strait. It has numerous lighthouses, many of which are of historical
interest. Lighthouses shining through the darkness are crucial to safe
navigation by night, and the busy Bosphorus strait which is the only
outlet for the Black Sea countries to the Marmara Sea, and from there
to the Aegean, the Mediterranean, and the Atlantic Ocean, has been of
strategic importance for thousands of years. It is thought that light
signals of some kind have been used at the entrances to the strait
since very early times.

Lighthouse lights use a system of lenses to concentrate and direct the
light in a particular direction, and experienced seamen can recognise
different lights by such characteristics as the colour, the period or
duration of the light beam, the sequence of light and darkness, and
whether it is flashing (dark longer than light), occulting (light and
dark equal) or rhythmic (light longer than dark). Since the latitude
and longitude of each light is known, ships can calculate their own
position precisely and adjust their routes accordingly.

In Ottoman times lighthouses were constructed on headlands and other
points where danger lay in wait for ships. In 1855, during the Crimean
War, the French constructed lighthouses on either side of the
Bosphorus to enable British and French ships sailing across the Black
Sea from the Crimea to find their way into the strait safely. One of
these is a 20 m high lighthouse situated on the 75 m high Cape Yon on
the Asian coast of the Black Sea at the northern mouth of the
Bosphorus, and the other, 30 m in height, stands on the European
shore. Their lights were originally fuelled by kerosene, then by
butane gas, and finally converted to electricity. In the event of a
power cut the system automatically switches to butane gas. Both
lighthouses are also equipped with foghorns which sound every 20
seconds when mist reduces visibility.

With such heavy shipping passing to and fro along this narrow and
winding waterway, other lighthouses are needed along its shores to
mark headlands and shallows. From north to south along the European
shore these are the Çalıburnu, Dikili Kaya, Büyükdere, Kireçburnu,
Yeniköy (a fixed light), İstinye, Baltalimanı, Akıntı Burnu (off
Rumelihisarı), Defterdar Burnu (near the first Bosphorus Bridge) and
Fındıklı (which has a green flashing light).

Along the Asian shore the lights are Filburnu, Anadolukavağı,
Selviburnu (opposite Büyükdere), Gümüşsuyu, Paşabahçe, Kanlıca Burnu,
Beylerbeyi, and finally, the most famous of Istanbuls lighthouses, the
legendary Kızkulesi or Maidens Tower, on its tiny islet at the
southern mouth of the strait off Üsküdar. This attractive tower has
appeared in innumerable paintings and engravings over the centuries,
and is one of the citys landmarks. Due to a misplacement of the
ancient Greek legend, it came to be known as Leanders Tower in French,
although it was in fact the Çanakkale Strait (Dardanelles) and not the
Bosphorus which Leander swam to reach his beloved Hero.

The original building on this islet is thought to have been
constructed in the 13th century by Byzantine emperor Manuel Comnenos,
possibly for defence reasons, since a drawing dating from the 1400s
shows a castle like structure in place of todays tower. In 1510 the
tower was damaged in an earthquake and repaired by Sultan Selim I
Yavuz, and at this point fitted with oil lamps and turned into a
lighthouse. In 1719 high winds caused the burning oil to set fire to
the building, which was rebuilt in the form we see today. Todays light
is of the alternating type, flashing red and white every three
seconds. A year ago Kızkulesi was leased out by the Maritime Lines to
a private company which plans to use the tower for touristic purposes.

One of the oldest lighthouses in Istanbul is that at Ahırkapı on the
Marmara Sea just west of Topkapı Palace. This lighthouse was
originally built of wood in 1755 by High Admiral Süleyman Paşa on the
turret of Otluk Gate, and was under the charge of the Bostancı Corps.

This lighthouse was burnt and reconstructed several times over the
years until finally in 1857 the lighthouse was rebuilt in stone as an
independent tower 40 m in height.

During the reign of Sultan Abdülhamit I (1774-1789) the job of
lighthouse keeper became an inherited one, passed down from father to
son, a tradition which has been maintained to the present day. This
light is of the rhythmic type, of 4 seconds of light alternating with
2 seconds of darkness, and is of key importance for ships approaching
the Bosphorus from the south.

The counterpart of this lighthouse on the Asian shore is Fenerbahçe
Lighthouse. Some researchers believe there was a lighthouse on this
spot in Byzantine times, but firm evidence dates its construction to
1562, when an edict issued by Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent
declared: Ships sailing past Cape Kalamış by night frequently strike
the rocks since there is no lamp here, leading to loss and waste. I
command that a lighthouse be constructed in the aforementioned place.

So Fenerbahçe Lighthouse must have been constructed some time after
1562. It was the lighthouse, fener in Turkish, which lent its name to
the royal gardens here which became known as Fenerbahçe (literally
lighthouse gardens). By extension the name came to be used for an
entire neighbourhood, and in turn for one of Turkeys largest football
clubs whose stadium is here.

Like Kızkulesi, Fenerbahçe Lighthouse has been a popular subject for
artists. In the 18th century it doubled as a prison for important
personages, some of whom were executed here. The lighthouse was
extensively repaired in 1837-38.

Yeşilköy Lighthouse west of the city was constructed by French
engineers in 1856. As well as the 23 m high lighthouse tower there is
a cottage for the lighthouse keeper. Like those at the north end of
the Bosphorus, this was constructed during the Crimean War to warn
British and French ships away from the shallows off Yeşilköy. This
light has a double sequence repeated every ten seconds, as well as a
fog signal. Today this light is an electric-acetylene flashing light.

The automated lighthouse at an elevation of 83 metres on Hayırsız, one
of the small group of islands near Istanbul, is another of the citys
important lighthouses. Apart from those described here, there are
numerous lights of various sizes and types, including light buoys and
light vessels, marking shallows, wrecks and rocks in the coastal
waters of Istanbul, their light protecting ships from disaster in
darkness.

* Aydın Hatipoğlu is a freelance writer.

Turkish Folk Dances

*By Necdet Sakaoğlu
_________________________________________________________________

Writing in Ülkü magazine in the 1940s, Ahmet Adnan Saygun
said, There is no difference between excavating the ground to reveal
an ancient monument and compiling folk traditions or folk music. In
order to arrive at broad conclusions neither the one nor the other
should be neglected.

Do the many diverse dances of Turkey today have a common source? Like
many of the arts of Anatolia, its folk dances have roots going back
far in time. Just as the music of the Phrygian Olympus is regarded as
the original source of western classical music, so the sounds and
movements of folk dances from many countries are the original spring
of todays modern dances. In folk music and dances we find powerful
reflections of the human experience over thousands of years, expressed
with a passion unmatched elsewhere.

In Anatolia, which has been home to the Hittites, Phrygians, Lydians,
Urartians and many more peoples and empires, music, folk dances and
folk costumes are the repository of a long and rich cultural legacy.
Muzaffer Sarısözen, who devoted much of his life to studying folk
dances and their music, used to say that the music and dances
themselves are their own historical sources. He observed that striking
the knees is the movement most widespread in Turkish folk dances,
occurring in many different types, including spoon dances. Often the
movement follows agile leaps. In dances of the bar and halay types
where the dancers sweep forward and then in an instant drop down and
slap their knees, the staccato sound is exhilarating to hear. In the
zeybek dances, with their swashbuckling mood of adventure appropriate
to the bandits who performed them, the dancers suddenly strike their
knees with a vigour which sets the heart racing. The famous bar dances
of Erzurum begin with a series of foot and arm movements executed at
walking pace, then the line of dancers leap and crouch before pulling
back. This is repeated at least three times in each bar.

In some cases the common threads which run through Turkish folk dances
can be attributed to the Central Asian Turkish legacy, and in others
to ancient Anatolian pagan rituals whose sacred character has long
since been forgotten, but which continue to express a communal
exuberance and joy. The origins of some dances probably lie in
historic events which came to be dramatised in the abstract forms of
dance. Dances which developed at a later date often have clearer
origins, representing what must clearly have been real stories of
lovers or heros who captured the popular imagination. The Adurrahman
Halay of Sivas is an example of the latter, its movements acting out a
drama of heroism unrecorded in history. We can discover neither the
identity of Abdurrahman nor the time when he lived, quite apart from
the details of his story.

But perhaps seeking for the derivations of a dance is a futile process
which defeats its object. Instead we should recognise that what
matters is the meaning inherent in the dance itself, for which the
observer is free to create a hero, a story and a conclusion in his own
imagination. Of course this requires a good understanding of the
symbolic expressions conveyed by music and movements. What messages do
the different movements of arms, feet and legs hold? In trying to
answer this question, we must remember that these messages may be at
the same time abstract and concrete.

What for example does the Tavas Zeybeği dance of the Aegean region
relate? According to one theory, it acts out the destruction of the
Tavasoğulları, a loser in the struggle waged between rival Turkish
principalities in the Aegean hinterland during the Middle Ages.
Whether true or not the idea of a principalitys former power and
splendour being kept alive by the dance movements and costumes of 20th
century dancers is a moving one.

The exultation arising from acts of valour is a theme which recurs in
many Anatolian dances according to experts. It is unmistakable in the
zeybek, dagger, sword and knife dances. In similar fashion, the way in
which lines of dancers tightly packed arm-in-arm and
shoulder-to-shoulder advance forward is interpreted as symbolising
mountain ranges or castle walls. Undoubtedly, they are simultaneously
an expression of inner emotions and aesthetic values passed down over
successive generations.

The Güvende, Sekme and Kalkan (Shield) dances of Bursa, the Halay and
Türkmenkızı (Turcomans daughter) of Çorum, the Halay of Urfa, the
Sepetçioğlu and Topal Koşma of Kastamonu, the Bengü of Bergama, the
Düz Halay, Kızık Halay, Tanzara, Timurağa, Aşırma, Tikine, Dello, Üç
Ayak, and Köy Bicosu of Sivas, and the Sıksara of Trabzon... The list
could go on for pages. These colourful dances range from the vigorous
to the gently graceful, and their moods from dramatic to romantic.

Of particular interest to those seeking out origins of folk dances is
the Sinsin, which involves quiet hissing calls, whistles and shouts,
and varies according to whether it is performed on moonless or moonlit
nights. On moonless nights a large fire is lit in the dancing place,
around which the dancers weave tight circles, then let go of their
neighbours and perform a whirling chase. This version of the dance is
as quiet and stealthy as it is energetic. On moonlit nights no fire is
lit, and it is danced to the noise of fife and drum. The name Sinsin
comes from the ancient Anatolian and Mesopotamian moon goddess Sin.

Thousands of years ago in Babylon worshippers of Sin sang mournful or
joyful hymns and danced. The ruins of the great Temple of Sin in
Harran in southeast Turkey can be seen today. Although the goddess
herself has been forgotten and her temples have fallen to dust, her
dance lives on. The term tanrı şenliği (divine festival) still used to
refer to the halay and horon dances, again suggests an ancient sacred
origin. Several types of the Sinsin are still danced in southeast and
central Turkey.

Another dance thought to have similarly ancient origins is the Türk
Halayı of Sivas. The way in which the dancers stoop and writhe with
bent shoulders and rub their knees is interpreted as an imitation of
people in anxiety and fear. After beating their breasts they bend to
the ground as if tilling the soil, and perform movements which are
believed to symbolise harvesting and threshing corn, and preparing and
eating bread. Finally they turn to the sun god, rising up with the
confident strength and happiness of one who has eaten his fill. Links
have been postulated between this dance and Sumerian legends found on
cuneiform tablets. These allegories tell of the transition from a
primitive hunter and gatherer to farmer and pastoralist, and it is as
if they are acted out in the actions of the dance, which in some cases
includes movements inspired by the domestication of the goat and
sheep, the dancers seeming to spin thread from wool and make clothes.

The traditional costumes worn by Turkish folk dancers are another
fascinating subject of study. For example, the bandits or efe of the
Aegean region, who made their homes in the Madran and Kozak mountains,
danced the Bengü and Zeybek in their magnificent outfits of long
colourful sashes with pads beneath and tobacco pouch and handkerchief
tucked into its folds, fringed blue silk shirts with slits in the long
sleeves, short cepken jackets, a Tripoli silk scarf wound around their
heads, knee-length şalvar, and their armoury of weapons hung about
them - yatağan swords in their leather scabbards at their waists, and
knives and daggers in their leather holsters.

* Necdet Sakaoğlu is a researcher and writer.

{12dec98.trh}

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NEWS BRIEFS

* The dispute between Italy and Turkey on the fate of the
captured Kurdish Workers Party leader Abdullah Ocalan
continued through last week. Turkish officials and Turkish
public still kept demanding that Mr. Ocalan be extradited to
Turkey and tried in Turkey for the death of 30,000 people.
The dispute at some times involved other European countries
especially Germany. The Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister
Ismail Cem said on last Saturday that German and Italian
prime ministers are trying to internationalize the problem
and added that such an approach is not correct and Turkey is
against an international court.
   On the other hand, a French magistrate interrogated
Abdullah Ocalan for a second time to seek information on a
number of PKK-related incidents in France, including
extortion and other criminal activities. Mr. Ocalan was also
interrogated by the Italian authorities concerning the
forged passport he was using when he entered Italy.
   In a surprise development, Abdullah Ocalan said later in
the week that he wants to quit as head of PKK.
   Although the Turkish and world press generally portray
Italians to be sympathetic to Abdullah Ocalan, some Italian
leaders keep expressing their concerns. Silvio Berlusconi,
the leader of Forza Italy Party and the former Prime
Minister of Italy, sent a letter to Serdar Denktas, the
Minister of State and the Deputy Prime Minister of the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, saying that he was
opposed to Italy's granting political asylum to Abdullah
Ocalan.  "The leftist government in the power is risking
the traditional Turkish-Italian friendship and historical
cooperation by protecting a terrorist and by forgetting her
sufferings from terrorism in the past," Berlusconi said.

* The National Unity Party led by Prime Minister Dervis
Eroglu gained 24 seats in the parliamentary elections on
Sunday in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
   According to the unofficial results, the Democrat Party
will have 13 deputies, the Socialist Liberation Party  will
have seven members and the Republican Turkish Party will
have six deputies in the 50-seat TRNC Parliament.
   Mr. Eroglu will have to form a coalition government or
seek support from other parties to govern.

* Mr. Bulent Ecevit, who has been charged with forming the
next Turkish government by the Turkish President Suleyman
Demirel, is running into difficulty. Mr. Ecevit has secured
the support of Motherland Party leader Mr. Mesut Yilmaz, but
the leader of the True Path Party Mrs. Tansu Ciller is not
willing to throw her support.
   The former coalition government of the Islamist Welfare
Party and Mrs. Ciller's True Path Party ended several
month ago allegedly due to Turkish military's pressure who
disliked the Islamist. Afterwards a minority coalition
government headed by Motherland Party's Mesut Yilmaz has
been in office. Bulent Ecevit's Democratic Left Party is one
of the coalition partners. Support extended to Mesut Yilmaz
by the Republic People's Party was withdrawn when a
businessman linked to organized crime made allegations also
linking Mr. Yilmaz to the crime bosses.
   Latest news is that Mr. Ecevit is proposing to form a
minority government, and says that he has the support of Mr.
Yilmaz. President Demirel and the Turkish Industrialists and
Businessman association came also in support of the idea.
   In the meantime, Turkey's President Suleyman Demirel
stressed that the outgoing government headed by Mr. Mesut
Yilmaz existed with all its authorities till a new
government is formed.

