Blog 9: Adana Haircut

Blog 9: Adana Haircut – The best and most freaky haircut I have ever had!

 Tuesday Nov 13^th, 2012

 I’ve experienced this before so it was less of a shock this time around. My Adana hair cut was in 2008 and I was shocked then I can tell you!! Lol And scared somewhat as well!!

It’s a good thing I had my wife with me because if you don’t understand what is happening it can be a bit alarming to the Westerner. As an Aussie male it also feels like attack on any male macho senses you might have! Lol



My hair is straight, strong and thick!  I spike it because, well that's all it's good for! It's the type of hair I commented once to an Australian hairdressers back at home saying “my hair is horrible isn’t it!” and they replied “yes it is!” lol

It’s also the type of hair that looks easy to cut, so at home the hairdressers normal takes one look at me, and the hands me on to the 1^st year apprentice. So I have a book worth of horror hair cut stories about the 15 minutes apprentice haircut.
Funny thing is after this 15 minutes "lunch break" haircuts they have hide to ask me for $26 Aussie dollars (about 42 lira) and I am stupit enough to say “Thank you!” :-/

But here in Adana the story is much different!! The fashionable young Adana male is stylish and sheik, hair spiked to the centre, styled with precision. In Turkey the hair dressers are mostly male and mostly “straight”.

My experience at home in Australia was hairdressers mostly female and expecting a wink from any male ones! Lol (Ironically the gay male hairdressers have the best reputation in Australia.) But my hair was always cut by females.

So you can imagine how I felt with my first hair cut here . It wasn't the usual 15 minutes lawnmower apprentice hairdresser cut I'm used to, but nearly 2 hours long work of art! It was an Adana hair cut made also  with the aid of 5 guys all doing different tasks! Can’t see the “Paul Hogan” Aussie male sitting through this experience can you? Lol

So for the blog and as “MUST TRY” I have sacrificed myself for another Adana haircut.

The salon I chose “ABBAS” was first rate and very clean salon, with music TV and free tea and coffee at the offering. ABBAS Hair solon is locate on 64014 Sk (14 sK), Adana

https://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en&sugexp=les%3B&tok=xDENe_6wIjCYPU-_ckJUzQ&pq=64014+sk+(14+sk),+adana&cp=9&gs_id=5&xhr=t&q=64014+Sk+Adana&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bpcl=38093640&biw=1957&bih=921&bs=1&wrapid=tljp135284461707200&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

We pick up the cut about 45 minutes in, The male hair dresser has already finely machine trimmed the sides of my hair and sculpted what felt like every hair with scissors and an array of other tools which were handed to him, one by one, by another male who was assisting the cut. (like a doctors gets handed a scalpel and other tools in surgery)

I was very impressed with his care to detail and how it was important to him to make it all perfect before moving on.

The photos start with him using a very fine layering tool on my hair, and then trims my eye brows and nostril hairs!!! Lol  He did ask and would normally also trim my mustache and goatee, but I declined this time around. My first hair cut in 2008 that was all a bit freaky, but not as much as the next procedure to come!!

Next: They lite this flame wax stick that they twirl expertly with naked flame around your ears, face, forehead and nose to burn away any hairs and leave your skin shinning and hairless! OMG!! (Not for the faint hearted this hair cut! Lol)

Then it’s the electric trimmer to the back and sides, making perfect your lines and hairless your neck.

 Next is the shampoo. They have a selection of shampoos you can choose from and it all comes complimentary.

What is vastly different, is you don’t go to another place and lean back into a bowl so you don’t get water on your face. With Adana haircuts you lean forward into a bowl and get totally soaped up and saturated by at least two hairdressers. It also involves a pretty strong but nice head massage.
Tip.: Open your mouth and make an air tunnel so you can breathe! lol

After that it’s a towel off and then the cotton buds to the ear holes!! Lol They really clean them out! I was freaked out in 2008 when the man stuck his fingers in my ears but this time I’m an experienced veteran! Not! :-/

Next process which my wife didn’t get a photo of, was the molding gel. The hairdresser finely sculpted every hair, from one side to the next with perfect care and pride of workmanship. You don’t see pride in trade so much at home and when you do you pay through your nose for it!! (Aussie term for a lot of money! Aussies hairdressers charge a fortune, especially for women.) That is not the case here in Adana and you can get a super hair cut for a women just as cheap as men.

