Jason Mraz Concert in İstanbul

This summer singers I loved the most are continuing to come to Turkey one after another, and I'm really enjoying it :)

 

On the 19th of July my dear Jason Mraz came to Turkey to give a concert on Life Park, İstanbul. Although it was during Ramadan (religious month when most of the muslims fast) the concert area was pretty full. The cheapest concert ticket was around 40 TL (around 23 USD) and I got that one :) It was supposed be starting at 19:00, but I guess it was not dark enough, so the concert started around 21:00.

 

He sang most of his popular songs, so I was really happy about that :) his band and vocals were amazing, I can say that. He didn't have much of a show, dancing or choreopraphy, but who cares :)

 

Oh! and he showed us how thoughtful and sensitive he is about environmental issues. He said that parks are our heritage which we'll leave our children (he's talking about the recent events happened in Gezi Park, İstanbul)... <3

 

 

 

 

Public Transportation in İstanbul

I've been in İstanbul for about 6 years and I've been using public transportation as a part of my job. So I can say that I have pretty much experience how to use the buses, subway etc.

Unlike the developed countries, subway remained limited in Turkey, it means you cannot go everywhere by using the subway. Following map shows possible transportation ways, for instance lines begin with M are the subway lines and T's are the tramway lines.

Most of the touristic places (such as Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Basilica Cistern, Grand Bazaar) are located around M2 (Taksim, Şişhane) and T1 (Karaköy, Eminönü, Gülhane, Sultanahmet, Çemberlitaş, Beyazıt) lines.

In order to get to the Anatolian side, you have to take the ferry from Eminönü to Kadıköy, from Karaköy to Kadıköy, from Kabataş to Kadıköy or from Beşiktaş to Kadıköy. Kadıköy is like the center of the Anatolian side.

If you'd like to visit the Prince Islands, you have to take the ferry from Kabataş or Kadıköy, with a 1,5 hour of journey.

There is also a bus system called metrobus which is not a subway. These buses go along the highway on a different path, so that you will not be disturbed by the traffic jam. Apart from that, there are also lots of bus lines which will take you to the corners of İstanbul. 

To be able to travel with buses, subway, tram, metrobus in İstanbul, you need to have "Akbil" which is a small electronic device (smart ticket). The refundable deposit is 6 Turkish Lira for it. Or you may buy one-time-pass cards to take the transportation.

Good luck on your trip, and feel free to ask any questions!!!

Alicia Keys Concert in Turkey

On the 2nd of July, the great vocal-singer Alicia Keys had a concert in Istanbul, Turkey. The weather was below seasonal normals, which was a good thing I guess, so that we didn't sweat and melt.

Normally the concert was planned to be held in Beşiktaş, but what I heard from a friend of mine who works in İKSV organisations (the association which organised this concert), they had to move the concert to Park Orman because of the recent events in Gezi Park, Taksim. I didn't have a problem with it, since we could go to the concert place by subway.

It had to start at 9 p.m., Alicia kept us waiting for about an hour. The audience was a little bit pissed off, they even shouted slogan "Everywhere Taksim, everywhere resistance!" in Turkish (you have to google it if you wanna know what it means). But when she showed up, everybody was cooled down.

The stage looked exactly the same like in the photo I downloaded. The dancers, her voice, the vocals and the band, the stage shows were really awesome.. She even played the piano during some of her songs. Most of her favorite songs were played, so we were really pleased. The weather was a little bit freezing later that night, we even wondered whether she was cold or not, 'cause she was wearing really thin clothes...

Anyways, we really had fun, I think everybody would agree with me :)

Taking the Toefl IBT Test in Turkey

More than 10 years have passed since I took the Toefl test last time. Back then, it was a computer based test too, I took that one in another country. So I didn't have any clue what it was like to take the test in Turkey.

 

I ordered the test through ets.org/toefl, I had to take it as soon as possible. I could manage to get a date approximately 3-4 weeks later, which was fair enough. The test place was very close to my house, so I was happy about it.

 

On the test date I was there for about an hour earlier. They gave me some papers to sign. Before I go to my seat, they checked my ID, took my photo holding a sign which I guess had my candidate number on it. Then I went to my seat, locked my personel stuff in my personel locker, which they give you the key of. Switched off my cell phone, put away my watch also into my locker. So I was set. They don't let you to keep your watch, but during the test they show you the time on your screen.

 

As soon as I sat, more people came into the class to take the test. There were about 25 seats, and I can say that most of them were full. You start your exam by controlling your head phones and microphones. You have to keep repeating a constant phrase as "describe the city you live in" to check whether your microphone works or not. In our class all of the people started the test at different times, that's why the ones who started earlier, had to hear the other people repeating the phrases. It was totally disturbing, I can say that the first 8 minutes I didn't understand anything at all from what I read, because the first section of the test was reading. So I advice you to book your test to an isolated test center, not to a one in the heart of the city. The desks were also so close to each other, I could sometimes hear what the person next to me said.

 

The test took about 4 hours, including the breaks. They let you have water with you during the test, which was a good thing. The air conditioning was working meanwhile and did not bother me. But you may want to have something warm with you just in case.

 

Fortunately I got the result I hoped to get. Wish you all luck in your exams!!!