* Athens News Agency reports that Greek defense minister Mr.
Cohopulos as saying that Greece will defend the Aegean
Flight Information Region with long and short range
missiles. Turkish y officials responded to this by saying
that Flight Information Region is not Greek national
airspace.
   The U.S. government and many other countries consider the
Flight Information Region also as international airspace.
   Greek territorial waters are currently at 5 miles beyond
the Greek coast, but Greece treats the 10-mile Flight
Information Region as an extension of its national airspace.

* In the annual Cyprus Report issued this week, the U.N.
Secretary General Kofi Annan criticized Greek Cypriots for
attempting to change the military status quo in the island
through intensifying their military infrastructure and
improving the quality of their military equipment.
   Greek Cypriots are threatening to deploy Russian-made
missiles on the island.
   Mr. Annan also criticized both the Turkish and Greek sides
for conducting military exercises.

* The Egyptian president Mr. Hosni Mubarak visited Turkey
this week.  His visit is seen as an attempt to bolster
Egyptian-Turkish relations further. The two sides agreed to
cooperate more on trade and economic areas. Mr. Mubarak also
brought a message from Syria on economic cooperation. Mr.
Mubarak acted as the intermediary recently between Syria and
Turkey when Turkey threatened Syria for harboring Kurdish
insurgents.

* According to a survey made by Life magazine, political,
social, economic and technological developments which have
affected people's lives during the last millennium have been
examined and the most important 100 people have been
elected. Suleyman the Magnificent and Mevlana Celaleddin-i
Rumi were among the 100 people. According to the Life
survey, the conquest of Istanbul was one of the most
important events in the last millennium which imprinted its
mark on history. While Suleyman the Magnificent ranked 38th,
Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi came 73rd.

* Within the framework of Turkish "Cinema Days", 14 Turkish
films were on show at the Odysee cinema in Strasbourg.
French people showed great interest in Turkish films and
Turkish cinematic artists who were in France in attend the
week. The Turkish Ambassador to Strasbourg, Alev Kilic, gave
a banquet to cinema lovers. French Ambassador Worin, the
General Secretary of the Council of Europe, Daniel Torchys,
and the Head of Euroimages, Gaetano Adinolji, attended the
dinner. Meanwhile, Turkish singers Leyla Colakoglu, Zuhal
Olcay and Yildiz Ibrahimove gave concerts as part of
"Turkish Cinema Days" week.


* Turkey presented its case on limiting traffic through the
Turkish Straits in the 70th meeting of the International
Maritime Organization last week in London.
   Turkish representatives put forward the following:

  -The traffic of the Straits has increased.

  -The quality of the cargo has changed. (oil, burning gases)

  -The dimensions of the vessels have increased.

  -However, the geographical and physical limitations of the
Straits remained the same.

  -The increase of the traffic in the Straits is impossible
due to the changeable morphological aspects such as flows
and wind.

   -Local traffic has increased.

   -The Straits are the way of immigration of various species
of fish. They can be negatively affected and can extinct.

   -Istanbul is a center of business, history and culture in
which 12 million people live.

* Turkey declined an invitation to a lunch at the European
Union meeting, saying that it would participate if it is
considered a "candidate country".
   The daily Turkiye blamed Germany and France for
undermining efforts to change Turkey's status to a
"candidate" for membership in the European Union. The paper
says that in a joint letter sent to the European Union Term-
President and Austrian Prime Minister, Victor Klima, on
December 8, Germany's Chancellor Schroeder, who obtained
votes from Turks in Germany by promising to support Turkey's
European Union membership, and French President Chirac, who
expresses his alleged friendship with Turks on every
occasion, claimed that there should be no new decisions
concerning candidate countries, including Turkey, during the
Vienna Summit on December 11.

* Anatolia News Agency says that a special supplement on
Turkey distributed by the French newspaper "Le Monde"
prepared by Interfrance Media, the French Communication and
Press Agency, drew the attention of the public in France.
   The supplement covered in detail the industrial and
commercial life in Turkey. It also wrote about the natural
beauties, the hotels and holiday resorts of Turkey.
  Pointing out to the fact that the number of tourists coming
from France increased 35 percent, the supplement also
expressed that Turkey should increase its tourism season and
should prepare for winter tourism. It also said that Turkey
should pay more attention to other types of tourism such as
congress and business tourism.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

Edited for Turkish Radio Hour by Mark Nowak

* Turkey's Central Bank foreign exchange reserves increased
by $716 million during the first week of December and
exceeded $20 billion.

   Meanwhile, Turkey repaid $113.7 million in foreign debts
on December 1-9.

* The Italian firm Agusta, lost its chance in a contract put
out to tender by the Turkish Defense Industry
Undersecretariat for 145 fighter helicopters worth $3.5
billion.
   Press is attributing the loss to the unofficial boycott
led by Turks against Italian products to protest Italy's
refusal to extradite the Kurdish Workers Party leader
Abdullah Ocalan.
   The K-50 fighter helicopters, to be jointly produced by
the Kamov firm of Russia and Israel, the King Cobra of the
American Bell Textron firm and the Apache Long Bow firm of
Boeing entered the bidding.
   Italian trade officials and business leaders are visiting
Turkey or talking to Turkish officials and business leaders
to ease the boycott.

* Turkey's largest conglomerate, Koc Holding, is making
investments worth $15 million in Turkish education. Koc
Holding is constructing 15 primary schools. Four of these
schools will be in Eastern Anatolia, two in the Central and
nine in the Western Anatolian regions.

* "Emerging Turkey", a new magazine which aims to advertise
Turkey to the world, has begun to be published. The magazine
is owned by the Oxford Business Group and many British
people are employed on the editorial staff. "Emerging
Turkey" will have a total circulation of 35,000, a great
portion of which will be distributed in Europe and the US.

* Following the 800-million-dollar Eurobond export in April,
the Turkish Treasury made a 200-million-dollar export, on a
%12 interest rate and for a 10-year term.

* Turkey has risen from a lower-middle income country to an
upper-middle income country according to the World Bank's
latest study of 1997 economic data. Turkey's per capita
income was put at $3,130. Turkey ranks as the 48th richest
country.

* The Spanish company, Technicas Reunidas, has won the
international bidding for the $59-million Tupras Izmit
Refinery Isomerization Plant contract, in a consortium
formed with Entes Insaat. The annual rise in the production
of gasoline will be 200,000 tons by the year 2001.

* In the first nine months of 1998, Turkey succeeded in
increasing its exports to markets other than Russia and
Germany despite the economic crisis. As the exports from the
European Union to the US decreased, Turkey's exports to the
US increased by 15%. In imports to Turkey a general decline
has been noted from all countries excepting France.

* There is no need for currency devaluation and the crisis
in the textile sector does not stem from the Value-Added-Tax
rate, according to Turkey's Finance Minister Zekeriya
Temizel.

* The Chairman of the Istanbul Stock Exchange, Osman Birsen
said that there were 277 companies on the Stock Exchange and
this number was rising at a healthy rate. Twenty to 25 new
companies enter the Istanbul Stock Exchange each year.
   Birsen reported that the daily operation volume of the
Istanbul Stock Exchange is about $198 million, which
represents a greater volume of trading than many other Stock
Exchanges in terms of liquidity.

* Mick Riordon, an expert from the World Bank who has
prepared the recent report on "Global Economic Expectations
and Developing Countries", stated that global stagnation
affected developing countries. He noted that Turkey was the
best country among 36 developing countries and has the best
economic situation. Riordon pointed out that Turkey could
achieve nearly a 5 % growth rate this year. He added that
even though Turkey's growth rate would slow down next year
because of the global crisis, it would have a higher growth
rate than other countries.

* Spanish businessmen under the chairmanship of the head of
the Spanish National Basic Investment Goods Producers'
Association Guillermo Hoepfner is searching for
opportunities to invest in water, energy, social
infrastructure and agriculture in the Southeast Anatolia
region of Turkey. Hoepfner noted that the Turkish and
Spanish governments signed a $ 400 million mutual agreement
in trade and investment, adding that as soon as possible
they wanted to take their part in the region. He said that
they aimed to increase the trade volume between the two
countries to $ 5 billion.

* The Chairman of Southeastern Anatolia Project Development
Administration Olcay Unver stated that the American clothing
company GAP had completed its preliminary contacts on
textile investment in the region. Unver added that the
number of domestic and foreign companies wanting to invest
in the region was increasing with every passing day. At the
moment half of the electricity consumed in Turkey is
produced in the GAP region.

* The World Turkish Businessmen's Foundation has been
established in Ankara, aiming at supporting the Turkish
tourism industry.

* President Suleyman Demirel delivered a speech at an awards
ceremony in Istanbul for the city's leading industrial
exporters and corporate tax payers and reaffirmed the
State's plan to withdraw from the country's industrial and
commercial life. The State, he said, must stick to its main
duties; providing law and order, education, health and
welfare, protecting the environment and giving its senior
citizens a social security net. Demirel presented awards to
the top industrial exporters and taxpayers of Istanbul in
1997, in ceremonies organized by the Istanbul Chamber of
Industry.

SPORTS,  MONEY, ARTS  and  CULTURE  NEWS

Edited  by  Aydin Koc

MONEY

12/11/98
             Selling Rate  Buying Rate
                (In Turkish Liras)
One U.S. Dollar 303,380    304,840

SPORTS

* Results from the 15th week of the Premier Turkish Soccer
League are as follows :

  Erzurumspor   - Istanbulspor   2-4
  Kocaelispor   - Fenerbahce     0-3
  Antalyaspor   - Karabukspor    3-1
  Bursaspor     - Genclerbirligi 1-1
  Sakaryaspor   - Dardanelspor   1-3
  Altay         - Adanaspor      3-2
  Gaziantepspor - Samsunspor     1-1
  Besiktas      - Trabzonspor    2-0

Galatasaray-Ankaragucu game has been postponed to Dec 23rd.
Besiktas and Antalya have one game less, while Galatasaray
has two games less played.

Top ten rankings after the first 15 weeks are as follows :

  1. Besiktas     34  6.  Istanbulspor   24
  2. Fenerbahce   32  7.  Genclerbirligi 24
  3. Trabzonspor  30  8.  Bursaspor      24
  4. Antalyaspor  30  9.  Kocaelispor    24
  5. Galatasaray  27  10. Gaziantepspor  20

In today's games:

Sakaryaspor-Besiktas    0-2
Galatasaray-Antalyaspor 3-1

In yesterday's game:

Genclerbirligi - Kocaelispor 1-1

* The following teams have advanced to the quarterfinals of
the Turkish Soccer Cup: Besiktas, Kocaelispor, Erzurumspor,
Istanbulspor, Sakaryaspor, Ankaragucu, Gaziantepspor.
The last team will be determined after the match between
Galatasaray and Adanaspor. The first game was won by
Galatasaray 2-0.

* In its last group game in the European Champions League,
Galatasaray unfortunately lost 1-0 to Atletico Bilbao of
Spain and dropped to second place with goal difference.
Juventus of Italy won the group. Galatasaray did not qualify
to the second round as only two of the group seconds with
the best record advanced.

* In the European Basketball games :

  - Turkey's TOFAS beat Hapoel of Israel 84-74 and guaranteed
first place in its group.
  - In another group, Turk Telekom beat Split of Croatia in
the last 3 seconds 75-74 and also guaranteed to advance to
the next round.
  - Fenerbahce beat Avtodor of Russia 88-83.
  - In Group C of the European League, Ulker lost to Alba
Berlin of Germany 87-63 and put in jeopardy its chances of
being in the top three.
  - Similarly, Efes Pilsen lost to Cibona Zagreb 76-70
  - In the Korac Cup, Besiktas was able to beat Forum
Valladolid 79-76 in an away game. In the same Cup,
Darussafaka beat Nettunas Klaipeda of Lithuania  97-89 in an
away game. However, Galatasaray lost  75-70 to Alita Alytuz
of Lithuania.
  - In the Women's League Galatasaray was able to beat
Bourges of France 62-56 in overtime.

* Turkey's Semih Sayginer won the Three Band World Billiard
Championship and became the word champion of 1998 in
competitions held in Kemer, Antalya, Turkey.

* During the Mediterranean Films Festival in Brussels, the
Turkish film "Masumiyet" (Innocence) was presented with the
jury's "special award". The Italian film "Medal" won the
Festival attended by 40 films from 20 countries.

WEATHER

12/11/98

Very heavy winter conditions are prevailing in Turkey.
Transportation has been impeded and many traffic accidents
have resulted due to weather conditions. Many cities,
including Ankara, shut down schools.

ANKARA   : -5/2  Cloudy

iSTANBUL : -1/6  Snow

iZMiR    : 6/13  Cloudy

ANTALYA  : 6/12  Cloudy

ARTS & CULTURE

* Murat Aygen, the man who solved the space geometry problem
that could not be solved, has caught the attention of the
mathematics world. Naoki Sato of Yale University's
department of mathematics congratulated Aygen on his success
and announced that he would publish the solution to the
problem in the magazine "Math Mayhem." Aygen, who is
currently employed as a translator with the Foreign
Ministry's Turkish Cooperation Development Agency, reported
that the problem he solved was in the field of space
geometry. The theorem, known as "The Identity of a
Tetrahedron," had been identified by scientists but had
remained unsolved until now. To date, only three of the 17
unsolved problems on the mathematics web site have been
worked out.

* A leading Russian geneticist claims he has taken a giant
step toward identifying the precise origin of native
Americans, based on his genetic studies of the Tuvan Turkish
people in Siberia. Ilya Zakharov, deputy director of
Moscow's Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, says an
expedition he led last year proved a DNA link between
American Indians and the Ak-Dovurak region 2,100 miles
southeast of Moscow. Tuva today is one of Russia's poorest
and most mysterious regions, with ancient cultural
traditions that include shamanism. The area, bridging
Siberia's huge Taiga Forest and the steppes, or plains, lies
north of Mongolia. The Tuvans are mainly Turkic-speaking
nomadic pastoralists who herd camels, yaks, sheep, goats,
and reindeer. Tuva formed part of the Chinese empire in the
18th and 19th centuries. Zakharov says his team was able to
greatly narrow the focus with hair samples taken from about
430 Tuvans. DNA data from the hair roots was analyzed and
then compared with that of Eskimos and Amerindian people
including the Navajo and Apache. Amerindian DNA makeup
exactly matched the Tuvans -by 72 percent of one group of 30
samples and 69 percent of another group of 300.

* Internationally acclaimed Turkish author Orhan Pamuk, as
well as Turhan Selcuk have declined an official state award
in protest against Turkey's treatment of dissenting authors
and artists. The title of "state artist", bestowed by the
president on the recommendation of a jury reporting to the
ministry of culture, has been refused by several artists in
the past, including Turkey's best-known author Yasar Kemal.

* According to a survey made by Life magazine, political,
social, economic and technological developments which have
affected people's lives during the last millennium have been
examined and the most important 100 people have been
elected. The Ottoman sultan Suleyman the Magnificent and the
Sufi philosopher and poet Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi were
among the 100 people. According to the Life survey, the
conquest of Istanbul was one of the most important events in
the last millennium which imprinted its mark on history.
While Suleyman the Magnificent ranked 38th, Mevlana
Celaleddin-i Rumi came 73rd.

