Saturday, June 27, 2009
Books this, books that
A fun meme I found at A Reader's Journal (:
1. What author do you own the most books by?
I own 12 books by L.M. Mongomery. Then comes Louisa M. Alcott with her 7 books (actually 9, because I have two copies of Rose in Bloom and its sequel Eight Cousins).
2. What book do you own the most copies of?
I've got three copies of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. A month or so ago I saw yet another very beautiful copies at Akateeminen Kirjakuappa I hope to get. You see, every one has different covers, and each suit a certain mood. Yup.
3. Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions
Not at all.
4. What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
Gilbert Blythe, Fitzwilliam Darcy and John Thornton <3
5. What book have you read the most times in your life?
There are certain writers whose books I keep reading again and again. To mention some of those authors: Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë (mainly Jane Eyre), L.M. Montgomery, Louisa M. Alcott, Joanne Harris (mainly Holy Fools and Five Quarters of the Orange) and Charles Dickens.
6. Favorite book as a ten year old?
I had no favourite book, but I had favourite series. I loved Montgomery's Anne of the Green Gables and Emily of New Moon, as well as Carolyn Keene's Nancy Drew and Enid Blython's The Famous Five.
7. What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year?
Shadow Man by Cody McFadyen.
8. What is the best book you’ve read in the past year?
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell.
9. If you could force everyone you know to read one book, what would it be?
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.
10. What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
Actually I'm not that much of a movie fan, and wouldn't necessarily want my favourite books to be turned into movies. Books usually have lots of fine nuances in between the lines, and when adapted into a movie they often lose them, I think.
11. What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read?
Decamerone by Giovanni Boccaccio. God, how I hated it! I actually cried when I finally finished reading it - of joy to finally be able to get rid of it.
12. What is your favorite book?
Do not ask me such a question. I'm too indecisive to choose only one book.
13. Play?
I must admit that my knowledge regarding plays is quite nonexistent. The only ones I can say I've familiarized myself with the most are Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello. As I'm not much of a tragedy digger, none of them is quite into my liking.
14. Poem?
في القدس - تميم البرغوثي (In Jerusalem by Tamim al Barghouti)
15. Essay?
Don't know any.
16. Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
Stephanie Meyer and Dan Brown. I personally enjoy both authors' works BUT I can't seem them as authors that will be remembered after, say, 30 years or so.
17. What is your desert island book?
The Holy Quran.
18. And . . . what are you reading right now?
Orhan Pamuk's Istanbul: Memories of a City.
If you have some free time fill this meme, and please drop me a line when you've done it. I love to know about what people read :3
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Back here
Tuesday and Wednesday went by quite quickly. Istanbul was amazing, and as you must've noticed by now, I loved it. I thought that besides writing about what I did there, I'd write up some tips as well. I remember that prior to going there I tried frantically to look for some useful info on Istanbul, and came up with a shamefully small saldo. What do you people think? Would anyone be interested? Any questions regarding Istanbul you'd like to ask? Hm?
But back to Finland, yeah.
I went yesterday to the library, my sole business being to borrow some books that had nothing to do with school stuff. It's been so long since I went there to do that - usually I either go to study there or just to get some reference books. But yesterday I skipped directly to the literature section:
(On the top you can see also the books I brought with me from Istanbul that I wish to read.)
Oh, and say hi to Green Guy! I got him last summer, isn't he cute?
I was at work, and was stationed at the rollercoaster Kirnu (miss you <3) with four other co-workers. We had always certain regular customers for every day, and that day they happened to be couple of little guys. They loved the ride and came again and again - and Green Guy was always with them. I liked to chat with the boys and one of the things I said, was how cute I found the green fella. They then told me I could buy it from a stall a little farther from the ride for only one euro. I then told them that I was not allowed to buy one for my self because of the amusement park's rules (sniffle!).
When the park was almost closed and the boys had to go home, they came to find me and handed Green Guy to me, saying that I could keep it. I tried to refuse, but they insisted and were so serious I then took him and thanked them equally seriously.Or maybe not so seriously. Truth to be told, I was almost bawling because they were so cute and I was so happy and surprised I didn't know what should I say, haha.
But anyway. It's because of little indicents like those that I like working with children. I can deal with them with much more ease than with the adults (:
Oh, and before I forget! I've got like gazillion alarms in my feeds reminding me (again) of how much I've neglected the blogosphere. I'll be slowly but surely getting back on track, so be patient with me, okay?
Monday, June 22, 2009
It's goodbye now
I'll be heading to the airport in six hours, insha Allah. Can't say I've missed Finland a bit, and leaving Istanbul will be a very difficult thing. When I wrote a year or so ago about falling in love with France I really meant it. Yet as much as I loved France, I did not feel like crying on the thought of leaving it and heading back home - as opposed to today.
Why?
Well, it's like after almost twenty years of being an outsider, I've finally found the people who accept me wholeheartedly for what I am, and make me feel home.
