Parallel Roads

[Steph]

Jinglbells may I ask how is your Swahili?

As good as my Portuguese !

[ardakilic]

Saco, i am curious about an issue. For a long time, i have been wondering Armenians are funny crazy people (not in bad way) and today i encountered Devedjian's interview and he tells the same: "We, Armenians are crazy".

What can be said?

[Sako]

Saco, don't think you messed up, I don't think that, but these discussions will really go where they go, perhaps longer and deeper than intended. Most members don't have a common language and English is the default used. Incredibly the standard is very high and many users must go to great lengths to contribute and also the different time zones we all live in, the different domestic obligations we all have means that these can spread over weeks or longer.

Steph Jan, I completely understand and accept what your saying but is staying on point so difficult? Is language really an issue here or the time zones? Sorry if I may be a bit stubborn or something but I don't really see time as an issue right now. We more of less didn't know what to say actually at times. I mean, if your saying "let it just flow", I'm not saying your wrong, I just tried to do something different so this thread didn't become another thread that people couldn't understand without reading from the beginning to the end.

Saco Jan, you've not messed up! Indeed, you've breathed a little fresh air into here.

It's been a pleasure , sorry if I jumped a bit overboard.

if billions of people choose leaders like mr bush, mr jesus, mr muhammed to follow. what can ı say. ım the one retarted probably.

Mr. Jesus? Now that's just funny. I think Lal has officially decided to ignore me . Well, you get that a lot in the Ministries these days ?

[Sako]

Steph and Arda, sorry I didn't reply to your questions yesterday. It was late so I decided to answer them today.

Saco, come on then.............this is open to all for answers about what is good/bad/indifferent during the coming weeks in your neighbourhoods.

I'd say the people become very active like in every country basically. Concerts take place, interesting new original shows come out, the restaurant's get filled up with people, the centre of the city is filled with attractions, lot's of Santa Clauses, etc. On New Year's Eve, all the families here spend a lot of money on food, drinks, the Christmas Tree's, etc. which is natural but what I love most is that the city is so small and you can go to many of your relatives` houses easily and spend some time with almost all of them. Also, in Armenia, you feel almost like one big family when you go down to the city. In America, you don't really feel that way unless you know people or if you go to the store, lol, but here, just going down to the city is a treat. America is huge so many families could feel sort of alone if you know what I mean but here, the country is small and everyone sort of feels close no matter what. I can't really remember anything very genuine that takes place here. And oh yeah, let's not forget, there is snow !

Saco, i am curious about an issue. For a long time, i have been wondering Armenians are funny crazy people (not in bad way) and today i encountered Devedjian's interview and he tells the same: "We, Armenians are crazy".
What can be said?

Hahaha, yeah, you hear things like that from time to time. This is actually more of a compliment, you can say, in many respects. Armenians, Arda, are one of those very special few civilizations that survived no matter what happened. Most other countries would've been broken down by many of the past events in history. They wouldn't be able to survive. The Genocide, for example, many till now, including Turks, can't believe how Armenians survived through the Genocide, how they could stomache so much. Many great men honor our ancestors that's why, respecting us so much. The phrase "quality is better then quantity" is very significant and true when you talk about the Armenians. Their only problem is that they fight between each other at times, which is their weakness. If Armenians unite, no one can break them down just like in 1915. The Armenians still survived although the Turks were so powerful. I can give you millions of examples describing why Armenians are so special and why so many became jealous of us.

Here are a few which are hard to believe sometimes:

1. There is a top-ten list listing ten of the greatest, smartest men in the 19th century ... 2 are Armenian . Out of thousands of great men, only ten should be chosen and two are Armenian.
2. In song contests, most of the major countries aren't even in the top-ten list ... Armenia is everytime.
3. Can you say the saddest thing that happened in the Genocide? I'd say it wasn't mostly the land or the people we lost but rather the fact that many Armenians were dragged to Turkey and raised there. Their faith was changed, their nationlity was changed, etc. Even then though, this isn't much to be proud of but those Armenians became extremely powerful leaders, soldiers, politicians, etc. faster then the Turks who all respected them and began to look up to them for guidance. The Armenians flourished no matter where they went, that's what's so unbelievable.
4. The first churches in India were not built by the British but the Armenians. The first bookes in Armenian were for example printed there by a printing press.
5. The most beautiful street in Kolkata (previously Calcuta (the British couldn't pronounce Kolkata ) was built by Armenians.'
6. There are Armenians in every part of the world.
7. Our culture goes very deep not to mention the fact that Armenia was the very first country to accept Christianity as a religion.
8. Many, many countries, if not all countries know and respect Armenians that changed their country in big or small ways.