* The ceremonies for the 725th anniversary of the passing
away of Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi, the eminent Turkish Sufi
and author of Mesnevi, one of the most popular works in
world history, will be held between December 10-17 in Konya.
During the week, 12 "semah's" will be performed and many
other activities will be presented, including conferences, a
book fair, and various exhibitions on Turkish handicrafts.
Mevlana, who lived between 1207-1273, is adored for his
philosophy of love and tolerance in all around the world
today.

* Dr. Murat Tuzcu who is working as a cardiologist at The
Cleveland Clinic has entered the "Best Doctors" list in the
U.S. Dr. Tuzcu says that he is proud of this achievement as
a physician educated in Turkey. In addition to many awards
he has acquired over the years, Murat Tuzcu who is known as
"number one cardiologist" at the Cleveland Clinic has
written scientific publications on symptoms, observations,
prognosis and treatment.

* The '16th International Father Christmas Call for World
Peace' organized by the Father Christmas Foundation in
Antalya, Turkey has been celebrated with several activities
attended by 550 children from 43 countries. Folkloric dances
and marches were also held.
   Saint Nicholas had a church and was the priest in a small
town in what is now Antalya, Turkey. His church has recently
been renovated by the Turkish government.

* The Executive Board meeting of the International Union of
History and Philosophy was held in Yildiz Palace in
Istanbul. The meeting aimed to gather texts to contribute to
the development of history of science and philosophy and to
support research activities in the area.

* Two mosaic pieces, which were stolen from the Gaziantep
Zeugma ruins and sent to the US illegally, will be sent back
to Turkey. The pieces are in the US. Minister of Culture
Istemihan Talay held a press conference in Ankara with the
director of Menil Museum, Paul Winkler. Winkler said that an
art piece's cohesion is important and his museum will
cooperate with the Turkish government to piece the fragments
together and restore it. The pieces show the fairy Tigris
and her boyfriend drinking. It is believed that the piece
dates from the 4th century, the Anatolia news agency
reported.

* The world-renowned Kyrgyz writer Cengiz Aytmatov, who was
elected to the honorary membership of the Ataturk Cultural
Center on his 70th birthday, said: "I found my roots here. I
saw a Turkey living in the arms of the sovereignty founded
by Ataturk."  Ataturk was the founder of the Republic of
Turkey and its first president.

* Last week was the Turkish Films Week in London. The
activities of the week started with a reception. Films by
Turkish producers, Umur Turagay, Sunar Aytuna, Yilmaz Arslan
are among the films to be on shown.

* Adalet Agaoglu, a renown Turkish female author, was
entitled with an "honorary doctorate" degree from the Ohio
State University.
   Agaoglu will receive the honorary doctorate title with a
ceremony to be held on Sunday at the university in Columbus,
Ohio.
   The officials at the Turkish Consulate General in Chicago
and the Turkish students studying at the State University
will attend the ceremony. There will also be special
symposium over the weekend in her honor.

*** ANNOUNCEMENTS

*** Turkish American Association of California has partially
     underwritten today's program. TAAC is a non-profit
     charitable organization established to promote better
     understanding between  Americans and Turks.

       If you have any questions about Turks and Turkey,
                       give them a call:

                        1-415-646-0946

                       or e-mail them at
                     taac at taaca.org

*** TAAC Sacramento Chapter invites you to:

                     New Year Eve's Party

                       December 31, 1998
                            8 P. M.

                 Holiday Inn / Rancho Cordova
               Highway 50 / Sunrise Blvd. South

          Chicken Kabob dinner or Steak Kabob Dinner

                       Seats are limited
                               &
      Deadline to purchase the tickets is December 20th.

For more information, call (916) 727-3033.

                     Cigdem & Serdar Askin
                     askin.com at juno.com

*** AEGEAN FRIENDS
                        Arkadas * Filoi

     AEGEAN FRIENDS is a social-cultural group of Greeks,
   Turks,  Cypriots, and other peoples of good will, coming
  together to  celebrate their rich heritage, explore common
        roots, and promote  peace in the Aegean region.

    Share music, food, and conversation. Dance. Create art.
            Discover  the generosity of the heart.

                 For more information contact
                        AEGEAN FRIENDS
                           Box 14022
                 San Francisco, CA 94114-0022
              e-mail:  aegfriends at aol.com

*** Turkish Folkdancing in Northern California:

*** Arkadash Turkish Folk Dance Ensemble, San
Jose
        Free classes, all ages are welcome
              Call Omer Uyuklu at (408) 374-5066
                   e-mail: ccc at calcc.com

*** Horon, Monterey
            For more information call Yavuz Atila:
                        1-408-646-1916

     Horon is a Turkish American Association of California
                    associate organization

*** Art for Peace, Stanford
                 For more information contact
            artforpeace-intnl at lists.stanford.edu
                  408-971-1376 Carol Leitner

*** Group Anadolum.
     For folk, pop and sufi music of Turkey,
        also for playing oud and saz.

     Group Anadolum is composed of about 25 musicians and
     singers.

      Group Anadolum is a Turkish American Association of
              California associate organization.

            Contact Sahin Gunsel at (415) 387-3399
                e-mail: sgunsel at hotmail.com

*** PROGRAMIN SONUNA DOGRU SU ANONSLARI YAP:

*** Tune in to the following broadcasts in the Bay Area:

     - Every Saturday at 5 P.M. to the
       Turkish Cultural Program on KUSF FM 90.3
     - Every third Saturday at 6 P.M.
       KKUP FM 91.5 to the Orient Express
     - Tune in to KPFA FM 94.1 every Monday at
10 A.M. for
       Music from Africa-Asia, hosted by Kutay
Kugay.
     - Mondays 7:00 - 10:00 P.M. 89.5 FM
       International Program KBES
       (covers Stanislaus County all the way to Manteca),
       hosted by George Geevargis.

*** Yayinlarimiz siz dinleyicilerimizin katkilari ile
     surebilecektir. Studyomuza telefon acarak nasil katkida
     bulunabileceginizi ogrenebilirsiniz.
                   Telefonumuz 415-751-KUSF
            e-posta adresimiz: trh at aimnet.com

     A service of the TURKISH RADIO HOUR
     On the airways since 1982

*** NEW CD ** NEW CD ** NEW CD ** NEW CD ** NEW
CD **

***************      JUST RELEASED    ****************

*** Yusif Savalan

     "Heydar Baba" features Yusif Savalan's silken voice and
     Azerbaijan's Ahmet Bakikhanov Music Ensemble. Mr. Savalan's
     interpretation of great Azeri poet Shehriyari's
     masterpiece Heydar Baba is the title song. Mr. Savalan
     was heard live on the Turkish Cultural Program in
     September 1998 and later gave a concert at a Turkish
     American Association of California  gathering where the
     Audience fell  in love with his singing.
     Among the songs featured: Kor Arab, Ana Kur, Ana,
     Azerbaycan Ogluyam, Heydar Baba, Dine Bilmedim, Intizar,
     Zerif Gulushlu

*** CEMALI
     CEMALI "The First Alternative Music Group from Turkey" have
     released  their first US CD "Whirl" and it is available
     through the Turkish  Radio Hour.  Cemali's recording and
     performing career took them from  San Francisco to around
     the world and back to San Francisco. A shorter  version of
     their CD sold 300 thousand copies in Turkey.

*** Chingiz Sadykhov
     Music of world-class pianist from Azerbaijan, Chingiz
     Sadykhov.  "Songs of Azerbaijan" is a new CD release
     from 7/8 Music.  Maestro Chingiz Sadykhov has been
     playing piano as a concert pianist and accompanist to
     the greatest singers of Azerbaijan and Soviet Union for
     over 50 years.  He has garnered the coveted title of
     "Peoples' Artist of Azerbaijan".  He has performed and
     taught music around the world.

*** Necati Celik
     7/8 Music Productions is proud to release new CD
                           "YASEMIN"
                        from oud master
                         NECATI CELIK.

     Necati Celik belongs to a group of musicians that are a
     rare breed Indeed. He is considered one of the great oud
     players in Turkey now. His command of this ancient
     instrument is so remarkable that even the uninitiated
     audiences are thrilled to listen to the stately
     classical Turkish music presented by this relatively
     young master. Necati Celik has a vigorous style full of
     sensitivity for the composition or the improvisation.
     His knowledge of the Turkish makams (maqamat) is so vast
     and thorough that he plays this infinite ocean of music
     without much repetition at each of his concerts. Yet his
     interpretation is always fresh and full of surprises.
     This CD includes one astonishing vocal track from the
     master.

                     ORDERING INFORMATION
All CDs are available through the Turkish Radio Hour:

    * From US and Canada you can order the CD by sending
      * Yasemin by Necati Celik:          US$ 18
      * Songs of Azerbaijan by C Sadykov: US$ 18
      * Whirl by Cemali:                  US$ 15
* Make checks payable to 7/8 Music

* Make check payable to TRH for Mr. Savalan's CD!
    * US$ 18 for Heyder Baba by Yusif Savalan.
    * Mail your payment along with your address to:

                      Turkish Radio Hour
                         P.O. Box 1332
                    Cupertino, CA 95015 USA

For more information about both CDs please contact us here
at            the studio  or e-mail trh at aimnet.com
       If you have e-mail, we can also send you a brief
                    description of  the CDs.

{12dec98.trh}

> From: Anita Donohoe


String Beans Turkish Style:

1/2 to 1 c. regular olive oil
2 or 3 medium onions, sliced
1.5 lb chopped tomatoes,
	 or 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
2 lbs fresh or frozen string beans
1 c. good water
   (do not use tap water because of the chlorine taste)
salt

Pour the olive oil into a large pot, add the onions, sprinkle them with
a little salt and sauté over medium heat, stirring frequently, until
they are translucent.  Add the tomatoes, bring to a boil, then stir in
the string beans and water.  Bring to a boil again, then lower the heat,
cover and simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour.  The beans should be
very tender.  Serve warm or cold with thick slices of good bread to sop
up the juices.  Spoon a little garlic-yoghurt over the top of your
serving for an additional treat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* MODERNISM AND SOCIAL CHANGE, A SYMPOSIUM IN HONOR OF ADALET AGAOGLU
* Chingiz Sadykhov Concert
* "Onufri" Contest ready to welcome Balkan artists
* Pianist Mehmet Okonsar in Concert in New York City
* CALL FOR PAPERS- Conf. on Turkic Languages, U of Manchester


* MODERNISM AND SOCIAL CHANGE, A SYMPOSIUM IN HONOR OF ADALET AGAOGLU


                         MODERNISM AND SOCIAL CHANGE
                    A SYMPOSIUM IN HONOR OF ADALET AGAOGLU
                             The Mershon Center
                               1501 Neil Avenue
                                Columbus, Ohio
                    Saturday and Sunday December 12-13, 1988

The Ohio State University will award an honorary Ph.D. to the Turkish author
and human rights activist Adalet Agaoglu this Autumn commencement.  In
connection with the occasion, a symposium on Ms. Agaoglu's work will be held
at the Mershon Center.  Agaoglu is known as an original stylist of modernist
fiction and drama, and a keen essayist.  As orginator of the "Coup Novel"
genre, she is appreciated for her sensitive portrayal of the panorama of
Turkish society from the early years of the Republic through the crises of
the Cold War, and the dilemmas created by these conditions for women and the
family.  Her recently translated novel, *Curfew,* is available from the
University of Texas Press.


                          Saturday, December 12
                          10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

10:00  Sibel Erol, "Social Reality--Internal Poetry: The Novel's delicate
Balance"

10:45  Hulya Adak, "What the Novel can Accomplish: Experiments in Form
and Social Activism in the Works of Fatma Aliye, Halide Edip and Adalet
Agaoglu"

11:30  Mahmut Temizyurek, "The Sense of the Whole in Search of Itself"

12:15  Semih Gumus, "The Problem of Modern Identity"


                              2:30 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.


2:30  Jale Parla, "Narratives of Crisis"

3:15  Sibel Irzik, "Voice and Authority in the Novel"

4:00  Sevda Sener, "Images of Women in Turkish Drama"



                         Sunday, December 13
                            10:00am-12:30pm

10:00  Zekeriya Baskal, "Between Coups: The Generation of '68"

10:45  Erol Koroglu, "The Formation of Turkish Citizenship: Violence,
Liminality and Justice"

11:30  Open Interview with Adalet Agaoglu--Victoria Holbrook, discussant


Supported by grants from The Ohio State University College of Humanities,
the Middle East Studies Center, Mershon Center, the Depts. of Comparative
Studies and Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, and the Institute for
Turkish Studies, Inc.

* Chingiz Sadykhov Concert

   7/8 Music Presents Chingiz Sadykhov
at Clarion Music

The Greatest Azerbaijani Pianist Chingiz Sadykhov will be playing traditional
folk music and composed melodies of Azerbaijan
as well as a European repertoire at the intimate Clarion Music Center.
Amy Cyr will accompany C.Sadykhov with flute on some songs.

Friday, December 18 Th. at 8 PM

Clarion Music Center
816 Sacramenta St. San Francisco

For information: 415 391-1317
info at clarionmusic.com


* "Onufri" Contest ready to welcome Balkan artists


       TIRANE, Dec. 10, (ATA) By E.Riza
       Visual Art Contest, "Onufri", which for the
  first time will have an international character, will mainly include
participators from Balkan countries, sources from Art Gallery
told ATA.
       "Greece will not take part, despite the efforts made with
Greece Embassy in Tirana," the caretaker of this contest, Edi
Muka told ATA.
       While the contest is expected to be opened in the third
week of December, Serbia has not confirmed its participation.
       Round 100 Albanian artists will present their works in
"Onufri" Contest.
       Jury of the contest will be international and composed of
renowned personalities of visual arts from Italy, England,
Macedonia, Turkey, etc.


* Pianist Mehmet Okonsar in Concert in New York City


Intercollegiate Turkish Students Society,
in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture of Turkey,
is proud to present:

Pianist-composer Mr. Mehmet Okonsar in concert in New York.

When:  Sunday, December 13, 8:00 PM

Where: Altschul Auditorium
420 West 118th Street (off Amsterdam Avenue).
Columbia University
School of International and Public Affairs
New York, NY 10027

Cost: $15 Regular, $10 Students

For more info contact Nihat Kotil at (212) 853 7758

Concert program:

Jean Philippe RAMEAU (1683-1764)
Pieces de Clavecin (Harpsichord Pieces) Book of 1706

George GERSHWIN (1898-1937)
Rhapsody in Blue
(Solo piano version as played by the composer)

Mehmet Okonsar (1961)
Chameleon, Three pieces for piano (1986)
Premiere in the United States

Richard WAGNER (1813-1883)
Liebestodt (from Tristan and Isolde)
piano transcription by Franz LISZT

Alban BERG (1885-1935)
Sonata for piano in B minor op.1

Franz LISZT (1811-1886)
Venezia e Napoli
(from Années de Pélerinages; supplement to
Book II)
Hungarian Rhapsody n.15 (Ràkòczy March)

"75th Anniversary of the Republic of Turkey Youth Concerts"


* CALL FOR PAPERS- Conf. on Turkic Languages, U of Manchester

CALL FOR PAPERS- Conference on Turkic Languages, U of Manchester

THE FIRST MANCHESTER CONFERENCE ON TURKIC LANGUAGES
6-7 April 1999, University of Manchester

The North-West Centre for Linguistics and the Research Group on Central
Asia and the Caucasus are pleased to announce their first joint conference
on Turkic languages.