After that, two types of hair spray were used to hold the mold.

Then little white blotches of face cream was dotted around my face and then finally worked in to invigorate and soften my skin. (I was offered a facial mask but declined)

The to my surprise the hairdresser complimented me on how nice my hair was to work with and how nice it is (in complete contrast to Aussie hairdressers) and then said I look like the latest JAMES BOND! LOL

 He obviously couldn’t see I was hiding my molded “6 pack” with a few good meals! But hey, I’ll take that compliment!! J

And then I was done! “Mashala!!” Fabulous!! Best cut ever!


Really this was a first class. A little freaky but 1^st class. I have never had anyone or group of people work on my hair with such pride and care and these guys did it why style and pride.

Hats off to Adana Hair Dressers, you could teach Australian Hairdressers a thing or two!!

A “MUST TRY” for any male. Common, you’re away from home, nobody is going to see you!! lol

 And the price for all this care, product, cream and time???

 Only 20 Turkish lira!!! (Approximately $11.50 Australian) Now that is value for money!!

That’s all for today and for a week as I travel to another city for 7days. Back soon!


Cheers

BOND… JAMES BOND! J

Blog 8: Dentist, Boot shines and Playgrounds

Blog 8: Dentist, Boot shines, Playgrounds, food.

 A walk around town – Monday 12^th November
Click on any picture to blow it up in size for better detail.

DENTISTS

Today my wife went to the dentist here in Adana which is always a scary affair. I chose to use the time whilst she was “under the drill” practicing Turkish over lunch. But before I get to that, let me just recommend to you a great dentist. I know from experience in Australia, there is nothing worse than finding dentist hunting, and a good one is very important. Even more so when you’re in a foreign land.

Last year my wife was taken to a family dentist here in Adana and I was more than a little scared by what I saw. We ended up having no work done, deferring to dentists back in Australia. The equipment I saw here looked out of the 1950’s and the Dentist maybe still practiced from that time. LOL He was a nice old gentleman though but he had real human skull in the cabinet. That was too much for me. Creepy!! Lol

So we tried back home in Australia and the price was going to be a few thousand and really couldn’t afford it. Hmm, Denist, or flights to Turkey?? Turkey won. 
Aylin had constantly said to me that the dentist were very high quality in Turkey but after seeing my first dental practice the year before I was very skeptical of this claim.

But I now am greatly relieved and actually very impressed with the new dental place we found last week and visited today.

 OZEL ADANA DENTAL – Cemalpasa Mh. Toros Cd. No 22/A Feriha Yalcin Apt. Z. Kat Adana
Tel (0322) 453 6888

www.adanadental.com

https://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en&q=Cemalpasa+Mah.+Toros+Cad.+No+22/A+Feriha+Yalcin+Adana+turkey&ie=UTF-8&ei=YVOhUNypK8K2hQf92YCYDA&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAg


We found this practice to be modern, soothing, welcoming and equipment first rate. The Dentist that has been working on my wife’s teeth is “Birgul Altay Bayan” and she is very competent and was excellent with my wife (who is also paranoid about pain). Lol  Although a little more expensive on Turkish standards, they are certainly less than what we would pay back home and of a comparable standard. The building they practice in was better than any I've found back home also and much less scary!

ARCADIA CAFE - Toros Cd

Whilst my wife was with this dentist, I walked two blocks down on Toros Cd to eat. I chose this day “Arcadia Café” . My choice of this Café was because it looked clean, had some big pictures outside of what I could expect to eat inside. It also looked like I could hide away inside and frankly, trap my little two year old in a seat where he could watch things outside, but not wander around! Lol

Good Choice. My Turkish was adequate to order and answer questions asked of me, the café was clean, seats and tables comfortable and they played nice music to set gentle atmosphere. I sat in the corner with my boy and he was quite content to sit and chat with me and eat all the fries from my meal.

