CurcuNa !

Biliyorum biliyorum...
Yine ihmal ettim blogumuzu...
Ama benim de su koca yaz tatilinin ardından liseye adapte olmam biraz zaman aldı acıkcası.
Hatta bizler daha sabahın altısında kalkmaya tekrar alısmaya calısırken sözlüler ve sınavlar çoktaaan basladı bile!
Neyse ki sonunda Cuma aksamları ve ardından gelen mükemmel Haftasonu kesiflerime baslamıs bulunmaktayım!
Larasız Cuma okul çıkıslarına her ne kadar alısamasam da artık bir İstanbul sokaklarını kolacan etmenin vakti gelmisti.
Peki nereyi sereflendirdim?

Tabii ki Kafe Pi Grubunun yeni harikalar diyarı :  Curcuna !

Okay, ı admit it...
I seemed so careless about our blog again...
BUT it was really hard to adapt to school again after a huugee summer vacation!
While we are trying to get used to the school, the exams have already started!
But finally ı have officially started to my Friday Night and Weekend Discoveries!
However its so hard to get used to the friday nights without Lara, the time has come to start spotting new places in the streets of İstanbul.
And guess where ı went this friday?

Of course, the new wonderland of Kafe Pi Group : Curcuna !

Sevgili Laracım İstanbul'a veda etmeden bir ugramıstı Curcuna'ya.Ben de su dillere destan yeri pek merak ediyodum. Derken gecen cuma aksamı kendimi bu sirin yerde buluverdim!
İçeri girer girmez hakkaten de " Lara'nın anlattığı kadar varmıs" diyiverdim. Öyle tatlı ve renkli dekore edilmis ki... Hakkaten de tam bir curcuna: Tüm detaylarıyla adeta bir lunapark.Atlı karıncalı barı, salıncakları, duvarları süsleyen binlerce bira siseleri... Tam bir cılgınlık !

Lara had already visited this place before she went to USA. I was so curious about this place too and finally ı found myself on a friday night. As ı got into the place ı said to myself ' Wow its really as beautiful as Lara has told.'. The decoration was so creative and sweet! It was just like an amusement park with its all details:
A carousel shaped bar, colorful swings and walls covered with thousands of beer bottles. What a craziness !



KOKTEYLLER
Dekorasyonu bir yana Kafe Pi aynı zamanda yaptakları kokteyllerde de inanılmaz yaratıcı. Her birine komik bir ad takıldığı çesit cesit kokteylleri var. Hepsi birbirinden leziz! Neyse ki Curcuna' da kokteyl menüsü içinde kaybolduğumu fark eden barmen hemen yardımıma yetisti ve menünün kapağını kapayıverdi. Kokteylde ne seversin sorusuna hic düsünmeden ' Kırmızı meyveler!' 
diyince bana harika bir kokteyl hazırladı.




COCKTAILS
Beside its decoration Kafe Pi Group makes very tasteful and creative cocktails. They make lots and lots of cocktails that they have given a funny name to each. I was just lost in the cocktail menu when a barman noticed and managed to help me. He just asked what ı like in a cocktail and ı answered ' raspberries ' . Then he made me a cocktail which was very delicious!

Curcunanın iddialı kokteyllerinden bazıları ise:
GODFATHER
MATHILDA
PASSION OF FASHION
AKVARYUM(Koca bir sürahide geliyor!)
AYSEL GÜREL(Servis edildiği cam şişe çok yaratıcı!)
28 CURCUN


Some of the famous cocktails of Curcuna:
GODFATHER
MATHILDA
PASSION OF FASHION
AKVARYUM(served in a huge jug!)
AYSEL GÜREL(its so creative that its served in a glass bottle)
28 CURCUN


Bu arada Curcuna'da her pazarları BARBEKÜ PARTİSİ düzenleniyor!
Menü sucuk,sosis,ızgara sebze ve köfte kapsarken parti langırt,tabu,trivial pursuit gibi oyunlarla renklendiriliyor.

