Oxford da Hayat/Life in Oxford

Bonfire Night - 5th Nov

2011-11-18T16:33:00.001+00:00

Cold, Cold and Cold !
While it is getting colder and colder , we are trying to enjoy ourselves with this sort of small colorful fireworks. Those photos are taken by me on 5th November 2011 in Southpark Oxford. It was my first try on taking pictures of Fireworks.
Hope you enjoy.

Places you should see but you can't really !

2011-10-08T00:05:00.000+01:00

:)
Well, you probably think like "what the hell is she talking about?" but you will understand what I mean if you continue reading.
Okay, there are few places in the centre of Oxford are important and I guess everyone should see them. You can see them on your guide books as well. Yet, those places are not really open to everyone. You can't just walk in and it is not about admission fee even. Right,
Lets start with Radcliffe Camera that is actually the best part of Bodleian Library but unfortunately this round room could be used only by academicians, students, lecturers with a reservation in advance.
But you can still see it from out side. It is in Radcliffe Square and very close to High Street. Since it is impossible to miss, I am not going to add a map for it.
But I am going to share a little story with you that was told by my friend.
During summers we get a lot of tourists especially from the US. I don't know why, don't ask.

Anyway, my friend told me that an american couple approached her one day and asked where the Radcliffe Camera was. Then she told them "It is very close by, just turn right at the end of Broad Street and go straight you will see it. It is a big round old building and part of the Bodleian Library." Then the guy goes like "ohh, so it is not a camera shop, then ? Cause I need batteries for my camera! "
I guess she just rolled her eyes on them. We laughed a lot, you can't even imagine, but yes, those things happen.
I believe, you won't try to buy a battery from the Radcliffe since you read this blog and know what it is. :)
Well, The Bodleian has an exhibition now and it is called Treasures of the Bodleian. You will be able to see some special maps, sacred prints, fair copies of very very very important books of Franz Kafka, Jane Austen, Dante, Mary Shelley etc.The exhibition is FREE and open to the public from 30 Sept 2011 to 23 Dec 2011.
For more info http://treasures.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/domains/shelleysghost.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/local/media/images/Treasures_of_the_Bodleian_exhibition_guide.pdf

Weekdays 9am - 5pm Saturday 9am - 4:30pm Sunday 11am - 5pm - Go and see, it is free!

Bridge of Sighs! The bridge links together the Old and New Quadrangles of Hertford College, and much of its current architecture was designed by Sir Thomas Jackson. It was completed in 1914, despite its construction being opposed by New College.

The bridge is often referred to as the Bridge of Sighs because of its supposed similarity to the famous Bridge of Sighs in Venice. However, Hertford Bridge was never intended to be a replica of the Venetian bridge, and indeed it bears a closer resemblance to the Rialto Bridge in the same city.

There is a false legend saying that many decades ago, a survey of the health of students was taken, and as Hertford College's students were the heaviest, the college closed off the bridge to force them to take the stairs, giving them extra exercise. However, if the bridge is not used, the students actually climb fewer stairs than if they do use the bridge.

So yes, you can see it from outside but you can't walk through the bridge unless you are a student of Hertford College. I am sure, you are not missing anything. By the way, Radcliffe Camera , Bodleian and the bridge are very close to each other.

Final place, The Sheldonian Theatre! Well, surprisingly they started to let people in to see around in last summer or I just realised that last summer. You just need to pay £2.5 and £1.5 for concessions.

Monday to Saturday
10.00 to 12.30 hrs 14.00 to 16.30 hrs (Mar to Oct) 14.00 to 15.30 hrs (Nov to Feb)
(Opening hours will be curtailed when the theatre is in use for University Ceremonies or concerts)

Have a look at their http://www.ox.ac.uk/subsite/sheldonian_theatre/sheldonian_theatre/whats_on/ link so you can see what is on. There are very beautiful classical music concerts that I would definitely recommend you to attend. Definitely!

When The Sun Comes Out...

2011-09-29T23:14:00.000+01:00

You might be shocked or laughing at me but hey! it happens sometimes. Yes, we have sunny days over here. Like nowadays, to be honest, it was so hot today, I couldn't work at my office, I had to get out of that place.
Anyway, since we don't have sunny days that often, we try to make most of it when we have it.
So do we actually do ?
Basically, nothing!!!

We do nothing but lay down on dry grass (if we can find any) in a park. Some of us lay down and read and some just look at clouds and try to make shapes out of them. How lazy we are !!! :)
I tell you something that made me shocked when I was newer in the UK. When it is sunny, you can see people laying down on grass and sun bathing! That was shocking, well, it has to be shocking for a person who comes from Turkey. :))

You may think that we don't eat ice cream much or during winter. NO! I think, we (people who have been living long enough in the UK) actually consume more ice cream than people in Turkey because people in Turkey don't eat ice cream when it is cold. Yet, in this country, you can see people having ice cream any time any where. :))
Well, it may not surprise you but it did surprise me. :))

If you come to Oxford as a tourist, you should probably go to University Park or Christ Church Meadow since they are in the city centre. Christ Church is better than OU Park, I think, cause you can go for punting there by a pub called Head of the River that is a nice place to have a pint, by the way.
There is another place that you can get a boat for punting. It is under the Magdalen Bridge by the Magdalen College.
There is a deer park in Magdalen College. It is not spectacular but it is different and nice to see those animals running around. :)

If you are going to live in Oxford, then there are other parks that you can go but they are a bit far from the town. For example South Park down the Brookes University and there is an exhibition place close by called Oxford Science that is worth visiting.

Cherwell Boat House is in north and again a bit far from the town. You probably need to take a bus to the Banbury Road then walk down to the river. Apparently, their fish is good too, I have never tried but heard good comments.

So what if it is rainy like most of the days?

