Foreigners don’t like Muslims, only their money: Turkish President Erdoğan

Πρόεδρος Της Τουρκίας Μιλώντας Σαν Χαλίφη

με Ben Barrack στις 28 Νοέμ, 2014 

Μπαράκ Ομπάμα δεν είναι ο μόνος πρόεδρος που χρησιμοποιεί την πολιτική της διαίρεσης. Εκτός από το δόσιμο δυτικά έθνη έναν ακόμη λόγο για να κλωτσήσει την Τουρκία από το ΝΑΤΟ, της εν λόγω χώρας Πρόεδρος της Τουρκίας Ρετζέπ Ταγίπ Ερντογάν ηχεί περισσότερο σαν ένα χαλίφη. Ενώ δίνοντας μια ομιλία στην Κωνσταντινούπολη, ο Ερντογάν ζήτησε την ενοποίηση των μουσουλμανικών χωρών κατά της Δύσης.

Ομιλία του Ερντογάν περιλάμβανε επίσης ένα σημαντικό ποσό της υποκρισίας:

"Ξένοι" δεν είναι σε θέση να λύσει τα προβλήματα της Μέσης Ανατολής, επειδή δυτικές πολιτείες "δεν μας αρέσει" και ενδιαφέρονται περισσότερο για μόλις μετά από τα μετρητά, ο Πρόεδρος της Τουρκίας Ρετζέπ Ταγίπ Ερντογάν δήλωσε στις 27 Νοεμβρίου.

"Μόνο εμείς μπορούμε να λύσουμε τα προβλήματά μας. Μιλάω ανοιχτά? ξένοι αγαπούν το πετρέλαιο, χρυσό, διαμάντια, και το φθηνό εργατικό δυναμικό του ισλαμικού κόσμου. Τους αρέσει τις συγκρούσεις, καυγάδες και αντιπαραθέσεις της Μέσης Ανατολής. Πιστέψτε με, δεν μας αρέσει », δήλωσε ο Ερντογάν κατά τη διάρκεια ομιλίας στη μόνιμη επιτροπή για την οικονομική και εμπορική συνεργασία του Οργανισμού Ισλαμικής Συνεργασίας (COMCEC) στην Κωνσταντινούπολη.

«Μοιάζουν με τους φίλους, αλλά θέλουν να μας νεκρούς, τους αρέσει να βλέπουν τα παιδιά μας πεθαίνουν. Πόσο καιρό θα σταθεί το γεγονός αυτό; », πρόσθεσε.

Ο Ερντογάν ανέφερε ότι οι χώρες της Μέσης Ανατολής θα μπορούσαν να λύσουν τα προβλήματά τους από μόνοι τους χωρίς καμία βοήθεια από τη Δύση.

«Η μόνη προϋπόθεση για να ξεπεραστεί η κρίση στον ισλαμικό κόσμο είναι η ενότητα, η αλληλεγγύη και η συμμαχία. Πιστέψτε με, μπορούμε να επιλύσουμε κάθε πρόβλημα εφ 'όσον είμαστε ενωμένοι. Οι ισλαμικές χώρες, οι οποίες έχουν αναπτυχθεί οικονομικά πρόσφατα, βιώνει τη μεγαλύτερη ανθρωπιστική και πολιτική κρίση της ιστορίας τους ταυτόχρονα ", δήλωσε ο Τούρκος πρόεδρος.

«Αν δράσουμε από κοινού, εμείς θα τελειώσει η μοναξιά της Παλαιστίνης η οποία συνεχίζεται εδώ και σχεδόν έναν αιώνα ... Είναι δυνατόν να τερματιστεί η αιματοχυσία στο Ιράκ και τη δολοφονία της Συρίας παιδιά αν ενωθούμε », είπε.

Όλα αυτά από έναν πρόεδρο ο οποίος αρνείται να κάνει τίποτα γι 'ISIS, το πιο άγριο ταινία των αδελφών στη σύγχρονη ιστορία. Μιλώντας του ISIS, συνεχίζει να εξαπλώνεται σε όλη την βόρεια Αφρική. Όπως Shoebat.com έχει αναφερθεί, αυτό εξυπηρετεί όλα τα συμφέροντα της Τουρκίας σε ένα νέο χαλιφάτο.

