Abkhazia Diary

110 posts and we have a break

2010-09-19T09:11:00.000-07:00

Dear followers (and first timers) of Abkhaziadiary!
This is the 110th and the last (for a while) post in Abkhaziadiary. I hope you have enjoyed reading my complex observations and feelings. I give a break since I will not be in Abkhazia for a while. I may have information that I wish to share but I will very likely give this in research.bazala.net website. We are still working on the Problems and Perceptions of the Youth Survey. (Mramza Chikirba, political scientist- researcher is leading the field work).
We have completed another short term research project of an international NGO- photos from the field work will be available soon in the abkhazidiary photoblog. (My computer crashed down so gotto wait).
The text message for Abkhazia works only for true belivers :) Upto now only one super friend managed to send me a text message (the first one). After now- my Abkhaz line is closed till I will be back so not to worry.
*Abkhazia has changed a lot since my first visit in December 2006. It has recovered a lot, now you see more colorful buildings and less bullet halls in the apartments and houses.
*Social life has turned very active, I missed a lot of great concerts in the last few months; however I managed to watch -for the first time- a 3D movie- AVATAR- in the philharmonic hall. It was fun and extraordinary.
*Political life is in constant mood of change, Abkhazia is trying to become multi-polar in external politics and has succeeded a lot in this by the recognition of Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nauru after Russia. Now we have a lot of internet sites in Spanish- and Spanish teachers and speakers of Abkhaz-Adyghe origin should use this to repatriate since there is need for them.
*The Committee of Repatriation has a new head, which means there will be changes in politics and practice of return migration in the next period.
*Education system still has many problems but at least everybody is aware and talking about these problems.
*Health Care Institutions are all under renovation. Which makes the sick people feel more comfortable about local treatment.
*International Abkhaz Passports are being distributed to students and soon they will be distributed to all citizens.
*The new term at the university have started and the youth want a change in the system to a western style education classification (instead of aspirantura, candidatski, doktorantura they wish magistratura and doktorantura).
*Now you can buy cheap and quality products of all kinds in Abkhazia. However, local agricultural production still needs promotion and infrastructure (roads) to decrease the food prices in the market.
Maybe there a lot more things to say and maybe I will edit this posts in the next few weeks but for a while, just for a while use other sources of information to learn about Abkhazia.
I will be back one day.

How can you watch the clear sky and the stars as you see the lightening?

2010-07-16T01:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was in the balcony lying on the floor and watching the stars wishing for a falling star... I really needto catch one these days/// :( Anyway, the sky was clear but there was a kind of light. I thought it was someone with a porch lite. However, it was not. It was the lightening because I heard the thunder in a few moments. And one more time and one more time. How can you watch the clear sky and the stars as you see the lightening? In Abkhazia it is so possible. Yesterday morning, I was in Gulrypsh and it was raining. I came to Sukhum and there was no rain. It was sunny. Than a few hours later it started to rain in Sukhum. I went to Gulrypsh and it was sunny there... Climate is really interesting in Abkhazia.

Whats going on in the Diaspora?

2010-07-02T01:21:00.000-07:00

This has become a frequent question I hear in both political and academic level in the last few months. Especially the last week, since they have shown the Abkhaz Associations Federation First General Council that took place in Ankara, in the state TV. Now everybody realized one thing: They have no idea about the Diaspora. They don`t know how to conceptualize the speeches given in the event. They don`t know how to understand the reasons of these divisions. They want to know more about the counter arguments that hinder unity in the Diaspora. They want to know what was done wrong in other institutions in the Diaspora that led to current divisions.
Sometimes people ask my personal opinion. I used to respond: I am an Adyghe living in Abkhazia what do you except me to think of new organizations that hinder Adyghe-Abkhaz unity?
Now I know better, and I say, I am a sociologist. For me every change is a phenomenon to study. Now I have a lot more things to study! :)

SMS to Abkhazia

2010-06-29T04:23:00.000-07:00

World is turning the other way around :) Yesterday I sent an SMS to my friend in Turkey. She knew that she can not send me SMS back, but she gave it a try and WOW - now we have SMS to Abkhazia. This means that we can communicate cheaper with the world! Long live technology- at last you have reached us. It is a shame that now not many friends keep contact. Still anyone who wishes to send me an sms- you are welcome.

31st of May-Official Memorial Day of the Exile

2010-06-23T04:13:00.001-07:00

On the 31st of May everything started as usual. People come together in the area where by September the memorial statue that weighs 3 tons is going to be installed. (I must have a picture of a smaller version somewhere and should remember to upload it in my album!)
The first flowers were put by the committee of repatriation which used to include a group of repatriants till this year. They were only employees of the committee. The repatriants except a bunch of 6 had protested the event since the government had not supported their event ten days ago. However, it must be noted that they did not ban the event as some argue. They just said they want the event to take place on the official memorial day for Abkhazia- 31st.
Anyway, the Presidential Administration followed the Repatriants, followed by groups of ministries, city administration, military representatives, police, students, war veterans. The most scenic moments of the event were the prays of the Imam and Bishop (and priests from the Abkhaz patriarchy) in front of the memorial.

From 2010-05-31 Memorial Day and Sukhum from the Sea

The people scattered to their work or lives just after the Bishop`s pray by the memorial. However, the youth committee had other plans. With the tour ship that is now working between Gagra and Sochi transporting tourists, was loaded with young people and a little more crowded group of repatirants (12) they throw flowers to the sea.

From 2010-05-31 Memorial Day and Sukhum from the Sea

And that was all...

Kindergarden Graduation

2010-06-10T03:25:00.000-07:00

When I was invited to the graduation ceremony of a repatirant girl, Yasmin, I was very excited. It was amazing to see all those little ones singing songs in Abkhazian, reading poems, playing small dramas, dancing all kinds of dances, and being so enthusiastic about life...

From Kindergarden Graduation

Visiting the Olympic Sports Center in Eshera

2010-06-06T03:02:00.000-07:00

I decided to do something different on this nice silent sunday morning and we visited the Olympic Sports Center in Eshera.

From Olympic Sport Center

It must have been amazing before the war. Wish there would be resources to renovate it. Eshera is at the entrance of Sukhum and the war was harsh in this area... Now we can only sense and listen to stories of what had been here... If it would have been renovated, it would have changed the future of many children, giving them opportunity to become good sportsmen, and ofcourse good people...

From Olympic Sport Center

That day

2010-05-22T11:41:00.000-07:00

So that day has come... 21st of may... The memorial day for the exile of Caucasians from their homeland. Some people oppose to the use of this term "exile". They say it was a chosen migration. They say the Muslims migrated. They say people went for better harvest. Some say the elite sold or convinced or took their people... Some say that it was not an exile but a deportation with agreement of parties... Some argue they had choices... Whatever they say, today the day that marks the end of the Russio-Caucasus wars, that is 21st of May, which was a day of celebration for Tsarist Russia of victory in the Caucasus, is a day of remembrance for the people who died in this event of the 19th century.
The family histories, and records of official archives, say that people were put on ships. The ships were overloaded, and many sank on the way. Many people died of hunger and diseases on the ships and after arrival.
The territories shown to migrants were not suitable for settlement, many more died in the next months.
The last couple of decades, the remembrance day, 21st of may, has been the most important event of all political-cultural organizations of the Diaspora. Before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the memorial day was also a big event in Abkhazia. Last year they showed on TV how people travel from all regions, in buses, and how crowded it was. The president of the time -Bagrat Shinkuba, the writer of the famous book THE LAST OF THE DEPORTED- was making a speech about the exile.
Just yesterday, an early returnee was telling me how crowded it would be and how they would throw flowers with candles to the sea from a ship, and even on the most wavy day the flowers would float away to Black Sea...
Three years ago when I came, the event was just a flower putting ceremony on the morning of the 31st. It was very interesting to learn that, in Abkhazia, it was suggested during the war by president Ardzynba, that it should be on the 31st. The Adyghe brothers will do their ceremonies in their hometowns on the 21st, and they would all come to Abkhazia and on the 31st it would be a bigger ceremony all together. Besides, Abkhaz were exiled 13 years later than Adyghe. So it was decided and memorial was on the 31st. The first year I was in Abkhazia, I wanted to memorize Shish Nanni and read it, but they told me nobody makes here such events.
The second year, Naala did organized one. All alone, I mean without any government or institutional support, just with her friends, and with an economic support by Aquafon, she arranged the first memorial day. It was sometime in June, but it did not matter. A group of people came. We made the tailors sew 20 red-green-white akhtarphas, like the Abkhaz flag, within 4 hours! Lana Copua was reading a poem, Nona and a few others were singing Shish Nanni. Some people made speeches, Bagrat Shinkuba's grandson Lavan was there; Hayri Kutarba was there. Kamma had a big Abkhaz flag. Later when we went to drink something at than new Apra Cafe, from all the tables they sent us champaignes since we were talking in Abkhaz (trying) and we had aktharphas and flags. At the event, we were promised to be supported by the Repatraition Committee in the coming year.
The second year, ofcourse, they were hesitant to keep their promises. But in the end, we organized with Lana Agyrba an exhibition called Abkhazia and Diaspora: Understanding each other... We also shot a short symbolic movie on exile and return... The event was big. More than a thousand people and both TVs came to shoot. We had the sound system, screen, the first and only concert of the chorus apsadgyl (homeland) with Ivana Shamba, we had the white aktarphas (again 20), we had the torches prepared by Syndukh Ergun and the youth, again Lana Copua reading a poem, and many others... The event was very spectecular... We even made a protest for not building of a statue in the memorial. The events were supported by Repatriation Committee, Committee of Sports and Youth, and even Ministery for Foreign Affairs.
This year Ozlem and Naala, organized again with the Committee of Sports and Youth but in the last minute, the government opposed the ceremony to be made on the 21st. The SMS were sent by both mobile phone companies, and a few hours later messages came saying it will be on the 31st. However, without any state representative, without any TVs to record, without any sound system, without half of the planned speakers, the youth did it again. There were only about 100 people to watch. But they were there all from heart. That was good. There were new aktarphas, mainly black but also green and white. I do not know the number since I was not in the event organization. (I had been away for a while, and the last two weeks I have a terrible throat infection which keeps me back from taking place in aything!) Naala was in a traditional dress so was Dijin who was playing the flute (an Adyghe from Turkey who lived in Nalchik for over 15 years). Ivan Bakij, our famous singer who returned from Jordan was wearing an akhtarpha over his shoulders as he played his guitar. Taha Gecba was dressed all in black, as he sang songs in Adyghe. Little Ozan was again reading a poem in Abkhazian. There were short speeches by some attendees. The youth walked with torches again and made the nart fire! No matter what people say. No matter what people fear. No matter how, no matter what, no matter why... If some people believe in what they do: the result is unforgettable... This is how that day was in Abkhazia... For those who wish to know... (For those who wish to see more photos press here)
Oh and I forgot to tell, there was the Yearly Dance Contest Adyzh and the view was spectecular as they walked through the city on that day...

From dance

Fieldwork in Abkhazia (2)

2010-05-19T01:42:00.000-07:00

While organizing the fieldwork I had many problems to deal with. Since I do not have a good assistant who can organize the people and transport. At the NGO and in the first project I had Martha to help me with everything, some of you who read this blog frequently will remember she recently got married and is living happily in Moscow for the time being. I am looking for her return not that because she will be a great partner in research but also she is a great friend, making your day all the time with her comforting smile. Anyway, when she was in Abkhazia, she comfortably organized people and transport and all I had to tell was when and where to. I realized how much work she had to do when I had to call and recall all my team to fix a suitable group for a region. What can be so hard about is, I want to take all team members to places they have never been. Abkhazia is a small country but local people who are not involved in works that force them to travel around, do not visit any place except for weddings or funerals. And social events means responsibilities as I mentioned before. So many of them do not even realize the historical remains or natural beatuies they pass by. When we are in the field, I want to see these things and I want the team to see them. It should be something more than work, more than running from one respondent to another, it should be something they enjoy doing. I try to take them to places they have never been which is a hell of a job since they are not always available for work and I dont want them to loose that chance to see there.
I want to make sure fieldwork gives them a lot of memories, unforgettable ones, some laugh, some good taste of food if possible. In our first fieldwork, once we were trying to finish a village and it was after lunch time and all our food was finished and everybody was very hungry. I had thought we would be in the city by than and be in a restaurant so I had food enough only for breakfast. From one of the houses that we were making an interview, a man came with fresh home made cheese, freshly baked cheesebread (achoaf) and acika (peppersalt). We wanted to reject it but at the same time very much wanted to eat it. So I was -as traditions required- rejecting nicely. And the host just put it on the seat of the car. When he saw we were too many, he called his wife to bring more and we were presented some more bread. When we were eating it I just thought this is the most delicious thing I have ever eaten. That taste has been unforgettable to all the team, just like it has been to me. And I know that when this story is retold in the field `it is time to eat something!`.
Since now I know the conditions, I make orders on the night before so that we will have enough food in the rural areas. In many parts of Abkhazia, you wont have a chance to find a restaurant and even a small village shop to buy a drink or bread. Villages are self sustained in most senses and only some durables are sold in the village shops (if there is any). Many people go for shopping once a month to the cities or town centres, or they ask for relatives working in the city to bring in things when they come to the village in the weekends. Still, in all the houses you will be offered what ever they have, for sure a cup of coffee (not instant one), very likely a piece of homemade cheese, homegrown hazelnuts and/or fruits, some chocolate and ofcourse homemade wine or chacha (double destilled vodka with about 70 % alcohol). I leave the choice to eat or drink to the team, except alcohol. Since I know it will never end, if they start traditional drink and pray ceremony and I would not like my interviewers to be drunk. So they are strictly forbidden. However, once during the beneficiary assessment, we were in a village where each house is located far from one another. I left the male interviewer alone and asked him to go to three houses nearby (still he had to walk 20 minutes) and and wait for our return in the last one. Though we had the car, we had to travel 40 minutes drive to reach one of the houses. And by the time we returned to pick him, he was in the last house for over an hour and the phones were not wroking in this village. So they made him drink (and he had no other option) so he was all drunk and complaining to me saying it was my fault to leave him there, though I understood and was not angry to him. Somethings are unavoidable.
The climate in Abkhazia, is also a problem for fieldworkers. You may start the day with a warm sun and end soaked up in heavy rain. Many times I had to build up a system to dry wet questionnaires at the back of the car. I wished to buy special trasnparent pancho rain coats for the team but never found something as I wished. Still after many times being soaked in the field, or freezing because of sudden weather change, I have to remind the team to take umbrellas and coats with them in all seasons. Besides, the young people in Abkhazia are really caring for how they look and sometimes I laugh at their choices of clothing for rural fieldwork. They wear white shoes, and ofcourse stop many times to clean them from the mud they had to step on while entering a house or manure they stepped on just by mistake. Short skirts are also funny since they do not have the chance to move comfortably though clothing is not a problem for village elderly as I had seen in rural Turkey. There girls should really care what they wear.
Security is not an issue in fieldwork in Abkhazia, though I care very much about it. What I mean is, we have never been treated badly or threatened in anyhow. OfcourseI do not count a drunk elderly wishing to have a photo with one of the girls hugging her, or a mentally ill kid following us all through the village.
I am sure I have a lot more to say about fieldwork, but I guess all this will be enough to understand how we do it in Abkhazia. If you are interested in knowing about ethical issues or more about our projects you can visit our website.
It is time for abkhaziadiary to be back to daily issues.