By the way there is a BARBECUE PARTY every sunday in Curcuna!
Besides the menu contains soujouks,sausages,grilled vegetables and meatballs the party is made also really enjoyable by table football and
the games such as trivial pursuit and tabu.


Peki CURCUNA nerede?

Evliya Celebi Mahallesi
Refik Saydam Caddesi No 15


And where is this CURCUNA?

Evliya Celebi Street
Refik Saydam Avenue No 15


Curcuna'ya gitmenin en kolay yolu bence İstaklal Caddesi Tünel tarafından Pera'ya geçmek. Asmalı Mescitin arkasından dolanıp
Peraya geçtiniz mi hemen Trt Binasına gelmeden otoparkın yanından

 inen merdivenleri takip edin.Asagı caddeye indiğiniz zaman direk sola
 kaptırın ve az ilerde Curcunanın sokagını goruyosunuz. 
 Olmadı Pera'da bir restorana sorarsınız.Sahsen ben öyle buldum!

The best way to find this place is to pass to PERA from the Tünel which is in the end of the İstiklal Street.
You can get through the place 'Asmalı Mescit' and when you arrive to Pera you will see the steps in front of this huge building TRT.After you go down the steps you should go left and walk straight untill you see this small street (in which Curcuna takes place) on your left side.
Or you can ask any hotel or restaurant in Pera just like ı have done! 

İnternet Adresi/ The Website:  http://www.nebucurcuna.com/

Bu eğlenceli atmosferin en sevdiğim kısmı ise kesinlikle DJ-Kabiniydi: Eski bir Volswagen Kaplumbağa !

The best thing ı loved about this place was the DJ-Cabin which was in an old Volswagen Beetle!

Curcuna'nın ardından gecemizin bir sonraki durağı ise Küçük Beyoğlu'nda yer alan Kafe Pi Teras oldu. Gelelim Küçük Beyoğluna...Küçük Beyoğlu; Yine Kafe Pi Grubu'nun bir projesi olarak yaklaşık 50 metrelik bir sokak şeridi üzerinde, Saloon KB, Spark, Seven, Fabrika, Blow ve Dark Stage olmak üzere 5 farklı isimde mekânı kapsıyor. 
Beyoğlu’nun daha önce karanlık ve bakımsız sokaklarından biri olan Yeşilçam Sokak; Nisan 2008’de, 5 ayda restore edilip yepyeni bir çehre kazandırılarak “Küçük Beyoğlu” adını almış.

After Curcuna our next stop was Kafe Pi Teras which is in a part of the Küçük Beyoğlu.
Küçük Beyoğlu is again a project of Kafe Pi Group and is a 50 m long street which contains 5 different bars named Saloon KB, Spark, Seven, Fabrika and Blow the Dark Stage.This street used to be called Yesilcam Street which had been a dark and neglected street before it was renovated in April 2008 and got the name ' Kücük Beyoglu'.



Gençlerin aksam eglencelirinin tartısmasız bir duragı haline gelen Küçük Beyoğlu güzel atmosferi,içkileri ve de sahane müzikleri ile ideal bir mekan.
Biz de Kücük Beyoglu'nun gözdesi KafePi Terasta karar kıldık.Asırı kalabalık olmasına ragmen cok az beklememizin ardından bizimle hemen ilgilenmeleri pek hosumuza gitti :)



Kücük Beyoglu, which has become the most trendy meeting point of the youth is a great place to hang out with its atmosphere, tasty drinks and awesome music! We enjoyed our night in the Kafe Pi Teras which is on the roof of the bar called FABRİKA. Although it was really crowded the waiters cared for us after we waited for just a little time.

Terasta White Russian adlı krema likörlü kahveli ( Kesinlikle Öneririm !! ) kokteylllerimizi içtikten sonra biz de bir Cuma gecesinin sonuna gelmis bulunduk :)


We enjoyed our cocktail called " White Russian " which contains cream liquer and coffee. I definitely recommend it!






Küçük Beyoğlu nerede?