Έκκληση του Ερντογάν για τη μουσουλμανική ενότητα δεν είναι μόνο για σκασίματα μουσουλμάνους εναντίον της Δύσης. Είναι επίσης για την υπονόμευση της ISIS, το νόμιμο χαλιφάτου. Ο Ερντογάν χρησιμοποιεί ISIS για να συνεχίσει το έργο που έχει κάνει το ΝΑΤΟ σε μέρη όπως η Λιβύη κατά τη διάρκεια της «Αραβικής Άνοιξης», αλλά ο ίδιος δεν θα αποδεχθούν μια ISIS Χαλιφάτου.

Ωστόσο, ο ίδιος θα είναι πολύ ευχάριστη θέση να υποτάξει ISIS σε ένα οθωμανικό χαλιφάτο. Η έκκλησή του για τους μουσουλμάνους να ενωθούν ποτέ τόσο διακριτικά υπονομεύει Αμπού Μπακρ αλ-Μπαγκντάντι, ο οποίος παίζει χαλιφάτο μικρή μπάλα.

Όσον αφορά Ερντογάν θρηνούν αγάπης πετρέλαιο, χρυσό και διαμάντια «ξένων» ... Έχετε δει την κατοικία του;

ISTANBUL – Agence France-Presse

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AA Photo

“Foreigners” are unable to solve the problems of the Middle East because Western states “don’t like us” and are more interested in just following the cash, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Nov. 27.

“Only we can solve our problems. I speak openly; foreigners love oil, gold, diamonds, and the cheap labor force of the Islamic world. They like the conflicts, fights and quarrels of the Middle East. Believe me, they don’t like us,” said Erdoğan during an address to the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) in Istanbul. 

“They look like friends, but they want us dead, they like seeing our children die. How long will we stand that fact?” he added.

Erdoğan said Middle Eastern countries could solve their problems by themselves without any help from the West. 

“The only condition to overcome the crisis in the Islamic world is unity, solidarity and alliance. Believe me, we can resolve every problem as long as we are united. Islamic countries, which have developed economically recently, have been experiencing the biggest humanitarian and political crisis in their history simultaneously,” the Turkish president said.

“If we act together, we will end the loneliness of Palestine which has continued for nearly one century ... It is possible to end the bloodshed in Iraq and killing of Syrian children if we unite,” he said.  

‘Ego complex’

He also savaged critics of his remarks that Muslim explorers traveled to the Americas before Columbus as suffering from an “ego complex,” reaffirming his belief their purported feat was an historical fact.

“I have been the target of heavy criticism by the Western media. Just because I repeated a fact based on scientific research, I have been targeted by the Western media, as well as the foreigners within who suffer from an ego complex,” he said.  

Erdoğan stirred controversy earlier this month by declaring that the Americas were discovered by Muslims in the 12th century, nearly three centuries before Christopher Columbus sailed across the Atlantic. He did not elaborate as to why the claim is only found in some obscure sources and is not known more widely.

Erdoğan insisted the criticism was aimed at preventing Muslims from “questioning anything.” 

“They have been very disturbed by the fact that we have reminded them of some historical facts, the history of civilization, science, politics and war. They don’t want us to question anything,” he said. 
   
Erdogan cited as evidence the claim that “Columbus mentioned the existence of a mosque on a hill on the Cuban coast,” and asked to build a mosque at the site mentioned by the Genoese explorer.

Most history books say Columbus set foot on the American continent in 1492 as he was seeking a new maritime route to India. A tiny minority of Muslim scholars have recently suggested a prior Muslim presence in the Americas, although no pre-Columbian ruin of an Islamic structure has ever been found.

In a controversial article published in 1996, historian Youssef Mroueh referred to a diary entry from Columbus that mentions a mosque in Cuba. But the passage is widely understood to be a metaphorical reference to the mosque-like shape of the landscape.

