thanks from me also - I've had fun making little videos and watching other people's - plenty to catch up on! my last one mirrors my first of the month - in my pjs again, this time after a late night flight instead of an early morning one. I took videos at the Istanbul airport last night but hadn't put my memory stick in and so none of them saved. flight was delayed so I didn't get back to Jerusalem until around 3am and slept since then. very tired! so a quick goodbye & look at some of the Turkish Delight I bought at the Istanbul airport gift shop.
most of the tv in the hotel is in turkish. I can't understand most of it. the american shows are overdubbed in turkish. bbc prime is in english and a couple of news channels and that's about it! nat geo had a couple of english programs the first night I was here. it's often like this when I'm onsite - I don't get to watch any regular shows - most networks tend to show old programs and movies so I'm always about 5-10 years behind on tv watching, even though we see lots of it at work each day.. lucky there's internet access!
Jerusalem is full of cats roaming the streets. they all seem to be this size. my sister called the other night and said she had to put her cat down as she was really sick. sad :(
tonight's dinner! I'm staying at the Polat Renaissance in Istanbul. the food has been nice so far though I'm missing the hummous from Jerusalem a bit ;) I splashed out and ordered dessert - Cassata icecream with nut and rasberry, covered with chocolate and served with sour cherry sauce. I thought it was going to be icecream with chocolate sauce, but it turned out to be a fancy dessert! very yummy - though filling. I couldn't finish it all.
battery is running low and I still can't see what I'm filming. but this gives you an idea of life as a business nomad ;) I've been in 3 countries this month and it sounds like I might visit those 3 again in December, plus a trip back to Australia for Christmas.
this is part of the Old City of Istanbul - Ayasofya Muzesi / Hagia Sofia Museum and Sultan Ahmed - the blue mosque.
in Hagia Sofia there's amazing mosaics. the building is huge! the ceilings are so high. there's great acoustics inside. inside Sultan Ahmed, it's very well preserved, especially in comparison to Hagia Sofia which is under renovations.
25/11/2007
(I left my battery charger for one camera at home - here's hoping the battery on the broken camera lasts the week!)
this week I'm in Istanbul for work. it's my first time here. it looks like a great place from what I've seen so far (which admittedly isn't much yet!). this is a quick video of the flight and a drive to the old city. I'll save the old city videos for another day
I can't see what I'm shooting so apologies for framing!
this video was taken on 25/09 - I went to the Mechane Yehuda markets in Jerusalem where there was a special area setup to sell the etrogs (citrons), and reeds. during this time of year, huts are setup around the city restuarants and people's houses - some people live in them for the week. it's serious business choosing the citron - it's meant to be beautiful, without marks.
the Dead Sea is the lowest point on the Earth. I've been a couple of times. the first time was late afternoon so there was a beautiful sunset behind the mountains. these mountains are not far from Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.
last night I went to Tel Aviv to the MASH Bar (more alcohol served here) to watch the England versus Croatia football game with one of the guys in my department who was here for the week. there was also an Israel game on around the same time so the bars in Jerusalem were showing it instead, or showing the England vs Croatia match without sound. England lost shilesh - steim (3 to 2 to Croatia) which means they have failed to qualify for Euro 2008. apparently the coach was sacked today..
this is a video of England scoring their first goal and the crowd in the bar's response. I broke my camera so can't see what I'm shooting anymore. most of the people in the bar were England supporters apart from a few Russians who were going for Croatia (as there was also a Russia vs Andorra match on at same time - Russia won this so they were happy!). so the crowd roared when England scored!!
the children's pavillion at the Israel Museum had an exhibit on water. so this has a few parts of the exhibit plus the sculptures and fish pond outside.
the music is "Walk on Water" by Oforia on the BNE Life Is... album (Israel label)
this is Tel Aviv in the summer (at least one day of it..) - a slide show video or some of the buildings, the grafitti, beach, Mediterranean Sea, crowds on the beach, the cafe/bars on the beach. the music is Balkan Beat Box "Hermetico". the music store owner where I bought this cd said this band is really popular with the Israeli kids these days. the video is a bit long - I probably should have cut out half the photos or split it into sections but it was a nice day so I remember it more when I see the photos.
I can't pronounce the name of the street properly yet - the security guy at work had a little smirk when I said the name as he was calling me a taxi, but here's a quick look at my new apartment. I'm used to living in hotel rooms so this place is HUGE in comparison! I thought the last one felt big. I moved in this morning which took all of 5 minutes. luckily I recognised it this evening when I came home - many of the buildings look similar in Jerusalem and definitely on this street! it's near the Jerusalem Theatre and not far from Aza (Gaza) St where there's cafes etc. so more places to explore! plus now I have my OWN internet connection - I'm no longer sharing with the neighbours who like to connect internet phone boxes which cause the wireless to drop out :(
the only bad thing is that yesterday I dropped my camera on the floor - the stones are really hard here. it landed on the lcd viewfinder which smashed internally. there's no mini eye viewfinder - just the lcd screen, so I'm now shooting blind. true point and shoot ;) luckily it's still taking photos and videos or I'd really be crying!
the This Is Not Art festival is one of my favourite arts / music festivals - I try to make it along each year if I'm in Australia. it happens each year in Newcastle, north of Sydney in Australia. It comprises multiple festivals - TINA, Electrofringe, National Young Writers Festival, National Student Media Festival, Radioactive (community & student radio), and others (changes each year). At the end of the festival there's a market / zine fair. by this stage everyone is worn out from attending all the workshops, performances and nightly gigs. and the creative juices have been flowing for the past week. I didn't make it back home for this year's TINA, but this video is a quick snapshot of the 2006 zine fair - become the whale! indeed!