It's not like I feel unwelcome in Finland or anything, no. But the fact is, I am different. My religion makes me different. The way I view the world and many of its issues are sometimes odd from the Finnish point of view.
Here I do not stand out because of the way I dress. Here people laugh when I ask if the meat used in that burek is halal or not. Here I hear the adhaan and see masses of people, young and old, men and women alike, going to the mosque to pray before going back to their businesses. Here I ask the man selling bottled cold water for 0.50 YTL, if he knows how I can find my way back to Hasip Paşa, and he doesn't let me go before he finds someone who'll be able to help me. Here old men stand up when I enter the minibus to let me sit down through the bumping journey to Üsküdar's centre. Here ladies smile and answer to my 'salaamu aleikum' with the warm 'wa alaykum al salaam'.
It's actually quite complicated. I'll see if I can write a proper post about this issue later on, insha Allah. I've also got a lot more photos as well, because my beloved cameras have been accompanying me faithfully everywhere. Will be sharing some of them with you as well.
Take care! (:
Labels: Blahblah, Hijab, Islam, Ixus 70, Life, Love, Me, Photography, Sadness, Summer, Travel
Thursday, June 11, 2009
A little more of Ayasofya
Friday, June 5, 2009
Merhaba!
As an apology, I'll share with you couple of photos taken during yesterday's journey to Ayasofya otherwise known as Hagia Sophia.
First some fun facts, though ;)
The Church of the Divine Wisdom (Hagia Sophia in Greek) in Sultanahmet, Istanbul,
Source
is one of the most impressive and important buildings ever constructed. Its wide, flat dome was a daring engineering feat in the 6th century, and architects still marvel at the building's many innovations.
Called Hagia Sophia in Greek, Sancta Sophia in Latin, Ayasofya in Turkish, it was built on the site of Byzantium's acropolis (map) by Emperor Justinian (527-65 AD) in 537 AD.
Ayasofya was the greatest church in Christendom, and was meant to be. According to Prof. Robert Osterhout, it was built to surpass the gigantic Church of St Polyeuchtos erected by Julia Anitzia, scion of the line of Theodosian emperors. Julia meant her church, a "recreation" of the Temple of Jerusalem, to symbolize her wealth, power and legitimate claim to the throne of Byzantium. Justinian had to out-build her to establish his own legitimacy—and he did. His church remained the largest church ever built until St Peter's Basilica was constructed in Rome a thousand years later. (Julia's church, by the way, was destroyed by an earthquake. You can see a few pitiful ruins of it near the traffic under/overpass between the Istanbul Belediye Sarayi [City Hall] and Aqueduct of Valens [Bozdogan Kemeri](map).
Being the world's most impressive building, it's no wonder that Mehmet
the Conqueror proclaimed it a mosque soon after his conquest of the city from the Byzantines in 1453.It served as Istanbul's most revered mosque until 1935 when Atatürk, recognizing its world-historical significance, had it proclaimed a museum, as it is now.
Although most of the building is still a museum, a room on the east side was opened in 2007 as a prayer-place (Ibadete Açik Kismi), and the call to prayer is proclaimed from the minaret above it.
Ayasofya is awe-inspiring—one of the first things to see when you're in Istanbul.
Luckily, it's right next to Topkapi Palace, the Blue Mosque and the Byzantine Hippodrome, and right across the street fromYerebatan, the Sunken Palace Cistern.
The 30 million gold tesserae (tiny mosaic tiles) which cover the church's interior—especially the dome—are now being restored to the brilliance they boasted 1500 years ago. This means the interior is filled with scaffolding, and will be so for years to come. This may spoil photos, but not the church's grandeur. You'll still enjoy your visit here.
And believe me, these pictures are nothing compared to the real thing! It's awesome, really.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Alive and kickin'!
Actually I'm so tired I can barely keep my eyes open, but the one reason that made me insists on posting immediately is that I wanted to thank those nice, nice people who have been visiting my blog regularly, waiting patiently for my random posts. I did not think that after such a long time there would still be someone who would bother to come here. And then I check out my StatCounter, and it says that I've got multiple visitors everyday, most of them coming back more than once and none of the not being my mom (I made sure :D).
I am truly humbled.
So thank you.
Really, truly thank you.
And a little thank you for StatCounter, too, because if not for it, I wouldn't know about my silent readers. Thank you :D
So basically I'm alive - though not kickin'... just yet, at least. Ha, ha.
Ya Allah, I'm feeling like a walking dead, and my sense of humour is like that of one, too. I really do hope no one was waiting for a post of that includes a good dose o wit and humour...
Got stufss to say, but I'll leave it for tomorrow, insha Allah.
G'night.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
On hiatus!
The exams' time is coming nearer and nearer. As I am sort of trying to get some nice grades for meself, I'll be taking a little break from the blogosphere to concentrate on my studies. I'll be back once everything is back to normal, insha Allah.
Meanwhile, take care of yourselves, dear readers, and please do pray for me!
Comic strip by Porter Mason
Labels: Blahblah, Blogs, Funny, Me, Spring, University, Yuck