November/27/2014

ΠΟΛΙΤΙΚΕΣ ΑΝΤΙΠΑΡΑΘΕΣΕΙΣ ΠΡΟΕΔΡΟΥ ΕΝ ΜΕΣΩ ΑΠΕΙΛΩΝ ΠΟΛΕΜΟΥ ΜΕ ΤΟΥΣ ΤΟΥΡΚΟΥΣ

Οπως βλεπουμε ολοκληρος ο κρατικος μηχανησμος εχει ενεργοποιηθη πληρως για τον επεικειμενο πολεμο με τους τουρκους.
Ο οποιος πολεμος δεν ειναι ονειρο θερινης νυχτος,αλλα πολυ πολυ κοντα!
Οι ασκησεις γινονται η μια κατοπιν της αλλης,Κυπρο,Ροδο,Αιγαιο,Ηπειρωτικες περιοχες,κ.λ.π. και ανεπαλληλες επισκεψεις του υπουργου εθνικης αμυνας τοσο αυτου οσο και του προηγουμενου για να τονωθη το φρονημα του Ελληνισμου επιβαλονται και ειναι αναγκαιες.
Ας κρουσωμεν το κουδουνακι κυνδινου να ξυπνησουμε τον ελληνα πολιτη που κοιματε με τα τσαρουχια και ονειρευεται,για να μη βρεθη προ εκπληξεως καθως η πολιτικη και στρατιωτικη  ηγεσια το γνωριζη καλα αυτο.
Ας μην κλαιμε για την πεινα μας,διοτι τα λεφτα μας εχουν γινη σημερα οπλα,και κανεις δεν πολεμαη πλεον μονο με ψυχη,αλλα με τεχνογνωσια και οπλισμο.
Ελεγε καποτε ο αειμνηστος Θ. Κολωκοτρωνης οτι την ελλαδα μας θελουμε και ας τρωγουμεν και πετρες,και δεν εχουν περαση ουτε 200 χρονια απο τοτε,και δοξα τω θεω κανεις δεν προκειται να πεθανη απο πεινα.
Ποσο δε μαλον αν θα μας παρουνε τον εθνικο πλουτο οι τουρκοι,που εργαζονται χρονια για αυτο τον σκοπο.
Γι αυτο επιβαλετε, στην ωρα του, ΑΜΕΣΑ να κυρηξουμε ΠΡΟΕΔΡΟ της δημοκρατιας,να μην παμε σε ΕΚΛΟΓΕΣ,οι εκλογες να γινουν στην προκαθορισμενη ωρα τους,και ο καθεις οτι θελη ψηφιζη.
Μην ξεχνατε οτι οι τουρκοι περιμενουν με το δαχτυλο στην σκανδαλη,ο λυκος στην αναμπουμπουλα χαιρετε.

ANCIENT GREEK LOST CIVILIZATIONS αρχαιοι χαμενοι ελληνικοι πολιτισμοι

Αρχαιοι ελληνικοι πολιτισμοι,απο αρχαιες ελληνικες πολεις οι οποιες βρισκονται διασπαρτες στην λεκανη της μεσογειου και γυρω απο αυτην,φανερωνουν την υπαρξη του ελληνικου στοιχειου στην περιοχη,εδω και χιλιαδες χρονια τωρα. Αυτοι τωρα  εχουν καταπατηθη απο τους βαρβαρους,(τουρκοι,σελτζουκοι,κ.λ.π.)οι οποιοι προερχονται απο τα βαθη της ανατολης,και εχουν βγη και στην μεσογειο τωρα,και μαλιστα διεδικουν και αυτη για τα κοιτασματα της,καθιστουν την ηδη βεβαρυμενη περιοχη,σε εμπολεμο πεδιο με αγνωστες συνεπειες και για αυτους.
Ολος ο κοσμος αναρωτιεται και θελει να μαθη που στηριζουν την οικονομια τους και κανουν αυτες τις ενεργειες , καθως οπως φαινετε  ολα τα μουσεια της ευρωπης και του κοσμου εχουν αυτα τα ελληνικα στοιχεια,και τα εκθετουν (τα εχουνε πουληση).Και στην ιδια την τουρκια βεβαια τα μουσεια της, εχουν τον ελληνικο πολιτισμο (βλ. Κωνταντινουπολη)με ελληνικες επιγραφες και γραμματα, και τον προβαλουν με σκοπο το κερδος.
Ολο αυτο φανερωνη μια καταπατηση,αλλα αυτο δεν μπορει να ειναι συνεχεια ιδιο.
Η ιστορια αλαζη.
Ισως μαλον να εχουν φθαση  στο ζενιθ της ιστοριας τους,
Και τωρα ισως  πρεπη σιγα σιγα να επιστρεφουν στα σπιτια τους.