2011-09-28T15:44:00.000+01:00

Now, lets begin with the fact that your best friend in this country (UK) is your umbrella. Get a small, portable one that you can take anywhere or put in any size of handbag.
I am serious, it is very important to have an umbrella with you constantly if you don't want to spend unbelievable amount of money on a cheap one. Yes, as you can assume already, it rains suddenly and catches people totally unprepared then naturally prices rise up to sky :)) okay I exaggerated here.

Anyway, Lets talk about what we can do in Oxford while it waters our garden; First of all, I would like to put the Ashmolean Museum on top of my list. Well, you might be a party animal who don't really enjoy art, sculptures, antics etc. Yet, even though you are not fancy with arts, you should visit the museum for the sake of next generation. :)
Well, the museum is the oldest museum in Europe (opened on 24 May 1683 as the world's first university art museum) . It was renovated exactly a year ago and reopened again in November 2010. It is absolutely done very beautifully.

It has different rooms for different empires or period of times. You can see tall and huge columns and damaged busts from the Roman Empire right at the front of the entrance as well as mummies and tombs from Ancient Egypt. There are beautiful sculptures and paintings of European artists of Renaissance period and Raphael and Da Vinci. And all of these is free of charge!

The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday (10am - 6pm) and on Bank Holiday Mondays (10am-6pm). There are particular dates that they will be closing at 5pm so for more details go to http://www.ashmolean.org/plan/openingtimes/
They have quite good website that you can plan your visit before arriving. Here is the map;

View Larger Map

Well if you are really in to art and don't mind paying £3 for the entrance, there is another museum worth seeing. This museum is sort of a hidden place. Even most of the locals are not aware of it.

Christ Church Picture Gallery is located within the walls of Christ Church. To visit the Picture Gallery without visiting the rest of the college, enter through Canterbury Gate off Oriel Square (from King Edward Street), only a couple of minutes walk from the High Street. The Custodian at the gate will direct you to the Gallery. If you wish to see the entire college, entrance is at Meadow Gate. If you start from there, the Picture Gallery is located in the last quadrangle known as Canterbury Quad.

As you can understand from the name of the gallery, there are important paintings and drawings of Leonardo Da Vinci, Albrecht Dürer, Andrea del Verrocchio, Filippino Lippi, Annibale Carracci and Jacopo Robusti.

The gallery is open everyday from May to October Mon-Sat 10.30am - 5pm Sundays 2pm-5pm
October to May Monday, Wednesday - Saturday: 10.30am - 1pm & 2 - 4.30pm
Sunday: 2 - 4.30pm
Visit http://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/gallery/visiting for more details.

View Larger Map

- Hava Kapali ise?

2011-09-18T13:53:00.000+01:00

Pek cok gun aslinda bulutlu bu ulkede. O yuzden Turkiye'den gelen benim gibi insanlarin buranin hava sartlarina alismasi biraz zaman aliyor. Buraya 2007 yilinda geldim. Buranin yerlileri o yilin yazini en sicak yazlardan biri olarak degerlendirirken, ben hala ceket yada mont ile dolasiyordum Temmuzun ortasinda.
Bu tabii ki her yazin boyle gectigini gostermez ama ortada buyuk bir olasilik oldugunu unutmamak gerekiyor. O yuzden ne zaman gelirseniz gelin yaniniza hirka,ceket, su gecirmeyen bu seyler alin!

Peki, havanin nerdeyse her gun yagisli oldugu ve dilini dogru duzgun konusamadiginiz bir sehirde ne yaparsiniz?
Simdi kendi sehrinizde olsaniz, sinemaya, tiyatroya gidersiniz, arkadaslarinizla bulusursunuz vesaire vesaire. Ama burda genelde arkadasin olmuyor ilk geldiginde, sinemaya gitsen anlamiyorsun.

Peki o zaman ne yapalim, ne yapardim, ne yapabilirsiniz? :))

Aslinda bu kisinin ne ile eglendigi ile ilgili cok. Ben muzeleri gezmeyi severim. O yuzden muzelerden baslayalim.

Ashmolean Museum - Ucretsiz! Sali dan Pazar'a sabah 10'da aciliyor, aksam 6'da kapaniyor. Bunun disinda resmi tatil olan Pazartesi gunleride ayni saatler icinde ziyaret edebilirsiniz.
Biraz muzeden bahsedeyim, efendim bu muze Avrupa'nin en eski muzesi. Kurulusu ise Oxford Universitesi'nin organize etmesi ile gerceklesiyor.
Icinde cok degerli parcalar var, hatta Turkiye'den ozellikle Osmanli Imparatorlugu'ndan kalma cok nadide eserleri burada bulabilirsiniz. Nasil olurda orda Osmanli Imparatorlugunun en nadide parcalari var diye sorabilirsiniz ama inanin cevabini bende bilmiyorum.
Bunun disinda, Roma Imparatorlugu, Yunanlilar, Misirlilar'dan eserler, para ornekleri, sutunlar, heykeller de var tabii ki.
Sanata gelirsek bu muzede (benim cok garibime gitmisti ama) Rafael - Michelangelo - Van Dyck in eserlerini gorebilirsiniz.
Sanata ve/veya tarihe ilginiz varsa bu muzeye ugramayi asla ihmal etmeyin.
Bunun disinda, sehrin gurultusunden kacmak isterseniz de ugrayabilirsiniz. Ben artik bu amacla ziyaret ediyorum bu muzeyi daha cok.Muze sehrin merkezine kuruldugu icin, ulasmasi bulmasi cok kolay ama ben size bir haritada gostermek istedim.
View Larger Map Biliyorum, pek cogunuz muzeleri SIKICI buluyorsunuz. O yuzden muzelere simdilik ara verecegim. :)