The shelling continues. This is almost an entire week of fireworks. Twelve year-old Angelus would be in heaven. If only I were still satisfied by minor explosions.
There is a second funny story I have about the "Call on Me" video (below). When I was in the swanky St. Clerans Manor with the stinky Thai and the 'merican... we decided to take afternoon tea. As instructed we waited in the "library". On the plasma tv, the video came on. While my American companions were suitably shocked, and I pretended to be knowingly amused (as a function of my sophistication), the waitress came in with our tea.... or rather, with a tray loaded with tea, scones, and the other requisite sundries. Perhaps due to the formalism of the room, or perhaps because the waitress was wearing a black maid's outfit (not too far off from the sexy maid costume that cool guy's girlfriends wear during Halloween), Pinsuda and I started squirming in the couches and giggling. THIS rather than the "explicit" nature of the video was the probable cause of what happened next. The waitress/maid spilled the thick jersey cream all over the table.
She had an excessive amount of trouble cleaning it up... each swipe of the towel only seemed to smear a thicker sheet of creamy goo over the table. But she was absolutely non-chalant about the video. We were the only ones nervous about watching soft-porn in a 200 euro a night hotel.
I went to a lecture in the British Museum yesterday about modern urban archaeology in Istanbul.... It is unfathomable that in 2005, there are still people hacking 600 year old crosses to pieces... The Turks really don't deserve it... I know that is the last thing I should EVER say. It is totally counter-productive. After all, Byzantium is THEIR heritage too.
The archaeologist who gave the speech said that he was not allowed into the Byzantine crypt of the Fatih Mosque (ie the Mosque of the Conqueror)... He said this is because the Imam told him that Mehmet II is actually buried THERE.. not in his mausoleum. The irony and hypocrisy is too thick! The Fatih Mosque is built on the ruins of the Church of the Holy Apostles, which was the burial place of the Byzantine Emperors! (and was torn down by the Ottomans for the mosque) It just goes to show the Turks' role as successors to Byzantium....whether they... or the Greeks want to admit it.
All that said, I hope the modern Turkish government allows excavations.... They obviously want (and have a right) to modernize their city...but that doesn't mean the past should be lost with every new subway line. As of now, there are still megalithic Byzantine columns lying around in alleyways and backyards.... record it before it is too late!
There is a second funny story I have about the "Call on Me" video (below). When I was in the swanky St. Clerans Manor with the stinky Thai and the 'merican... we decided to take afternoon tea. As instructed we waited in the "library". On the plasma tv, the video came on. While my American companions were suitably shocked, and I pretended to be knowingly amused (as a function of my sophistication), the waitress came in with our tea.... or rather, with a tray loaded with tea, scones, and the other requisite sundries. Perhaps due to the formalism of the room, or perhaps because the waitress was wearing a black maid's outfit (not too far off from the sexy maid costume that cool guy's girlfriends wear during Halloween), Pinsuda and I started squirming in the couches and giggling. THIS rather than the "explicit" nature of the video was the probable cause of what happened next. The waitress/maid spilled the thick jersey cream all over the table.
She had an excessive amount of trouble cleaning it up... each swipe of the towel only seemed to smear a thicker sheet of creamy goo over the table. But she was absolutely non-chalant about the video. We were the only ones nervous about watching soft-porn in a 200 euro a night hotel.
I went to a lecture in the British Museum yesterday about modern urban archaeology in Istanbul.... It is unfathomable that in 2005, there are still people hacking 600 year old crosses to pieces... The Turks really don't deserve it... I know that is the last thing I should EVER say. It is totally counter-productive. After all, Byzantium is THEIR heritage too.
The archaeologist who gave the speech said that he was not allowed into the Byzantine crypt of the Fatih Mosque (ie the Mosque of the Conqueror)... He said this is because the Imam told him that Mehmet II is actually buried THERE.. not in his mausoleum. The irony and hypocrisy is too thick! The Fatih Mosque is built on the ruins of the Church of the Holy Apostles, which was the burial place of the Byzantine Emperors! (and was torn down by the Ottomans for the mosque) It just goes to show the Turks' role as successors to Byzantium....whether they... or the Greeks want to admit it.
All that said, I hope the modern Turkish government allows excavations.... They obviously want (and have a right) to modernize their city...but that doesn't mean the past should be lost with every new subway line. As of now, there are still megalithic Byzantine columns lying around in alleyways and backyards.... record it before it is too late!
posted by akrites @ 7:55 AM
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