townshend | times - edition vi :: summer ‘03 - 20 czech |crownstopics: level2adventure trip | Turkey | SARS | Dracula | Movie Premieres 2003

Country Profile - TurkeyStudent Profile - Tom Sier

SARS - Fact SheetDracula - True or False

Movie PremiersIraqi Women Speak Out

Internet SitesCrossword

SatireLevel II Adventure Trip

Brain TeasersEuropean Top 20

Impressum

Country Name: Republic of Turkey (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti); since 29 October 1923.Capital: AnkaraGovernment Type: republican parliamentary democracy (with the backing of a strongmilitary).

Area: 780,580 sq km; coastline: 7,200 km; Asian part: Anatolia; European part: Rumelia.Land Boundaries: 2,627 km; bordering countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia,Greece, Iran, Iraq, Syria.

Population: ca. 66,493,970 (July 2001); around 1/3 of the population lives in the fourbiggest cities Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Adana. There are more than 80 provinces asadministrative divisions.Ethnic groups: the biggest are Turkish and Kurdish; total of ca. 48 ethnic groups.Religions: Muslim, mostly Sunni; Shi‘i groups such as Alevis; Christians; Jews; Yezidis;Baha’is.

Climate: temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior.Terrain: mostly mountains; narrow coastal plain; high central plateau (Anatolia).

History: The Ottoman dynasty which occupied a prominent position in the Near and MiddleEast from 1281 until 1924 founded a great empire. They took their name from an earlyleader in the 13th century called Osman. The Ottomans successively established capitalsat Bursa, Edirne (Adrianople) and, after its conquest in 1453 by Mehmet II ‘The Conqueror,’at Istanbul. Under such sultans as Selim ‘the Grim’ and Suleyman ‘the Magnificent’ theOttoman empire reached its height in the 16th century. Thereafter its history was one ofgradual decline. The Ottoman Empire entered the First World War siding with Germanyand the Central Powers, thus precipitating the loss of Arab lands and, ultimately, at theinstigation of Mustafa Kemal Pasha (Atatürk), the abolition of the Ottoman sultanate andthe caliphate after the War. The last sultan Vahideddin was deposed in 1922, and the lastcaliph ‘Abdu’l-Majid II, in 1924.Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938) was the founder of the modern state of Turkey in 1923and first President of that secularized Republic. His name Atatürk means ‘Father of theTurks’. The secularization of Turkey meant also the abolition of Sufi (mystical) orders,Qur’an schools and Shari’a (Islamic law) courts. It was no longer stated in the Constitutionthat Islam was the state religion. Atatürk blamed Islam for the long decline of the Ottomansand their empire. He pushed vehemently secular reforms, following the Western model.For instance, the Latin alphabet was adopted in 1928 instead of the Arabic script; literacywas promoted everywhere; European dress (‘hat reform’) replaced the traditional; from the1930s more freedom for women, including voting rights.

For more information:http://www.mfa.gov.tr/grupc/default.htm

What is your favorite car? Purple maroonish JaguarWhat do you always take with you wherever you go? My chain,necklace, and braceletWhat is the oldest thing in your closet? A tight t-shirt, 3 yrsWhat’s your favorite sport and why? Surfing, cuz you expressyourself, keep fit and have funHow do you take care of your hair? Wash it once in a blue moon, gelit, and if I shower in the evening, I let it rest for a whileWhat country do you think makes the best food? Vietnam, cuz ittastes damn goodDo you think technology has taken over our world? No, but it will. Ithink religion can prevent it.How do you keep fit? Soccer 3x, lifting 1x or 2x, biking 3xWho is you idol? My dad, he’s a wonderful understanding man whocan relate to everyoneDo you have any funny memories from your childhood? Yea! Thisone photo where I was wearing only yellow Wellingtons and I wascrying cuz I couldn’t get a ride on the tractorDid you ever kill an animal and how? A rabbit with a rifle, cuz it hadmitsemetotia. Yea, and many insects, birds, my sisters’ hamster,cuz it bit my finger and I wacked it to the cage

A new disease called SARSSevere acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a respiratory illness that has recently been reported in Asia, North

America, and Europe. This fact sheet provides basic information about the disease and what is being done to combatits spread. To find out more about SARS, go to www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/ and www.who.int/csr/sars/en/ . The Web

sites are updated daily.