Google Translation.


Ancient Greek civilization, from ancient Greek cities which are scattered in the Mediterranean and around, showed the GREEK ELEMENT in the region, for thousands of years now. That now have been violated by the Barbarians, (Turkey, Seljuks, etc.) Who come from the Far East, and have syn and MEDITERRANEAN now, and even diedikoun and this for the fields, make the already charged area, in war fields with unknown consequences for them.
Everybody wonders and wants to students base their economy and make these actions, as well as see all the museums of Europe and the world have these GREEK elements, and exponentially (the have sold) .And in Turkey itself COURSE its museums, have the GREEK culture (see. Kontantinoupoli) with Greek inscriptions and letters, and view for profit.
All this reveals a breach, but this can not be subsequently same.
The story arrogant.
Perhaps Malone have reached the zenith of their history,
And now maybe you should gradually returning to their homes.

Mysterious Roman God Baffles Experts
by Tia Ghose, Staff Writer

βλεπετε τον μακεδονικο ροδακα στο κατω μερος της εικονας





An unknown Roman god was recently unearthed at a sanctuary in southeast Turkey. The god, who is emerging from a plant, is depicted with both Near Eastern and Roman elements, and may have been a baal, or subdeity, of the temple's major god, Jupiter Dolichenus
Credit: Peter Jülich
View full size image


A sculpture of a mysterious, never-before-seen Roman deity has been unearthed in an ancient temple in Turkey.

The 1st century B.C. relief, of an enigmatic bearded god rising up out of a flower or plant, was discovered at the site of a Roman temple near the Syrian border. The ancient relief was discovered in a supporting wall of a medieval Christian monastery.

"It's clearly a god, but at the moment it's difficult to say who exactly it is," said Michael Blömer, an archaeologist at the University of Muenster in Germany, who is excavating the site. "There are some elements reminiscent of ancient Near Eastern gods, as well, so it might be some very old god from before the Romans." [See Images of the Mysterious Roman God]
The ancient Roman god is a complete mystery; more than a dozen experts contacted by Live Science had no idea who the deity was.

Cultural crossroads
The temple sits on a mountaintop near the modern town of Gaziantep, above the ancient city of Doliche, or Dülük. The area is one of the oldest continuously settled regions on Earth, and for millennia, it was at the crossroads of several different cultures, from the Persians to the Hittites to the Arameans. During the Bronze Age, the city was on the road between Mesopotamia and the ancient Mediterranean.
In 2001, when Blömer's team first began excavating at the site, almost nothing was visible from the surface. Through years of painstaking excavation, the team eventually discovered the ruins of an ancient Bronze Age structure as well as a Roman Era temple dedicated to Jupiter Dolichenus, a Romanized version of the ancient Aramean sky or storm god, who headed the Near Eastern pantheon, Blömer said.
During the second and third centuries A.D., the cult of Jupiter Dolichenus became a global religion likely because many Roman soldiers were recruited from the area where he was worshipped, and those soldiers took their god with them, said Gregory Woolf, a classicist at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, who was not involved in the excavation.
After the temple was destroyed, medieval Christians built the Mar Solomon monastery on the foundation of the site, and after the Crusades, the site became the burial place of a famous Islamic saint.
Blömer's team was excavating one of the old buttress walls of the Mar Solomon monastery when they discovered the relief, which had been plastered over.
The relief depicted a bearded man rising up out of a palm-type plant while holding the stalk of another. The bottom of the relief contains images of a crescent, a rosette and a star. The top of the relief was broken off but when it was complete it would have stood about the size of a human being.
"It was quite a big surprise when we saw the relief coming out of in this area of the site," Blömer told Live Science.