Fieldwork in Abkhazia

2010-04-02T13:02:00.000-07:00

I applied to attend the meeting of the World Abkhaz-Abaza People's Assembly and said I will stay only for three days. At the airport, to see the joy and excitement of all those people, made me change my mind and I said, I will stay for a week together with the long term group. IT was a good decision. On the second and last day of the meeting, the had prepared a dinner. There I was walking around the tables and stopped by a table full of young people where joyful laughs was heard. I asked if anyone spoke English, and found out these people were the employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia and all spoke English. One of them was very kind and friendly and asked me to the table. I explained to him that I was a sociologist and I would like to know his opinion and feelings about the event. (Than my Russian was really poor, I had no practice at all so I could only communicate with English speakers). This young boy, with glowing look in his eyes, told me how he was happy to see his people smiling, first time since the war. He told me how it was important that Abkhaz should return to their homeland... I said I was interested very much in the topic of return... Than my focus was more on Adygeya though... He said we need sociologists in Abkhazia and I said "will you help me if I come?". "Anything I can do..." Before I get up from that table (a few hours later) I promised him I will come back to stay and work on the topic of return migration/repatriation and any other topic that will be usefull for them. He on the other hand promised to help me with the language school at the university, accommodation, connections and job if I wish. He did everything he could as he promised. Wrote for me many letters, made many calls. Even one year after I came to Abkhazia, I told I will take the job he offered me a year ago, and I am still working in that centre... That boy was Maxim Gunjia, my first friend in Abkhazia, now the Minister of Foriegn Affairs, back than Vice Minister. A person who can be happy with a smile on his people's face. A person who can keep his promises. I was lucky to know him. Because thanks to him, I came to Abkhazia.
Anyway, working with migrant communities is always hard. In the case of Abkhazia, where people have "many others" and always feel the sense of "being the other" it was also hard. There has been moments that I wanted to give up on this topic and leave or live but away from the return migrants. However, there has been always people motivating me for the study of this topic, as many as there were people trying to de-motivate me.
Still my first country wide field work experience came with a position I took in an NGO in 2008. They asked me to do a survey and I said there is no sociology department and I need to educate young people so that what we do will be of good quality.
I organized 4 parallel trainings on field research methodology, with more than 40 people but only 15 of them could complete the training. The second group was 4 months later and just before I was starting the field work on the countrywide political participation and pre-election survey. Though I was a stranger in the field, and my team was unexperienced, we managed to do 1130 Questionnaire interviews- anonym (since the topic was sensitive) in all over Abkhazia. I used the voting regions (36 of them but the last three was combined into 1 since I did not have the full list) as stratas and the team did at least 30 interviews with random people in all stratas.
Anyway, less than a year after the first country wide survey, I established a firm for Social and Market Research (research.bazala.net) and realized a second wide survey- a beneficiary asessment about a development project. The third project came just after that, and we have just recently finished the fieldwork since we had many reasons to delay our work, including elections in December (and pre-election period) which was stressfull though our topic was non political; New Year Celebrations that last about a month (Christmas, New Year, Old New Year, New-old New year, etc....) when people were all drunk; the exams in the university, since many of the team members are students at the university; holiday after the exams, since we all needed a rest; than the loss of Abkhazia's first president Ardzynba...
However, it was hard to work due to these big events, in general it is hard to find the right day and time for interviewing in Abkhazia. Every friday, saturday and sunday are filled with marriages. Many days people are busy with funerals and memorial feasts of their extended families and friends' families. Weekdays, people go to the cities to do some jobs they need to, to shop, and even to work and come back "home" in the village for weekends.
Most team members are enrolled at the university in the weekdays. So we had to work in the weekends which was hard due to social responsibilities of possible respondents. But we managed, by leaving the city as early as 8-8.30 and arriving to the villages just when people are finishing their breakfasts and before they leave their houses.
To be continued

Fieldwork

2010-03-24T15:36:00.000-07:00

What I most like about doing research is traveling around. The first country I have traveled from Turkey was Azerbaijan. I traveled there for a field work on internet and democratization. I did in-depth interviews and worked from early morning to late at night since I had to fit to the schedules of my informants, and most of the time they were talking so much and sending me to some other people. My host was a nice lady, a russian language teacher, azeri nationalist, hard working, open minded person. She told me on the weekend-- you cant work everyday! You have a right to rest and you should visit holy places when you travel to some new place. It is good and a necessity for your psychology. So she took me to the museum, zoroaster temple, a mosque... and to a wedding of her relative. I danced with the people and the bride at the wedding. And with joy sent a message to my boss (I was working as a researcher at a center in the university) with a picture of me dancing. Saying it has been a great opprtunity and thanking her... I returned to Ankara and was sent to United Kingdom, to do research on the networking of Turkish speaking community by the Institute where I was writing my masters. My boss told me-- you wont find a wedding to dance in the UK. The first days we spent in Oxfordand when we went to London to do the field work, the first night we went to Cemevi (religous center of Alevis) and encountered a circumcision feast and I danced with the people and took a picture to send to my boss. I wrote to her-- you can never know what you will come across in the field.
So after this I was more comfortable, more open minded, and enjoyed every minute of field work travels. Because I knew-- anyhting could happen and it will be informative for my work and good feeling for my soul.
My third field work outside of Turkey was to Romania, to understand the determining factors of identity of the Crimean Tatars. I came across the tennis team of my university (who I very well knew since I spent a lot of time at the courts) in a bus stop on the way to Costanza. There I swam in the Blacksea and not much enjoyed the feeling of saltless brownish-blackish dirty water.
From there I travelled to Budapest, Vienna, and Prag as a backpacker. I Budapest I spent time with the most intersting group of people, all from different places and danced for more than 6 hours in a bar. To Vienna I arrived on a sunday and everywhere was closed. I did not like it much there and I moved to Prag. There I did not enjoy much the houses and details since I had heard about them so much and after this root it was kind of boring. However, I enjoyed a variety of modern art exhibitions and I dream of organizing one in Abkhazia in a near future. When I arrived to Stutgart, Germany- I had only one Euro left in my pocket with which I called my aunt and asked her to pick me up at the train station.
I traveled to Poland from Germany. Before attending a conference in Krakow, I visited my best friend from university in Szcezcin, who was visiting her family at the time. At the conference in Krakow, I met a very interesting researcher from Israel and we walked in Zakopane mountains.
Later, I traveled for the first time to the Caucasus- to Adyghea. Stayed there for 3 months, enjoyed real good friendships as well as many troubles but managed to write my dissertation with the help of sisters* and big brother* there (*very distant cousins in European senses) .
I saw all Adyghea in two months while I was doing research.
After a year I quitted my job, than finished my masters and decided to travel the world for three months. My friend suggested I start my travel from Abkhazia. And I said --why not! And that is how my life changed.
coming soon: field work in Abkhazia

Yes, today I cried. And I am not shamed of it...

2010-03-23T11:45:00.000-07:00

Today, I cried. Most of the day I had been crying. Sometimes I tried to hold myself. I could not. The reason was not the ongoing effect of the death of Abkhazia's hero and symbol of independence...
The reason was not the jobs, reports and proposals I got to finish...
The reason was not the village heads that promised to call, or meet but didn't to give me the questionnaires they were supposed to fill in...
The reason was not the death of an elderly woman I knew, who had lost her son just a few weeks back...
It was a book. It was a memoir of an Abkhaz war veteran from Turkey, Bekir Ashba- I am cold (Üşüyorum)... There are so many thing to tell about it. But I would not like to destroy the feeling of it. Oh yes, it creates such a feeling that I could not leave it aside except for the minutes I looked for handkerchiefs and except for the moment I could not see anything because of my wet eyes. Don't think of this book as a book that agitates, that tries to make you cry. It is just the pure feelings and memories of a man- no I am sorry-- of a boy, who has lived SELF-REALIZATION of his Abkhaz identity, and Caucasian origins; who has become a pro-return Cherkess; who has lived the reality of WAR, death of friends; conflicts with father, family, elderly and friends; the breaking of his heart when he could not be in both with his family and with his country at once...
I could finish reading this book today. But I had to stop. To breath in the realities of the time... I stopped reading. Because I know what will come next, just with the earned victory, more loss, more pain...
Today I cried. Not for something that happened. Not for something that can happen. I cried for today I am living here in Abkhazia, free, comfortable, with hope and expectations, thanks to people like those in that memoir, who put their hearts on independence and freedom of their homeland. Yes, I cried. and I am not shamed of it.

Sometimes words are not enough

2010-03-22T15:32:00.000-07:00

I know that there is a need to make a connection with my previous post before going on with ordinary life. Though life is running, I can not say it is back to normal. And it wont be so easy to be back to normal...
Just two days ago we were in Muk village doing some interviews on agriculture with the villagers. The first house, I entered with my interviewer Mramza, who had not that much of an experience (she is working at the university and never found the chance).
So we were met by the bride of the house in the garden and than invited inside. The father of the house greeted us şnfront of the house. The first thing he said "I am very sorry but I have drank, i am coming from a funeral. And I have been very sad lately. You know we have lost our great leader, hero Ardzynba just recently. And I saw you both at the funeral, it was on TV. But everyone was there..." " Yes everyone was there" responded Mramza... We entered and she started the interview. Than, in the middle a guest arrived and the topic again returned to Ardzynba. The old man's words were just like what a friend had told me on the day he died: "I feel like I have lost a son". Similar remembrance words were repeated in many of the houses we visited. Ardzynba was a family member. And he will stay that way in people's memories...
I got a lot of things to tell about the field work. But today still is not the right time. Besides they are doing some repairs in electric power station and we have constant balckouts... Maybe tomorrow the sun will help me find the right words. Oh yes, the weather is warm here. Spring has arrived here already.

Its raining and raining...