Symptoms of SARSIn general, SARS begins with a fever greater than 100.4°F [>38.0°C]. Other symptoms may include headache, an

overall feeling of discomfort, and body aches. Some people also experience mild respiratory symptoms. After 2 to 7days, SARS patients may develop a dry cough and have trouble breathing.

How SARS spreadsThe primary way that SARS appears to spread is by close person-to-person contact. Most cases of SARS haveinvolved people who cared for or lived with someone with SARS, or had direct contact with infectious material (for

example, respiratory secretions) from a person who has SARS. Potential ways in which SARS can be spread includetouching the skin of other people or objects that are contaminated with infectious droplets and then touching youreye(s), nose, or mouth. This can happen when someone who is sick with SARS coughs or sneezes droplets onto

themselves, other people, or nearby surfaces. It also is possible that SARS can be spread more broadly through the airor by other ways that are currently not known.

::student profile::Tom Sier

byDanielaSetkova

Dracula is probably the most popularmonster in the world. But he wasn’t thefirst one – monsters that drink human’sblood occurred in myths and old storiesalready hundreds years ago. Theybecame part of literature in 19-thcentury. In 1897, Stoker wrote his novelcalled Dracula. Bram Stoker was anIrish-born civil servant. According toStoker’s novel, Dracula had big ears,long claws and a couple of specialteeth. But it is just Stoker’s fantasy.But actually, his novel is not completelyfalse. He wrote the characteristics of Draculabased on real leader called Vlad Tepes(also called Vlad Dracula) who lived inTransylvania. He wrote that his storywas connected with this person and hissources of information were mostlymyths, old stories, and tales.

Vlad Tepes wasa real person andwe can find a lotof evidence andproves abouthim. Vlad Tepes,or Vlad theImpeller, alsoknown asDracula, was a15-th century

Prince of Walachia, renowned for hiscruelty. Novelists wove this into asinister tale of a region with whichvampires and werewolves weretraditionally associated. At that time, Vlad Tepes was actuallya very good leader. He was able todefend his country and he won most ofthe conflicts and wars. Because of that,he was very famous but his citizensdidn’t like him at all. His name, Tepes,means “the person who kills people by

special instruments”. After he died, his namechanged into Vlad Dracula, the son of devil.He had a very bad personal life, so he mightbe influenced by it. Myths say that after VladDracula died, he was still murdering. He wasconsidered a vampire. It wasn’t only Bram Stoker, who was inspiredby the story of Dracula. We have a lot ofbooks with similar topic (for exampleFRANKENSTEIN, written by MARRY SHELLEY)or movies:

CELEBRATION OF VAMPIRES- Roman Polanski, 1699VAMPIRE FROM NOSFERATE- F.W. Murnau, 1922VAMPIRE-C.T. Dreyer, 1932 DRACULA-T. Fisher, 1958 DRACULA‘S KISS- Don Sharp, 1962 WARHOL‘S DRACULA–Andy Warhol, 1974

Also today, in Czech Republic, the story ofDracula is well-known because of the famousmusical called Drákula. It was written byKarel Svoboda and performed by the mostpopular Czech singers.

