for dancers...

Turku Guide update

Carla — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:42:03 GMT

I've just created a new home page for TurkuGuide.com, our site of information about Istanbul. I've been really inspired as I have been learning about aging photographs with photoshop. I wanted to put old postcards on the page, but didn't want to take them off the web. So, I used a photo of my daughter, a friend, and a pic I took in the Harem at Topkapi Palace and aged them. I hope you'll check it out. http://www.turkuguide.com/

back home

Carla — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:24:32 GMT

just back from driving all over bavaria, austria, czech republic, and slovakia. saw so many beautiful places. still got a lot of catching up to do on the journal, processing video. you can find it at http://www.turkuguide.com/europe.htm

greetings from sceanic bavaria!

Carla — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:56:01 GMT

straight from pennsic to germany. we're in a small town coaching hockey for a week, tomorow we drive to prague, then slovakia, austria. blogging at http://www.turkuguide.com/europe.htm , for those of you that wondered.

countdown

Carla — Sat, 10 May 2008 21:19:47 GMT

3 days before we leave for Istanbul and Ankara, we realize that the Turkey travel pages on the Turku site have just gotten way too big. So, we're ready to turn it into a serious resource for travellers. We just launched TurkuGuide.com. You can find our travel blog, complete with video there, as well as all kind of info on Turkey geared toward the lover of Turkish culture. We'd like to invite your questions, which we'll post on the site. So...off we go to gather info and video about Istanbul and Ankara. Our friend Laura (Miss Fancy on tribe.net) will be joining us and blogging on her tribe page.

Sulukule

Carla — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:18:30 GMT

So, the demolition of Sulukule has begun...early. It wasn't supposed to start until the end of the month, but the bulldozers started up last week. Some of the Roma hadn't removed their belongings yet, since many do not have somewhere else to go. They won't be able to afford the rents elsewhere in Istanbul. There have been several articles in the Turkish Daily News about it lately. Here is a link to an op/ed column about it... http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/editorial.php?ed=gila_benmayor It's all very tragic. It means the loss of a unique historic community as well as destruction of a site that may well have archealogical treasures buried beneath. Speaking as a frequent tourist to Istanbul, I'm very sad never to have had the experience of visiting the musicians of Sulukule. The cafes were shut down in the 90's. Now, with no way to support themselves after the loss of tourism, their neighborhood is in a shambles. So, the government says it should be torn down. The same money that's being put into gentrification should be put into rebuilding the cafes and homes.

Amira

Carla — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:13:03 GMT

For those of you that knew and loved Amira (aka Victoria Bedford) she passed away Tuesday night of brain cancer. For those of you that didn't know her, she was a sweet and loving person that always shared what little she had. She camped with us at Orluk Oasis for many years, but I met her in Charlotte in the early 90's. She was dancing at a restaurant there and we hit it right off. She was right there in the middle of the first wave of belly dance in America and knew so much. I was a fledgling dancer doing my own thing with drum circles in the woods. She taught me more about professional dancing and I introduced her to the pennsic style dance party. "When do I get to dance", she asked? and I laughed and told her "now!" Love you Amira.

zil stuff

Carla — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 21:16:04 GMT

I've just added a new page to the Zil Technique CD which includes instruction on how to do the Persian finger snap. If you own one of the first burns, or the CafePress.com version, which does not include this page, e-mail me, and I will send the page to you. When you do e-mail, please let me know how the CD is working for you and if there are any other additions you'd like to see on it. More info at www.turkumusic.com/zil.htm There are 2 other additions to the first burn that can be found on Turku's website.

looking for some input...

Carla — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 19:39:42 GMT

I got so much satisfaction out of creating the zil technique cd that I'm feeling ready to tackle the larger challenge of creating a cd called "Ecstatic Dance". It's geared towards belly dancers that really want joyous improvisation without thought, perfect expression, and the great buzz you can only get from riding the music. I'd like to hear from dancers that have questions they want answered on the subject, or opinions on what they'd like to see addressed. I really enjoy helping dancers get past obsticles in their path. This will help me cover all the bases on the new cd. Thanx! As this project progresses, I'll be posting updates on TurkuMusic.com