Yeşilçam Sok. No:14/A, Beyoğlu/ İstanbul

Where is Küçük Beyoğlu?

Yeşilçam Street No:14/A, Beyoğlu/ İstanbul

http://www.kafepi.com/kucuk_beyoglu.html

http://www.kucukbeyoglu.com/

ISTANBUL

I just wanna write about Istanbul this time ...
No Charleston not this time !

I missed Istanbul , I missed my friends , family my life everything ! So this time it's gonna be about my lovely country . Turkey and my hometown ISTANBUL !

Istanbul is the biggest city in Turkey and the most crowd ( almost 14 million NOT KİDDİNG )  . It has 2 sides , Asian and European which gives him a long history . Starting by Neolithic time . The earliest known settlement dates from 6700 BC (discovered in 2008) .

Then colonizing of Byzantine on the European side of Bosporus (until 1453)

Then Ottoman Empire ,

On 29 May 1453, Sultan Mehmet II "the Conqueror", entered Constantinople after a 53–day siege during which his cannon had torn a huge hole in the Walls of Theodosius II . Istanbul became the third capital of the Ottoman Empire.

When the Republic of Turkey was founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk on October 29, 1923, the capital was moved from Istanbul to Ankara.

Anadolu Hisarı (Anatolian Castle) Aviation Martyrs' Monument Arap Mosque (Dominican Church of St. Paul) Beylerbeyi Palace Blue Mosque (popular name for the Sultan Ahmed Mosque) Bodrum Mosque (Myrelaion) Boukoleon Palace Bulgarian St. Stephen Church (also known as the Bulgarian Iron Church) (Sveti Stefan Kilisesi) Cathedral of the Holy Spirit (also known as the St. Esprit Cathedral) Chora Church (Kariye Müzesi, Kariye Camii or Kariye Kilisesi — the Chora Museum, Mosque or Church, respectively) Column of Constantine (also known as the Burnt Column) (Çemberlitaş sütunu) Column of Marcian (Kıztaşı, meaning "column of the girl") Column of the Goths (Gotlar Sütunu) Doğançay Museum, contemporary-art museum Dolmabahçe Palace Fatih Mosque Fenari Isa Mosque (Theotokos tou Libos) Fethiye Museum (see Pammakaristos Church) Galata Mevlevihanesi (Galata Convent of the Whirling Dervishes) Galata Tower The Gate of Galatasaray High School Galatasaray Museum Great Palace Mosaic Museum (Büyük Saray Mozaikleri Müzesi) Great Palace of Constantinople Hagia Irene (Aya İrini) Hagia Sophia Hippodrome of Constantinople Istanbul Archaeology Museums (İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri) Istanbul Aviation Museum (İstanbul Havacılık Müzesi) Istanbul Military Museum (İstanbul Askeri Müze) Istanbul Modern Art Museum (İstanbul Modern Sanat Müzesi) Istanbul Naval Museum Istanbul Toy Museum (İstanbul Oyuncak Müzesi) Istanbul UFO Museum (İstanbul UFO Müzesi) Istanbul Zoology Museum Kalenderhane Mosque (Theotokos Kyriotissa) Kilic Ali Pasha Mosque Küçüksu Palace Little Hagia Sophia (Ss. Sergius and Bacchus Church) Milion, a mile-marker monument used for measuring the distances between the city (when known as Constantinople) and other cities of the Byzantine Empire (also known as the Eastern Roman Empire) Monastery of Stoudios Monument of Liberty Monument of Republic Mosque of the Stablemaster (İmrahor Camii) (see Monastery of Stoudios) Museum of Classical Ottoman (Divan) Literature Museum of Illumination and Heating Appliances (Aydınlatma ve Isıtma Araçları Müzesi) Museum of Islamic Art (see Istanbul Archaeology Museums (İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri)) Museum of Printing Press (Sultanahmet) Museum of the Ancient Orient (see Istanbul Archaeology Museums (İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri)) Ortaköy Mosque Palace of the Porphyrogenitus (Tekfur Sarayı) Pammakaristos Church Panorama 1453 History Museum Proje4L / Elgiz Museum of Contemporary Art Rezan Has Museum Rahmi M Koç Museum Rumeli Hisarı Rüstem Pasha Mosque St. Esprit Cathedral (see Cathedral of the Holy Spirit) Sadberk Hanım Museum Sakıp Sabancı Museum SALT SantralIstanbul (includes the SantralIstanbul Museum of Energy and a modern-art museum) Serpentine Column Sokollu Mehmet Pasha Mosque (Sokollu Pasa Camii) Süleymaniye Mosque Sultan Ahmed Mosque (popularly known as the Blue Mosque) Tekfur Palace (Tekfur Sarayı) (see Palace of the Porphyrogenitus) Topkapı Palace Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum (Türk ve İslam Eserleri Müzesi) Walls of Constantinople Yedikule (Seven Towers) Castle Zeyrek Mosque (Church of Christos Pantokrator) As you can see there are churches , mosques and also synagogues which shows that  Republic of Turkey don't have a common religion . It's a wonderful sign of a cultural mix !