2010-03-06T15:37:00.000-08:00

It's been raining nearly non-stop for the last two days... The sky was so dark, and the cold was so itchy, and the streets were so silent that it felt like the mood of the people is reflected by the nature. I know that its the season for such sudden weather changes and long rains. Still, one can not stop thinking how our lives are so much connected with the nature and that (super)natural events take place when in life, there has been a sudden turn of events.
Like a Kontradieff cycle, there are ups-and-downs in the nature, so in the political systems, so in culture, so in demography and so in our lives. We born, grow, get old and die. Sometimes the cycle is broken by external factors. In the case of important political leaders, the cycle can break at the peek. For Ardzynba, that's what has happened. His life cycle has come to an end. He no more breaths among us. But his political cycle- that's something at its peek and will not start getting down as long as the Abkhaz nation lives free and independent in their own land.
So this site is all about daily life in Abkhazia. At some points I tried to tell what has been going on with official words of the state institutions, some other time I gave links to pictures. Now, I am trying to tell the past, the moment and the future- all at once, and all through a single character-V. Ardzynba. It is not easy.
What made him so important? That part you can all find in a simple search. But in short, I can say he was the leader of Abkhazia who has lead the people and the country at a very hard time-war. Just in 1992-1993 took place the war, that brought the independence, freedom, honor, besides pain, loss, barocade, suffering to Abkhaz people. And he was there. Strong. Logical. Realistic. Courageous. Dignified. Elegant. Productive. Perseptive. Historian. Academician. Thinker. Hero. Leader.
Abkhaz nation had long existed. So the political history of this nation. But he, connected the past to the present, brother to the brother, nation to the state, state to the future.
In the political participation survey we did just a year ago, despite his heavy illness some people mentioned him as the ideal leader and politician of the time. If we had asked all times, the rate would be higher for sure... So he was out of politics but he was there, till the last breath he took, thinking of his nation, proud of what the Abkhaz youth has turned into, honored to see the developments of the country, aware of the ongoing process of of change and the role of each citizen in this process. And so did the people know, he was thinking of them...
An eastern belief says the breath you are going to take in life is limited and fixed in your life time. He has breathed in such a way that his last breath lives in everything he has created.
I wrote before. I never had the chance to meet him. Luckily I could read some of his writings, both political and academic. I see myself lucky to be here at this very moment, when I can see in the eyes of every woman and man who he is.
So let me tell you how the news of his death reached us. "Is it true?" was the call I got from a repatriant boy... "They are saying Ardzynba has passed away. Is it true". I did not know the answer. So I called a friend. Asked her "Is it true?" She said "unfortunately." So I called someone else.... That's how we all learned about it. Than they put his photos on the screen in AT and Abaza TV. Than it was all about him.
I went to work and nobody seemed to know anything at all. How, when, where were the repeated questions and everybody was telling their own mind. Nobody had any answers.
Than the news came. He died in cold morning, in Moscow where he was taking treatment for his chronic illness.
The next morning they made a ceremony in Moscow.
Than there was a rumor saying his body will arrive to Abkhazia at 6 o'clock in the evening. The people started to gather at the Abkhazia's not working airport long before that time. It was such a heavy rain and seemed to increase as people got excited when somebody said they had seen a light or heard a voice. But it was only the lightening and the wind that they saw and hear...
At 9, the plane landed. The longest minutes seemed the ones when the plane circled the ground after landing. Abkhazia's current president S. Bagapsh had arrived a while ago and was waiting among the people. The plane parked and suddenly people were all walking towards the plane.

From Ardzynba

There were about three thousand people, who were all wet both because of crying and the rains. And there was the proud Abkhaz army who carried his coffin out of the plane.

From Ardzynba

He left the airport at 9.40... On the way home there were people standing on both sides of the road. Standing still and silent. Some were holding their cry but their eyes couldn't.
At the airport were children and the elderly women and men and abkhaz and adyghe and ubykh and families and friends and political allies and political oppositions and war veterans and military and many many more...
Nearly all went to his house and it was huge crowd that had been waiting. And people rushed to say their fairwells to their hero...

From Ardzynba

A line of people was climbing the stairs to his flat on the third floor of an appartment, infront of which we had been washed by chaimpaign, opened by his wife- also a historian- on the day of the recognition.

From celebrations

So here we were. In his house. This was not the meeting we had dreamed of. But we met at last. And I am honored for that...

Today, he is being visited by people from all over Abkhazia. They say the official farewell ceremony and the funeral will be on tuesday. Till than our street (oh yes, we live in the same street) will be crowded by silent people, the only voice heard will be that of the rain, and that of the hold down sob of the people...

Ardzynba...

2010-03-04T08:43:00.000-08:00

For those who are associated with the Abkhaz history this name means a lot of things... For those who are living in Abkhazia, this name means independence, freedom, nation, family and many more things. In the last few years many books have been published dedicated to him. A photo album was prepared from his photos that were taken to exhibitions all around Abkhazia.
He was the first president of the Independent Republic of Abkhazia after leading the Georgian-Abkhaz war in 1992-1993. He was a valuable academician, his archeological-historical studies are of great value to researchers. "He was a lucky politician" said a friend today. "He has seen victory, freedom, independence, establishment and development of a new state, and at last- recognition".
Now on TV different people tell their feelings about his death. The frequent words that my ear cathces are "leader" "the symbol of abkhaz nation" "independence" "victory""great lost" "cant talk no more".
He was a member of each family. He was well known and liked in the Diaspora. He was respected very much even by his oppositioners.
Now they show an interview with him at the time of the war... The interview asks -"when will the war end?". He responds -"first you got the understand how it started."
I had a lot of things to write. But I feel like I won't be able to find the right words. Just want to say, to help you understand why it is so hard for me, someone who never meet him (I was going to meet him but since his illness got worse on the day we were supposed to, which was the 15th anniversary of the starting of the war...)
Just yesterday I was saying from our experience of the field works we have been doing, how happy, how peacefull are the people of Abkhazia. You could see it in their eyes, in their lives, they were living in a stability and they were hopeful. Today all I see is red and wet eyes around me. Even in the eyes of the people that I thought were politically in the opposition of Ardzynba, I can see the tears. Because they are well aware of that he has helped them gain and protect: their nation, their country, their future...

Information for future Visitors of Abkhazia-updated

2010-03-03T05:03:00.000-08:00

Information for future visitors of Abkhazia!!!!

1- You must understand that although Abkhazia seems in any international map you have, as part of Georgia, de facto it is not! It is an independent country with her own official institutions, own constitution and own regulations.

2- Please check if a visa to enter Abkhazia is required for you according to the passport you have at the Ministry of Foriegn Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia's official website at :

http://mfaabkhazia.org/en/

3- If you require a visa than please fill in the form at that page and send it to the ministry before your trip. You should have a letter of clearance when you arrive. And it takes time to receive this email. Please consider you will have to pay 20 dolars for your visa at your arrival to Sohum otherwise you can not get your printed visa which is your ticket out! If you do not require a visa than enjoy your journey directly.

4- Please consider that Abkhazia's status is recognized officially by Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nauru, South Ossetia and Transnistria. (besides people from all over the world recognize its independence-such as the UNPO members). There is still an ongoing embargo from the west- both informational and travel (you can find anything you need in the local market and shops so I do not count the economic embargo). The borders are open but it is not very easy to pass because of the regulations and restrictions on both Georgian and Russian side.

5- If you will come from Adler-Psou, the Russian Border you can not leave the country from the Georgian border since you will be arrested by the Georgians and be charged 900 Euros and there is nothing Abkhazia can do about that- only to tell you the risks. If you require a visa for Russia than you MUST have a double entry visa to go back but now that the Russian consulate is opened in Sukhum, maybe you could get a transit visa but you have to check it at the MFA Abkhazia too. The border is a little crowded in summer and autumn - since many people wants to come here for a cheap holiday and in autumn there is a trade of mandarin going on. Usually, Russians take their time in document checking since they want it to be as problematic as possible for the visitors so that they will not come again... Still last few years, people from Germany, Spain, Denmark, Belgium, England, France, USA and some other parts of the world came to Abkhazia and enjoyed their visit.

6- If you will come from Georgia they say that you may have to wait for 2 weeks to get a permission which you may not receive at all. This is usually the answer when you ask if you can. I think the best way is to just go and pass the border but I do not want to be the one to suggest. The information I got is not something you can trust. But if you manage to get it than you may go back from the same border or through Psou to Russia if you have a suitable Russian visa. If you go back to Georgia, it is possible that you may be questioned informally on your purposes of visit but it is not usually very problematic as far as I heard!

7- I know it seems too much trouble to take. But I think it will worth it!!!! Ask the people who have already come!!! We have the greatest nature, best sea, interesting traditional couzine, the Ritza lake region for mountaineers and people who love trekking and camping in the mountains (snowboarders came to Abkhazia just a few years back to ski in untouched snow), religious monuments such as the 300 year old church, or the monastry, a great history that we know little about- the dolmens that belongs to an old past, the castles of hundreds of years, the exiled Abkhazians of the Tsarist period and their distinct Caucasian culture still living in the modern world, the Soviet heritage- we are all one and equal- you can still see the same piece of Muhina glass in every house, the Abkhazian-Goergian war of the 1990s- with its monuments and loss in every family and its remains in every corner, the transition period with its "capitals"- the market that has it all....

I had written in my previous post on visa issues: 8- One last thing you should remember, when Abkhazia will be recognized officially you will have a chance to say: I was there before it was even recognized! I felt their belief in independence! I lived their independence within their borders! I knew it! And I supported it!!!!" I think you can still enjoy to be the one who has been there, since the world has started to hear of us more each day. We will get over this informational barocade with you spreading the word of your unprejudiced travel to Abkhazia .

Dizzy, Busy, Fizzy

2010-02-19T02:29:00.000-08:00

When I said I have Vertigo a friend told me is reminds him of Hitchcock! Believe me Hitchcock thrillers are tender to how I feel. Dizziness is not the right word to describe the feeling of world floating and turning around you! Yes the world is turning around me in the non-sarcastic sense!
I have to deal with so many things alone now- I am overloaded! Martha, where are you? I hope you are happy in Moscow because I can hardly manage this work since you are gone. My only comfort will be your happiness...
I completed the 10 finger writing training in Abkhaz and I want to turn it into an online training so that the methodology I created would be of use to more people- but when??? I also want to install Linux in Abkhazian in my computer but I need to clean it up and take it there for a few hours. There should be an online version but I just could not find it...
I have also completed the pilot study of the agricultural assessment and I should be in the field soon but I do not know if I will survive a whole day- considering we will be travelling up the mountains (where most least developed villages are) and it can be tricky for my central balance system!
I feel my eyes burning now so I cut it here. I hope to write back soon- and upload some photos from the ongoing weekly events of repatrianst and local youth! They are playing (Чааҧшы) Chaapshy- a traditional diaspora meeting game! Where people hit each others' hands or a selected leader hits everyone's hands if they don't want to give away their partner sitting next to them. If they give away, than the partner changes place with another of same sex. So that all boys meet all girls during the play. The more the people, the more fun it is...

Istanbul-Abkhazia

2010-01-31T11:49:00.000-08:00

When I was just a high school student, with my best friend we used to pass this road and dream of a future where we could buy this house and repair it. We could live in it if we were rich enough. If not we could repair it to turn it into a cafe where we could have space for people who like to read or study in a cafe but don't have money to eat or drink all day long. We never bought that house. No one did. We changed a lot. We have not seen each other with that good friend for over 10 years. I don't even know where she is, what she does. Istanbul is too big to know, too big to come across on the road, too big even to remember... It needed 15 years to pass before I remember those days we used to walk dancing under an unexpected rain, it needed 14 years before I remembered I learned how to play tennis in the French school on the corner (Saint Joseph). It needed 20 years before my mother reminded me how I had chosen to go to a state school instead of that private French school to protect the economy of my family. And it needed 30 years for me to stop and look at my life- how I came to Abkhazia from Istanbul- from the city of dreams, from the city of my youth, from the city where my father sleeps his endless dream, from the city my grandmother sings the song of silence...
And now looking at my life, I live somewhere which I did not dreamed of. And I have many new dreams, I am not sure if I will see the days they become real. I dream of the days the Abkhazia hotel will be repaired. Now it is only covered with a painted set of cloth!

And I dream of the warm days to come to play tennis in the courts that many tennis players won't count as courts. In those courts, there is no line on the ground- territory is specified by white tread which you stumble upon when you are running, and the ground is so bumpy that after every rain you find yourself all over in mud.

But I like life here. It is a life many fear, many try to run away from it, many do not want to pass near... But for me, it is a life full of question marks, like a matrix I need to find the code of. It is not to master the matrix what I aim, but to be able to see it as a whole. To be able to see what is behind that clothes hanged over a building by the sea, to be able to see what is in the mind of a tennis teacher teaching tens of children how to play tennis in this courts, to be able to see what makes the people so powerful to stand against the will of "others" who wish something different for them, to be able to see myself looking from the eyes of "others"...

Ҽааныбзиала...

2010-01-02T11:20:00.000-08:00

(The luck coin from the Greek cake)
Happy new year to everyone!
I feel so tired. There is no other way to legitimize my laziness. Followers may think I am talking about not writing to my blog. However, I mean the last three days which I want to do nothing at all. Sleeping till midday and being sleepy the rest of the day... Even after new year I spent an hour sleepy, lying on the bed. But pushed myself out after 1 o'clock to the private late night party at Anya's cafe (Glitsinia).

(I turned my back when they cut the Greek cake and I was the one to tell who would get which piece)
I did not stay till the end of the party since we were afraid they will rob our house. What is to be stolen if they break in: my computer which became my life in the recent months due to the research projects. Well I would lose only some photos few months ago- but now: posters, photos, reports, questionnaires, the latest version of my methodology book, and many more. That is everything I have managed to build after 3 years. I know it is necessary to backup your most important documents online. The reality is I used to do that very often back in the days when I did not have a laptop but used university computers. I tried to find some docs recently and I managed to find nothing! Some questionnaires for example, or data, or even some reports that I participated in writing. I have no copies of the latest versions. So I decided to load things when they are ready only. But this creates a risk of loosing them- when a computer crashes or gets stolen!

(The late night cooking: shashlik)
Well I know that we are being paranoiac but thats normal after being robbed once. A few years back my grandfather was robbed by armed gangsters. He passed away afterwords. Than they robbed our car when I was in turkey stealing my camera with photos from the first fieldwork on the topic of political participation-bad luck.
Than they tried to rob me on the bus (2 times) - one received the reaction he deserves at least from me (the other people did not react which is a shame) thats why the second time I preferred to play a game with the boy!
Anyway, these events are distributed to the last 4 years so maybe it is really paranoiac but if you have knowledge to lose you care...
Anyway, it is important to tell what new year means in Abkhazia since in every country understanding is different. The new year joy starts mid december, by bombachki (çata pat in turkish, small size explosives) blowing around. The 31st is much more noisy together with thousands of fireworks and gun shots.