Dracula is the most famous vampire in theworld but we still cannot be sure about thetruth or false connected with the story ofDracula…

>>advertisement<<

Washington — In 1991, Sabria Mahdi Naama and herchildren found themselves fleeing for their lives from theirnative land, Iraq. Her husband, Abbas Kareem Naama, hadbeen gone for months and she had no idea if he was alive ordead.Naama brought a National Press Club audience to tearsOctober 4 as she recounted her family's arduous journey tofreedom after months of hiding from Saddam Hussein'ssecurity forces.The mother of five was part of a panel called, "The UnheardVoices of Iraqi Women," sponsored by the InternationalAlliance for Justice, a network of 275 non-governmentalorganizations (NGOs) from over 120 countries. The groupsought to put a spotlight on human rights violations thatcontinue to be a hallmark of Saddam's rule in Iraq.Naama and her husband, a former general in the Iraqi army,are Shiites, a Muslim majority in Iraq. After the Gulf War,General Naama participated in an uprising against SaddamHussein in the southern part of the country, along with afew other senior military officials. Eventually, her husbandwas forced to flee their village to save his life, she said.For months, Naama said she feared her husband had beenexecuted by Saddam's regime. But, an even greater dreadwas that if he were alive, the Iraqi dictator would order thearrest of her children as a means to lure the general fromhiding. Finally, Naama herself was forced to flee with herchildren."I bitterly left my homeland when it was absolutely unsafefor my kids and my family to stay even one day more,"Naama said. She spoke in Arabic, and her daughter, Ersa,translated into English."Our guilt was that we protested the destruction of our lifeand the death of two members of our family ... We partici-pated in the uprising to defend our life and our kids. When atlast we arrived at the Rafha camp in the Saudi desert wewere ghosts in the shape of human bodies," Naama said."My kids were at the edge of death."General Naama had been able to escape to the same campand their family was reunited. After living in the desert campfor two years, they were moved to San Diego, California witha group of refugees.Along with Naama, six other women from various regional,ethnic and religious backgrounds in Iraq shared their experi-ences living under Saddam's dictatorship.Safia Al Souhail, the advocacy director for the Middle Eastand Islamic world at the International Alliance for Justice,said, "We, the women of Iraq, for the last three decades

have suffered under an extraordinarily brutal regime, every-body in this panel has lost loved ones in various warslaunched by Saddam…in the most aggressive and inhumanways possible."Al Souhail said Saddam's operatives in Beirut assassinatedher father, Sheik Taleb Al Souhail, chief of the Bani Tamimtribe in Iraq, in 1994."We are here because of our common wounds and commonaspirations, which is to see our country free from therepression of Saddam Hussein and his regime. Iraq underSaddam's regime has become a land of hopelessness,sadness, and fear. A country where people are ethnicallycleansed ... rape is systematic . . . congenital malformation,birth defects, infertility, cancer and various disorders are theresults of Saddam's gassing of his own people ... the killingand torturing of husbands in front of their wives and childrenoccurs ... Iraq under Saddam has become a hell and amuseum of crimes," Al Souhail said.

Nidal Shaikh Shallal related some ofthe ways Iraqi women have sufferedat the hands of Saddam."The Iraqi woman has lost her lovedones — husbands, brothers andfathers," Shallal said. "The Iraqiwoman has endured torture, murder,confinement, execution, and banish-ment, just like others in Iraqi societyat the hands of Saddam Hussein'scriminal gang."

"The heads of many women have been publicly cut off in thestreets under the pretext of being liars, while in fact theymostly belonged to families opposing the Iraqi regime.Women, especially dissident women, have been raped bymembers of Saddam Hussein's gang ... The wives of dissi-dents have been either killed or tortured in front of theirhusbands in order to obtain confessions from their husbands. . . Women have been kidnapped as they walk in the streetsby members of the gangs of Uday and Qusay [Saddam’ssons] and then raped," Shallal said.On a personal level, Shallal and her husband had theirpossessions confiscated and were expelled from their homeby the Iraqi regime. She was fired from her government joband her husband was jailed for four months and tortured byIraqi military intelligence.Shallal's brother was arrested in 1980 and her family stilldoes not know what happened to him. Several of her cousins