I ordered the picture special "Tavuk Izgara" The food was great, tasty chicken pieces, rice, fries, onion rings, very nice salad, water and I ordered a cola, all for about 12 lira ( about $7 Australian ) Good value and nice food.

 After  this meal my wife came out actually smiling from the denist, well as best you can smile with a numb mouth! Lol Her accent changed a little! lol We set off another block down on Toros Cd, to a little playground (you can see the green square on the google map link I gave above.)

Toros Cd Play Ground / park

This is a great little park and I am pleased to report it does have soft-fall!! J A little harder than the stuff we have at home but it is much better surface for kids than dirt! Lol Michael and I had a great play. He deserved it, being such a good boy today.

Shoe Polisher - Toros Cd

Right next to the playground on the pathway, again Toros Cd was a Shoe Polisher man. These carts are all over the place in Adana but this guy was great and his equipment was polished and in very good nick.


Previously this year I had brought a pair of “Skechers Boots” from the UK via ebay. I brought them for work because the stanard work issue boots are heavy and harsh, have no style! 

I love these Skecher boots, they fit great but the workmanship was poor and inside the first 2 months they were coming apart at the seams, both on the same side. So I brought them with me to Turkey knowing the boot repairers in Adana can work wonders.

And they did. For $10 lira they sewed new patches over the torn parts that look like they were made with the boot.

Next was to polish them up. And this guy in the picture took to the job with passion. He did such a fabulous job, the result was much better than the new product. I am so happy with my boots now.

The price for the polish (which was really a lot of work) was 2 lira (about $1.15 Australia). I paid him 5 lira because it was worth much more to me to see my boots looking so good. I recommend a boot shine as a “MUST TRY”in Adana. He was a nice chap too! J

After some further walking, a few little excursions in to women’s clothing shops (boring!! lol ) with my wife  and her mother, we dispatched little Michael into the safe keeping of my wife’s mother and set off on foot for the old city parts in Adana (the old clock tower district).

THE ADANA DISTRICT

TIP: If you walk this district beware,  the pathways can be treacherous and the traffic always a hazard to navigate. Be alert also for “pick pockets” or teams of pick pockets. Keep your wallet in your front pockets and be aware of people bumping into you, trying to distract you whilst they fleece you of your valuables. A request for directions or “did you drop something?” could be a front to distract you. It’s safe but STAY ALERT!

There's lots to see and a book of discriptions but I'll let the pictures do the talking as it's late and I need some sleep.

We walked a fair way by this stage (comfortable walk) and the photos start on this big roundabout near Kemeralti Cami (Mosque).

We didn’t go in there but took pictures on the outside of both Kemeralti Cami Mosque and the “Haman” Turkish baths which are very ancient and look s fantastic from an outside.

I haven’t been able to bring myself to have a Turkish bath yet (too intimate rolling around with soap and water with another man, half to fully naked, not for this Aussie! Lol ) But if you’re going to have one, that would be the place!

Next passed by Yag Cami Mosque as well, built in 1501 by Ramazanoglu Halil Bey.

 Everything is very old here. Quite impressive to an Aussie from a Country short on historical buildings, it’s very old here! (Australia discovered officially 1770)


From there we walked down a very narrow street with many shoe shops, Turkish delight shops, Mecca souvenir shops and shops of all descriptions from old times.

Gun shop after gun shop which was a little alarming! The ancient clock tower which dates back to the 18th century, signaled our turnaround point.

We did more than all this today and had another ATOM smoothie on the way home, but today was long and I'm a little tired! lol
Remember if you want to see an older blog, click the right hand titles at the tope or at the base where it says "older blog"

I will be away at a resort city for the next week so if you want to contact me, email me. Also I've answered all the comments on previous blogs so check there if you commented.   

Again. These photos taken with REAL 3D camera so if you would like a copy of any picture for your 3D TV email me at andrewaylin@yahoo.com.au and I’ll email you chosen picture. You just load them in a USB drive and plug them into TV.