Unknown deity
The mysterious deity may have been a Roman spin on a local Near Eastern god, and the agricultural elements suggest a connection to fertility. But beyond that, the deity's identity has stumped experts.
The relief shows some elements associated with Mesopotamia. For instance, the rosette at the bottom may be associated with Ishtar, while the crescent moon at the base is a symbol of the moon god Sîn, Nicole Brisch, a Near Eastern studies expert at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, wrote in an email. (Brisch was not involved in the current excavation.)
"The bottom bits are from the Near East and the top bits are classical," Woolf told Live Science. "He looks to me like he was somebody from a native, very local pantheon." [Images: Ancient Carving of Roman God]
The fact that he is rising out of a plant is reminiscent of the birth myths of some gods, such as the mystery cult god Mithras, who was born from a rock, or the Greek goddess Aphrodite, who was born out of sea foam, Woolf speculated.
Mashup god
Though the gods' identity is a mystery, the hybridization of gods isn't unusual for the time, Woolf said.
"When the dominant style in the area is Greek and Roman, they give their gods a face-lift," Woolf told Live Science.
For instance, the ancient Egyptian gods end up wearing the clothes of Roman legionaries, and ancient Mesopotamian gods, which were typically depicted as "betels" — stones or meteorites — get human faces, Woolf said.
The best chances of identifying this enigmatic deity is to find a similar representation somewhere with an inscription describing who he was, Woolf said. But getting the word out could also help. Sometimes findings get widely disseminated and "someone turns up a little object that they've had in their private collection and say, 'Do you know, I think this is the same person,'" Woolf said.
Supporting wall



While excavating at the ruins, the team uncovered a plastered-over relief buttressing the walls of the Mar Solomon monastery. When the team painstakingly revealed the relief, they were surprised to find a completely unknown Roman deity. (Photo credit: Peter Jülich)

Religious Mashup




The relief depicted a bearded man emerging from a plant or a flower while grasping a stalk. The unknown god may have been one of the sub-deities, or Baals, of the main god of the temple, Jupiter Dolichenus, a Romanized version of the storm god of the local population. The rosette and crescent, and astrological symbols in general, are all associated with Near Eastern religious traditions, whereas the bearded man's face was likely inspired by Roman traditions, said Gregory Woolf, an classicist at St. Andrews Unviersity in Scotland. (Photo credit: Peter Jülich) Jupiter Dolichenus


Jupiter Dolichenus was the head of the Aramean pantheon that got a Roman face lift. Temples and shrines to the deity have been found throughout the Roman empire, all the way to Britain. The Jupiter Dolichenus cult likely went global because soldiers for the Roman Empire were often recruited from the god's native land. Here, a relief of the god, along with the goddess Juno, which is housed at the Neues Museum in Berlin. Jupiter Dolichenus is often depicted holding hand axes. (Photo credit: Marcus Cyron/Wikimedia Commons)

Ethiopia • 360° Aerial Panorama

Ethiopia • 360° Aerial Panorama





Ethiopia is located in East Africa. It is the second most populated nation on the African continent after Nigeria. Since 1993, Ethiopia has been a landlocked country due to the separation of Eritrea, which was not to their benefit.

Ethiopia is situated in an equatorial and subequatorial region, but thanks to its terrain Ethiopia has a more moderate and humid climate than its neighbors, which are at the same latitudes. There is a significant amount of rainfall; rivers are flowing; there is no water shortage for irrigation. It is also the most mountainous country in Africa. Travelers described Ethiopia as the African Tibet. Mountains occupy about half of its territory, the rest are plains: The Ogaden plateau in the South-East, the Afar Depression in the North-East and the lowland of the Baro River basin in the far West.



However, an encyclopedic description of the country even in the smallest degree cannot fully describe the uniqueness of Ethiopia. Take volcanoes, for example. Many countries have them, yet only the Ethiopian volcano, Dallol, is known for its extraterrestrial landscapes that resemble the surface of Jupiter's moon, Io. In the 60s the record mid-annual temperature of +34° C was established here, which has given the Dallol area the distinction of being "the hottest place on Earth." The last time the volcano erupted was in 1926.