have been executed and as many as 882 male relatives andtribal members, the Jibour tribe, have been arrested andtheir fates are unknown, she said.The panel at the news conference also included four Kurdishactivists: Zakia Ismail Hakki, a lawyer and former presidentof the Kurdish Women's Foundation who became the firstwoman judge in Iraq; Hetau Ibrahim Ahmad; Paiman Halmat;and Dr. Katrin Michael. The four spoke of Saddam's perse-cution of the Kurdish population.Halmat, a teacher, said, "It has been the Iraqi regime'spolicy to change the demography of Iraq, by eradicating theKurdish population from areas that are deemed important inthe north of the country. The regime has done this throughforced deportation, arbitrary arrests and systematic torture."Michael said, "In 1987 I was in the Bahdinan region whenthe government bombed us with chemical weapons. I amstill suffering from that bombing to this day."Michael said she has a vision of an Iraq without Saddamthat would have a developed civil society that enshrinesequal rights under the law; equal wages for men and women;

http.usinfo.state.govNational Press Club audience hears accounts

of Saddam’s persecutionBy Lindsey Brooks

Washington File Staff Writer

L i n k swww.devianart.com - Arts Collectionwww.moekel.de - :)whatisthematrix.com - Official “The Matrix” Sitewww.cinestar.cz - Cinema Programwww.poslisms.cz - Free SMS Servicewww.worldpeaceprogramme.org - World Peace Programme

and protection for women against violence and rape.The women who spoke out at the National Press Clubhope that their stories of life under Saddam will helpthe rest of world understand the suffering that

Saddam’s regime has imposedon Iraqis. They also hope that therest of the world will understandtheir yearning for a different, andmuch better, future for all Iraqis.

Crossword created by Dawn and Leander

One thing I have noticed lately at breakfast is the wonderful, extremely long time it takes for the people at TIS to wake up. It seems that the period after the physical awakening may last for several hours, encompassing the morning meal and the following learning sessions. In fact, this period actually still could be considered sleeping time. The real wakening up from dreams happens at the especially for the students provided alarm clock at 10:10. By having installed this central alarm, the school (really) is giving a sign of good will and cooperation. But do we believe that only the students have to wake up at 10:10? No, indeed the social group that we call the teachers receive the same rights and obligations. However, often they feel mistreated because they are obliged to talk all the time. The result of this oppression is a strong desire to be equal to the students. They try to be as “cool” as the youth, copy their style, sometimes even adapt to dresscode. It is a pity that such a kind of peer pressure still exists. I have a dream that one day students and teachers can live together in harmony without one dominating over the other.

E-X-C-E-L-L-E-N-C-E

EXCELLENCE IS NEVER AN ACCIDENT; IT IS ALWAYS THE RESULT OF HIGH

INTENTION, SINCERE EFFORT, INTELLIGENT DIRECTION, SKILLFUL EXECUTION AND THE VISION TO SEE OBSTACLES AS OPPORTUNITIES.

In the beginning people had mixed feelings about the tripwhether it would be exciting. We all relied on Mr Taylor’spositive attributes about it. I think everyone after the tripfelt satisfied, while the adrenalin still flowed throughouttheir bloodstream. the first day we arrived there we weretreated to breakfast and shown round the premises eachof us marvelling at the courses which challenged everyonelater. After the short tour we were split up in to groups .one of the courses was the ‘flying fox’ which made usclimb up a tree (with a harness) and swing on a rope thattowered over the camp. the other group busied themselveswith trust exercises which made each student trust eachother in blindfolding themselves Most of the days we wenton bike trips ranging from 20km to 40km. After the flyingfox the groups we went on a bike trip to a city (its name Ican’t pronounce) which lasted for 23km. We were left tobrowse around the city for half an hour then we had to ridethe same route back, which tired everybody out. Eachnight we met up in a room and we each expressed ourfeelings about the day. I was happy to say that every bodyhad positive feelings about the day, everybody commentedon the flying fox. We were set into cabins which had thenecessary requirements except a toilet. At 7.30 everybodywas woken up and morning faces patrolled around thecamp. The second day started of with problem solvingexercises which tested peoples group activity skills, whichincluded the students building a monster out of their ownbodies. The rest of the day was packed with exercises,again the class was split up in to 2 groups. One of thegroups went rock climbing and abseiling to an areaoutside of the premises. Rock climbing became a chal-lenge for some people but they were able to accomplish itwith the support of everybody behind them. mentallyabseiling was the most challenging exercise of the day,which made the student climb 30 metres and hang from arope and let himself glide down to the bottom. The othergroup did free climbing without the assistance of a har-ness. The cliff faces weren’t as high as the abseilingexercises but they were still challenging for some people.The third day was the most challenging day for everyone.The day started off with raft building, this meant that the