Papers are invited on all areas of linguistics from researchers who work
on
Turkic languages. Papers will be 35 minutes long with 10 minutes
discussion
time. There will also be a poster session. Proceedings are planned to be
published as a part of a series on Turkic Linguistics.

Please send your abstracts (of around 500 words with a selective
bibliography) not later than 1 FEBRUARY 1999 to:

Cigdem Balim-Harding
Coordinator, Research Group on Central Asia and the Caucasus
Department of Middle Eastern Studies, University of Manchester
Manchester M13 9PL, UK
Tel: +44 (0)161 275 3069
Fax: +44 (0)161 275 3264
email: cigdem.balim at man.ac.uk

Pisidian Antioch

  DR. MEHMET TASLIALAN*

  TDN Guest Writer

Yalvac/Antalya - Turkish Daily News

From prehistoric times to the present, Antioch, the ancient capital of
the Pisidian region, has opened its arms to a variety of religions,
from polytheist to monotheist and has provided opportunities for the
religious worship of the peoples living in the area. When we look at
the 2000-year-long history of Antioch, we see that as well as
polytheist faiths, Judaism and Christianity existed together,
sometimes intermingling, sometimes side by side, and that later Islam
spread throughout this region.

The term "Christianity" was first used between A.D. 40 and 50 in
Orontes Antioch (present-day Antakya), which at that time was one of
the three most important cities of the Roman Empire. However, the
first expansion of this new religion took place in Pisidian Antioch.
St. Paul, the promulgator of the Christian religion, chose Pisidian
Antioch as the "home base" for the three missionary journeys he made
through Anatolia in the middle years of the first century and preached
his first and longest official sermon at the city's only synagogue.

Before coming to the travels of St. Paul, it would be useful to look
briefly at why the saint chose Antioch as his base. During the years
when St. Paul came to Antioch, the city was experiencing one of its
brightest periods. Antioch was at the crossroads of all the main
highways and was the best gateway to the interior regions of Anatolia.
In fact, Emperor Augustus founded his first military colony in the
Pisidian region at this city (A.D. 25), built the road known as the
Via Sebaste, which connected the city with its hinterland, and tried
to establish his control over the Anatolian interior from Antioch. In
addition, the city was a center of culture, the arts and trade,
because the road running from Ephesus to the east and the one running
north from Attaleia (now Antalya) both passed through it. At this time
the population of Antioch was more than 100,000.

Antioch, which was the Roman Empire's capital city in Anatolia, was
also the capital of the Pisidian region. Moreover, it was the twin
city of ancient Rome itself. In the course of establishing his colony,
Emperor Augustus brought thousands of veterans from Rome and settled
them in this city. He gave the names of the seven districts of Rome to
this city, and a copy of the Latin text of the document, which can be
regarded as the emperor's will (Res Gestae Divi Agusti), has been
found there.

Another reason which has been cited for St. Paul's coming to Antioch
is that the saint was ill and the city provided an atmosphere
conducive to recuperation. In addition to this, it is possible that
one of the main factors that drew St. Paul to Antioch was Sergii
Paulli, a member of the Sergii family, one of the city's wealthiest
and most prominent clans. Sergii Paulli was serving as the governor of
Paphos in Cyprus when he met the saint and advised him to visit
Antioch, recommending it to him as an appropriate, even ideal, place
for the dissemination of his new religion. The governor, a Jew like
Paul himself, was one of the first converts. Inscriptions relating to
his family have been found during excavations at the ancient city, and
a good deal of information about them has been obtained.

As we know, before embarking on his first journey, St. Paul went to
Jerusalem. After obtaining instructions from the main church there, he
traveled in the company of the apostles Mark and Barnabas to Cyprus,
where he met the governor at Paphos. After staying three months on the
island, Paul left Mark there and sailed with Barnabas for Perge on the
shores of Pamphylia. When the two left Perge after a brief stay there,
the long and arduous journey to Antioch awaited them.

Let us try to describe briefly the path which took St. Paul to
Antioch. This has been the subject of argument for years and its exact
route has never been fully determined.

   The way of St. Paul (Perge-Antioch)

One of the roads with north-south connections leading from the
Pamphylia to the Pisidian region was the one which started from the
banks of the River Aksu (Kestros). In ancient times, this road was the
most practical route connecting Perge and Antioch. After leaving
Perge, the road in question leads north and crosses to the eastern
bank of the Aksu after approximately 20 kilometers. This crossing
point lies within the boundaries of the contemporary village of
Catallar. Catallar was regarded as the crossroads of the region,
linking north-south and east-west routes.

The first signs of the road, formed by erosion of the natural rock,
are to be found at Kozan village, about 15 kilometers beyond Catallar
in the valley of a small stream which links up with the Aksu from the
east. Higher up it crosses the bridge known today as Buluc Ucuran,
which is known to be a replacement for a bridge built in Roman times
and later demolished (the locations of the old bridge and the new one
being slightly different). After this bridge, the road follows the
riverbed and continues north, sometimes crossing the river from west
to east and vice versa. As a result of the natural features of the
valley, these crossings are very frequent, hence the name "Forty
Crossings," which was given to this section of the road.

In the vicinity of Candir village, the ancient road crosses the River
Goksu and enters the Yazili Canyon roughly three kilometers further
north. It then continues along the eastern side of the canyon.
Proceeding along a surface of natural rock and passing eroded stone
inscriptions in niches, it reaches the ancient city of Adada. This
road, which saints Paul and Barnabas traversed with difficulty and
which was used for many years, has a structure which surprises and
alarms those who see it even today.

At this point we need to dwell a little on why the inscriptions in the
canyon were placed there and for what purpose this narrow passage was
used. They indicate that this road provided a difficult passage during
the centuries it was in use. In the longest of the inscriptions,
"Epictetos, born the son of a slave mother," after giving the
necessary warnings to passing travelers, attracts attention with the
sentiments he expresses on the evils of slavery and what a great
happiness freedom is by contrast. He finishes by saying that even a
slave may be a valuable person, completing the message which he
composed in simple verse.

The second longest inscription reads: "Phoebus Apollo, ruler of this
road, may you always smile upon travelers and their votive offerings.
The spirit of inspiration requires that I, Leontianos, should offer up
my staff to you. May you as a God with pleasure receive this, the
support of my hand, the brace of my knees, the staff of a traveler.
With my hands resting upon this [staff] I have passed this narrow
track. O Apollo, by your side these troubles are at an end."

Another inscription on the same rock says, "I, Leontianos, son of
Leontianos, have here set up my statue of Apollo, the friend of all
travelers."

The difficulty of traveling this road is made clear by these
inscriptions. Moreover, the presentation of a variety of offerings
indicates that this was a place of worship (of Zeus, Apollo, etc.). It
is obvious that after such a difficult journey, the travelers prayed
to the gods and made their offerings. The natural structure (rock and
river) of this site made it a place of prayer to deities ranging from
the mother goddess Kybele to countless others.

The approximately 500-meter stretch of the ancient road, made of
strong paving stones and located on the northern flank of Adada, has
survived to the present. Nowadays this is known as the "King's Road."

After leaving Adada and continuing northwards, the Perge-Antioch road
first reaches the northeastern tip of Lake Kovada. The modern road
around Lake Kovada follows more or less the same route. Afterwards the
road arrives on the southeastern shore of Lake Egirdir, passes
Prostanna (Egirdir) and reaches Antioch by way of Gelendost. I have
walked a large section of the way of St. Paul described briefly above.
As to the remainder, data and archaeological remains in our possession
indicate that the road in question was the most suitable route from
Perge to Antioch. That saints Paul and Barnabas chose this route,
which, as we have said above, was a journey of one week for them, for
their return also shows that it was the shortest available.

   The travels of St. Paul

While Saul (later Paul) was traveling to Damascus where he had been
sent by the leaders of the Jewish community to disperse the local
Christian population, he saw a vision of Jesus Christ and spoke with
him. This occurrence affected him greatly and he became a Christian as
a result. He first began his missionary work in Arabia but was not
very successful there and consequently returned to Tarsus. He had been
born in Tarsus, which was a meeting place of eastern and western
cultures, philosophies and beliefs.

After a while he was invited to the other Antioch (Antakya) by his
friend Barnabas. There Barnabas introduced him to St. Peter, the
leader of Christ's Twelve Apostles. Paul learned a great deal of
information about Jesus and his teachings from Peter. The disciples
were people who did not know how to read or write. Paul became
prominent among them with his erudition and his culture, emphasizing
the dissemination of Christianity. In the spreading of this religion,
which was largely unknown in the time of Jesus Christ, the role of
Paul must not be forgotten -- he who was first a merciless enemy of
the Christians but who later joined and guided the disciples in their
quest to spread the faith.

St. Paul's journeys to Pisidian Antioch

   First journey

After leaving St. Mark in Cyprus and staying for a short time in
Perge, the two friends, Paul and Barnabas, climbed through the Taurus
Mountains following the route we have briefly described above to reach
Antioch.

As we know, both disciples were originally Jews. According to the
custom of the time, Jews went to the congregational meeting place,
presented their letters of introduction and sought work with which to
secure their livelihood. According to Jewish law, every man with faith
in God was required to practice a craft. St. Paul was an expert in the
weaving of tents, and he began work at his loom right away. Even
today, weaving is carried on in Yalvac as a recognized occupation. On
the day of the Sabbath, they attended synagogue. After the reading of
the Sacred Law and the writings of the Prophets, the chief rabbi
allowed the newcomers to speak. St. Paul rose to his feet and, after
speaking expertly of the Prophet Abraham and of David, reached the
point on which he really wanted to preach and, without mentioning him
by name, spoke of Jesus, his life and his miracles.

On the following Sabbath, Paul spoke at the synagogue before a large
crowd. This time he spoke Jesus' name, referring to him as the savior
of mankind. However, those who attended the service did not receive
Paul's words well. After this, Paul was no longer allowed to speak of
Jesus publicly. Only at the loom and in the houses of his friends did
he preach the Christian religion and try to strengthen belief in it.
After continuing his preaching in Antioch, St. Paul was forced to
leave the city. As if to say, "Let this be a warning to them," Paul
and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet and went to Konya in A.D.
48.

In that year, they made a great effort to spread their new religion in
Konya, Lystra and Derbe. In these cities they obtained many converts
before returning to Antioch. On the return to Antioch, St. Paul was
accompanied by St. Thecla. Thecla encountered many difficulties in the
city, returned to Konya and, after staying there for a while, left
again for Silifke. She died in Silifke after many years of
enlightening those around her.

It used to be said that in order to enter the
kingdom of heaven, it was necessary to overcome many problems. St.
Paul and St. Barnabas chose the elders of the faith in each community.
They assured God of their belief through prayer and fasting. They
crossed the Pisidian region and arrived again in Pamphylia. After
announcing the word of God in Perge, they traveled on to Antalya.
Because their work was completed for the time being, they sailed by
ship to Orontes Antioch. After they arrived there, they gathered the
community of believers together and explained what God had
accomplished through them and how he had opened the doors of faith to
other peoples.

As Christianity spread into the surrounding areas from the place where
it first emerged, it was affected by local beliefs, ideas and trends
in the regions it reached. It is known that St. Paul had a great
effect on both the disciples and on those groups which converted to
Christianity. Luke, one of the most important contributors to the New
Testament of the Bible, was his student.

   Second journey (A.D. 49-52)

Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us return to all the cities where we
preached the word of God and visit the brothers and sisters; let us
see how they are." St. Barnabas wanted to take St. Mark with them, but
Paul did not accept Mark, since he had left Pamphylia to them and had
not carried on the task in their company. Such a disagreement arose
between St. Paul and St. Barnabas that they parted. Barnabas and Mark
went to Cyprus while Paul traveled through Syria, Cilicia and the
Konya region in the company of Silas, finally arriving at Pisidian
Antioch. As he traveled from place to place, St. Paul shared with the
faithful the decisions made by the elders in Jerusalem and sought
their conformity to these. Thus the faith of the communities was
strengthened, and their numbers grew from day to day. St. Paul and his
friends, who encountered many difficulties in disseminating the new
religion, passed through Phrygia and Galatia to Macedonia and thence
to Greece. They stayed for a long time at Corinth, the last stop on
this journey, and from there Paul wrote two epistles to the people of
Salonika calling upon them to accept the new faith. From Corinth, St.
Paul returned to Jerusalem and then proceeded to Antakya where he
visited the community of believers.

   Third journey (A.D. 54-58)

Starting from Antakya, St. Paul passed through Tarsus, Caesarea Ancyra
(Ankara) and Konya before returning once more to Pisidian Antioch. He
gathered the faithful together and encouraged them. Saying, "I have
not drawn back from telling you in full what God wants; keep the faith
and remember how I have advised you," he bid them farewell and took
the road to Ephesus. From Ephesus he wrote the historic epistles to
the Corinthians, the Galatians and the Romans and then continued on
his way, arriving at Corinth by way of Salonika. Later he returned by
ship to Jerusalem, stopping at Patara and Myra.

Between the years A.D. 60 and 61, St. Paul visited Patara and Myra
again in the course of a voyage from Jerusalem to Crete and then to
Sicily. From Sicily he journeyed to his final destination, Rome.
During the course of this journey he again wrote epistles, to the
Colossians, the Philippians and the Ephesians.

The deaths of St. Paul and St. Peter came in A.D. 64 when Emperor Nero
had Paul beheaded while on the way to Ostea and had Peter crucified on
the Mons Vaticanus.

St. Paul was the founder and theoretician of the Christian religion.
Without Paul, perhaps this religion would not have gone beyond being a
Jewish sect. By consolidating its sects and its collective knowledge,
Christianity spread by virtue of St. Paul's deep religious
scholarship, organizational ability, respected personality, talent for
oratory and unflagging energy. The epistles he wrote at various times
during his travels constituted an important and inseparable part of
the new faith.

As we have outlined above, on each of these journeys throughout the 30
years when Paul was spreading the Christian faith, he came to Pisidian
Antioch and stayed for a long time, witnessing for himself how correct
he was in selecting this site as the center from which the foundation
of his new religion would be laid. Moreover, in the dissemination of
Christianity from here to the whole world, he observed on his third
visit to the city how useful his first sermon at the synagogue in
Pisidian Antioch had been in opening the welcome arms of Christianity
to all peoples.

Attributed to him and bearing his name, one of the first of the early
Christian churches to be established and the largest of them is
located in Pisidian Antioch. Today, Pisidian Antioch has become a
place visited by thousands of Christians, and just as it ranks as one
of the most widely recognized birthplaces the religion, so too, with
the welcoming arms which it holds out, will it attain its rightful
status as the most important center of Anatolian faith tourism.

Dr. Mehmet Taslialan is the Director of the Yalvac Museum near the
site of Pisidian Antioch which houses many of the finds from the
region.