On the contrary, Erta-Ale is the most active volcano in Ethiopia. It lies below the sea level and is an integral part of the so-called the Afar Triangle, a zone of intense volcanic activity.

Its name translates as "Smoking Mountain", which is not surprising because Erta-Ale is one of the five volcanoes in the world that has a lava lake in the crater. The patterns of the fire strips and lava level are continuously changing; the "superfluous" lava unceasingly flows from the crater and sometimes creates a unique second lava lake (there are no similar examples among volcanoes). From February 2010, the lake level has risen by more than 30 meters. Its unearthly beauty is the reason our photographer, Dmitry Moiseenko, went to a photo expedition. This is how it went, according to him...





In January, when I was getting ready for the photo tour to Ethiopia, I thought that everything would be typical: we would get some sun and some cold weather; we would shoot and get to know the tribes. Oh, did I mention cold weather? That's because the instructions for the tour said: "Addis Ababa sits high enough above the sea level, and tourists need to stock up on warm clothes for the +10° C weather"... When we arrived there, the weather was chilly.We were then supposed to fly to the small town of Mekelle, located in the North-East of the country. It was freezing, even when we transferred from the international to the local terminals. Once we landed in Mekelle, we loaded up in the blazing heat. We were completely soaking by the time we got to the cars.

Driving our Jeep down endless hills, I thought, "Oh well, it's day time, so there will be sun and heat, but it must certainly be cold in the evening." Eight hours later at night, we pulled up to the three sheds built of planks and roofing material in the middle of a suspiciously deserted area. I realized it wouldn't cool down, not even in the evening. The temperature was fluctuating around +36° C, and the breeze was blowing either salt or alkaline dust in the air.

I asked the guides if we were going to travel to the volcano tomorrow and if the temperature would cool down. I was informed that we would stay 4 nights here, that Dallol is located 40 meters below the sea level, and that the temperature would be +50° C or +60° for certain. And, all this information was indicated in the tour program. I should have read the Tour Package program in advance!



The volcano itself is a crater filled with yellow-green-brown-red lakes containing acid or lye, which bubble and evaporate into sulfurous vapors. You have to watch out to not fall through, and you'd better wear disposable shoes. You have to breathe cautiously. A tripod can't be put just anywhere because although the carbon will survive, the metal parts will be oxidized. Not to mention, you have to really try hard to survive in the mind-boggling heat.

After that, it was like a dream. I made timid attempts to struggle for life: I would get my t-shirt wet in 40-degree water, so that 20 minutes later I would naturally cool down. I searched in vain for shade under the vertical African sun. I would run to the neighboring village to buy a frosted bottle of Coca-Cola from an old-fashioned refrigerator and then hold it in my hands (I had nothing better to drink in my whole life). Every day I had only two liters of water to wash myself. At the same time I was shooting and then shooting again.



Our group was guarded by a myriad of local military, because the neighboring Eritrea established a reputation of raiding tourists. Eritrea is much poorer than Ethiopia, and we were no more than four kilometers from the border. Our bodyguards were friendly and posed willingly. At my request they would even carry my tripod and pole meant for shooting circular panoramas. It turned out that in addition to Dallol Volcano, our so-called hotel wasn't far from the salt lake Assal, which is very similar to the Bolivian lake Salar de Uyuni, but is smaller in size.

We went to the salt fields where the local people, called Afars, have extracted valuable products for thousands of years, and where every day for a thousand years camel caravans have come and then carried away salt chunks into the horizon.

We are finally leaving to see the volcano Erta-Ale. After a ten-hour road trip on salt, sand, dust, and lava deserts in a car with closed windows, we arrive at the foot of the mountain that we need to climb before nightfall. Finally it's getting cooler. For the first time, I pull out my sleeping bag! A couple of hours up and we see the huts made of stone, where we will spend the night. The horror of the day disappears as soon as we are able to see the scarlet glow nearby. This is the volcano crater with an open lava lake. Grabbing our tripods, forgetting about our fatigue, we run towards the scorching heat of the fiery volcano...



At the edge of the volcano, just about 10 meters down, I can see the molten hot lava as it cools down, forms a crust, and then breaks apart continuously. And, if it wasn't for the intense heat, I would have stayed there indefinitely shooting pictures!