Cheers

Andrew

Blog 7: Adana Fruit and Vegetables markets and Train Station

Blog 7: Fruit and Vegetables and Trains! Adana Week ending 11/11/12

It’s been a few days or more since my last blog as I was sick a due to possibly sun stroke. Tip: Wear a hat! Lol Then it began to rain here in Adana.  Quite frankly, it has been a welcome break with cooler temperates more like I was expecting for this time of year.

Adana in the Summer can be extraordinarily hot!! 40’degrees celeuis and then some!!  Most people here vacate the city for either a cooler location like a village house in the mountains or a sea side apartment in places like Mersin. Last year we did just that to escape the heat in July. But even at Mersin it was so hot. I remember I slepping outside on the veranda and put my bare face to the cement to keep it cool! Lol

Mersin is great though in the Summer months for all markets and music for miles that line the sea side parks till early hours of the morning. Also the waters are beautiful and calm like you would imagine in along the sures of the Mediterranean sea. Sooo nice!!

But the hot weather is very hot in the summer months! Needless to say, best times I think to visit Adana is mid to late August on to Nov and March through to May.  June, July, August is Holiday season and all the pools open, but you may want to visit the sea side resorts cities in Turkey like Bodrum or Antalya during those times if you think the hot weather will get to you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodrum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antalya

This is my first time in Adana for November and I like it! We have had some hot days, 30’s and some cool days, 20’s so far (Celsius – Sorry to you folk in the US that work with Fahrenheit! You guys should really get with the rest of the world! ;-) Lol)

http://www.metric-conversions.org/temperature/celsius-to-fahrenheit.htm

Adana is often (mostly from my experience) wrapped in skyline smog. (maybe all the Kebab bbq’s!) So today was an exceptional clean air day and for the clearest day ever I’ve found to photograph the Mountains in the far distance of the city. They are pretty impressive!! If you click on any pictures you'll see the better size and impression of the mountains.

Update: on such clear nights you also hear more than just one singing Hoca (Imam) singing calls to prayer from speaker mounted on all the Mosque minarets ( starts around 5am in the morning) Seriously I counted around 5 echoes of the same chorus, all overlapping each other at different times. Last year I counted 33 Mosques from the balcony view point looking in just one direction. Turks are very religious, but more casual and modern than their eastern neighbours.

It’s these mountains above that provide the clean drinking water and fill the pools that they constantly refill and empty so often here. (they don't use chorine, just refill with fresh and empty very frequently) Unlike Istanbul where you are advised to only drink bottled water (They recycled water in Istanbul) Adana’s water is cool, fresh and extremely drinkable as the snow clad mountains continues to provide.

Yesterday (Friday the 10^th of November) was the anniversary of Mustafa Kemal “Ataturk”death.

At exactly 9:05am the whole country stops for 1 minute to commemorate his death. And I do mean stops!! Everything does. People have great respect for this man. They sound a big horn, like train horn or air raid horn over the city for the minute.

Mustafa Kemal “Ataturk” is the hero of this country, it’s first leader (Prime Minister) and the leader and liberator of the new reformed Turkey after the defeated Ottoman Empire ceased in WW1. Turkey was divided up as spoils to the victors as part of the Ottoman Empire surrender in WW1 and Ataturk reunited it and kicked out the occupiers in 1922.

He also was the main reason for the Allied defeat in Gallipoli in 1915. That and also the very incompetent general-ship and poor planning in the ill-conceived English lead invasion.

My great uncle (an Aussie artilleryman) fortunately survived that fiasco at Gallipoli to fight on with his brother in the great and terrible battle of Sommes, France where remarkable they both survived!

Truly, Mustafa Kemal “Ataturk was a great man and made this nation of Turkey great! Unfortunately there are those that oppose his greatness today here in Turkey because Ataturk dared to separate religion from state.

The photo above is at Ataturk Park Adana taken on the 11^th, the day after Ataturk’s day, Ironically the 11th is Armistice day (or Remembrance Day) for all Aussies – marking the end of the 1^st World War (Armistice with Germany). We Aussies have 2 minutes silence at 11am to commemorate that.

 Fruit and Vegetable markets.
Over the past week when we went out, we mostly shopped, walked the streets, and visited the fruit and Vegetable markets.