Of course the new year is also identified by non-stop drinking, no work (even for shops which sell PRESENTS were closed on the 31st!!!), long tables (no bread in the few open shops for three days-they say "dont you know how to bake achof??"- kind of covered cheese pizza), many calls and messages (luckily the phone companies make many campaigns but sure they will take it from us in the end), and 4 different days of celebration: 24th of DEC-Catholic Christmas, 31st of DEC- New Year, 7th of JAN- Orthodox Christmas, 11th of JAN- Abkhaz New Year-The Day of the Blacksmiths.
The new year is celebrated with family on a long lasting table. Young people ran away to the streets at midnight. Come together and spend time cooking again in the middle of the night.

Bagapsh re-elected

2009-12-13T01:48:00.000-08:00

Election results:
59,7 it is 59% for Bagasph, 15,44% for Hacimba, 10,8% for Ardzinba, 8% for Butba, 1,5% for Bganba
Bagapsh re-elected for presidency.
The observers have positive impact- they say it was free and fair, democratic. Will let you know more later...

Bazala TV Ad

2009-12-05T13:13:00.000-08:00

Life fast and busy...

2009-12-05T12:51:00.000-08:00

Everything is in a period of change. Martha Jonua (linguist-social researcher) has left for Moscow-getting married tomorrow.

From GoodbyPartyforMarthaJonua

Dijin Churey (linguist and ethno-musicolog) came to Abkhazia and got married today...With traditional clothes on her, the groom, the tatsayuza (brides' friend who is an unmarried girl from the family of the boy). I wanted to have something traditional too. But time and economic limits resulted in this creative piece. Of course it is a result of 4 day delicate embroidery work by Trapsh Ece from Shelly.

From Achara/Jeug/Wedding/Düğün

I have also prepared an advertisement for the training that will start on Tuesday but I couldnt catch the advertisement on TV tonight because i did not realized the time after I came from the wedding and missed the first 15 minutes of Abkhaz State TV So I can not makes sure if they published it :(

And posters to be hanged tomorrow.

And though it is after midnight and I am dying since in total i slept 15 hours in the last week I feel like sitting here and writing all about these...

New Visa information for International Visitors of Abkhazia

2009-11-22T23:46:00.001-08:00

I frequently hear and read complaints about the problematic entrance to Abkhazia. I had visitors from Hospitality Club before and I fought for them in four languages with all levels of the bureaucracy. I promised them if they arrange the visit of my friend I will never ever again come to their door for an international visitors visa issues. Though, I failed to keep my promise since I value the outside view and the importance of non-Russian speaking/Western visitors' word in the recognition or even increasing the knowledge of Abkhazia's independence.
Ofcourse, the international visitors do not realize that the citizens of Abkhazia can not go anywhere outside of Russia, only a selected few can take visa for Europe or USA with the international Russian passports since they are officially registered, working, studying in Abkhazia- which is an unrecognized country. For repatriants the situation is really much worse since they do not have Russian passports but Turkish or other-which receives Russian visa for really expensive and hardly. Besides most repatriants passports have very likely expired since they are here for over a year (the 2-5 year Turkish passport costs really a lot) and the Russian visas are not given to expired passports. And there is no direct transport from Abkhazia- so nearly all the population has been limited to the small country all their life. Because of many impossibilities, - economic, social, political, security- many did not have the chance to see even the most touristic attractions in their own country like Ritza Lake or Bedia Church till recently.

So please do not complain about the visa and entrance procedures of Abkhazia but make suggestions, tell the responsible personnel how it can be better, easier for them and for you. Give examples from similar situations. But do not compare to Europe where citizens of Europe, USA or Canada can go around however they want, whenever they want. Compare with realistic examples... Consider that that responsible person who is responding to your request my have never been to a country other than Russia which is a land of bureaucracy!

Here new information in English is available for the interested:
Press here or copy one of the links:
http://www.mfaabkhazia.org/en/mfa_chart/visa_to_abkhazia/
http://therepublicofabkhazia.org/pages/contact-us/visitor-info.shtml

Going native!

2009-11-15T00:41:00.000-08:00

That is the term used for social scientists (anthropologists) when they start to behave like the people they study. "Why, after about three years I feel like this? Did I felt like an outsider before? What made the change?" can be some of the questions that come up to your mind. But the reason I used this wording is that I have find out myself talking just like on a recent conversation with some strangers in the Botanical Institute. I went there to find out if I can have an appointment or a phone number to make an appointment. I entered the room greeting in Abkhaz. There was a young girl who greeted back in Abkhaz and an old lady who was the secretary who responded back in Russian. I started my sentence in Abkhaz, continued in Russian got different responses from them in both languages, than started in Russian again, continued in Abkhaz and ... I have gone native in terms of language!!!
It really disturbed me when they talked in mixed languages. Maybe it was because I could hardly understand a single one in a long conversation and the combination of the two was very tiring since they were both foreign languages. Thinking a little back I realized I have been doing this for a while.
I remember, back in Turkey as I thought SPSS lectures to the sophomores as a senior, one of the students had critisized my lectures for being discomforting becuase of constantly talking in two languages- Turkish and English. I hated that too but if I talked only in English about statistics and computers, more than half of the class could not follow the lectures. And I had asked which language they would like me to talk at the lectures at the beginning of the year, and people had voted for multilingual lecturing.
Still, I don't like this mumbling and bumbling in many languages at the same time. Since I came to Abkhazia, constantly I talk in 4 languages- Turkish, English, Abkhaz and Russian. Sometimes, I feel like I am going to have a brain emboli. Or as some repatirants will start to create my own language- of mendacious words, ungrammatical mixed language sentences, full rubbish.
This language issue is really interesting. In my life I have met so many bilingual and multilingual people. I think if you are multilingual since early ages it is easier to add new languages to your knowledge. And it becomes less disturbing to talk in many languages in a day. I myself, am not a multilingual child. I learned English with the encouragement of my mother. She was importing English language text books and reading books to Turkey.
My French is a disaster though I finished 4th level of study in high school as electives.
My grandfather was not so succesfull in teaching Adyghe neither to his children nor to grandchildren, though he started to tell the Nart stories he knew from his childhood in Adyghe just before he died... I studied for 3 months in Adygeya but it seems to be lost as I started learning Abkhaz since these languages are really close to each other.
My Russian has tolerated 5 different teachers of Russian language, and seems to survive and even develop in the recent month so I can say the best teacher has been the field work in Abkhazia!
We are doing a research at the Center for Strategic Studies on the topic of Multinguality and Culture. I printed 1000 copies of questionnaires in 6 months from an ordinary printer. (I hated myself in most days that I had to sit infront of the computer for hours just printing!)
For the last month they have been distributing the questionnaires around but the total sample has reached to 37 only!!! So within a year they will finish than I can tell you about the situation about this multilinguality in Abkhazia.

Knock knock knocking on heavens door

2009-11-07T21:50:00.001-08:00

Yesterday in the middle of the night I found out that our senseless satellite is capable of reading music and photos from a usb- unfortunately no films. But you can record scenes directly from the satellite tv to the usb. Really interesting. I even tried playing it back at my computer and it was ok. So I can now record important news or programs about the diaspora and ask to show them on local channels.
Today on the other hand I realised our satellite is also capable of playing Turkish radio channels. I catched a good one. Bob Dylan is playing. Knock knock knocking on heaven's door...
Yesterday, I remembered what I wanted to tell before. There was a hotel (for real it was a low quality guest house) called Jasmine (Yasemin) in Sukhum, built by a repatriant about 7-8 years back. The owner used to say it was always a tough job to do-being the first and for a while only hotel in town. That's why it took about 70$ per night, per person. Many repatriant families spend hundreds of dolars on their first arrival because here there was Turkish speaking personnel and Turkish breakfast. And that was the only place they were directed when they come with the touristic groups from Turkey. I even hosted 22 academicians for a conference a few years back- since it was the only place in town with enough single beds. Luckyly this year another one opened called Inter-Sukhum which was even a little more cheap than this one and of better quality- or maybe it is better to say "new and clean".
Still the Yasemin hotel was full in the season- esp. Victory day by old timer visitors from the diaspora. However, the words had already been going around that the hotel was rented to the Russian Consulate which has already started working about a month ago in another office. They are making some repairs and I guess by the end of this year the consulate will be fully working in its new place. Since this building is just next to where I rent a flat I dont really have a picture of it as it is not so beautiful building.
I also learned that the consulate provides transit Russian visas now. Which decreased the costs for repatriants who have valid passports but no Russian visas from 6000 rubles (2 months ago!) to about a 1000 rubles. I don't know if anyone can take that visa or only repatriants. But I guess things are getting in their place now.
By the way we finished the fieldwork of the first research project. Still a lot more things to do.
And the presidential elections are coming- 3rd of December. And my friend has a wedding on the 5th of December. And I have to do the second fieldwork but I can not start before the elections- people are afraid though my topic is not political. I can not do it after the second week of december- it will be drunk people all around because of Christmas and New Year. Oh so many things to consider. I think I should go back to writing my report...
I will try to write more since now I am in the city and infront of the computer till I finish the report...
And more photos are available from the field....

From Researchers in the Field

Accident

2009-10-29T01:21:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was an interesting day. My field work was canceled in the last minute because our contact person "forgot". We decided to drop by to a friend's shop- Shelly, a shop for trendy designs.

They had brought winter collection and I -not very likely of me decided to try a few things. There were really nice coats and cardigans. I was trying the last one and than we would step up the stairs to the design section where there were seats. Than I heard a big sound of crashing and I turned to the door of the shop only to see a car with a woman driver coming towards the shop. I did not photographed the car crashed into the door of the shop but believe me it is as alive in my eyes. Lucky for us it did not break down the door, just the concrete step and side of the door.
Still we were in shock for the rest of the evening. And to this was added a long theater in Abkhaz-Russian. I will write about that later when I finish the short movie from pieces of the act.
Anyway, I don't remember if I wrote about Shelly before. But I help Abkhaz dubbing of the advertisement that was prepared in Russian. It was fun and it gave me a lot of ideas. For example, I really wish to make movies from off-the road historical places and unknown corners in Abkhazia. I plan to do it in Abkhaz with English subtitles or vice-a-versa. I will see into it.
I thought I had a lot more to write but nothing comes to my mind at the moment.
So I shall better get back to work.

Joy of doing research again

2009-10-27T15:16:00.000-07:00

I realized how much I had missed being in the field. Seeing different lives and places. Sharing moments unlivable ever again... It is much more exciting for me to do this in Abkhazia. An ex-soviet, post-conflict, trans-traditional context where what you can live is very much variable and very little expectable.
It is not as simple as finding a sea shell at the top of a mountain. It is as complicated as finding a sea shell in your pocket. You have so many questions to ask- when did i put this shell here, where did i find it, with whom i was there, how did it ended up half broken there, what makes it unique compared to thousands of shells i have collected from around the world, why are these shells so important (turkish speakers can find it out here- in the short story i had written a few years back).
When I am in the field, i do not ask the questions any more. I have a great team to do that for me. Though they are still learning how to question, i think it is important they discover those shells that exist in their own pockets, in eachother's pockets, in the pockets of people they are meeting for the first time, in the unseen corners of the half broken down, half restored church at the end of bad roads, in the traditionally structured houses at the end of never ending roads that meets us with the unexpectably beautiful scenery we had scene till that time...
Well, some of you may think this kind of philisophical writing is not my type. And I will ask you if you know how many more shells do I have in my pockets. Everytime I loose my phone i myself find out another one....
See more photos from the field and Bedia Church

Art exhibitions in Abkhazia

2009-10-25T09:34:00.000-07:00

I recently attended 2 nice art exhibitions at the hall of the Artists Union in Sukhum.
The first was the traditional painting exhibition by Huta Avidzba, an elderly artist who surprised experts. What was interesting about his work for the experts, was not the traditional rural Abkhaz village life concept he chose for his recent works but his recently changed technique after the age of 70. They say that it requires a great courage for an elderly artist to change his style at this age.
But what I liked most in his works was the traditional rural details with the youth of his nation...
Another original exhibition in the same hall that started this week and will last till the 9th of november is Batal Capua's exhibition of graphics based on abkhaz mithology.I think these graphic works would have been nice as amblems or as a background to a photo project like- "Abkhazia Memory". I hope that nice hall will be busy with such nice, original and Caucasus peculiar exhibitions...

Loosing phone in the middle of no where

2009-10-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

Maybe you thought I lost my phone in the middle of no where and had some problem. But no- it was the most beautiful part of Abkhazia, high in the mountains where cars could hardly go because there is no way but where people live without much thinking of the things like mobile phones. And I was too busy to remember every time where I have put my mobile phone, in my bag's front pocket, or side pocket, or another side pocket, or inside pocket, or just in it, or maybe not in it at all. Consider that I received tens of phone calls in this day when I should have been consentrating on the field work of my firms first research. I had to search for my phone for minutes while trying to answer a question of my interviewers, or see the beatiful country flowing from the window of the minibus we were in.
I wanted - really wanted to have no mobile phone at all. Back in the old days when there were only landlines, researchers would make a call to the local administrator, or the single market of the village to send the word that they will be arriving on a specific day and related people should be waiting. Since there was no way to call on a mobile and cancel in the last minute they would be there. However, what we had to do was call the exact same persons over and over again. Many times they were not reachable, there was no network where we are, they did not have money on the phone, or when we talked we were asking the same questions of where, when, how, which, what to eachother and when we could finally make it we would have talked over the phone so many times that there will be repeated conversations, things that we talked mobile-to-mobile minutes, hours and days ago many times...
But, those places we had been, needed silence. Silence divided only by smiles and dreams of "congenial" people... The silent blue skies got colored only by flying birds... The green grass lost only by being eaten by goats. The trees singing out of silence only by a warm wind that reminds you of how simple life was once.
We have been to rural Abkhazia today. In the middle of nowhere for many of you. For me where life exists. With all its people regardless of their ethnic origin or education or even their level of awareness of the fast flowing life outside of their beautiful surrounding... With all those questions to ask, all those details to see, all those realities to understand, all those forgotten stories to remember... We were in places many of you have never been. Many of you will never be... Where I wish I didn't have no phone... Where I wish...