At nightfall I gladly climb into my warm sleeping bag, breathing the fresh cool African air (luckily the wind blew the smoke and ashes from the volcano in the opposite direction!). One thought kept coming to my mind: what if all of a sudden the volcano decides to erupt? Fortunately, the volcano did not comply.

The second part of the trip was in the Omo River Valley and the tribes, which inhabit it. First, it took three days to cross the country from north to south, to the lost lands at the border of Sudan and Congo, where the three tribes Hamar, Mursi and Daasanach are struggling to survive and preserve their authenticity. Surviving is more important than keeping their uniqueness. The expansion of civilization and the thirst for profit is gradually destroying the life and subsistence farming of these people. It seems to me that some villages prefer making money from photographers and tourists rather than doing their traditional cattle herding.

There are two types of payment the photographers must negotiate in order to obtain the right to shoot. The first type is cut and dry: you negotiate with each photo model individually. The second type looks like this: a caravan of jeeps enter the village, the head leader comes forward, and then the real bargaining commences. At the end the guide passes a fat stack of bills to the tribe leader and tells the group that everything is included. This "all inclusive" privilege gives you a whopping five minutes of shooting time, after which the ‘collective farm' splits, and you are then again required to bargain for every new pose with each individual model.



Despite the fact that to Europeans all African tribes resemble each other, I can say for sure that they are different. We could recognize Hamars by the corn rolls in their hair; their skin, which was covered with clay and egg mixture (for sun protection); and their neck collars, which told us whether the girl was married or single, and whether she's the first wife. Two customs surprised us: to show that a boy is ready for adult life, he has to run naked across the backs of several adjacent cows, and then return without falling. If he fails, there will be no wedding for him that year. The second custom made me wince: tribal girls, having drunk a suspicious concoction, start to dance to rhythmic tunes, running in circles, asking the tribal men to whip them. This leaves them with multiple bloody scars on their backs. The girls seem to be joyful despite the brutality. Subsequently, the scars heal, and each girl earns the right to ask the man who whipped her for some services and favors. Most likely they are not asking them to beat a nail. This explains why the men are very selective about the mutilation of the ladies.



The Mursi are quite different: they are thinner and with more prominent cheekbones. They also love to mutilate their bodies. Before, the ultimate beauty custom among older women was to have a plate inserted in the lower lip. Over time, the standards have changed, and now young girls make only neat scarification that even looks beautiful, especially when the scars are neatly arranged around their beautiful chest. We were warned about the frightening hostility of the tribe, but things worked out fine.

The Daasanach take care of their bodies and do not damage or injure them. They also protect nature. They collect metal caps from the coke bottles from tourists and hang them on their heads as garland. I have to admit, I was charmed by some of the young girls from the tribe. I even considered staying here for the rest of my life herding goats. I then was told some very unpleasant news: the first being that the Omo Valley is infested with fatally-dangerous Tsetse flies, and Europeans rarely survive their bites. And, second, the Daasanch girls I admired were all under-aged, even by the standards of the tribe. If they were not under-aged, they would already be pregnant or with their baby.



I came back to Russia during the winter with relief. Moscow's cold struck me as nice, kind and familiar. I didn't have to restrict myself to two liters of water a day, and if I was cold I could put warm clothes on or start the fireplace. I still can't understand how anyone can survive in +40 - +45° C. The heat is unbearable and there are no clothes left that you can take off, and there is no refrigerator.

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Turkey's remaining Assyrian Christians dream of better times

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Mardin (Turkey) (AFP) - In a small village in the southeast of Turkey stand two Assyrian churches, one a thousand years old, the other modern, signs of both the region's Christian past and the determination of those who remain to bring it to life again.

Seyde Bozdemir was born in the village of Elbegendi in Turkey's southeastern province of Mardin. Like many of its inhabitants she decided to leave, in her case to Germany. But now she is determined to return.

"Here is our home. It is here that we want to finish our lives and be buried," said Seyde on a visit back to her home village.

"In the 1980s, we left without a way back. It had become very difficult, almost impossible. But when we dream, we still dream of here. It is for this that we want to live here."