The Fruit and Veg Markets on 64003. Sokak (3. Sk.) Adana is great. 1 road, two blocks long, with markets on both sides of the road. (You can also get fresh fish there) 
Fruit and Vegetables are much cheaper in Turkey than Australia (50cents for 1 kg of Tomatoes or even less. My personal favourite pomegranates, just 5 Turkish Lira (about $3 Australia) for 4kgs!!! Omg we pay $3 for just 1 single pomegranate in Australia and here I can get 4 KILO for that price!

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bpcl=38093640&biw=1957&bih=921&wrapid=tlif135265686031510&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=adana+airport&fb=1&gl=au&hq=adana+airport&hnear=adana+airport&cid=0,0,4411839641581035880&sa=X&ei=5-efUOq7D8zNsgbuzIH4CA&ved=0CIsBEPwSMAA

The fruit and Veg is plentiful, fresh and big! You can find markets like this one in many streets but the Markets here on 64003 street are open only Wednesdays and also Tuesday nights.

General groceries (food items etc) in Adana are either on par or more expensive than home, the latter being mostly the case. You will find the odd thing being much cheaper though, probably because it’s prepared in this part of the world, just shop around.

Oh, and milk at the market stalls here is all UHD milk (micro-filtration, increasing the storage life of the processed milk by ultra high temperature (UHT) treatment, and mixing or culturing milk for flavoured and yogurt products.)  So you’ll find it normally on the shelf rather than the fridge. (Though they do put their UHD milk in the fridge in some markets also). They do of course have fresh cows and goats milk straight from milking in the villages and I dare say you can get it if you ask for it. (just confirmed that fact!)

When it comes to meat and alcohol expect to pay 2 to 3 times the price of Australian prices.  For that reason I am always very sober in Turkey! :-/ In 7 trips to Turkey I can count the glasses of alcohol I’ve had on 1 hand! Hmm, Maybe 2 hands! (Due to frequency of  expensive travel to Turkey from Australia, alcohol indulgences have had to take a back seat. Duh!) Doesn’t mean I can’t duty free on the way home! ;-)

Raki, the Turkish Alcoholic drink of choice here and it is relatively cheap. You need to try it at least once, but it’s potent and very strong!! Hic! Not really my taste, but it’s interesting.

http://foxnomad.com/2009/07/01/how-to-drink-raki-like-a-turk/

Funny thing here is I have never seen anyone walking along the street with a bottle of alcohol or beer in there hand, “keg” on their shoulder or anyone drunk for that matter on the street here. Perhaps the price together with religious beliefs of Turkey (99% Muslim) aid this observation. But to an Aussie who from the beer loving country of Australia, this is truly odd phenomenon. Very nice but odd all the same! I’m sure we’d find some normality in the tourist coastal areas of Turkey but that just might be all the Tourist! Lol

ADANA TRAIN STATION

We took my son to see Adana Train Station because there’s a big 1920’s steam engine there. He loves trains and was very pleased to see a steam engine like “Thomas the Tank engine and friends” The Train Station itself was built by the Germans just prior to the 1^st World War (1913) as part of the “Berlin to Bagdad Railway Project”.

My experience of Adana trains this year is much different to last year. This year, modern trains in modern clean subways, with security everywhere! Last year we took an older train to these wonderful hot-springs pools in the mountains about 2 or 3 hours train ride. On the journey back, the train actually derailed at the station. Then all the men around the station, passengers and all, helped to put the train back on rails. Truly a site you don’t see often. I wish I blogged those photos last year!

Then on the way back to Adana on that same trip, the train passed the station by about 10kms before they realised the error and had to back the train all the way back to Adana! Lol Very funny!

One last item for my blog. Road crossings. Take a look at this one. It leads to a fence in the middle of the road so you can’t actually use it! Lol So typical here! Lol I love it!!

Cheers

Andrew

PS. Many of the pictures I take are on a FUJIFILM REAL3D so if you want a 3D version, email me at andrewaylin@yahoo.com.au and I'll email you the picture you like. They are so much better in 3D.