students were given a time limit to build a raft out ofropes, 3 planks of wood and inflatable circular tubes.When finished with the raft building we were made topaddle to the other side of the river, this exercisecaused a lot of people to get wet as the poorly built raftstrudged along the river trying to take the weight of 5students (poor raft). After this exercise the students hadto face the most challenging, and I mean most challeng-ing infamous high beam which most people accom-plished (except me). This made the student climb up 19metres and walk across a beam which made the rest ofthe people down below look like ants. Now if anyonefrom our class claimed that exercise not to be mentallychallenging then call him a liar beyond all circum-stances. After the high beam and a good lunch we hadto face a 40km bike ride through all the terrains youcould imagine. The bike trip consisted of uphills anddownhill’s both challenging and exciting. After the bikeride we arrived at a 600 year old castle where we wouldcamp the night. We were given food that we madeourselves under a fire. After being well fed the studentssocialised telling each other jokes, some people went ofand played hide and seek round the enormous campus.Now one boy by the name of Dennis Rosler went of anhid in one spot round the castle and didn’t return 1 hourafter the game was over even though everybody call outhis name enough times. Tents were set up for us andgradually we dozed off while the rain started to pourdown. The next day we were woken up early to seeYashar doing his business from the top of the castlewhilst laughing like am madman. A fire was made andbreakfast was set out for us, this provided energy for thebike trip back. Luckily it was a shorter route and not aschallenging as most people thought it would be. Arrivingat the camp people packed their belongings and putthem in the van. I am happy to say that most peopleenjoyed the camp despite their negative feelings to-wards it. I took my camera with me and made a film outof it if you want to see the trip in picture.

byRayyan

Sabet

What are the most coins you can have and still not have change for a dollar?What belongs to you, but others use it more than you do?If there are three apples and you take away two, how many do you haveforward I am heavy, but backward I am not. What am I?How much dirt is in a hole four feet deep and two feet wide?What type of food do you throw away the outside, cook the inside, eat the outside then throw awaythe inside?What word is always spelled incorrectly?What word has five letters, but is pronounced like only one letter?Why is number six afraid?

Brain Teasers by Necati Alkan

1 In Da Club - 50 Cent2 Sing For The Moment - Eminem3 Bump, Bump, Bump - B2K feat. P.Diddy4 Somewhere I Belong – Linkin’ Park5 Anyone Of Us (Stupid Mistake) - Gareth Gates6 Ka Ching! - Shania Twain7 American Life - Madonna8 All I Have - Jennifer Lopez feat. LL Cool J9 Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word - Blue feat. Elton John10 I’m With You – Avril Lavigne11 Beautiful – Christina Aguilera12 Work It - Nelly feat. Justin Timberlake13 Not Gonna Get Us – T.a.t.U.14 Nu Flow – Big Brovaz15 U Make Me Wanna - Blue16 The Lifestyle of the Rich and the Famous – Good Charlotte17 Can’t Stop – The Red Hot Chili Peppers18 Lose Yourself - Eminem19 Stole - Kelly Rowland20 Cry Me A River - Justin Timberlake

Necati AlkanRayyan SabetMona Reyhani

Daniela SetkovaNiko SpiegelJoseph Trefil

Natasha MacyshinaRamon GebhardMona Spencer

Leander BlumenthalNeysan Zölzer

Special Thanks To:Kian Greis, MBMM, Dawn Lwakila, Tom Sier, MTV, and The Matrix Crew

Layout and Graphic Development:Leander Blumenthal & Neysan Zolzer

look forward to the next issue just before graduation...

townshend | times - edition vi :: summer ‘03