The Christian Assyrian community in Turkey, which now numbers no more than a few thousand, has been hit by wave after wave of emigration since the foundation of the modern Turkish state in 1923 out of the ruins of the multi-ethnic Ottoman Empire.

But hope has not been lost that there will be a presence in the future, with some expecting a small boost from the first visit of Pope Francis to Turkey, which begins on Friday.

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Mardin Mort Schmuni Church is seen with the Mesopotamia plain in the background, in Mardin, southeas …

The mayor of Elbegendi returned to the land of his childhood after 23 years in Switzerland.

Aziz Demir still remembers the worst years of the conflict between the army and the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the late 1980s, which turned the settlement into a phantom village.

"In the daytime, the army was in the streets, in the night it was the PKK," he said.

"During this period, 50 to 60 Christians were assassinated in the region. We wanted to stay neutral but it was not possible. We left."

"But now we want to return. To protect our religion and our culture."

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Ayhan Gurkan, who teaches unofficial religious courses in a small church, poses in Mardin, on Novemb …

He is expecting great things of the visit of Pope Francis. "The Vatican has to act. The Christians of the east were always sacrificed. They should be able to live on their own lands at last."

- 'Keeping our culture alive' -

These last years, 17 new houses have been built in Elbegendi to host the handful of families who, like him, have returned to their origins.

And others are ready to join them, if the current peace talks between Ankara and the PKK end a 30-year insurgency.

The exodus of Christians from Turkey began with the notorious population exchanges with Greece in 1923 under which they -- like most of Greece's Muslims -- were sent across the border to make the two new states viable.

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Assyrian Christians pray at a church in Mardin, southeastern Turkey, on November 18, 2014 (AFP Photo …

The trend accelerated again with the civil unrest of the 1950s and the Turkish invasion of Greek Orthodox-majority Cyprus in 1974.

In recent years, the Kurdish conflict and the economic crises of the 1990s prompted many of those who had defied hardship to remain, to pack their bags.

Now no more than 80,000 members of various Christian communities -- including Armenians, Assyrians, Catholics, Chaldeans and Greek Orthodox -- are estimated to live in Turkey, a country of some 75 million Muslims.

Of these less than 20,000 are Assyrians, a Semitic people speaking one of the world's oldest languages who in Turkey largely adhere either to the Syriac Orthodox Church or the Chaldean Catholic Church.

The Syriac Orthodox Church proudly traces its origins back to the early period of the Byzantine Empire in 450 AD.

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A priest gestures near a church in Mardin, south-eastern Turkey, on November 17, 2014 (AFP Photo/Oza …

The Chaldeans -- by far the smaller of the two Assyrian communities in Turkey -- acknowledge the pope as head of the church after a schism in the 16th century.

Chaldean Christian Adnan Saglamoglu, a jeweller, has decided to stay in the provincial capital of Mardin, where, he admits, he sometimes feels a little alone.

"There are no more than four families in our community," he said.

"Without the help of those living abroad, we would already have disappeared. But we are trying to keep our culture alive," he said, proudly opening the door of a church in the city centre.

He said he can feel tensions climb "each time something happens to a Muslim" but insists he does not feel threatened and can practise his faith freely.

- 'Give us back our history' -

The ruling Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) co-founded by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan makes much of being a defender of all religions.

But Christian communities still have no legal status as official minorities. Like the Armenians, they also want official recognition of the scale of the slaughter their community was subjected to at the hands of the Ottoman security forces from 1915.

"Today we still cannot build a church in Turkey, its shameful," said Ayhan Gurkan, who gives -- unofficial -- religious courses in a small church.

"We want to be able to teach in our mother tongue and that all our assets, lands, churches and monasteries are returned to us. We want to be full citizens and for our history to be returned to us."

The Syriac church in Mardin, which dates back to the third century, has been entirely restored at a cost of around one million Turkish lira ($450,000).

"We survive thanks to the money our community has gathered," says its priest Gabriel Aktas. "We receive no aid from the Turkish state or European funding," he said.

"But as we neither have enough worshippers or priests we organise mass every Sunday in a different church. Then we provide religious teaching. It is not official but the Turkish authorities let us do this," he said.