I lost my phone in my bag (or out of my bag) so many times today. Maybe, it is I did not want to share those moments over the phone with someone who would not understand because they have never been there. They have never seen the things I saw as I saw at that moment.

Take Away Italian Pizza

2009-10-17T23:26:00.000-07:00

I was going to the small shop on the next street to my apartment flat in Sukhum, to buy bread for dinner when I realized the small restaurant behind the trees. It is at an unfortunate corner since the remaining of the pavement is not so good and not used by many people and the shop is hidden behind trees when you look from the other side of the road. Some young people opened this Italian Take Away (and Service) PER TUTTI PIZZA and they are slowly improving their work since every time they have at least a single pizza in the oven, or customers waiting whenever I pass.

Two days ago I was too tired to cook and had a chance to try this take away pizza.
I was not sure of the contents of the pizza since they did not have many choices and the choices included interesting contents like turkey, eggs, sea food, etc. Maybe they are not interesting for many but not my type. I had choose between the cheapest Margharita (180RR) or Three Cheese (200) RR or the most expensive Pepperoni (220RR) and though I had doubts about the quality of pepperoni I choose that one to try. (Margharita can survive the day anytime but I had to know if I would like the meaty stuff.

I was surprised to see they had real pizza boxes because in restaurants the take away is usually a disaster.
The Pizza was really thin. Something mom would probably love and it was delicious. However, on its own it was not a full course for two hungry people. I know, for two ordinary it would be enough but I come from a family where two people finish one packet of pasta (macaroni) with salad and sauce.
And the inside of the restaurant you can see here

Dranda Abkhaz Church

2009-10-10T15:15:00.000-07:00

For my birthday last weekend, we decided to do something special. We decided to go somewhere we have not been and suddenly I remembered the Dranda Abkhaz Church from a documentary I watched. We just made ourselves some sandwiches, took the photo camera and got on the way.
It was really unique and beautiful church, made of bricks. The outside have been plastered for protection but some parts have been left to show the beautiful brick structure.
However, when you are inside you can see complete brick structure and you are amazed by this wonderful architectural beauty.
I am not much familiar with Christianity but I found this piece by Khrushkova on Spread of Christian Church in Black Sea Litoral. She says that "The plan of Dranda church contains its own combination of rotunda and cross, while the sanctuary includes a prothesis and a diaconicon. The interior is dominated by the broad dome, which rests on the vaults over the arms of the cross, and on parts of the walls. The bricwork is noted for the marked care with which it was constructed, particularly interior, in the brickwork of the vaults and the dome. During restoration, amphorae of various types were discovered in the vault over the narthex; in my view, they date to the end of the 6th or the first half of the 7th century. ... It is possible that the church at Dranda was the see of archbishopric of Abazgia: its dimensions and its architectural excellence closely connect it to the Byzantine architectural tradition, and all the sources affirm that this building was not an ordinary one.... At the end of the 6th century or the beginning of the 7th, the church at the village of Dranda chracterises the passage from Antiquity to the Middle Ages." Pages 35-36.
See more pictures from the Church and region here: http://picasaweb.google.com/abkhaziadiary/DrandaChurch#

Istanbul restaurant in Abkhazia

2009-10-10T13:29:00.000-07:00

,

A repatriant has opened a Turkish Meat Restaurant in Sukhum this summer. I just recently had a chance to take a pic (and eat meatballs-which I usually miss). It looks like a high class restaurant and they serve Islama Kofte (a kind of Meat Ball which is served with bread dipped into meat broth.) The restaurant is called Istanbul. It is funny because when I came to Abkhazia there was a restaurant by a repatriant which was called Antalya. Is this a longing for the long lived -second homeland host country, or is it a call for Russian tourists who love to go to these cities but come to Abkhazia for a cheaper holiday? Or is it just the cousine -Turkish they say but meat is all that they serve here- that decides the name?

And I added another pic from a cafe-restaurant called San Remo. I sat there only once since it is a very expensive cafe. I tried a fried camamber but it was nothing close to the one I ate in Stutgart Wine Fest a few years back. Still, if you got money for a drink I suggest you to drop by to this fancy white restaurant just opposite to Agop's coffee house (where Castro and many other famous people have sat) and within the building of the best hotel in Sukhum- Ritsa....

See more from Restaurants and Food from Abkhazia at: http://picasaweb.google.com/abkhaziadiary/FoodRestaurants#

30 September 2009-16th Victory Day of Abkhazia

2009-10-01T02:59:00.001-07:00

It has been a very nice, active, tiring, and sometimes even annoying day. There was no clear agenda announced- neither on tv, nor among people! Very Caucasian, listen to your heart and maybe you will catch an event.
Day started for me with a running since Hayri had forgotten to take the car key with him to his relatives garage where we keep the car for safety purposes (it was robbed once and still has a broken window and a broken key talon (i hope this is the true word in English).
Than we went to meet with Diaspora members and returnees to put a flower at the War Martyrs Statue together. However, there were already tension between the returnees and the representatives of one group of the Diaspora- they are so much divided even it is getting harder for me to understand the divisions so I wont explain that here.
Than I got it in the neck- unnecessarily and I found out that it was all because I was carrying an Adyghe flag together with Abkhaz.
Last year, after loosing 2 flags I sticked my Adyghe and Abkhaz flag together. So it is now a combined flag representing for me many things but not for all. For many, that is a necessary division and should stay seperate. Though these people speak languages of same root, follow similar social structures (family, clan, ...), have similar traditions, customs and ethics, share a similar history-esp. in the Diaspora some reject their close connection. This true for both Adyghe and Abkhaz groups.
Anyway, than I walked to the front of the old Parliament with some friends to find out a prepariton for a baloon and paragliders. So where was to be the parade? A Canadian journalist said at 13:30 so after the gliders at 12:00. However, it turned out that it was earlier in the park that I left because of the tension. So I missed the most interesting national symbol related event for this year- the soldiers singing the NATIONAL ANTHYM. So whats so interesting you may think but I have not heard anyone singing the anthym except some chorus recordings. It was important for my paper on national symbols. :(
I managed to watch paragliders and the balloon. Take many portraits and realized many flags and green white strips representing the remembrance of the War Martyrs among the attendees.
We had some tea at Anna's Cafe (which turned out to be named Glitsinia meaning witsaria). I realized the blue white Nicaragua flag on the wall. :) Nice thinking.
Than we had long and tiring walks by the seaside. And found out about a children pavement painting contest.
Than I came accross a collegue- Toto as they call him here an international anthropologist, and than we together came accross another two anthropologist, one guest another local sitting together with a journalist from Wales and a valuable informant-as one put- from the Diaspora who is speaking the Sadz dialect of Abkhaz language.
Than there was a concert at 4 at the filarmonia however it was impossible to enter beacuase it was over crowded.
The day continued with a concert infront of the theater.
And at 6 something the people from the Diaspora and returnees came together to dance Apsua Koshara (Abkhaz dance) as they refer or the old Apsua Koshara as locallers say with wood and amyrzakan/mizika- a kind of accordion- to make the music. It was funny to see how local people wanted to take part in the dance but did not want to understand the traditions of this dancing. For example, a boy-man has to hit the wood with others before gaining a chance to dance. And a girl has to stand on the row with others and wait for own turn. The local Abkhaz on the other hand wanted to cut a girls or boys dance on the middle and dance when they liked - which was very phasharop (shamefull) for the others.
One boy who was not allowed to cut in brought local musicians and invaded the dance field so that all will enjoy to dance whenever they want and whoever they want with the Apsny Apsua Koshara (Abkhazia's Abkhaz Dance) as they call it in the Diaspora being played. The scene was amazing by hundreds of flags.
The dancing ended with Awrasha- a paganist style singing-dancing, where everyone is lined in a circle and somebody explains the purpose of being together, makes a pray for the country and the nation, thanks everyone and says goodbye as everyone responds him by shouting Awrasha.
Than we looked for a place to eat and I suggested we go home but they did not want to be inside. Which resulted in the sabotage of our cars tires at the back of the only restaurant we could find place and tea to drink (the annoying part of the day). And we had to buy some bakery from a shop since there was nothing left to eat.
And I found out that the real reason for my husband to be cross was an accident he saw during the day where 1 young Abkhaz boy died and 3 were heavily injured.
So I have to admit it was a typical Abkhazian day, with lack of planning and communication, with accidents where young boys suffer, with many interested international researchers and journalist visiting, with Diaspora not managing to come together even for the simplest event, with children enjoying themselves and showing their enthusiasm for their country by things they do, shops being closed, restaurants not serving choices, but independent and hopefull for the future -today and forever...
PS: It was the most sunniest day recently!!!
Photos available at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/abkhaziadiary/AYAYRAAMSHVICTORYDAY2009#

Victory Day

2009-09-29T10:50:00.000-07:00

It is again the time for smiling faces, increasing number of flags on the streets, fireworks, concerts, a lot of guests from the diaspora, and many more returnees... It is AYAYRA AMSH- VICTORY DAY!!!
Though I am a social scientist I have not believed many things written in history books since my high school history lessons, where we had to read "the Ottoman Emperor died because his nose was bleeding". I dont like listening to history lectures nor watching historical films. However, my feelings are different for life histories. The truth of ordinary people. And I met many telling me short realities of the war and how much these people suffered. So 30th September is not simply a day of Victory, it is a day of Remembrance of the martyr, it is the Independence Day, it is a day of national revival for which many have suffered 16th years ago.
Many people heard of Abkhazia (and South Ossetia) very recently, when Russia after 15 years recognized her independence and sign mutual agreements. Many people are surprized to see the 16th year of independence words around.
Anyway, my topic is neither the war nor the suffering not even the recognition. The topic is Victory Day.
This is my third Victory Day in Abkhazia. And I realized I have never wrote about it. Though I had uploaded photos in picasa in 2007- though I did not do even that last year because of lack of quality internet and I gave it to friends and they uploaded to facebook.
Here Victory Day celebrations start with the arrival of the Diaspora around the 25th of September. They come in huge numbers, 100s. In 2007 it was about 300, and lat year (since it was 15th and just after independence) 500, this year about 300 again.
The importance of the day is reminded with ongoing every evening TV programs about war from mid August. (14 August is the Remembarance Day and the Starting Day of War in 1992). We watch scenes from the time of war, documentaries about the war, women in black still mourning for their martyr sons and husbands and fathers....
The 27th of September is the day of Victory for Sukhum city. In 2007 they made a great activity in the University. Oratorio, fireworks, documentaries on screen, flags, all youth took part in the event. It was a meaningull agenda all and some best students received certificates of success.
Than it was concerts and fireworks in the city. (The university is not in the city centre but on a hill looking at the Blacksea in a district called Kelasur).
Anyway, this year there was a different event in Sukhum's 16th Victory Day. It turns out that relations with Diaspora results in change in National Symbols. Or better to say in the intensity and use of National Symbols- namely Flags in this case.
The story is this- last year 20 selected young Diaspora representatives came to visit their sisters and brothers in the homeland. So another group of 20 went to Turkey to visit them. A project develeoped so thatthey will understand each other better. What the youngsters saw in Turkey was the use of flags all around. (I dont aggree there is so much necessity to have flags all around the year in ordinary homes and as some kind of facist reaction to something- as it turned out to be in recent years- but as the representative of the nation state it is a necessity since everyone around the world evaluate the level of nationalism by such symbols- am I wrong?) The youngsters together with the support of the Aquafon (a local mobile phone line) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Abkhazia, as well as the Diaspora and Returnees (mainly our firm Bazala) build up a 20 meter flagpole on the port in Abkhazia. And then they brought a 30-60 m flag to put on the burned down parliament building. In 2007 they had brought a big one- dont exactly know the size- which turned out to be really small in comparison to the size of the building.
Last year for the celebration of recognition Amobile (the other local mobile phone line) presented many people with flags for front of shops and cars. On the day of the recognition everyone crashed into the only local flag making point- Dome Mode- Fashion House. Howeveri even if they would ask to pay double price or accepth to wait there for hours as people celebrated all were not able to get it. (I had presented my 1st flag to the library, the second was taken by an unknown person in the meeting for recognition and the third was really made for a nice Abkhaz lady in Dome Mode on the Recognition day and she decided to give her turn to me since she had seen me 4 days ago in the big meeting and said she can wait for another hour).
Anyway, people took flags from their offices, from top of the buildings and get on the cars going around the city. I think last year was the real turn point in terms of flags for ordinary people but it has gained importance in a more representative -state -country level this year.
Tomorrow, I guess as it always happens at 10 oclock people will put flowers on the Martyrs Park. Than there will be a parade of military and other security personnel in the Freedom Square infront of the old Parliament (or in other words in front of 30x60m Abkhaz flag).
Than people will be enjoying themselves all around cafes, and if the weather will be good by the sea side and all around. At 6:00, the youth will walk around Sukhum with flags and at 8:00 will be concert in the Freedom Square.
I am too tired to tell more for now. (I forgot we were in horse games in Muk on Sukhum's independence days. There is a necessity to explain the role of Polo and horse race in Abkhazia so let me leave it for later. I had been to another one last year in Lyhny- I also need to tell about these two holy places. But later)
Wait for news after the independence day....