This list goes on and on. The only reason Armenia doesn't move on though fast enough is because Armenians don't fully understand or appreciate who they are, what they can do, and the fact that they argue amongst each other more then usual. This is our main and I can say, only weakness and other countries take advantage of it. If we come together, there is almost nothing we can't do. This is what many are afraid of and that's what we must do. This is why you may hear people saying Armenians are crazy, this is what they meant. So the phrase both relates to Armenians in a good and bad way but we aren't crazy, we just have a few flaws which all countries have, lol. Compared to other countries, Armenia is heaven when you look at the current status of the world. Now, if a few leaders don't make a few mistakes and work together, Armenia will be the most amazing and peaceful country in the world, not to mention gorgeous. It's so small but yet so powerful. We are so small because of the Genocide. Turkey saw us as their biggest threat and tried to wipe us out. If big countries can prosper, so can we because we have the ability to do so. We just have to get to it and we are, time is all that stands in our way.

[ardakilic]

Hahaha, yeah, you hear things like that from time to time. This is actually more of a compliment, you can say, in many respects. Armenians, Arda, are one of those very special few civilizations that survived no matter what happened. Most other countries would've been broken down by many of the past events in history. They wouldn't be able to survive. The Genocide, for example, many till now, including Turks, can't believe how Armenians survived through the Genocide, how they could stomache so much. Many great men honor our ancestors that's why, respecting us so much. The phrase "quality is better then quantity" is very significant and true when you talk about the Armenians. Their only problem is that they fight between each other at times, which is their weakness. If Armenians unite, no one can break them down just like in 1915. The Armenians still survived although the Turks were so powerful. I can give you millions of examples describing why Armenians are so special and why so many became jealous of us.

Here are a few which are hard to believe sometimes:

1. There is a top-ten list listing ten of the greatest, smartest men in the 19th century ... 2 are Armenian . Out of thousands of great men, only ten should be chosen and two are Armenian.
2. In song contests, most of the major countries aren't even in the top-ten list ... Armenia is everytime.
3. Can you say the saddest thing that happened in the Genocide? I'd say it wasn't mostly the land or the people we lost but rather the fact that many Armenians were dragged to Turkey and raised there. Their faith was changed, their nationlity was changed, etc. Even then though, this isn't much to be proud of but those Armenians became extremely powerful leaders, soldiers, politicians, etc. faster then the Turks who all respected them and began to look up to them for guidance. The Armenians flourished no matter where they went, that's what's so unbelievable.
4. The first churches in India were not built by the British but the Armenians. The first bookes in Armenian were for example printed there by a printing press.
5. The most beautiful street in Kolkata (previously Calcuta (the British couldn't pronounce Kolkata ) was built by Armenians.'
6. There are Armenians in every part of the world.
7. Our culture goes very deep not to mention the fact that Armenia was the very first country to accept Christianity as a religion.
8. Many, many countries, if not all countries know and respect Armenians that changed their country in big or small ways.

This list goes on and on. The only reason Armenia doesn't move on though fast enough is because Armenians don't fully understand or appreciate who they are, what they can do, and the fact that they argue amongst each other more then usual. This is our main and I can say, only weakness and other countries take advantage of it. If we come together, there is almost nothing we can't do. This is what many are afraid of and that's what we must do. This is why you may hear people saying Armenians are crazy, this is what they meant. So the phrase both relates to Armenians in a good and bad way but we aren't crazy, we just have a few flaws which all countries have, lol. Compared to other countries, Armenia is heaven when you look at the current status of the world. Now, if a few leaders don't make a few mistakes and work together, Armenia will be the most amazing and peaceful country in the world, not to mention gorgeous. It's so small but yet so powerful. We are so small because of the Genocide. Turkey saw us as their biggest threat and tried to wipe us out. If big countries can prosper, so can we because we have the ability to do so. We just have to get to it and we are, time is all that stands in our way.

I thought you neglected or ignored or dont take me into consideration. Thanks for the explanation.

First of all, Turkey's biggest threat is its own people. Secondly, it produces as much enemies as it can do.

It happened like Tyler Durden of Fight Club

[hitite]

Ok lets give it a try:

I have a few questions, how many TV and Radio channels are there in Turkey?

Well we have 3-4 satellites, the TURKSAT 1-2-3 and a 4th one is coming up. There really are around 200+ channels on the satellite (which most people use right now) but if you have a regular antenna you will probably get around 20 local an national channels. I watch some CNBCE for the tv series and business news and the news channels in general. You could probably name 10 or so good channels, the others are xxxxe.


What is your favorite Turkish movie, old and new?

My favorite Turkish movies, believe it or not are the HABABAM SINIFI series. They still make me laugh, stupid but yeah....

What do you do in your spare time in Turkey (not on the net)?

Dont have much. The usual stuff, we go to the movies, have our regular Turkish BBQ (mangal). I used to go scuba diving and skiing a lot and plan to take them up again.


What is your favorite Turkish recipe?

