This time, a small shop owner in Istanbul preferred to name his shop as Google Fashion using the exact copy of the famous logo. I don’t know Google will care him or not, it will inspire his other fellow store owners to do same for other giant search engine companies like Yahoo, Bing. Can I buy a Google trademarked t-shirt please?

Let’s start from Istanbul, which is the cultural and historical highlight of Byzantine and Ottoman empires. The places you should certainly visit are Spice Bazaar (Plenty of mystical spices, Ottoman recipes), Topkapi Palace (The home of Sultans), Hagia Sophia (One of the largest cathedrals in the world which was built around 1500 years ago by Byzantines) , Miniaturk (A park where you can see around 100 miniature models which perfectly reflects the architectural and natural wonders of centuries that reside in Anatolia and Istanbul), Bosphorus Cruise (It is the best way to see what gems are near the shores of Europe and Asia including historical ancient Ottoman villas).

After spending one or two days at Istanbul you should continue to Canakkale which is known for its Troy history/findings and Gallipoli where bloodiest First World War battle between Allied forces (Mostly ANZACs) against Ottoman empire took place. You can see the trenches and battle areas. By the way, you can begin swimming because after this part of Turkey to the down, the Aegean sea is wonderful.

After Canakkale, you should continue with Kusadasi, Marmaris and Pamukkale. Some of the most famous attractions are Ephesus ( Ancient large preserved Roman city with lots of spectacular ruins and ancient theaters, burials, baths etc). Marmaris is your stop for entertainment and crazy night life (If you seek). This tourism center has excellent sea near the beautiful forests where you can use many camping sites as well.

Your next destination will be rafting at Dalaman river and Pamukkale which is a world heritage site. You will see a mountain of pure white like snow. Actually these are calcium stones piled by warm/hot waters through thousands of years. You can walk and even become stay under this mineral water as well.

These are the must-see destinations when you hire a car. And I can easily say that it is just the top of the iceberg which is waiting to be discovered by you. Turkey is a nice destination for a larger Europe travel plan as well. Be sure that it is in your path.

Backdropped by a colorful Earth, astroturk Erdenay Abi. (left) and Karakoy Space Agency (KSA) astroturk Dr. Serafettin Kotukedi, participate in the ISS1345 mission’s first of four planned sessions of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction resumes on the International Space Station named sPEACE.

The Earth really looks impressive in this photo and I am sure that the overall consciousness of new space exploration possibilities has increased confidence in the future of our nation as well.

Small packets of this paste are thrown from a central mosque to the people (99.9% men) and they try to catch them even using their umbrellas upside down. Everyone will tell you these small packets of energy and hormone boosters are just for health. Are you kidding? Do not believe that! My people will not run for health as much as they run for their hidden night fantasies. And, just because it is free, they will do everything to grab. That’s the second reason. I have never eaten in my life but will try surely next time I go to Istanbul, it is quite imaginable what awaits the person who gets a big piece. Here is the list of herbs used in this traditional receipt with English, Turkish and Latin names. I say Oh My great Thor!

• Allspice (Yeni bahar) (Pimenta dioica)
• Alpina officinarum root (Havlican koku) (Alpina officinarium)
• Anise (Anason) (Anisum vulgare)
• Black cumin (Corek otu) (Nigella sativa)
• Black myrobalan (Kara halile) (Terminalia nigra)
• Black pepper (Karabiber) (Piper nigrum)
• Buckthorn (Topalak or Akdiken) (Nerprun alaterne)
• Cardamon (Kakule) (Elettaria cardamomum)
• Cassia (Hiyarsenbe) (Cassia)
• Chebulic myrobalan (Kara halile) (Terminalia chebula)
• China root (Cop-i cini) (Smilax china)
• Cinnamon (Tarcin) (Cinnamomum verum)
• Cloves (Karanfil) (Syzygium aromaticum)
• Coconut (Hindistan cevizi) (Cocos nucifera)
• Coriander (Kisnis) (Coriandum sativum)
• Cubeb (Kebabe) (Cubebae fructus)
• Cumin (Kimyon) (Cuminum cyminum)
• Dried orange blossom (Portakal cicegi)
• Fennel (Rezene) (Foeniculum vulgare)
• Galingale (Havlican) (Alpinia officinarum)
• Ginger (Zencefil) (Zingibar officinalis)
• Iksir sugar (Iksir sekeri)
• India blossom (Hindistan cicegi)
• Java pepper (Kuyruklu biber) (Piper cubeba)
• Licorice extract (Meyan bali) (Glycyrrhiza uralensis fisch)
• Licorice root (Meyan koku) (Glycyrrhiza glabra)
• Mastic (Cam sakizi) (Mastichum)
• Millet (Hintdarisi) (Pennisetum glaucum)
• Myrrh (Murrusafi) (Commiphora Molmol)
• Muskroot (Sumbul) (Adoxa moschatellina)
• Mustard seed (Hardal tohumu) (Brassica nigra)
• Orange peel (Portakal kabugu)
• Rhubarb (Ravend) (Rheum Palmatum)
• Saffron (Safran) (Crocus Orientalis)
• Citric acid (Limon tuzu)
• Senna (Sinameki) (Cassia senna)
• Turmeric (Zerdecal) (Curcuma domestica)
• Udulkahr (Udulkahir)
• Vanilla (Vanilya) (Vanilla planifolia)
• Woad (Civit) (Isatis)
• Yellow myrobalan (Sari halile) (Fructus myrobalani)

And a possible dialog with a tourist about Mesir Macunu.

Hey dear resort-rose Elisabeth, this is Turkish Mesir Paste.
-What is that?
It’s just an aphrodisiac. (Inner Translation : I wanna sleep with you, this is just a foxy hint to achieve my summer goal)
-Uhhh, I see and? Are you using it a lot?
……………

I am amazed to see that Amazon sells them as well.

Merkez Mesir Macunu (Sultan’s Paste) Natural Herbal Energy Supplement 2 Pack

Istanbul has a population of 9,898,000 and it is followed by London with 7,429,000, Paris 6,385,000, Ankara 3,402,000, Berlin 3,388,000, Madrid 3,100,000 , Athens 2,884,000, Rome 2,554,000 and Izmir 2,387,000.

It is also stated that 65,000,000 lives in the biggest 26 cities of Europe. Another interesting statistics about burglary and stealing cars. Brussels is the leader in this category and is followed by London and Amsterdam. The most active car stealer cities are from Italy. Turkish cities were not in the first 20.

A view from Istanbul business area – Levent.

The weird home is situated in Goldcity Tourism Center. The roof, balcony, toilets, rooms, windows, the door and even the garden and the tree is upside down. It fast became one of the most popular attractions for tourists in Antalya region. It is funny to learn that you open the doors by pulling to the up.

Actually, Turkish people began to build do very creative things concerning the homes in the latest years both intentionally and unintentionally as we show in building to building bridge and tree in a home examples

I will introduce you Semih Sayginer, Turkish legendary billiards player who had won 25 times Turkish Grand Prix Championships and several World Championships and tournaments. One of them is by beating another legend, World Champion Ceulemans 3-0 in Germany in 1994. Unbeatable master of trick shots. Inventor of 40 authentic shots which became a part of the Billiards History. His efforts made the billiards an official sport with federation in Turkey. You can read further on his own website but first watch the following impressive videos that I have compiled for you from Youtube. Even if you don’t understand a word of billiards watch them. You will shout one word : Unbelievable !