__________________________________________________________________
Copyright 1998, Turkish Daily News. This article is redistributed with
permission for personal use of TRKNWS-L readers. No part of this article
may be reproduced, further distributed or archived without the prior
permission of the publisher. Contact: Turkish Daily News Online on the
Internet World Wide Web. www.turkishdailynews.com

For information on other matters please contact hk11@...
__________________________________________________________________

> From: Anita Donohoe <adonohoe@...>

DOLMA
Green peppers, tomatoes, and/or eggplants
1/2 lb rice
1/2 c olive oil
1 c good water, heated to boiling
     (good water means fresh spring or bottled water.
     tap water contains chlorine, which gives it a nasty flavor)
1 large chopped tomato
2 chopped onions
2 tbsp pine nuts
2 tbsp raisins
1 tsp chopped mint (use fresh mint if possible)
1 tsp oregano
salt and pepper

Heat the olive oil and saute the onions until they are translucent in
color.  Stir in the rice, cover and cook over a low heat for 20 - 25
minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the boiling water and the rest of
the ingredients, mix thoroughly, cover and cook over low heat for
another 20 minutes.  Let it rest and cool while you prepare the
eggplant, peppers, and/or tomatoes.

Eggplant:  Slice in half lengthwise, scoop out the center leaving a 1/2"
shell.  Sprinkle salt over the inside, let it rest for 20 minutes, then
rinse and pat dry with a paper towel before stuffing.

Green Peppers/Tomatoes:  Cut off the cap and put it aside.  Scoop out
the pulp.  After stuffing the shell, put the cap back on to cook.

Now you're ready to cook your dolma.  Place them in a large pot or pan
with good water reaching about halfway up the sides of the vegetables.
Simmer about 40 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.  You can eat
dolma hot, but I recommend waiting until they have cooled to room
temperature.  Spoon a little garlic-yoghurt over the top and enjoy the
wonderful flavors.
~~~~~~~~~~~
I remember eating meals in the homes of Turkish friends while living in
Ankara during the 60s, and there was always a bowl of garlic-flavored
yoghurt on the table along with the salt.   My favorite dish to eat with
the sauce was string beans, Turkish Style.

GARLIC-FLAVORED YOGHURT
1 quart whole yoghurt
1 tsp salt
3 gloves garlic
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Stir the yoghurt and salt in a bowl until smooth.  Using a press,
squeeze the garlic right into the yoghurt.  Stir again until well
blended.  Mix in the olive oil and let stand for a hour before serving.
This sauce should always be served at room temperature.
~~~~~~~~~~~

"Return to Ararat"

Tunca Yonder's award-winning 1994 movie "Return to
Ararat" tells the story of a retired officer in the Turkish
military whose life has been overshadowed by the tragic
death of his wife. After having been shown by the Goethe
institute last fall and being aired on television recently, the
movie is now being shown as part of TURSAK's
"Encounter of Cinema and History" program, under the
section "From Independence to the Republic."

"Return to Ararat" is the story of an ardent defender of the
Turkish Republic, a disillusioned man half a century later
with only bittersweet memories to tie him to life. It is a
saga of love and separation hidden in the bosom of Ararat
Mountain.

When Mehmet Sahin (Haluk Kurdoglu) was a young and
idealist officer in Ararat, he met the beautiful and
intelligent Muhsine at an official ball, they danced the
tango after the music had stopped and other couples had
left the dance floor. They married shortly thereafter,
enjoying a kind of happiness that is reserved only for fairy
tales. One day when the couple were on an excursion, a
blanket of snow separated Muhsine and Mehmet,
bereaving Mehmet of his soul partner. The young officer
vowed to never forgive the mountain, which, he says to
his son, he hated as though it were a real human being.
During the half century that goes by, Mount Ararat has
turned into his formidable and hateful adversary.

It is not easy for retired officer Sahin to return to Ararat,
but his son Hilmi (Can Gurzap) and daughter-in-law Bilge
(Aysegul Aldinc) believe that he cannot overcome his grief
unless he makes this trip. Hilmi is the editor of a
widely-read Istanbul newspaper and Bilge is a promising
television producer. Young, dynamic, and enterprising,
Hilmi is from the baby boom generation, committed to his
work and rather skeptical about politics. Bilge, who is
younger than her husband and who, we are told, was the
"most beautiful girl of the Arnavutkoy College," is a warm,
enthusiastic and competent woman. As her name Bilge
(Wise) reflects, she has a drive to transcend the
limitations of her Western-oriented education and
understand the deeper knowledge represented by her
father-in-law.

The return to Ararat serves as a revelation for all the
family members, cleansing them of old preoccupations
and prejudices. At the beginning of the trip, Sahin
remembers another train trip in the early 1940s with his
wife, when they had encountered an idealistic teacher at
the Village Institutes that had been founded by Ismail
Hakki Tonguc. These schools were geared to the
education of poor village children, and the teacher
fervently believes in their mission. He stops his oratory
occasionally to note that "there will certainly be people
who will want to obstruct our efforts and to destroy us."
Indeed, two landowners travelling in the same train
compartment, who own approximately 20 villages each,
intrude in the conversation, asserting that while the
defenders of the Turkish Republic have the upper hand
today, the future will belong to them, to the protectors of
tradition, the right of lineage and established authority.

More than forty years later, this memory is mirrored in
another significant encounter of Mehmet Sahin and his
family. During dinner time in the train's restaurant, two
men drink heavily, reminiscing over their latest
achievements in knavery and taunting people. Growing
more unabashed and vain with every minute, the older
man begins to show off his "wit" for the other guests in
the dinner room. He fixes on a group of medical students
travelling to the East for their compulsory service. He
provokes them by suggestions that their mission is vain,
that healing and education are "detrimental" since they
make one question the established order.

The man then turns to Mehmet Sahin, trying to elicit
approval for his views. The conversation turns into a
fist-fight and ends in the police station. The man insists
on pressing charges against Sahin, undaunted by the fact
that he himself was the aggressor, waving the banner of
"might is right." Only when Hilmi asks the others in the
police headquarters to leave the room, and in private
quarters, shows the man his press card, threatening him
with the disclosure of his misdeeds, does the man relent.
In a gesture that puts Sahin's personal integrity into sharp
focus, the man commits a total turnabout, profusely
asking Sahin for forgiveness.

As they leave the police headquarters, Sahin expresses
fatigue, telling his family that he wants to be left alone. In
fact, throughout the trip, his conversations and activities
are balanced by solitary times spent reading or in
reflection. The process brings him to the resolution of his
personal tragedy and finalizes his disillusionment with
Turkish politics.

The return to Ararat has proven that the landowners had
been right: the future would belong not to the idealistic
defenders of the Turkish Republic but to the self-seekers
devoid of integrity, incarnated by the dissolute bully just
encountered in the train.

Despite this bleak conclusion, Sahin says to his son
before they prepare to take off for Istanbul that "I am glad
to have made this trip." His daughter-in-law's prediction
that he would find solace when he went and saw Ararat
again is proven right.

In this successful movie, Tunca Yonder and Haluk Sahin,
the author of the book, have achieved just the right
proportion of empathy and distance to make Mehmet
Sahin stand out in his impeccable integrity, his solitude
and his wisdom.


__________________________________________________________________
Copyright 1998, Turkish Daily News. This article is redistributed with
permission for personal use of TRKNWS-L readers. No part of this article
may be reproduced, further distributed or archived without the prior
permission of the publisher. Contact: Turkish Daily News Online on the
Internet World Wide Web. www.turkishdailynews.com

For information on other matters please contact hk11@...
__________________________________________________________________

The First International Encounter of Cinema and History

Istanbul - Turkish Daily News

The "First International Encounter of Cinema and History," organized
jointly by the Turkey Cinema and Culture Foundation (TURSAK) and the
Turkey Economic and Social History Foundation will take place Dec.
4-10. The festival will feature approximately 100 movies from a variety
of countries and host a number of well-known movie directors and
actors.

The festival will open on December 4 at the Cemal Resit Rey Concert
Hall and the movies will be shown at the Alkazar, Beyoglu, Aksanat,
Istanbul Akademi and Bilgi University movie halls. In the section
dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the Turkish
republic and titled "From Independence to the Republic," Turkish movies
describing the important historical events of the period will be shown.
In the section called "Films of the Enlightenment," movies by directors
who sought to describe the enlightenment periods in their respective
countries, such as Robert Enrico, Andrei Konchalevsky, Guiliano
Montaldo and Ariane Mnouchkine will be shown.

In the "Homage to the Masters" section, dedicated to three famous
directors, films by the Italian director Gianfranco Mingozzi, the
German director Michael Verhoven and the Egyptian Yusuf Sahin will be
shown. Viewers will have the opportunity to see these directors' movies
that have not been shown in Turkey before. There is another section
consisting of movies that discuss the events of 1968 in Europe in
retrospect.  Titled "After 30 Years - 68' in the Cinema," movies by
Alain Tanner, Lucian Pintilies, Michael Verhoven and Romain Gourpil
will be shown. In the section titled "Cinema:  The Witness of Our
Time," the cinematic depictions of the important events of our time
will be presented. Consisting of documentary and fictionalized
accounts, this section features, besides Andre Malraux' masterpiece
called "Hope," movies by directors Claude Berri, Francesco Rossi, Akira
Kurosawa, Roland Joffe and Frank Cassenti.

Human rights and the cinema

Marking the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, a special section will feature movies depicting human rights
abrogations in a number of countries. Related to the "Cinema and
Enlightenment" section, the main idea of this part is that the concept
of enlightenment gains its real meaning only when backed by a solid
respect for human rights. The focus of this section is the ethnic
struggle in the former Yugoslav republic. Some of the movies are Yusuf
Sahin's "Fate," Yamina Benguigi's documentaries titled "Memories of
Migration" and "The Women of Islam," Brian Lapping's "The Suicide of a
Nation: Yugoslavia" and Ademir Kenovic' "The Perfect Circle." Another
section is devoted to movies by Russian director Sergei Eisenstein.
Known best for the film "The Battleship Potemkin" and depicting the
mutiny of Russian workers shortly before the Bolshevik revolution,
Eisenstein will be commemorated through "Long Live Mexico," "The Field
of Bejin" and "Grev." For fans of the "Battleship Potemkin," this is
the 1976 version of the film that was repaired and for which a new
score was written by Grigori Antonov. This section includes a film by
Oleg Kovalov called "Sergei Eisenstein: Autobiography" about
Eisenstein's life and his approach to art. Finally, the results of some
related movie competitions will be announced during the festival.

__________________________________________________________________
Copyright 1998, Turkish Daily News. This article is redistributed with
permission for personal use of TRKNWS-L readers. No part of this article
may be reproduced, further distributed or archived without the prior
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__________________________________________________________________

Worth the return:  'Roundtrip Istanbul' Nov. 4 - Dec. 12 at the Borusan
Culture and Art Center

JOHN COOK

Istanbul - Turkish Daily News

The Borusan Culture and Art Center once again brings a provocative and
stimulating exhibition of Turkish artists to Istanbul. It may seem
strange that one would need to bring Turkish artists to Turkey, but
this is just what "Istanbul Roundtrip" ("Istanbul Gidis-Donus") is
about. With the support of Borusan Oto (one may have seen their BMW
dealerships) General Manager Sami Caner, Art Gallery Manager Binnaz
Tukin and Art Gallery adviser Beral Madra (who also curated Istanbul
Bilgi University's recent tour de force "Art Agora" and "Modernity and
Memories"), the work of five Turkish artists residing abroad has been
brought to Istanbul.

A visitor to one's own home

Fatih Aydogdu (Vienna), Cem Aydogan (New York), Ergin Cavusoglu
(London), Melek Mazici (Helsinki) and Sukran Moral (Rome) have each
submitted works from exile, as Beral Madra has defined them. The works
range from video and installation to etching and photography. Due to
the limited space of the gallery -- eventually to be enlarged once
Borusansanat opens a new center in the near future -- the works fail to
make an immediate impact. Only Cem Aydogan's "Excess Baggage" (1998)
really occupies the space in a commanding way. His mixed media
construction of plastic teeth, white chocolate, dough and lights
creates an haunting image of a traveler/exile/refugee. A translucent
suitcase dimly glows as it sits on the floor with a statue of a man in
white chocolate standing on top. Spiraling upwards from the figurine is
a chain of teeth. The material of the suitcase has a morbid quality to
it, as if it was made of skin or fat. The work is reminiscent of the
1960s and 70s performance artist Joseph Beuys and the artistic
innovation of the Fluxus movement. Aydogan's work can be seen on the
mezzanine level of the gallery.

Most disappointing is Sukran Moral's "Turkish Bath" ("Hamam"),
represented only by a slide projected on the back wall of the ground
floor of the gallery. It fails to recreate the sensation of the video
project shown at last year's 5th Istanbul Biennal. I found the piece
problematic when I first saw it at the Biennal. In "Roundtrip Istanbul"
it becomes even more cloudy in interpretation. Moral's catalog
description does little to clarify her video-performance. Her idealized
transgressive actions do not address the complex social, cultural,
feminist and gender issues brought up in "Hamam." Her focus on the
uncertainty of masculine identity in the hamam mixed with her
semi-nudity just touches the surface of the complex performative
activity of public bathing. I fear the visitor to Borusansanat will be
completely baffled by the still image.

The remaining works fall somewhere in between Aydogan's and Moral's
remembrances of a home long since left behind. I found the large format
photographs of Ergin Cavusoglu quite pleasing and witty. Had they been
framed in a more innovative manner, such as placing them in huge frames
with a large white border, perhaps his political architectural
landscapes, as the author describes them, could have more impact.

In contrast, Melek Mazici's "In the Moonlight" (1998) is a highly
sexual landscape of interiors providing a subtleness which is missing
from Cavusoglu's and Moral's pieces on exhibit. The gray-tone etchings
invite the viewer into the feminine sexuality of the floral
environments Mazici evokes in her work. Though the artist disregards
any substantive meaning in the setting of her works, I find it
difficult to make the conceptual leap from her images on paper to her
words in print. She writes in the catalog of the exhibition that her
purpose is to "discover [herself] as a woman and as a human being."
Even for those who are looking for less far-reaching insight than
Mazici proposes in her text will enjoy the sensual poetry of her
images.

I highly recommend visitors purchase a copy of the bilingual exhibition
catalog of "Istanbul Roundtrip" for the stunning reproductions and
exhibition histories.  Unfortunately, the text suffers from an
over-reliance on semiotics and clever quotation and fails to illuminate
the artists themselves or the meaning behind their art work. One can
appreciate the use of such theories in an exhibition catalog, but only
if they serve to elucidate the theoretical or compositional basis for
the art work. As an exercise in themselves they crowd the space in the
catalog, uncomfortably squeezing the artists' own images.

The Borusan Culture and Art Center is located at Istiklal Cad. No. 421
Beyoglu, istanbul. Tel: (0212) 292 06 55 Fax. (0212) 252 45 91

__________________________________________________________________
Copyright 1998, Turkish Daily News. This article is redistributed with
permission for personal use of TRKNWS-L readers. No part of this article
may be reproduced, further distributed or archived without the prior
permission of the publisher. Contact: Turkish Daily News Online on the
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__________________________________________________________________

The disappearing Yoruks and their music

   * Nowadays only a small group of these nomadic people are seen
     around the Taurus mountain range. They are the last of the Yoruks,
     the remnants of a disappearing way of life in which, once upon a
     time, thousands of them cared for the soul of the Taurus with
     their songs and pipes

  HUSEYIN KANDEMIR and DEBBIE LOVATT

Izmir - Turkish Daily News

When you turn your face to the Taurus Mountains, you breathe in the
smell of wild thyme from the cold breeze which wafts over you, wave
upon wave; and as your ears grow accustomed to the atmosphere, don't
be surprised if you hear a tune and the chattering of children. This
is the nomadic Yoruks singing. A joyful people, living cheek by jowl
with the changing face of nature, year after year. This is the song of
the wanderer of nature. It is "Hada" and "Hollu." You feel their
loves, the song and the sound of the shepherds who nurture their sheep
and the voices of young girls who sing about their loves-to-be.