After being under control for  all of these civilizations Istanbul has so much to show ! 

Revna and I , we started traveling around Istanbul at our first year in High School . We saw lots of places but you can see , we haven't finished yet . I have a saying in turkish "Istanbul gez gez bitmez ! " which mean : You can never finish travel Istanbul ... ( THATS NOT A JOKE ) 

Istanbul can always make you surprise, you can find the best cafe in a random street which is hidden in a corner or You can go to the most expensive places and near these places another street which is just 2 miles away there can be the poorest place . You can always see the conflict which is another interesting thing for me . 

Now : These are my favorite places in Istanbul . You are gonna see some of them in Revna's posts  .

Bağdat Street : (In Asia)

This is the most known street , in the Asian side of Istanbul . This is where I live . 
With all shops and cafes this is the safest place in Istanbul . It's a very big city that's why you should always be careful but Bagdat Street is the safest place . 

Taksim / Beyoğlu : ( In Europe ) 

 One of the most historical places . With all these restaurants, cafes , museums, bars and pubs . Thats where we spend our most of the time . My school also in Taksim . Sainte Pulcherie French High School (1846). My school is one of the best known and historical school in Istanbul  . In Turkey we have foreign schools like Italian , Austrian , French and American which are the most known old schools. 

Ps : Revna is gonna tell you more and more about these places I am just doing the opening :) 


Curcuna and Tektekçi : ( In Europe ) 

Tektekçi is like a shot bar . They have lots of interesting shots like ( with all fruits , tequila , and interesting mixes like gummy bears , m&m , gum ...).

 Curcuna is a new place which is just opened this September by Pi Group . With his crazy decoration and good music (dance music , don't expect more )   you can have good time in Curcuna . These were my last places that I went before leaving İstanbul with my friends . 

 It was my last day in Taksim Ela and Nice taken by Başak :)










Places that I am letting Revna to tell !
Kız Kulesi ( Asia ) 
Eminönü ( Europe ) 
Sultanahmet 
Kadıköy
Cukurcuma 
Cihangir 



Taksim ( MORE ) 
Karaköy 
Küçük Beyoğlu 
Nişantaşı
Bebek
Ortaköy 
Anadolu Hisarı
Kanlıca 
Cadde
Arnavutköy


Lots lots lots of places that I can't remember names right now ... 

One of my pictures of Bosphorus 

This time I just wanna write about my home because I was feeling so much homesick today . It really helped me to remember  ,  to think about and I realized that when I write I feel better  :) 
This is my school by the way :) We have school uniforms !! 
Revna is gonna tell better about Istanbul . It's was just for me :) I am so tired this is all for tonight :)

Kisses from far far away -Lara

Jacks Coffee Shop

This time I will start my post with my favorite place in town Jacks coffee shop , I am here almost everyday . It's a wonderful place for hang out , read your  book etc. and also the best coffee of course  ! They have also a little stage which I gave my first concert there last Thursday . I singed a French song called "battez vous" by Brigitte , it was the first time that I sang all by my self at front I people ! It was a real new experience for me I had lot of fun :)


