Message from Dick Osseman
I opened a new site about Syria. Viewers from Turkey: do not despair, I will return.
I make use of the Pbase filter facility, which implies a comment will only be shown after I have read and accepted it. If you write a comment, you will not see it unless I accept it. I receive many comments, and they often are compliments (which is nice) or add to my own knowledge or that of other viewers, which is a good thing too. I am less delighted by the viewers that use the comment facility to start and argument on a political issue or send greetings to their friends. I have decided to NOT show most of them. Although I am glad that at least two viewers who lost contact after an earthquake got in touch again after years of separation thanks to this site. And: e-mail addresses are only visible to me - even if I "show" the message - unless you put them in your comment itself!!!!!
Speaking about filters, when in Turkey I increasingly find that internet-filters block my site. Akinsoft is blocking often and I found the Tiev & Volsoft filter even blocked me from searching for my own name using Google, my name was forbidden, yaşak. This is a slab in the face of my parents. How mad can you get? Could some Turkish people complain at whoever makes these filters? If not ultimately Turkey will be the one country where one cannot see my pictures from an internet cafe.
I receive many questions (Why Turkey …. and such) and prepared some answers: click HERE to be transferred to another website with FAQ's).
The pictures on this site are the fruit of over 40 visits to Turkey. I took them all myself, this is not a collection of pictures by others. Please don’t send me pictures to 'publish', I won't. In my captions and other texts I try to give a fair picture of what I know and think about a particular place. I am aware of sensitivities regarding religion and ethnic (if that is a proper word) issues, but I want to steer clear of those. I myself am an atheist, so religion interests me mainly as a (big) cultural influence that produced many things that I like. But I am not emotionally involved (and get annoyed when people try to “sell” me their religion, whatever that may be).
With some very rare exceptions I find the people in Turkey very, very friendly, wherever you go. They are one reason why I keep returning. I don't want to take sides in the issues that seem to divide them every now and then. I have great faith in the healing influence of time, some issues will be resolved, others will remain for quite a while. Oh, and I do think Turkey may and should, if it feels like it, enter the European Union. - Adding on December 23 2005: I am worried about article 301 - the article against "insulting Turkism or the republic". This article might well become a millstone around Turkey's neck. In 2008 there seems to be some relaxing on this issue, but in my mind not enough.
Coming back to my filtering of comments: I sometimes allow someone who has a clear, if controversial, message to “slip through”, but if that is followed by the usual shouting match, I tend to delete the whole bunch. Some people then will write that I am a fascist and a scoundrel because I meddle with their right to express their opinion. Well, I am of a different opinion.
I sometimes link to other sites. I try to use only ones that will probably remain in place for a long time, but if you notice a broken link, please inform me, giving the precise address of the picture or gallery on my site, the address would be something likehttp://www.pbase.com/dosseman/image/67815919 (random example).
Lastly, some people who criticize my pictures ("Too many old houses") should realize that I am neither a tourist agent nor a city council public relations officer. I like old houses (for pictures) better than apartment blocks. For some cities I added some modern buildings. I must even confess that in some cities I tend to always drift to the same fine old places. I went to Ankara some 20 times or more before I finally went to Atakülesi and its marvellous observation platform. So it may be worth your while to let me know I have a blind spot for something really special. But if your city is “just” represented by old houses, be glad that you have some history on display, nothing is as boring as a totally modern city. And remember that for some people, many of whom now live abroad, those old houses are the ones where they were born, where they spent their childhood, the ones they long to see again. And could the people who tell me to take a picture of the beautiful beach at .... please stop: I don’t like beaches.
Now, enjoy.
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