The music and singing of the Yoruks carries their life to us and
recalls the nights when they made a fire under the stars. They
accompany their singing with instruments such as the kemane (small
upright violin), the uctelli (like a small saz), the sipsi (small
pipe), the kaval (flageolet-shepherds' pipe) and the bone pipe,
instruments which hold a prominent place in their lives and tradition
and which they carry with them until death.

yoruk1.jpg (17524 bytes) Yoruks are thought to be the oldest surviving
inhabitants of the Taurus Mountains and the last example of the
nomadic tradition that was once such a feature of Anatolian culture.
They have been living as nomads among these formidable mountains for
centuries with a freedom that no person and no power has been able to
dominate or take away, including the Ottoman Empire that tried to
manage them and even attempted to take taxes from them. Over time many
have settled but the tribal way of life has survived. Of those who are
settled, there are some who revert to the pastoral way of life as soon
as spring arrives: they leave the towns and cities and take their
flocks to higher pastures for grazing.

   A brief history of the Yoruk

Throughout the duration of the Ottoman Empire, all of the nomadic
peoples of the Empire, including the Yoruks, suffered because the
imperial system did not want to tolerate nomads. As the Ottoman
officials could not collect taxes from nomadic people, they tried to
make them settle. This was found to be largely impossible because the
Yoruks and other nomadic groups wanted to continue living freely in
nature, and they revolted. Consequently, especially between the 17th
and 18th centuries, these rebellious groups were sent into exile to
various places including Cyprus and Rakka -- now in northern Iraq --
but nothing stopped them from returning to their motherland; it is
said that some managed to escape from the ships and come back to
Anatolia. Even exile proved a hard task for the Ottoman authorities
when, between 1764-66, a group of Yoruks revolted on Cyprus,
continuing their struggle to return for nearly two years.

During this period of exile the Yoruks were sent to places a great
distance from their traditional grazing lands and to areas that were
unsuitable for them, thus they were forced to settle. Such official
policies destroyed their lifestyle and the majority of them ended up
settling in every part of Anatolia. Even after the founding of the
Turkish Republic their numbers decreased rapidly and now only a few
are to be found still living as nomads.

Yoruk culture

Yoruk communities are found in nearly every part of Turkey, but
especially in Konya, Karaman, Kutahya, Mersin, Nevsehir, Aydin and
Sivas. They live in big tents and can be distinguished from other
groups by their tent style, of which there are three types made from
wool or goat hair slung from a long pole and divided into two or three
parts.

Yoruks are not agriculturists, they are stock-breeders and meet their
other needs through exchange or trade. Stock-breeding is so important
that some communities take their group name from the specialty of
their animals. They are very successful at weaving kilims and carpets
and other handmade goods. Their handicrafts have great significance
and also explain their lifestyle and stories. Yoruk carpets are very
different from other carpets and every design has a meaning. They are
called "talking carpets" by some experts as through them it is
possible to learn every detail about the life of the girl or woman who
wove each carpet. Also, representations of nature can be seen in all
their handiwork.

The Yoruks have a great love of music and carry their instruments
everywhere -- hence their instruments are small and light. Every Yoruk
shepherd can play an instrument such as the Kaval, Kemane, or Sipsi.
In general they play alone, but in ceremonies they may play with a
group and perform their popular songs. Nearly every song has a
connection with animals and they use rhythm and melody to give
direction to their herds. Instruments are played by men and children
and the women generally sing. One of the important music types for
women is Bogaz Calma, which is also called Hollu and Hada. This music
is found amongst the Yoruk groups living around the Taurus mountains.

   Recorded research

Yoruk music and singing can be heard on a recently released CD and
cassette entitled "Yoruklerde Muzik ve Bogaz Calma," which is the
culmination of the first part of Levent Ergun's research into the
Yoruks, which began in 1996. Ergun is a music researcher and lecturer
at Dokuz Eylul University's Fine Arts faculty. The recording contains
the special colors of Yoruk music and gives an insight into their
life, such as traditional storytelling and old types of song with
primitive instruments, and aims to introduce and draw a picture of
Yoruk music, culture and their forgotten lifestyle.

Ergun explained the reason behind his research saying: "We are nearly
at the end of the lifestyle of the nomadic people and I can say that
the people who we studied are the last representatives of their
community -- we may not see any of them ten years from now because the
new generation is moving to the big cities or has adapted to the
settled way of life. Once this older generation has gone we will lose
their traditions, lifestyle and culture and we will no longer be able
to find out anything about one of Turkey's important communities."

He continued: "We hope to bring their traditional music to light and
through it to rescue their culture from extinction. Through this
recording we can draw a small picture of Yoruk music, with special
focus on Bogaz Calma. It is based on two years of work carried out by
myself and my teacher, Dr. Yetkin Ozer. A lot of examples of Bogaz
Calma and some other examples of Yoruk music from different parts of
the country are heard in this recording. I went to the countryside
many times and lived with them and recorded their music, lifestyle and
other specialties. I should add that this research is the first of its
kind."

   Part of a cultural series

The cassette is produced by the specialist Kalan Music Company which
plans to prepare a cultural series. The cassette's information page
includes details about the Yoruk musicians and the featured music.
Ergun explained that they expect no profit from the cassette and
explained, "After we finished the first part of our research Kalan
Music Company joined us and explained that they wanted to prepare a
traditional music series which would include our research." The
Mediterranean Archeology Institute is sponsoring the research.

The first part of the cassette begins with one of the oldest
traditional music forms of the Yoruks, Bogaz Calma -- a kind of
primitive music made by playing the throat with the fingers in a
similar way to playing a pipe. This kind of music is done by young
girls before marriage to communicate with the shepherds in the
countryside. It also has a sexual meaning and young Yoruk girls use it
to announce their love when they are alone, or simply to express their
feelings.

Ummuhan Celik, who is nearly 75 years old, performs some of the music.
She lives in a village in Antalya. Ergun related her story: "She is
one of the most important sources of my research and I was keen to
record her singing because that type of song is normally only
performed by girls before marriage and those who perform thereafter in
front of everybody, especially men, are open to the scorn of their
community. It was hard to persuade her, but in the end she agreed to
sing, and then only with me.

"Ummuhan is from the Karakoyunlu (Black Sheep) nomadic tribe and she
still continues her traditions despite living in the city," said
Ergun. He added, "Only old women know this traditional type of music
because it is not used after marriage and also because those who have
been brought up in the city have not maintained the tradition.

"Nomadic women can't play any kind of instrument, due to their
traditions, so with Bogaz Calma they explain their emotions and
feelings to their love. They use it as playing a pipe but at the same
time they sing and use very poetic words about love. They also use it
to tell the old stories and they mix it with tales of love and details
of their pastoral life. You can't find Bogaz Calma in other nomadic
groups," Ergun said.


__________________________________________________________________
Copyright 1998, Turkish Daily News. This article is redistributed with
permission for personal use of TRKNWS-L readers. No part of this article
may be reproduced, further distributed or archived without the prior
permission of the publisher. Contact: Turkish Daily News Online on the
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__________________________________________________________________

Turkish mathematics genius cracks 'unsolvable' problem

   * Aygen reported that the problem he solved was in the field of
     space geometry. The theorem, known as 'The Identity of a
     Tetrahedron,' had been identified by scientists but had remained
     unsolved until now

Ankara - Turkish Daily News

Murat Aygen, the man who solved the space geometry problem that could
not be solved, has caught the attention of the mathematics world, the
Anatolia news agency reported over the weekend.

Naoki Sato of Yale University's department of mathematics
congratulated Aygen on his success and announced that he would publish
the solution to the problem in the magazine "Math Mayhem."

Aygen, who is currently employed as a translator with the Foreign
Ministry's Turkish Cooperation Development Agency (TIKA), reported
that the problem he solved was in the field of space geometry. The
theorem, known as "The Identity of a Tetrahedron," had been identified
by scientists but had remained unsolved until now.

Aygen solved the problem after coming across it on the Unsolved
Problems site on Naoki Sato's web page. Sato, who is the head of the
Canadian Mathematics Olympic Team, announced that the solution will be
published in "Math Mayhem" in the next few days.

To date, only three of the 17 unsolved problems on the mathematics web
site have been worked out.

On hearing of his success, the Feza Gursey Theoretical Physics
Institute invited Aygen to a seminar in Istanbul to explain how he
solved the problem.

Aygen said that he has always had a keen interest in mathematics and
that he solved the problem using techniques he learned from magazines
like "World of Mathematics" and "Science and Utopia." He is currently
looking for a scholarship in mathematics so that he can pursue a Ph.D.
in the field.

__________________________________________________________________
Copyright 1998, Turkish Daily News. This article is redistributed with
permission for personal use of TRKNWS-L readers. No part of this article
may be reproduced, further distributed or archived without the prior
permission of the publisher. Contact: Turkish Daily News Online on the
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For information on other matters please contact hk11@...
__________________________________________________________________

> Date: Tue, 08 Dec 1998 12:51:55 -0500
> From: "hongtsun.simon" <hongtsun.simon@...>
> Subject: Urgent: Turkish Cancer Patient Needs Your help


This is to request your assistance in a very dire matter for my friend,
Mirel Sayinsoy, a 31 year old Turkish woman being treated for leukemia at
MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. She is in need of a bone
marrow transplant and is thus far unable to find one largely because the
pool of registered Turkish donors is extremely small relative to persons
of European-American descent.

At your convenience, please view Mirel^Òs website:
http://hometown.aol.com/acuteleuk/mirel.html. It explains her plight and
that of Turkish people in similar situations. As well, beneath this note,
I am including a summary of Mirel^Òs condition in both Turkish and English.

More people of Turkish descent need to register as bone marrow donors if
Turkish cancer patients are to have the same survival rate as many other
non-Turkish cancer patients. Due to limited lab capacity, Turkey lags far
behind other emerging markets such as Greece and the former Yugoslavia in
terms of expanding the pool of registered bone marrow donors. The long
term solution is to increase lab capacity in Turkey. At its own expense,
Mirel^Òs family is in the process of doing just that. There are also a
number of short term remedies to improve the situation. One is to take
advantage of the developed infrastructure in the United States and have as
many Turkish-Americans as possible register as bone marrow donors as
quickly as possible.

Mirel and others like her can be helped in the following ways. I encourage
you to please email me or call me at my toll free number listed below, so
we can discuss the possibility of a drive with your organization. We, at
the Turkish-American Marrow Foundation (TAMF), believe your organization
can be of most assistance in point #1, however, assistance in any one of
the following efforts would be deeply appreciated:

     1.. A bone marrow donor drive, held at a meeting site of a
Turkish-American organization, would be the most efficient way to make an
impact. Mirel^Òs website has more details on this partial solution. The
TAMF can provide you with guidance and resources to accomplish this
extremely important task.
     2.. People can donate to the recently established Turkish-American
Marrow Foundation, which is under the auspices of the National Marrow
Donor Program. Every cent donated to this foundation is used to expand the
pool of life saving donors who are ethnic Turks. Of course this
foundation, created to honor and help my dear friend, will benefit many
recipients, especially those who are of Turkish origin, of bone marrow
donations. Financial donations can be made by mailing a check, payable to
National Marrow Donor Program (be sure to write Turkish-American Marrow
Foundation in the memo field of the check), to:
     National Marrow Donor Program

     Attention: Donor Services

     3433 Broadway Street NE, Suite 500

     Minneapolis, MN 55413

     Should you wish to contact NMDP, they can be reached at 1-800-526-7809

     3.. Assistance is needed in getting the word out to as many Turkish
and Turkish-American people as possible who reside in the United States,
that they need to call their local donor center, or TAMF^Òs toll free
number, and become registered bone marrow donors.
     4.. Assistance is needed in contacting your counterparts in Canada,
where bone marrow donation is actually easier logistically than it is in
the United States, and it is free of cost!
If you have any questions, comments or recommendations I can be contacted
in the following ways:

E-mail: hongtsun.simon@...

Home Phone: 1-877-256-2773

Home fax: (770) 569-2885

Business Phone: (770) 522-5071

I apologize that I cannot speak Turkish. If you wish to get more
information in Turkish, feel free to contact Mirel at:

E-mail: wji@...

Phone: (713) 202-1412

I sincerely appreciate your assistance in this matter. Mirel is very proud
of her country, Turkey, and has only lived in the United States for a few
years to attend university and the last several months to be treated for
leukemia. I wish you knew her as well as I do. I cannot put into words how
much her friends and family care about her. We are confident and hopeful
that by seeking your assistance we are taking a crucial step to help our
friend and many others. Your association can help Mirel and others by
registering on the international database as a bone marrow donor. You can
either do it in a donor drive or I can send you the necessary material to
be tested at your convenience at a donor lab in your area. While there is
normally a fee to register, the foundation I co-created can cover all
expenses. I do not have the honor of being Turkish, but out of love and
respect for my friend and her country, I am doing everything I can to help
her and other Turkish people, some of whom are also being treated in the
same facility as Mirel in Houston right now.

Eventually, this matter will be resolved one way or another. When that
time comes, you may ask yourself what your role was and whether you
contributed to the best of your abilities. I trust you will be proud of
your decision to help. Time is of the essence.

Sincerely,

Josh Simon

COO, Turkish-American Marrow Foundation



Mirel^Òin Hastaliginin Özeti ve Kemik Iligi Nakli Ihtiyaci



Mirel^Òe bu senenin Mart ayinda Lösemi teshisi kondu. Mirel teshis oldu
olali devamli ve yogun bir kemoterapi tedavisi görmüstür, ilk önce
Londra^Òda ve simdi de Houston^Òda MD Anderson Kanser Merkezi^Ònde.
Kemoterapi tedavisinin çok kuvvetli ve zor oldugu halde, Mirel^Òin
remisyona girmis olmasini saglamakla simdiye kadar basarili olmustur.
Remisyon demek, Lösemi hücreleri öldürülerek çok düsük bir seviyeye
indirilmistir demektir. Maamafih, mücadele sona ermekten çok uzaktir.
Mirel^Òin hastaligi tekrar ilerlemeye baslamasin ^Ö yani, kemik iligindeki
Lösemi hücreleri geri gelmesin diye tedavisine devam edilmesi gerekiyor.
Iste bu devam eden tedavide Mirel^Òin sizin yardiminiza ihtiyaci vardir.

Lösemi nedir? Lösemi bir Kemik Iligi kanseridir. Kemik Iligi, vücuda
oksijen dagitan kirmizi kan hücreleri, hastalik ve enfeksiyonla mücadele
eden beyaz kan hücreleri dahil olmak üzere, kanin üretildigi yerdir.
Lösemi^Òde bir insanin Ilik Kemigi, ödevini yapamayan, anormal beyaz kan
hücreleri üretmeye baslar. Bu beyaz kan hücreleri enfeksiyonla mücadele
etmezler ve o kadar süratle artarlar ki kemik iligi artik normal kan
üretmez olur.