Anna's Cafe - Restaurant- Patisserie

2009-09-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

I had a student called Anna in one of my trainings. She had written a dissertation on Indian rural-urban migration and stayed for a while in India. She was married to an Abkhaz guy and that had brought her to Abkhazia from Moscow. I dont know the details of her story but she is a hard working, honest and creative girl.
She told me her wishes to open a patisserie. However, what she opened in the end is a great cafe-restaurant where you can find some homemade delicious muffins and cakes as long as she is around.
The restaurant is styled in a comfy way, couches and puffs inside, colorful walls and services, Nice big plates for delicious food and big glasses for drinks.
I started with a cup of cappuccino served with cinnamon on top (60 rubles). Delicious.
Than went on with my favorite junk food: Hamburger!!! It was served with fried potatoes. It turned out to be a cheeseburger but the meat ball was really thick and had tasted fine. There were sliced pickled cucumbers and mayonnaise and some tomato dressing. The fries were not too fatty and many were perfectly cooked though some tasted uncooked. Still it was worth the 90 rubles price.
I wanted to go on with some fresh juice- lemon or apple. Unfortunately, they did not have anything natural - i guess Anna is away from Abkhazia since she did not appear yet- which results in lack of choices in homemade stuff like juices and muffins...

I asked for tea in the end. That is served in a pot. Hot and tasty. About four cups of tea came from the pot. I did not check the price for that since it was not in my first choices. In this pic of the tea pot and cup, you can also see the general look of the cafe.

I am still sitting at the cafe. Here you can see detail of the material that gives a relaxing look to the whole place, on two side walls. I think this resembles an indian style.
Well done Anna!!!
This place is on Prospect Peace (Pr. Mira-Atinchra Amyoadu) and it gives the guests a peacefull environment...

Internet... Freedom of communication...

2009-09-18T03:45:00.000-07:00

It is a period of change. I am telling you. Its fast. Its good. Its life changing!
Today I came to my office to find out that we have really fast but really fast internet.
This feels great. And the computers (we have three in our office) can enter the internet seperately! So everybody who comes to our office do not have to use our computer which was the first of the network. So it feels great. I put a password and defined password protected users.
From now on my dear partner would not blame no one else for deleting an important file, for making my personal files public, for bringing a virus (which we seem to be protected by the new AntiVirus too), and losing her files. So everybody responsible for their own faults.
Computer, especially for the new generation is not a tool for genius. However, it is much better used by the genius. Post Soviet world have adopted to the global technological changes in communication and computers, fast. I had worked in a research project on the role of internet in democratization- a comparative project in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzistan and Kazakhstan. Now I can see how people use phones and internet in Abkhazia. It is getting widespread and cheap each day. And ofcourse faster and higher tech.
I remember my father telling me how important computers will be in my future life- so that I had to learn whatever I can while still a fast learner. It happened faster than I thought but he had seen it. Today even in Abkhazia, you can not get a work without knowing the basics of computer and word. (Ofcourse it is just opening, writing, printing and saving yet. )
Still, I have to admit I hate knowing computers more than other people. Recently I spend a lot of time trying to fix my friends computers, and building a website for my newly established research firm- research.bazala.net (multilingual), and another one for my husbands construction firm: bazala.net (only in Turkish this one).
Yesterday my phone fell and got broken. So I do not have a mobile for now. I have been dreaming to get a new one for long. Just never had the chance. Now maybe a good time. I also want a big plazma screen so that I can connect my laptop and watch movies. Plus I have a wish to buy a dvd-divx player. I am longing for technology! What can I do? We live in a time of technological hunger! I want more technology!!! More and more...
By the way- since I know we will have more devices I want to put many many plugs in our new house. On both walls of the rooms, multiple in the study, living room and tv room and kitchen.
Nobody seems to understand the necessity around me. But I know. Time will come there will be a need for all those plugs.

FAST (!!!!) FOOD is in Abkhazia

2009-08-24T08:25:00.000-07:00

I know, starting with my mom, some of you say "oh no" to the global invasion of fast food. And now it is in small Abkhazia- and it is gonna be everywhere. People will forget the traditional eating culture and spend money on junk food that is served fast! Fast?? in Abkhazia? Not possible! I waited for an hour the first time, 45 minutes second time and 30 minutes the third time i visited this new restaurants located on the sea shore. As you can see in the picture it is designed with English Style tiles, big New York pictures on the walls and -what remind me of the old italian pizza house in istanbul from my childhood years- tables surrounded with red couches. By the way i forgot to mention two of the times i waited i did not eat anything since the burgers and the baked potatoes had run out. Only the first time I tried a sandwich which was similar to what we usually eat in tea breaks at the office so not much of a change. But we finished with a choclate sauced creppe which was a full course as it is and too sweet. Cant say anything about the burgers or the potatoes. Will let you know as soon as I know. But for now, I can say that even the fastest food is slow in Abkhazia (And people sit for hours to eat the food served which is really little according to world standards) and we long for nice and clean restaurants.

Tkuarchal bridge is falling down... falling down...

2009-08-11T02:05:00.000-07:00

70 year old bridge, connecting the Tkuarchal city to the coal mines has fallen down due to a big amount of rain followed by a flood... The best thing about this scene is that the man driving the truck survived without a scratch.

From interesting

They have already rebuild it but i did not yet have a chance to visit.
However, i would like to take you for a walk in the outskirts of Tkuarchal to the place where you are surrounded by a variety of trees and flowers---a deep, infinite feeling of greenness. A greenness cut only by the blue-pink Hortensia flowers...

From Tkuarchal

Tkuarchal is the most beautiful city of Abkhazia- with its nature, and people's sincere fight for ecology of the city. It is the cleanest. And very interestingly, people like to grove flowers in their balconies in the middle of that nature. (Tkuarchal is the only Abkhazia city that does not border the Black Sea....)

A campaign to present children with books

2009-08-11T02:00:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I took this picture on the main highway that connects Psou border to the rest of the country.

From interesting

It is a campaign to present children with books. You can either bring your own books and give it to the Gudauta Raion Administration or put money on bank accounts. I don't know the outcome of the project but put it on my list of things to find out...

2009-08-10T19:30:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since i wrote. I promised myself to not to give so much break any more. First of all I dont have the excuse for bad internet connection. Because we have the 3G technology in Abkhazia which brought fast internet connection for affordable (not cheap but just affordable) prices. So i can upload pictures in minutes, post a blog post in seconds. Write online (i used to write offline and than posted which was a lot of trouble for a blog, i mean the meaning of a blog is writing realtime isnt it?)
Anyway, 3G is not the only change in Abkhazia. To summarize the last year shortly, Abkhazia's recognition brought people happiness, wisdom, power to make a change in their own lives, infrastructure (progress not full infrastructure), peace, unity, comfort and so many other things. The change is faster and stronger, so are the challenges but people care to make things better which is good.
About my personal life, I got married, we are trying to build a house, started raising vegetables in our garden (which is a job i hate from heart), watched a lot of new serials (chuck, true blood, supernatural being my new favorites) and movies, bought a satellite tv which connects us to the world i have not missed to hear about (theft, murder, war, political fights, inequality, poverty, economic crisis are not things you would miss to hear about the world), traveled back and forth to istanbul, traveled to nalchik, printed 1000 questionnaires in the lowest quality office printer due to lack of resources, entered a job, quit a job, started my own research business, got new friends, got angry to friends, had fun with friends, missed old friends, wrote many proposals for phd, wrote many letters to many people, did not hear many responses, among the responses could not find anything to make me send any of my proposals, changed departments to apply, changed sub topics for my study, changed method of research, gave methods of social research trainings, made the first country wide scientific political participation survey with 1134 sample size, wrote a book for the training, wrote stories that i never finished, thought of poems that were never typed, wrote articles, got interviewed, made interviews, organized a photo exhibition, shot a short movie for 21 May- Remembrance Day of the Caucasian Exile, been to exhibitions, been to concerts, missed movies, missed concerts, missed teaching, missed writing, missed dreaming, missed writing on my blog....
So i hope to be more active in writing from now on...
I dont know where to start. I will find out. Soon!

Independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia has been Recognized by Russia!

2008-08-30T03:37:00.000-07:00

The beginning of August, was marked with sorrow and loss as well as fear of war spreading to a wider region; after the attack of Georgian forces to Republic of South Ossetia. Many people fled from their homes, were killed in an unexpected heavy night attack on the 7th-8th and the fightings continued a while. Later, the Abkhaz troops moved to re-obtain their land (Kodor) that was invaded by Georgian forces 2 years ago illegaly and against all pacts and agreements.
They managed to win this victory.
The second part of August has been marked with celebrations of victory and last monday the Russian Duma, tuesday (26.08.08) the Russian president Medvedev recognized the independent status of two Republics: South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Celebrations of first official recognition was like a 3 day festival in Abkhazia, with a lot ofAbkhaz flags, accompanied by South Ossetian, Adyghe, Russian and even Confederation (1921) and Chechen flags.
Abkhazian president and people repeat they do not think of joining to Russia and Russia did not give them their independence! Abkhazia has been independent for 15 years and this 30th of September, being the Victory Day (15th) will be a great day since the 15 years of economic blockade is over this year and that with the recognition starting with Russia, people will have more power to make their lives better and to live in a fully democratic, independent country. The recognition of Abkhazia, is also a power for the recognition of Abkhaz statehood, language, culture and life style around the world- which the Georgians had tried to wipe for long.
Apsny Forever!
For photos on celebrations:
http://picasaweb.google.com/abkhaziadiary/Celebrations
http://picasaweb.google.com/abkhaziadiary/CossackConcert

Diaspora Awake!

2008-08-14T02:03:00.000-07:00

Caucasian Diaspora in Turkey actively showing reaction to lack of true information in the Turkish media and doing protests against the Georgian government!
What they have done:
*There are several press relases up to now by the federation, associations, foundations etc.

9th August 2008- The Associations in Istanbul came together to judge what is to be done. They decided to establish a Crisis Committee for South Ossetia. The aim founding this Committee is try to organize humanitarian help for Southern Ossetia, inform the press, organize protest etc..

9th August 2008- Protest Against Georgia (Taksim Square-Istanbul-Organized by Jineps (Cuacasian) Newspaper).

10th August- The Caucasus- Ossetian Solidary Committe Founded (It is composed of 7 members- the Chairman is Remzi Yildirim- Who is also an Ossetian in Istanbul).

10th August- The information and press groups of the Solidarity Commitee is founded. There are several miss information in Turkish press and TV. They are talking about those who died like they are Georgians but there is no information about more than 2000 Ossettians who are assassinated during the war, we preapared a document and sent to all newpapers to be used)

11th August- Petition for South Ossetia is opened

13th August 2008- Two Protests and press releases have taken placein front of Georgian Embassy in Ankara and Consulate in Istanbul (In London a group will also decided to the the same yesterday)..Istanbul protest is organized by The Caucasus- Ossetian Solidary Committe, supported by all other organizations (Like the Friends of Abkhazia, The Caucasus Foundation, Abkhaz Cultural Association, The Caucasus Forum, all other organizations in Istanbul and volunteers). Almost 250 people were there. The police did not let the groups to cross the street but the group walked with South Ossetian and Abkhazian flags and the press release is read (slogans like , Peace in The Cuacasus, Independent Abkhazia and Ossetia, we do not want war in our motherlands, Stop Genocid in South South Ossetia etc). .Link: (It is Turkish but you may see the pictures) http://www.ajanskafkas.com/haber,19896,cerkesler_gurcistani_protesto_etti.htm.

Ankara protest is organized by The Caucasus Federation and Ossetian Forum.

End of clashes in Kodor

2008-08-13T12:49:00.000-07:00

News arrived this morning that Abkhaz flag flies over Kodor region invaded by Georgians in 2006!
The fighting and clashes have come to an end!
Peace in Abkhazia! Peace in the World!
Long live Independent Abkhazia!!!

Abhazya ve Güney Osetya'nın bağımsızlığı tanınmalıdır!

2008-08-13T12:47:00.000-07:00

Abhazya ve Güney Osetya'nın bağımsızlığı tanınmalıdır!

Geçtiğimiz hafta yaşanan olaylar, modern teknolojinin bile önüne geçen politikalar olabileceğini ve teknolojinin kısa sürede binlerce insanın hayatını almak, koca bir şehri yok etmek ve suçu bir başkasına atmak için yönlendirebileceğini gösterdi.

Yaşadığımız günlerde Kafkasya'nın de fakto yani uygulamada bağımsız cumhuriyetlerinden Güney Osetya'da büyük bir katliam yaşandı. Peki bu olaylarda suçlu kim? Daha doğru söylemek gerekirse en suçlu kim?

Bu katliamı yapanlar mı? Yani, elindeki, bu kadar kısa sürede nasıl geliştiği apaçık belli olan silah teknolojisini bir halk üzerinde denemeye cesaret bulan Gürcü askeri birlikleri mi? Ya da bu askeri birliklere katliam emri veren Gürcistan hükümeti mi? Yoksa bu hükümetin askeri güç ve politikalarına destek veren dış güçler mi? Hepsi de bu katliamın bir parçası değiller mi sizce?