The food I love the most is köfte and patates kızartması (meatballs and fried potatoes but not french fries). I love iskender kebap (döner kabap served on a layer of pita bread with sauce and a splash of boiling butter ... mmm even the thought of it can drive me crazy). For starters I like every kind of Meze, most of which I belive have greek origins, and for dessert I like a good Kemalpasha, which really is the name of a sweet originating from a small town with the same name). Cant forget the fish and the king of fish here is Lüfer (bluefish, tailor). It is an excellent grill, there are even poems about this fish. The tastiest ones are said to be the ones caught in the Bosphorus. I also love our Black Sea Hamsi (anchoives) deep fried. Well writing about all this food sucks beacuse I'm on a diet now and thats probably why I'm babbling on about it too much.


What Turkish events do you love the most in Turkey?

I love our religious holidays; first because they are holidays and also because everybody gets together. Other "Turkish Events" I like is the hidrellez - the western Turkish Nevroz so to say. Its celebrated on a different day than Nevroz.


What Armenian events do you like the most?

Dont know of any except the celebrations you have in April.


It seems like better times between Armenia and Turkey these days, all these programs on TV, people are talking a lot, discussing, going. I even had a woman come to the office today from Georgia who wanted to buy our products and told me she was selling a lot of the stuff she buys to Armenia. So who knows, if borders open soon I might be even going to Armenia myself... This is all happening very fast. I wouldnt have even thought of doing business with Armenia 5-10 years ago.

[Sako]

I thought you neglected or ignored or dont take me into consideration. Thanks for the explanation.

First of all, Turkey's biggest threat is its own people. Secondly, it produces as much enemies as it can do.

It happened like Tyler Durden of Fight Club

Come on, Arda, I’d never ignore you. Regarding your views on Turkey, your damn right, their out of their freakin minds. Their making enemies faster then they can pick up their guns and then the people have to pay for their crimes. And, yeah, haha, it’s happening like in Fight Club. Hey, Arda, question, did you see Fight Club in English or Turkish ?

[Sako]

Ok lets give it a try:

I have a few questions, how many TV and Radio channels are there in Turkey?

Well we have 3-4 satellites, the TURKSAT 1-2-3 and a 4th one is coming up. There really are around 200+ channels on the satellite (which most people use right now) but if you have a regular antenna you will probably get around 20 local an national channels. I watch some CNBCE for the tv series and business news and the news channels in general. You could probably name 10 or so good channels, the others are xxxxe.

Like I thought, I didn't think all of those stations would be great. Here, I use basically cable so I get about 20-25 stations max but I think with a satellite, I'll be able to get about 4-500 channels. There are great satellites nowadays and they aren't very big either. You can get extremely fast internet and basically all the channels in the world with one small satellite. Times have changed, I miss the B&W TV's .

What do you do in your spare time in Turkey (not on the net)?

Dont have much. The usual stuff, we go to the movies, have our regular Turkish BBQ (mangal). I used to go scuba diving and skiing a lot and plan to take them up again.

Do you have any contact with Armenians?

What Turkish events do you love the most in Turkey?

I love our religious holidays; first because they are holidays and also because everybody gets together. Other "Turkish Events" I like is the hidrellez - the western Turkish Nevroz so to say. Its celebrated on a different day than Nevroz.

Could you explain this event a bit, I have no idea what it's about or like?

It seems like better times between Armenia and Turkey these days, all these programs on TV, people are talking a lot, discussing, going. I even had a woman come to the office today from Georgia who wanted to buy our products and told me she was selling a lot of the stuff she buys to Armenia. So who knows, if borders open soon I might be even going to Armenia myself... This is all happening very fast. I wouldnt have even thought of doing business with Armenia 5-10 years ago.

I agree, times are changing fast. Thanks for posting Hitite.

Ok, my question. Can people visit churches easily in Turkey? And because we've fallen back a bit, here's another question. What is your favorite name in Turkish, Armenian, and English?

[ardakilic]

Come on, Arda, I’d never ignore you. Regarding your views on Turkey, your damn right, their out of their freakin minds. Their making enemies faster then they can pick up their guns and then the people have to pay for their crimes. And, yeah, haha, it’s happening like in Fight Club. Hey, Arda, question, did you see Fight Club in English or Turkish ?

I have seen in English with Turkish subtitles more than ten times

It was amazing, especially introduction part.

[ardakilic]

Ok, my question. Can people visit churches easily in Turkey? And because we've fallen back a bit, here's another question. What is your favorite name in Turkish, Armenian, and English?

Protestant churcuhes, they are all opened and can be easily visited. But there are problems in Orthodox churches i think regarding the church staff.

Last week with my firend i went to Greek Orthodox church in Istanbul but they didnot allow us to enter.

In Armenian, i like the most is Jirair which is my friend's name.

In English Arthur and in Turkish Ulash.