Lösemi için iki genel tip tedavi vardir: kemoterapi ve kemik iligi nakli.
Kemoterapi Lösemi hücrelerinin öldürülmesi için zehirli kimyevi maddelerin
kullanilmasidir. Kuvvetli dozda kemoterapi bazi hastalari bu hastaliktan
tamamen kurtarabiliyor. Gerçi, bunun garantisi yoktur. Kuvvetli dozda
kemoterapi tedavisinden sonra hastaligin yeniden nüksetme ihtimali oldukça
fazladir, bilhassa ilk üç sene zarfinda. Hastaliklarinin tekrar nüksetme
riski yüksek olan veya kemoterapiden hiç sifa görmeyen hastalar için diger
çare kemik iligi naklidir.

Kemik iligi nakli nedir? Kemik iligi nakli prosedüründe Lösemi hastasinin
kemik iligi tamamen öldürülür ve onun yerine sihhatli bir kimseden
(verici) alinan çok ufak bir miktar kemik iligi konur. Hastanin kemik
iligini tamamen öldürmek için çok yogun kemoterapi ve radyasyon
kullanilir. Ondan sonra bagislayan insandan alinan kemik iligi hastaya
transfüzyon ile damardan verilir.

Kemik iligi nakli yapilmasinda tabii problemler mevcuttur. Birinci
problem, nakilden önce yapilan yogun radyasyonun yeni kemik iligi ile
birlikte Lösemi hücrelerini tamamen öldürmekte basarili olmayabilmesi. Bu
demektir ki prosedür hastayi bu hastaliktan kurtarmakta basarili olamadi.

Ikinci problem kemik iligi nakli tamamlandiktan sonra hastanin vücudunun
ve bagis yapan kimsenin iliginin birbirlerini reddetme riskidir. Bagisi
yapanin genetik yapisi ile hastanin genetik yapisi birbirine uymazsa, bu
durum ortaya çikar. Bu çok tehlikeli bir risktir. Fakat hastanin genetik
yapisina çok yakin uyan bir verici bulunursa, bu risk adamakilli
azalabilir.



Mirel^Òin kemik iligi nakline ihtiyaci var mi? Mirel simdiye kadar
kemoterapi tedavisine çok müsbet cevap verdi. Ama maalesef, onda teshis
edilen Lösemi cinsinde yeniden nüksetme orani çok yüksektir. Geçmis
vakalara bakildiginda, kemik iligi nakli yapilmadan çok az sayida hasta
kurtulabilmistir. Onun için, istatistiklere göre, Mirel^Òin ilik nakli
yapilmadan bu hastaliktan kurtulmasi hemen hemen imkansizdir.



Mirel^Òe tamamen uyan bir verici nasil bulabiliriz? Bati memleketlerinde
(yani ABD, Almanya, Ingiltere, Fransa, diger Avrupa memleketleri, ve
Japonya) bir çok muhtemel kemik iligi bagislayici veri bankasi vardir. Biz
bütün bu veri bankalarini etraflica aradik, fakat henüz reddetme riski
ihtimalini azaltabilecek tamamen uygun birisini bulamadik. Bu veri
bankalarinda aramaya devam ediyoruz, fakat bu yoldan Mirel için tamamen
uyan bir kemik iligi vericisi bulabilmemiz ihtimali pek azdir.

Problemin esasi genetik yapilisin irsi olmasidir. Buna göre, genetik
olarak Mirel^Òe en iyi uyma ihtimali olan kimseler: en önce kendi direkt
ailesi, ikinci olarak akrabalari, ve nihayet o da olmazsa, ona benzer
kökenleri olan kimseler. Ailesini ve akrabalarini test ettik; ve uymaya
yakin çiktilar, fakat tamamen uyan kimse bulamadik. En son kalan çaremiz
kendi soyundan olan kimseler arasindan uygun verici (yani Türkler ve
Türkiye civarindaki bölgelerden olan insanlar) aramaktir.

Maalesef, Türkiye^Òde organize edilmis ilik bagislayici bir veri bankasi
yoktur. Halbuki komsu ülkelerde, örngegin Yunanistan ve Kibris Rum
devletinde ilik veri bankalari mevcuttur. Onun için Mirel ve arkadaslari,
Türkiyede büyük ve dogruluguna güvenilir bir veri bankasi kurmak için
kollari sivadilar. Bunu gerçeklestirmek için iki sey gerekli. En önce,
Mirel Türkiyede genetik tiplendirme yapabilecek bir laboratuar kurmak
ister. Bu laboratuar dünya çapinda kalitede, dogru olarak genetik tipleme
ve büyük sayida testler yapabilecek kapasitede olmalidir. Ikinci olarak,
Mirel mümkün oldugu kadar çok sayida muhtemel vericinin kaydolmasini
saglamak için kampanyalar organize etmeye baslamayi arzu eder. Yeterli
sayida Türk bagislayicinin bulundugu bir veri bankasi kurmak için bu
kampanyalarin uzun müddet devam etmesi icabedecek.

Bu etkinliklerin hem Mirel^Òe faydasi olacak (yani kendisine uyacak bir
verici bulmasina yardim edecek) hem de simdi ve ilerde kemik iligi nakline
ihtiyaci olan binlerce Türke faydali olacaktir. Türkiyede simdiye kadar
hiç "akraba disinda" kemik iligi nakli yapilmamistir. Bunun en bas sebebi
de böyle bir veri bankasinin olmamasidir.

Bir kemik iligi verici için beklentiler nedir? Genetik tipleme için
tipleme testi, ve uygunluk oldugu takdirde, ilik vermenin yöntemi gayet
kolaydir. Muhtemel bir vericinin genetik tipini tespit etmek için yapilan
testler çok basittir. Muhtemel vericinin sadece ufak bir miktar (Hepatit
gibi bir bulasik hastalik için alinan kan miktarina yakin bir miktar) kan
numunesi vermesi icabeder. Ondan sonra kan numunesi genetik yapilisini
tesbit etmek için test edilir, ve vericiye ve genetik yapilisina ait olan
bu bilgi, bilgisayarda saklanir.

Bir hastayla muhtemel verici arasinda uygunluk çok nadirdir. Mesela, genel
veri bankalarinda arastirma yapan hastalar, milyonlarca insanin içinden
ancak çok az sayida muhtemel uygun kimse bulabilirler. Bu muhtemel
uygunluklarin, ancak bir kaç tanesi (bir veya iki) neticede nakilde
kullanilabilecek kadar iyi çikar. Bu demektir ki, bir muhtemel verici hiç
bir zaman çagrilmayabilir. Maamafih, sayet bir kimse tamamen uygun
bulunursa, o verici, o hastanin hayatini kurtaracak kemik iligini
verebilecek yegâne kimse olabilir. Bu düsük olasiliklar sebebiyle,
hastalara uygun verici bulabilme imkâni verebilmek için, çok büyük veri
bankalarinin gelistirilmesi lâzimdir.

Bir muhtemel verici ile bir hasta arasinda bir uyusma baslangici
görülürse, verici ile hasta arasindaki genetik uygunlugu teyidetmek için
ilâveten daha detayli testler yapmak üzere, yeniden kan numunesi
istenebilir.

Sayet bu uyusma nakil yapilabilecek kadar iyi olursa, esas nakil
prosedürün kendisi gayet basittir. Kemik iligi vericiden basit bir cerrahi
procedür ile alinir. Bu prosedür yapilacagi zaman, vericiye ya lokal ya da
genel anestezi uygulanir. Prosedürün kendisi sadece bir saat sürer, ve
verici hastaneden sadece birkaç saat içinde çikabilir veya bir gece kalir.
Anestezi kullanildigi için, kemik iligi alinirken hiç bir aci duyulmaz.
Vericinin endise edecegi kesin olarak hiç bir sey yoktur. Eminim ki siz de
bana hak verirsiniz, birinin hayatini kurtarmaya karsilik, çekilen sikinti
pek azdir.





Elinizden gelen, verebileceginiz yardim için simdiden tesekkür ederim.



A Summary of Mirel^Òs Condition and her Need for a Bone Marrow Transplant




As you are most likely aware, Mirel was diagnosed with Leukemia in March
of this year. Since her diagnosis Mirel has undergone constant and
intensive chemotherapy treatment, first in London and now at the MD
Anderson cancer center in Houston. While chemotherapy is a very harsh and
difficult treatment to undergo, it has been successful so far in getting
Mirel into remission. Remission means that the Leukemia cells have been
killed off to a very low level. The fight, however, is far from over.
Mirel^Òs treatment must continue in order to ensure that she does not
relapse ^Ö meaning that the Leukemia cells in the Bone Marrow do not
return. It is in this further treatment that Mirel needs your help.

What is Leukemia? Leukemia is a cancer of the Bone Marrow. The Bone Marrow
is where blood is produced, including red blood cells (which distribute
oxygen to the body) and white blood cells (which fight disease and
infection). Leukemia is when a person^Òs bone marrow starts producing
dysfunctional white blood cells -- white blood cells that do not fight
infection and that reproduce at such a fast rate that the bone marrow
stops producing normal blood.

There are two general types of treatment for Leukemia: chemotherapy and
bone marrow transplant. Chemotherapy is when toxic chemicals are used to
kill-off the Leukemia cells. In some patients, aggressive chemotherapy can
completely cure them from the disease forever. However, this is not
guaranteed. The chances of relapse even after aggressive chemotherapy are
significant, especially during the first 3 years. In patients that have a
high risk of relapse or that could not be cured with chemotherapy at all,
a bone marrow transplant is the other alternative.

What is a bone marrow transplant? A bone marrow transplant is a procedure
where the bone marrow of a Leukemia patient is completely killed-off and
then replaced with a very small amount if bone marrow from a healthy
individual (a donor). Extremely intensive chemotherapy and radiation is
used to completely kill-off the patients^Ò bone marrow. Then the bone
marrow from the donor is transfused intravenously into the patient.

There are inherent problems in doing a bone marrow transplant. The first
problem is if the intensive radiation before the transplant combined with
the new bone marrow are not successful in killing-off the Leukemia cells.
This means that the procedure failed to cure the patient of the disease

The second problem is the risk that the patient^Òs body and the donor^Òs
bone reject each other after the transplant is completed. This occurs when
the donor^Òs genetic make-up does not match the patient^Òs genetic make-up.
This is a very serious risk. But this risk can be reduced significantly by
finding a donor who closely matches the patient^Òs genetic make-up.





Does Mirel need a bone marrow transplant? Mirel has so far reacted very
positively to her chemotherapy treatment. Unfortunately, however, the
specific form of Leukemia with which she was diagnosed with has very high
relapse rates. Very few people have historically survived what she has
without a bone marrow transplant. Statistically, therefore, it would seem
likely that Mirel would not survive her disease without a transplant.

How do we find Mirel a matching donor? There are several global databases
of potential bone marrow donors in Western countries (i.e. the US,
Germany, UK, France, other European countries, and Japan). We have
conducted an exhaustive search of these databases, but have not yet found
a perfect match that can effectively reduce the risk of rejection. While
we continue searching these databases, there is little chance that we can
find a perfect match for Mirel there.

The essence of the problem is that genetic make-up is hereditary. So
people who are most likely to genetically match Mirel would be: first her
direct family, then second her extended family, and finally if that fails,
people who have similar roots to hers. We have tested her direct and
extended family and while they came close to matching Mirel, we did not
find a perfect match. Our only remaining alternative is to search for
matching donors among people of the same descent (i.e. Turkish people and
people from the surrounding regions around Turkey).

Unfortunately, neither Turkey nor any other country in the region has an
organized database of bone marrow donors. Mirel, therefore, would like to
begin developing a large and accurate bone marrow database in Turkey. This
requires two things to happen. First of all, Mirel would like to set-up a
lab in Turkey that can do genetic typing. This lab will need to be of
world-class quality in terms of accuracy of the genetic typing and the
volume of tests it can process. Secondly, Mirel would like to begin
organizing drives to get as many potential donors tested as possible.
These drives will need to continue for a long time in order to ensure that
a large enough database of Turkish donors is developed.

These activities will help both Mirel^Òs cause (i.e. help her find a
perfect matching donor) as well as the cause of thousands of other Turkish
people who may need a bone marrow transplant now or in the future. There
never has been a "non-relative" bone marrow transplant done in Turkey, the
major reason being that there is no Registry.

What are the implications for a bone marrow donor? The entire process of
being tested for genetic typing and, if there is a match, giving bone
marrow is quite simple. The tests necessary for identifying the genetic
typing of a potential donor are extremely simple. They only require a
potential donor to give a small amount of blood, similar to the amount
required to do a test for an infectious disease such as Hepatitis. Then
this blood sample is tested to determine the genetic make-up and the
information for the donor and their genetic make-up is stored in a
computer.

Matches between patients and potential donors are very rare. For example,
patients who do searches in the global databases of Millions of people
usually find less than 50 potential matches. Of these potential matches,
only a small percent will eventually end-up being good enough matches to
proceed with the transplant. This means that the potential donor may never
be called. However, if a person is identified as a perfectly matching
donor, he or she may be the only person who can provide life-saving bone
marrow to that patient. It is these low probabilities, therefore, which
make it necessary to develop a very large database of potential donors in
order to give patients a greater chance of matching with potential donors.

If at some point there is a preliminary match between a potential donor
and a patient, an additional blood sample may be needed to do more
detailed testing which would confirm the genetic match between the donor
and the patient.

And if this match ends up being good enough for a transplant, the actual
transplant procedure itself is really quite simple. Bone Marrow is taken
out of the donor in a simple surgical procedure. The donor is put under
regional or general anesthesia for this procedure. The procedure itself
lasts only one hour, and the donor is only in the hospital for a few hours
or at most overnight. Because anesthesia is used, this procedure of
collecting bone marrow is completely painless. There is absolutely nothing
that the donor needs to worry about. This, I^Òm sure you agree, is a very
small inconvenience in return for the chance of saving another person^Òs
life.





This is the basic information for what needs to be done. We thank you in
advance for any and all the help you can give.

{05dec98.trh}

A service of the TURKISH RADIO HOUR, producer of:

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                            and

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************************************************
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NEWS BRIEFS

* The tension between Turkey and Italy seems to have lessened last week,
although Turkey is still insisting on the extradition of Abdullah Ocalan,
leader of the terrorist organization called Kurdish Workers Party. Ocalan
was detained in Rome two weeks ago.  Turkey says Ocalan is responsible for
loss of 30,000 lives in Turkey and demands extradition of Ocalan. Italy so
far refused to hand Ocalan to Turkey.
   Italy has tried to send Ocalan back to Moscow, but the Russians have
refused this by claiming that they never had a person by that name in
their territory, relying on the fact that Ocalan was under an assumed name
while in Russia after getting expelled from Syria.
   Italy also suggested that the a European Court should try Ocalan. At one
point they have also said that Italian courts may try him.
   In the meantime, the Italian soccer team Juventus played in Turkey under
tight security and without any incidence which helped to ease the
tensions. The game was postponed by European Soccer federation for one
week amid fears of violence. It is reported that Juventus team and
officials were so fearful that they even brought their own food to Turkey.