Osetya'da Gürcü güçlerinin açtığı ateş sivilleri vurdu, Tsinkal şehrini tamamiyle yerle bir etti. Bizce katliamın asıl nedeni, Gürcistan hükümetinin, aralıktaki NATO toplantısına sözde toprak bütünlüğünü oluşturmuş olarak katılmak istemesidir. Rusya müdahale etmeseydi bu acımasız katliamın Abhazya'da da devam edeceği apaçık ortadadır. Sovyetler Birliği'nin dağılmasının ardından Gürcistan'ın silahlandırılmasına destek olan devletlerin, bu ülkenin elde ettiği silah ve askeri gücü öncelikle Abhazya ve Güney Osetya karşısında kullanacağını biliyor olmaları gerekir. O zaman, Gürcistan Hükümeti'ni silahlandıran devletler de, Güney Osetya katliamında Gürcistan Hükümeti kadar suçludur.

Planlanmış olduğu asker yoğunluğu ve silah gücünden belli olan Güney Osetya'daki katliamın tam anlamıyla bir etnik temizlik haline gelmemesi ve Abhazya'da da benzer bir durum yaşanmaması için, Rusya'nın, işgalci Gürcü birliklerine müdahalesi bir gereklilikti. Amerika ve İngiltere, insan haklarından ve insanların canlarından daha çok Gürcistan'ın -aslında hiç de gerçekçi olmayan- toprak bütünlüğüne önem verdiklerini göstererek bu katliama seyirci kalmışlardır.

Basın ise gözlerini gerçeklere kapatıp, internet yoluyla Osetya'dan direkt olarak ulaşan ve Oset Halkının dramını yansıtan gerçek görüntüleri kullanmak yerine, Gürcistan'ın işgalini haklı göstermeye çalışan yanlı görüntüleri yayınlamakta ısrar etmektedir. Şimdi sormak lazım, dünya kamuoyunun Güney Osetya'da ve Abhazya'da yaşananlarla ilgili doğru bilgi kaynaklarına ulaşmasını engelleyen hangi yasaklar ya da politikalardır?

SSCB'nin dağılmasının ardından, Gürcistan'ın üç farklı devlet başkanıyla yaşadığı üç farklı savaş, onun, dağılma sırasındaki sınırlarıyla hiç bir zaman tanınamayacağının, bu sınırlarla varolamayacağının kanıtıdır. Gürcistan ve diğer dünya ülkeleri, Abhazya ve Güney Osetya'yı tanımak zorundadır. Çünkü, yaşadığımız yüzyılda bu halkların hatta Gürcistan'ın, özgür ve güven içinde yaşayabilmesinin tek yolu budur.

The President addressed fellow citizens

2008-08-10T23:33:00.000-07:00

The President addressed fellow citizens to protect calmness, vigilance and certified that the government of Abkhazia armed forces will make everything necessary to meet the requirements of the constitution of Republic Abkhazia.

10/08/2008 20:30 ABKHAZIA, SUKHUM
Automatic online translation- roughly corrected for untranslated words only!
Follow the president website for full translations to be published soon.

The respected compatriots!

I turn myself to you in connection with the last events. You know, what heaviest situation occurred in South Osetia as a result the new aggression of Georgia against our brothers.

Georgian army achieves genocide of the people of South Osetia by its inhuman, barbarous actions. After equaling from face of the earth the capital - Tskinval, having completely destroyed many ossetic villages, the leaders of Georgia bared its beast face.

All these days I am located on coupling constant with President Eduard Kokoty. The swiftly developing situation requires from us coordination of actions. Therefore, as you know, the Security Council of the country works in the nonstop regime.

In accordance with the existing understandings, Abkhazia undertook the number of the measures of diplomatic and military nature. The solution about the introduction into the zone of the limitation of the armaments of the subdivisions of Abkhazian army was accepted.

Against the background events in South Osetia sharply aggravated situation in the upper part of Kodor Gorge. In the recent days in this region the Georgian armed forces twice increased their contingent. In the gorge heavy combat technology and artillery installations of salvo fire was introduced.

This course of events required from me special actions. Therefore we accelerated taking the measures of military nature, which planned earlier.

You know about the solid position of Abkhazian management on Kodor Gorge. For two years we issued a call participants in the peaceful process to influence for Georgia so that she would derive her subdivisions, which are located in the upper part of Kodor Gorge in the disturbance of Moscow cease-fire agreement.

At my numerous encounters with the diplomats of the United States of America, Germany, the ambassadors of EU countries we imperatively required contributing to the fulfillment of all existing with the Georgian side understandings. This, first of all, concerned Kodor Gorge and conclusion with Georgia of agreement about [nevozobnovlenii] of military actions.

As you see, our calls to solve problems by peaceful means did not enjoy success. Despite the fact that the UN Security Council repeatedly required from Georgia fulfilling of Moscow agreement, official Tbilisi continued to ignore these calls.

We always confirmed our intention to free gorge from the Georgian military and marionette structures illegally located in it. And the ways of the peaceful permission of this problem at the same time persistently searched for, proposing different trade-off settlements.

However, last events in South Osetia and provocation from the Georgian side in the zone of the responsibility of peacemaking forces, and also nature of reaction to the South-Ossetian catastrophe of European and Western countries, their frank pro-Georgian position in the estimation of events, convinced us of the fact that the policy of double standards can be wrapped up for the Abkhazian people and the state by new tragedy.
We were convinced of the fact that in this situation the peaceful dialogue cannot have positive effect.

Based on this I accepted the solution about the beginning of the military phase of the permission of Kodor problem. The second day our aviation and artillery deliver impacts on the places for the dislocation of Georgian subdivisions.

In connection with the military provocations, which occurred the day before at night in the safety zone, the firing of Abkhazian posts from the Georgian side, accepted the solution about the introduction of the subdivisions of Abkhazian army into The Galski region, into the zone of the responsibility of collective peacemaking forces. About all our actions were notified and commanded by peacemaking forces, and the mission of United Nations.

During the complete understanding of the fact that this is the disturbance of Moscow agreement, we, nevertheless, was made this decision, since another output to us no one left.

I again repeat, that our actions are absolutely substantiated, they are directed toward providing of safety of people, Abkhazian state.

I signed edict about the partial mobilization and the introduction of martial law on the part of the territory of Abkhazia.

The parliament of republic approved this solution, and now are conducted the necessary organizational- mobilization works.

In this situation I call to the retention of calmness, vigilance even I certify, that the government of Abkhazia, armed forces will make entire necessary for your protection, for meeting of requirements of the constitution of republic Abkhazia”.

On Abkhazia

2008-08-10T23:32:00.000-07:00

Sukhum, 09.08.08

Today, the day started with a call from a Russian woman asking for her son and husband having a holiday in Sukhum. She said their phone is not working, and asked me if it is peacefull in Abkhazia. I said everything is fine and peaceful, and life is just going as normal. She asked if there is electricty, I said yes we have everything, life is just as normal as it is.

Than I received news from a friend saying Abkhaz forces have moved in to upper- Kodor valley, that belonged to our territory but was invaded by Georgian troops in 2006 against the Nonaggression pact signed in Moscow in 2004. They have received two decisions by the UN but did not take their forces back. There were some information that the Georgians were bringing soldiers to this area and would attack Abkhazia. The Abkhaz forces, seeing Georgia will never solve the situation in peacefull ways and may attack fiercefully as she did to South Ossetia; have started taking the land that was rightfully theirs.

I left to the sea side. There was a military act taking place, necessary for territorial integrity of Abkhazia, but it would not stop me enjoying a restfull and sunny saturday by the sea coast. That was same for other people. (See the pics) Tourists and locallers all enjoyed the sun and the sea, some tourist were having fun with a boat game, kids were jumping from high ports, dolphins were jumping up and down in the open sea.

10.08.08

Today, the day started with tanks passing by our window, all the Abkhaz forces were being carried towards the Kodor region. People got out to watch the mobilization (mostly women). There was a meeting in the Mescid, and men came together to discuss meeting points in case of emergency. There were some ships sailing in the sea. Big ships. Some people said they arrived during the night. Later, I got a call from my aunt saying that navy was in Abkhazia and my cousin read it in the news. The same time I received the news that there were navy ships in the sea one street from my house, my cousin in Germany gave me the news. The information technology is amazing and it is interesting to see how this small community famous for spreading every word in minutes is small in distributing such an important information. We left for the sea side to swim, have a sun bath and see the ships. As usual, we were not the only ones. Than we had lunch with other friends, enjoyed a cup of tea and cake at the apra cafe on the port.

We could see the ships (protecting the gulf distributed like a crescent). Later there was some word going around if the ships had not arrived on time, Georgians would have did Sukhum the same thing they did to the South-Ossetian capital, Tskinval! Ofcourse, at times of uneasyness, many speculations turn around. Still, watching what they have done in Tskinval, to people, hospitals, city as a whole... That was possibilly true. Anyway, they say these ships are very protective and I am glad that the Russian peace keeping forces do not wait till the distraction of the city before they do their duty to protect our borders and people. (11.08.08-Note: The Georgian ships have really pushed Abkhazia's borders. The presidents site reported 4 Georgian war-ships. www.abkhaziagov.org)

There were two helicopters and a plane flying over the city. (11.08.08-There was an explanation about these in the morning news as well but could not catch it)

The tourists were enjoying the sea and sun, even in the view of the helicopters and ships. We went around the city and to the next district Gulripsh. The city was mostly green, since nearly all men went around with army clothes. They were saying the army cloth shops were emptied already! We saw at some points reserve forces waiting to take their place in the war if necessary. Women, priests, and elderly were with them, giving them support.

We had some more tea with other friends, and came back home to have access to the internet and to communicate with the outside world. Unfortunately, the internet was really too slow- slower than usual- and it was impossible to upload any photos in any way.Hoping to manage it tomorrow.

11.08.08

Have been to the sea side early in the morning, this time mainly to try to wi-fi (which I thought would be faster) that I registered on friday but did not manage to use yet. Could not see the signal again!.

Some people were already swimming and kids were running on the sea side in groups. That was an active morning as usual in Abkhazia.

I heard my friend's father have left with the forces yesterday, no news yet. Last night in the news there was information on two wounded from the Abkhaz forces. Hope there will be no more wounded and no martyr.

Just now on tv the president is addressing the Abkhaz nation (citizens).

Daily life in Abkhazia-08.08.08

2008-08-10T11:41:00.001-07:00

Photos from Abkhazia- daily life continues without distraction.
People who have lived Georgian invasion and violence during the 92-93 war fear a new war.
Men and women, volunteer or take their places in reserve forces but daily life continues.
Tourists, go around with Abkhaz flagged tshirts, enjoy the sun and sea of wonderful Abkhazia.

http://picasaweb.google.com/abkhaziadiary/Sukhum_today

South Osetia: The real war hitting the non-guilty citizens, the information war hitting the non-guilty side

2008-08-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

We have been hearing of attacks by the Georgians to the South Osettians for about a week. In the streets it has been the only talk by the russian speaking community. However, the Repatriants who follow Turkish news were not aware of the reality of the situation since Turkish media has been, as usual, taking the side of the Georgians and disinformating the Turkish speaking community in the world.

On friday morning, when I left the house the neigbours were talking about the dreadful attacks to the South Ossetian city, Tsinval, by the Goergians.

Where were the Russian Peace keeping forces that had to protect the border between Georgia and South Ossettia? The Georgians had invaded 5 villages and have destroyed the capital city with night-long bombing.

It was told that a week ago when the first attacks started many children and women were moved to North-Ossetia and other parts of North- Caucasus. But the views from the city showed many women and children under attack in the city of Tsinval. Now the number goes upto 2000 dead mainly women and children, all civilians.

The US said to Georgia, to stop the war but Georgians got fiercer. The South Ossetian head of state asked from Russian Peace Keepers to do their duty to defend people and to stop the occupation of South Ossetia, as they were titled to be with the 2004 Moscow Nonagression Treatment (that was signed by Georgia as well).

The Russian peace keeping forces in the end intervened to the genocide towards the people of South Ossetia by Georgian forces. The Georgian forces, have been using American and Turkish weaponary during the attack, but the Ossetian forces have done their best without any support from the outside world. On Friday lunch time, Abkhazians, made a press meeting in front of the new parliament building, to support their Osset brothers. They said a voluntary battalion from Abkhazia can be formed immediately. Yesterday, Ossetian forces survived the capital Tsinval. The city is completely destroyed. Now, the Russian Peace keeping forces are trying to do their duty, protecting the civilians that survived the Georgian attacks and partial invasion of the city.

In Abkhazia, you can see everywhere South Ossetian and Abkhazian flags. The people are giving their heartfull support to their brothers. (In Abkhaz language Abkhaz call themselves Apswaa and call Ossetian Awaaps. Awaa means people/nation; Aps means life. This naming shows how close these two nations are. And in the last tragic events taking place the people of life in Ossettia are losing their lives and their borthers in Apsni/Abkhazia cry for them.)

Statement by Adygaa

2008-08-10T11:33:00.001-07:00

By leaders of Public Organization "Adyga Khase" of Kabardino-Balkaria Republic (KBR), Union of Abkhazian Volunteers of KBR, Union of Afghanistan veterans of KBR, Special Forces veteran Association "Rus'" of North Caucasus, Circassian Congress of KBR, Tersko-Malkinskiy Cossack district of KBR, Public Organization "Worldwide Circassian Brotherhood".