I love jacks it's my favorite place with all their delicious coffees their concerts and all exhibitions ! This month Dave's artworks covers the walls . You should definitely come and see them ! They are SO COOL ! We are also gonna have our first concert with chorus in20th . That's gonna be a concert for the trip to NY :) me and our quartet  we are gonna sing whistle the happy tune by king and don't miss our concert! Support CHS chorus , be with us :)

Love Lara

Herkese tekrar merhabalar ;
Bu seferki kısa yazımda size bu küçükcük kasaba da en çok gitmeyi sevdiğim yerden bahsetmekj istiyorum . Gerçi gidecek başka bi yer de yok Jack' s coffee shoptan başka .... 



Okuldan eve  , evden coffee shop a dayalı bir sirkülasyon içersindeyim hergün . Ama mutluyum kültür şoku yaşadım mı ? Belki çok az , yaşadığım şokta kocaman bir şehirden , Kadıköy'den bile küçük bi kasabaya düşmek oldu. Kadıköy demek de çok büyük kalır bağdat caddesi diyelim . Okadar küçük bi yerki ne zaman Istanbul'u düşünsem çıldırcak gibi oluyorum . Okulda yaptığım aktivitlerle kendimi mesgul tutmaya çalışıyorum bende.  Jack's e gelelim burda hayatımın en güzel kahvalerini içtim gerçekten çok güzel kahve yapıyolar . Bu mekanın bir güzel yanı ise her ay başka bir sanatçının parçalarını duvarlarında ağırlamaları bu ay Dave 'inkiler var bende bu sene sonunda resimlerimi burada segileyeceğim. 

Aynı zamanda Jack's küçük bir sahneye de sahip , burada haftanın 4 günü orttam tercüme alama olarak canlı müzik oluyor. Geçen perşembe "Open Mic" gecesiydi , açık mikrofon dersek sanırım tam tercüme etmiş oluyorum bende ilk konserimi verdim . Brigette'den "Battez-Vous" adlı parçayı söyledim . İlk denemem olsada yeni bir tecrübe oldu . Ekim 'in 20 sinde de koro konserimiz var , New York gezimiz için vericeğimiz bir konser olacak . Benim de içinde bulunduğum 4'lü grubumuz "Whistle A Happy Tune" adlı parçayı söyleyeceğiz (King and I) bu hafta parçamızı hazırlıyoruz . Ikinci konserim içinde çok heycanlıyım :D Bu postu hazırlarken tabikide Jack's de oturmuş kahvemi yudumluyorum alın size en güncel resmim :) 

Lara

The child is not dead

The child is not dead 
The child lifts his fists against his mother
Who shouts Afrika ! shouts the breath
Of freedom and the veld
In the locations of the cordoned heart

The child lifts his fists against his father
in the march of the generations
who shouts Afrika ! shout the breath
of righteousness and blood
in the streets of his embattled pride

The child is not dead not at Langa nor at Nyanga
not at Orlando nor at Sharpeville
nor at the police station at Philippi
where he lies with a bullet through his brain

The child is the dark shadow of the soldiers
on guard with rifles Saracens and batons
the child is present at all assemblies and law-givings
the child peers through the windows of houses and into the hearts of mothers
this child who just wanted to play in the sun at Nyanga is everywhere
the child grown to a man treks through all Africans

the child grown into a giant journeys through the whole world
Without a pass 

This time I wanna start my post with a poet from South Africa , Ingrid Jonker. She was a South African poet , committed suicide by walking into the sea when she was 31 .

This week I watched  a biography about her life . Movie called black butterflies. She fascinated me with her poems , I felt her feeling through her words . It touched my heart and after watching movie , it makes more sense to me . She had a tough life with her father with her relation ships with politics ...
It was also tough times for Afrikaans. 






I learned also a little bit of South African history , I recommend everybody to watch , thats a really good movie you don't wanna 
miss it :)  

LARA :)