* Ismail Cem, Turkey's Foreign Affairs Minister said on Monday that
''Italy has put a time bomb into herself,'' adding that any country which
supports terrorism can not get better.

* Turkish President Suleyman Demirel charged veteran Turkish politician
Mr. Bulent Ecevit with the task of forming the next government.
   Former minority coalition headed by Mr. Mesut Yilmaz had fallen due to
allegations of corruption and organized crime involvement in the sell-off
of a government owned bank.
   Mr. Ecevit was the head of a coalition government in mid-1970s when he
ordered the Turkish intervention in Cyprus to protect the Turkish minority
there.
   Mr. Ecevit is reported to be seeking the involvement of two personal
rivals, Mr.  Mesut Yilmaz and Mrs. Tansu Ciller in forming the next
government. Although the Islamist Virtue Party has the most MP's in the
Turkish Parliament, Mr. Ecevit is expected to exclude them from his
coalition.
   Even if Mr. Ecevit is successful in forming a viable cabinet, due to
upcoming elections in the spring, it will be a short-lived one.
   Latest news we received this afternoon indicate that Mrs. Ciller refused
to participate in the coalition.

* A group of 1,431 Greek-Cypriots visited the Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus on Monday to hold a religious ceremony.

* Egyptian President Mr. Hosni Mubarak arrived in Turkey for an official
visit today. Mr. Mobarak was instrumental in defusing the tension between
Syria and Turkey recently due to Syria's support for the Kurdish Workers
Party and giving sanctuary to its leader Abdullah Ocalan.
   According to a statement made by the Turkish Foreign Ministry, during
Mobarak's visit, bilateral relations, regional and international issues
will be discussed. The recent situation in the Middle East peace process
is also expected to be debated.

* Turkish President Suleyman Demirel paid a visit to Romania this week
where he met with Romanian officials and business leaders. While in
Romania, President Demirel opened a monument dedicated to the founder of
the Turkish Republic Mr. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and opened a mosque and a
school for the ethnic Turks.

* The New York based Human Rights Watch Committee said on Friday that
Greece rejects the existence of Turkish minority living in Western Thrace
region of Greece.
   Noting that human rights violations in Greece continue in 1998, Human
Rights Watch said those violations were particularly forwarded to Turkish
and Macedonian minorities.
   The report, citing the pressures exerted on people, said Abdulhalim
Dede, a Greek citizen of Turkish origin, was sentenced to eight months
imprisonment putting an antenna on his house without permission.
''However'', the report said ''almost all the 3,000 radio stations, active
in Greece, use antennas without permission.''

* People of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will go to elections
tomorrow to determine new members for the 50-chair parliament.

* The Istanbul Music Festival will be held on December 4-6. Within the
framework of the classical music program of the festival, five concerts of
eight young Turkish composers will be held. Meanwhile, the first
International Cinema-History Meeting, organized as part of the
celebrations for the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the Republic of
Turkey, will start in Istanbul today and last until December 10. During
the festival, panels and seminars will also be held.

* The Balkan Sports Writers' Union conference started in Konya on
Thursday. In addition to Turkey, nearly 50 sports writers from Yugoslavia,
Greece and Romania are attending the conference.

* The World Three-Band Billiards Championship started on Tuesday in
southern Antalya province of Turkey.
   A total of 116 players from 27 countries will compete in the six-day
championships.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

Edited for Turkish Radio Hour by Mark Nowak

* The Turkish Anatolia Group makes the largest foreign investment in
Romania with a $ 64 million beer factory.

* A new report says that a total of $6.3 billion of trade is conducted in
the 12 free zones of Turkey in the first 10 months of 1998.

* German-French consortium Eurocopter withdraws from a bid put out to
tender by the Turkish Armed Forces for fighter helicopters worth $3.5
billion.

* Italian businessmen are worried about the tension in Turco-Italian
relations following the arrival of the rebel leader Ocalan in Italy.
Debating the boycott started on Italian goods in Turkey, the Chairman of
the Italian Businessmen's Association Giorgio Fossa says that thousands of
dollars worth of orders by Turks are in danger and that Italian workers
may lose their jobs

* The Turkish Young Businessmen's Association and the Italian Young
Businessmen's Association issue a joint declaration in Brussels and
express their regrets about the crisis between Turkey and Italy. Italian
and Turkish businessmen stress their belief in the reconstruction of
powerful relations between the two countries.
   Chairman of The Turkish Young Businessmen's Association, Hamdi Akin and
a group of young Turkish businessmen, who were in Brussels to attend the
European Young Businessmen's Associations Confederation meeting, inform
their European counterparts about the bloody activities of the terrorist
Kurdish Workers Party organization and its leader Abdullah Ocalan.

* Turkish officials have a meeting with 16 business associations about the
crisis with Italy. After the meeting, the Deputy Undersecretary of
Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Uluc Ozulker tells that
Turkey is not applying an official trade embargo against Italy and would
never do so.

* Ceylan Holding, one of the major Turkish construction firms, will build
two hydroelectric power plants for a total price of $600 million in
Bulgaria. Electricity produced will be sold to Turkey. Ceylan Holding will
also construct a 114-kilometer highway from the Turkish border to Kapikule
to Orizova, Bulgaria.

* 8.6 million foreign tourists visit Turkey in the first 10 month of the
year, 1 million of them in October alone. October figure is 9% higher when
compared to 1997.

* The total amount of bonds issued on the international capital markets by
the Turkish Treasury in 1998 reaches $2.4 billion. Latest export of DM 600
million was on November 10 on the Euromarket.

* According to Prime Minister Yilmaz, the Turkish inflation rate for
November will be under 4.3%.  On an annualized basis this is about 60%,
down from 88% last year at the same time.

* Swedish firm Apollo Tourism will invest in Turkey in 1999. As a first
step Apollo will establish an office called "Holidays" in Turkey. The
General Director of the company Bo Ostenius says their aim is to increase
the number of Swedes visiting Turkey. .Apollo takes hundreds of thousands
of tourists from Scandinavian countries to various Mediterranean countries
every year.

* Turkey's State Statistics Institute reports that the growth rate in the
Turkish economy after adjustment for inflation was 1.9 % in the third
quarter of this year.
   The growth rate during the first nine months was 4.4 %.

* The Turkish Economy Bank obtains a $50 million syndicated loan from the
international markets.

* Remittances from Turkish workers employed abroad, particularly those in
Germany, total $3.9 billion during the first nine months of 1998,
representing a 26% increase as compared to same period last year.
   Speaking of Turks abroad, according to research conducted by the
Association of European Turkish Businessmen and Industrialists, the number
of Turkish entrepreneurs in the European countries, now 45,000, will
exceed 100,000 by the year 2000.

* Turkey's Privatization Administration Chairmanship has an ambitious
program for 1999: 24 state-owned companies are earmarked for privatization
in 1999. In addition to these 24 companies, the Privatization
Administration will finalize the privatization of state-run companies for
which bidding began in 1998.
   Revenues expected from the privatization deals in 1999 amount to $5
billion, of which $4 billion is expected to be received in 1999.

SPORTS

Turkish Premiere League results:

On Saturday, 28 November:

Adanaspor-Gaziantepspor 3-1
Erzurumspor-Kocaelispor 0-0
Istanbulspor-C.Dardanel 1-1
KDC Karabuk-Ankaragucu  0-1
Trabzonspor-Sakaryaspor 2-1


On Sunday, 29 November:

Fenerbahce-Bursaspor   4-1
Genclerbirligi-Altay   1-1
Samsunspor-Antalyaspor 0-1

      Teams      Matches Points
  1. Besiktas      13    31
  2. Trabzonspor   14    30
  3. Fenerbahce    14    29
  4. Galatasaray   13    27
  5. Antalyaspor   14    27
  6. Kocaelispor   14    24
  7. Genclerbirligi14    23
  8. Bursaspor     14    23
  9. Istanbulspor  14    21
  10.Gaziantepspor 14    19
  11.Ankaragucu    14    16
  12.Erzurumspor   14    16
  13.Adanaspor     14    14
  14.Samsunspor    14    14
  15.Altay         14    12
  16.Sakaryaspor   14    10
  17.KDC Karabuk   14     8
  18.C.Dardanel    14     5

* In the European Champions League Games, the Turkish team Galatasaray had
a draw with its Italian rival Juventus in a game played in Istanbul. With
this result, Galatasaray became the leader in its group.

*** ANNOUNCEMENTS

*** Turkish American Association of California has partially
     underwritten today's program. TAAC is a non-profit
     charitable organization established to promote better
     understanding between  Americans and Turks.

       If you have any questions about Turks and Turkey,
                       give them a call:

                        1-415-646-0946

                       or e-mail them at
                     taac at taaca.org

*** TAAC Presents

Concert by Pianist Mehmet Okonsar

in part of the celebrations of the
75th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey


Date: December 6, 1998  (this Sunday)
Time: 2 P.M.
Place: Les Joulins
        44 Ellis Street (close to Union Square and Market Street)
        San Francisco
        (Ample parking available near 44 Ellis)

The event is sponsored by TAAC. No host drinks are provided.

The concert will start promptly at 2 P.M. Please be there at least 15
minutes before the concert time. Doors will close at 2 P.M.

           Call (415) 646-0946 for reservations.

Okonsar's Biography is at

http://www.dominet.com.tr/members/okonsar


*** TAAC Sacramento Chapter invites you to:

                     New Year Eve's Party

                       December 31, 1998
                            8 P. M.

                 Holiday Inn / Rancho Cordova
               Highway 50 / Sunrise Blvd. South

          Chicken Kabob dinner or Steak Kabob Dinner

                       Seats are limited
                               &
      Deadline to purchase the tickets is December 20th.

For more information, call (916) 727-3033.

                     Cigdem & Serdar Askin
                     askin.com at juno.com

*** AEGEAN FRIENDS
                        Arkadas * Filoi

     AEGEAN FRIENDS is a social-cultural group of Greeks,
   Turks,  Cypriots, and other peoples of good will, coming
  together to  celebrate their rich heritage, explore common
        roots, and promote  peace in the Aegean region.

    Share music, food, and conversation. Dance. Create art.
            Discover  the generosity of the heart.

                 For more information contact
                        AEGEAN FRIENDS
                           Box 14022
                 San Francisco, CA 94114-0022
              e-mail:  aegfriends at aol.com

*** Turkish Folkdancing in Northern California:

*** Arkadash Turkish Folk Dance Ensemble, San Jose
        Free classes, all ages are welcome
              Call Omer Uyuklu at (408) 374-5066
                   e-mail: ccc at calcc.com

*** Horon, Monterey
            For more information call Yavuz Atila:
                        1-408-646-1916

     Horon is a Turkish American Association of California
                    associate organization

*** Art for Peace, Stanford
                 For more information contact
            artforpeace-intnl at lists.stanford.edu
                  408-971-1376 Carol Leitner

*** Group Anadolum. For folk, pop and sufi music of Turkey,
        also for playing oud and saz.

     Group Anadolum is composed of about 25 musicians and
     singers.

      Group Anadolum is a Turkish American Association of
              California associate organization.

            Contact Sahin Gunsel at (415) 387-3399
                e-mail: sgunsel at hotmail.com

*** PROGRAMIN SONUNA DOGRU SU ANONSLARI YAP:

*** Tune in to the following broadcasts in the Bay Area:

     - Every Saturday at 5 P.M. to the
       Turkish Cultural Program on KUSF FM 90.3
     - Every third Saturday at 6 P.M.
       KKUP FM 91.5 to the Orient Express
     - Tune in to KPFA FM 94.1 every Monday at 10 A.M. for
       Music from Africa-Asia, hosted by Kutay Kugay.
     - Mondays 7:00 - 10:00 P.M. 89.5 FM
       International Program KBES
       (covers Stanislaus County all the way to Manteca),
       hosted by George Geevargis.

*** Yayinlarimiz siz dinleyicilerimizin katkilari ile
     surebilecektir. Studyomuza telefon acarak nasil katkida
     bulunabileceginizi ogrenebilirsiniz.
                   Telefonumuz 415-751-KUSF
            e-posta adresimiz: trh at aimnet.com

     A service of the TURKISH RADIO HOUR
     On the airways since 1982

*** NEW CD ** NEW CD ** NEW CD ** NEW CD ** NEW CD **

***************      JUST RELEASED    ****************

*** Yusif Savalan

     "Heydar Baba" features Yusif Savalan's silken voice and
     Azerbaijan's Ahmet Bakikhanov Music Ensemble. Mr. Savalan's
     interpretation of great Azeri poet Shehriyari's
     masterpiece Heydar Baba is the title song. Mr. Savalan
     was heard live on the Turkish Cultural Program in
     September 1998 and later gave a concert at a Turkish
     American Association of California  gathering where the
     Audience fell  in love with his singing.
     Among the songs featured: Kor Arab, Ana Kur, Ana,
     Azerbaycan Ogluyam, Heydar Baba, Dine Bilmedim, Intizar,
     Zerif Gulushlu

*** CEMALI
     CEMALI "The First Alternative Music Group from Turkey" have
     released  their first US CD "Whirl" and it is available
     through the Turkish  Radio Hour.  Cemali's recording and
     performing career took them from  San Francisco to around
     the world and back to San Francisco. A shorter  version of
     their CD sold 300 thousand copies in Turkey.

*** Chingiz Sadykhov
     Music of world-class pianist from Azerbaijan, Chingiz
     Sadykhov.  "Songs of Azerbaijan" is a new CD release
     from 7/8 Music.  Maestro Chingiz Sadykhov has been
     playing piano as a concert pianist and accompanist to
     the greatest singers of Azerbaijan and Soviet Union for
     over 50 years.  He has garnered the coveted title of
     "Peoples' Artist of Azerbaijan".  He has performed and
     taught music around the world.

*** Necati Celik
     7/8 Music Productions is proud to release new CD "YASEMIN"
     from oud master NECATI CELIK.

     Necati Celik belongs to a group of musicians that are a rare
     breed Indeed. He is considered one of the great oud players
     in Turkey now. His command of this ancient instrument is so
     remarkable that even the uninitiated audiences are thrilled
     to listen to the stately classical Turkish music presented
     by this relatively young master. Necati Celik has a vigorous
     style full of sensitivity for the composition or the
     improvisation. His knowledge of the Turkish makams (maqamat)
     is so vast and thorough that he plays this infinite ocean of
     music without much repetition at each of his concerts. Yet
     his interpretation is always fresh and full of surprises.
     This CD includes one astonishing vocal track from the
     master.

ORDERING INFORMATION
Both CDs are available through the Turkish Radio Hour:

    * From US and Canada you can order the CD by sending
      * Yasemin by Necati Celik:          US$ 18
      * Songs of Azerbaijan by C Sadykov: US$ 18
      * Whirl by Cemali:                  US$ 15
* Make checks payable to 7/8 Music

* Make check payable to TRH for Mr. Savalan's CD!
    * US$ 18 for Heyder Baba by Yusif Savalan.
    * Mail your payment along with your address to:

                      Turkish Radio Hour
                         P.O. Box 1332
                    Cupertino, CA 95015 USA

  For more information about both CDs please contact us here at
            the studio  or e-mail trh at aimnet.com
       If you have e-mail, we can also send you a brief
                    description of  the CDs.

{05dec98.trh}