On august 8^th 2008 Georgian armed forces disloyally attacked South Osetia. Tskhinval city and south osetian people are bombarded by all kinds of land and air artillery, innocent people including women and children are dieing every minute. These actions one more time showed the true face of Georgian government and their target to physically destroy people of South Osetia.

We mentioned many times, that undefined status of South Osetia and Abkhazia provokes the desire of Georgian government to solve the problem with military force.

What is the most cynical, is the fact that Georgia started the war same day the XXIXth Olympic Games opened in Beijing.

Today, when Russian citizens die in South Osetia, including peace keeping forces, the Russian Federation must strongly react and stop the aggressor.

People of Kabardino-Balkaria and South Osetia have been bound for hundreds of years, we always helped and supported each other in difficult times.

Along with the people of the Caucasus and all of Russia we declare our strong will to defend South Osetia from the Georgian governments genocide.

We ask Russian government to do whatever it takes to defend our citizens, residing in South Osetia, organize repulsion to the aggressor and review the recognition of independent status of South Osetia and Abkhazia.

The undersigned:

Thamade of Public organization "Adyga Khase" - Mohamad Hafitza

Head of Union of Abkhazian Volunteers of KBR - Aleksei Bekshokov

Head of Union of Afghanistan veterans of KBR - Timur Tkhagalegov

Head of Special Force veteran Association "Rus'" - Nikolai Shubrov

Ataman of Tersko-Malkinsk Cossack district of KBR - Nikolai Lubunya

Head of Circassian Congress of KBR - Ruslan Keshev

President of Worldwide Circassian Brotherhood - Zamir Shukhov

Statement by Non-governmental Organizations of Abkhazia

2008-08-10T11:32:00.001-07:00

Civil society in Abkhazia is appalled at the tragic events in South Ossetia that are developing before the very eyes of the international community as the entire population of South Ossetia have actually become a target for a massive attack from the Georgian army. Georgia has violated all previous agreements, as well as principles of international and humanitarian law.
Despite declarations about adherence to exclusively peaceful ways of conflict resolution, the Georgian leadership has now taken a treacherous decision to start military operations against the people of South Ossetia. Hundreds of civilians are dead and wounded, the hospital, schools accommodation blocks in Tskhinval have been destroyed. Barbaric shelling of the civilian population testifies to a gross transgression by Georgia of human rights and has caused a desperate humanitarian disaster across the whole of South Ossetia.

One can hardly call Georgia's recent actions spontaneous. They are a deliberate fulfilment of Tbilisi's plans to undermine the existing negotiation and peacekeeping formats. In his recent interviews the State Minister of Georgia Temur Jacobashvili has spoken openly about Georgia's intention to liquidate these formats.

By repeatedly declaring its commitment to a peaceful resolution Georgia is attempting to mislead the international community about its true intentions. It must be obvious that Tbilisi has embarked on the path of a resolution of conflicts by force of arms. In light of this the so called 'peace initiatives" by Saakashvili are perceived in South Ossetia and Abkhazia as nothing other than a screen to mask Georgia' s goals, which are far from peaceful.
We cannot but be concerned by the fact that at a time when so much attention from the international community is focused on our region, and just after the visits to Tbilisi of highly placed officials from world powers, Georgia has permitted itself yet again to resort to military force to attain its goals. This demonstrates that too often Tbilisi succeeds in avoiding having to take responsibility for its criminal actions, which destabilize the situation in the Caucasus and place under threat the lives of thousands of people.
In the current situation we expect from the international community, from all countries and organizations involved in the resolution process an unambiguous assessment of the actions of Georgia. We consider that the international community is well placed and obliged to use all levers at its disposal to put a stop to Georgian aggression, if it so wishes.

Centre for Humanitarian Programmes - Arda Inal Ipa, Ilana Kvarchelia, Asida Shakril, Irakliy Hintba

Sukhum Youth House - Elena Kobahiya, Aida Ladariya

Sukhum Media Club - Manana Gurguliya, Diana Kerselyan, Marta Tuzhba

Inva-Promotion Association - Alhas Thagushev, Alena Kuvichko

Association of Women of Abkhazia - Natella Akaba, Marietta Topchyan, Bella Turtseva

Gagra Centre for Civic Initiatives Development - Irina Agrba

Youth Initiative Tkuarchala - Rita Azhiba

Ochamchira Youth House - Selma Zantariya

Pitsunda Youth Centre - Natalya Agrba

Association of Women Entrepreneurs - Julia Goumba

Civilian Initiatives Fund - Leila Taniya

STATEMENT by MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS of the REPUBLIC of ABKHAZIA

2008-08-10T11:27:00.000-07:00

The war unleashed by Georgia against South Ossetia demonstrates conclusively that, despite assurances of its commitment to a peaceful resolution of the conflict, Georgia has been intensively preparing for armed aggression. The beginning of the war on the opening day of the International Olympic Games in Peking is nothing but a cynical attempt to divert international attention from developments in South Ossetia. In this context, the passive response of the UN Security Council will do nothing but promote the continuation of a conflict in which civilians are continuing to be killed and which has already led to a large number of refugees.

The actions by Georgia are a grave violation of International law that will lead to a destabilization of the situation in the whole region. It can easily lead to irreversible and unforeseen consequences. The position of the international facilitators in the conflict, who persist in denying the guilt of Georgia for unleashing war, can only promote an escalation of military action. It raises doubts among the Abkhazians about their objectivity and ability to do anything helpful to support the maintenance of peace in the region. In this regard their eventual role in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict will be at best unhelpful, at worst destructive.

The reaction of the International Community to the prevailing situation is seen in Abkhazia as a good indication of its likely reaction, should similar military intervention against Abkhazia be undertaken by the Georgian side. Taking everything into consideration, the conclusion must be clear to all: there are absolutely no prospects for the reintegration of Abkhazia and South Ossetia into Georgia.

Henceforth, any 'assurances' by Georgia to resolve the conflict in Abkhazia and South Ossetia by peaceful means will be considered by the Abkhaz side as a blatant attempt to mislead not only the people of Abkhazia but the whole international community, for there can be no doubt that behind such 'assurances' lies the real threat of renewed military aggression against Abkhazia also. The refusal of Georgia, under any conditions, to withdraw its troops from the upper Kodor Gorge, where they were illegally introduced in 2006, and to sign a Peace Agreement with Abkhazia also only serves to confirm suspicions that Georgia plans to start a war with Abkhazia.

Taking all of this into account, the Abkhaz side calls upon the International Community (inter alia the UN) to abandon its passive position of being a mere observer and give an unambiguous assessment of the actions of Georgia and also to take decisive steps to ensure an immediate end to the military actions in South Ossetia.

Sukhum 08.08.2008

too late... too long.. don't have power...

2008-06-07T12:05:00.000-07:00

Dear readers of Abkhazia Diary Blog page! I am lazy! I am busy! and I am poor! and I am not patient!
Please wait till the barocade on Abkhazia is removed: than communication and especially internet will be faster and cheaper. Than I will write all about my beautiful country, life here, and people...
Till than please excuse me and try to enjoy already existing information!
...

Kurban Bayram and the border trouble

2007-12-25T01:55:00.000-08:00

The pain in my stomach started again. I don't need no doctors this time. I know the reason. It is the overwhelmed life that I am living, it is the stress of conflicting ideas in mind. It is me that is creating the pain.

The trip to Turkey was tiring and boring. On the way to the airport I tested my Russian by speaking to the border guards for 2 hours while they checked my things in detail. And after that at the airport they were unhappy since they could not find a reason to take -“ceza” as they say- punishment money from me. On the way back the plane (the new and a little cheaper firm -Siberian Airlines/S7) was delayed for nearly 3 hours and we arrived to Sochi/Adler Airport at 1 o'clock at night and they told us we need “immigrasoniy slujba” at the exit. Than there were two guards and they were saying my papers were missing and I said no they are not. They charged us of course though I rejected to pay my friend did pay it against my rejections. And than they said we can go. And we said no we need the “imigrasoniy slujba”. They said we do not need, we said we do need. Than they said they do not have it! The responsible personnel were not there, sleeping at home!!! We had to wait till morning. But some Abkhazian girls said they will rob us if we stay at the airport which seemed very realistic to me. So she took us under the rain over waters that filled the streets with all our bags and belongings to the airport hotel! We paid 250 rubles to the woman per person and we went to our rooms. In the morning we went down stairs and asked for registration, normally if you stay in a hotel in RF they need to make it for you but they said they do not have it. Besides if we want any papers to show we had been there for the night we need to pay extra 120 rubles per person. Still she was not sure if we paid the rest since the women had taken it all for herself and had not register us to the hotel! So she called her and after a hours discussion she said she will bring the money back. later so we got our papers and went to the airport. After a 30 minutes search I found the little building saying it was the place and ringed the bell a few times. Than a man who has just woke up (at 11 o'clock!) opened the door and looked at me with blurry eyes. He did the necessary procedure and it lasted only 3 minutes and I got my stamp and told him my friend will also come in a minute. Than I went to where we had hour bags and my friend went to take the stamp. His lasted like 20 minutes since he did not speak Russian and he had asked many many questions. Anyway we managed to do that and in the end we took a cab to Psou.

It was so crowded with mandarin traders. We could hardly walk among the huge mud and crowds. We passed the border faster than I accepted, I guess the problems were taking place parallel to the mandarin traders.

They should find a way to these problems at the border, maybe a legal taxation so that all will know what to pay.

Anyway, did you know that Russian Federation passport holders can get a visa to Turkey at the entrance for 20 dolars- 2 months. And since my visa is running out in 2 months I do not know how much I will need to pay. But if you take 1 25 day double entry visa it costs something like 120 dolars for Turkish passport holders.

I hope soon direct transport to Abkhazia will start and than we will not need to spend time on Russian borders.

Anyway, about Abkhazia I did not write much recently. I am currently working on an article on the food culture in Abkhazia. As I said it is the mandarin production that survives many of the families here. It is also the khurma that is very widespread among producers.

We had a Muslim Celebration, Kurban Bayram recently. And it was really stressing and fun at the same time. The stress came from the water problem- the children got diarrhea and it is really widespread. I was woken, on the first day of the Bayram by a repatriate families call saying they need my help to take their son to hospital. I ran to their house and we took a cab to the hospital. Though it was a holiday, there was an ongoing work in the Children's Hospital. They are making renovations at the building. There was a male doctor who did not really looked us in the eye, angry to someone or something running from here to there. A female doctor appeared out of nowhere and she was so kind and helpful. Checking the child for appendices and other things before deciding. Anyway, than they took us to a room and the beds were not clean at all and really cold so we put jackets to the bed and over the child. He did not want to have the serum but the Armenian care taker was talking in Turkish a little and Russian more, to relax him. Anyway, after many arguments and attempts we managed to find his vessel. Than we stayed there for an hour. The lady doctor and the care taker was checking us every now and than. Than they gave 5 different medicine including hydro-support and send us home. I think the taxi, medicine, some diet food and other payments take around 1200 rubles which is really a big sum of money. And all of this, their neighbor was paying since we could not follow it all.

Later that day, I changed and made visits to Gulripsh, where many repatriates live. That part was fun and I enjoyed a good taste of deserts, cakes and chocolates. A friend brought us home late at night. The next day was also same, visiting families and friends. Observing their reunions, chats, gossips, discussions on food and stuff. The stories of the past show that life was not easy years ago but now, life has changed in Abkhazia. Conditions are better, the borders are open, you can find or bring anything you wish. I have visited some really cool houses that you will not even see many places in Turkey. Plasma TV sets, latest design kitchens (metallic or classic wooden but complete white!), very comfortable and puffy cushions and sofas, big dining tables or American kitchens, all best quality. Very beautiful children, talking Abkhazian as their mother tongue but understanding Turkish and Russian as well as the other!

Life will not be the same in a few years. Things will change rapidly and where we will stand in this process of change? I am gonna be here in the Independent Republic of Abkhazia, enjoying the sea and the sun and these beautiful people, but what about you?

Photos of Circassian Academia Conference

2007-11-14T14:46:00.000-08:00

The conference Photos available here

So many things to tell...

2007-11-14T14:08:00.001-08:00

2 months of without a word!
Sum up:
*University started. Mondays 3 hours Abkhazian, Fridays 3 hours Russian! Does anyone believe I can learn any of these languages in that limited hours of courses. Well I dont! Thats why we have started the necessary procedures to change it! Details, later as progress occurs...
*I am going to (was going to) Dance group Diaskurya- the universities caucasian dance ensemble! Got a hit on my ankle! Got a conference, got another conference, got a disantheria, got a cold, got a neck problem, and now have got new Abkhazian courses at the same time! God I really wanted to make it, but the truth is, I was a disaster.... Many girls came in, be part of the group the next practice... I could never make it...
*Many new repatriat families arrived. Good cases for me as I will study repatriation. More of it the Abkhaz Abaza People's Congress started Abkhazian course for them, which takes place every day of the week, where they learn songs and poems together with the alphabet, writing, reading, grammer- whatever you need for learning a language, which I also now attend!!! Also, they are fun, they are joy and they cook good!!! Well they could only recently find houses for rent (since they have not been provided any accomodation other than the Abkhazia hotel that I had stayed before, by the government) and one family is still in the hotel... but I was their guest today for a late breakfast (where I tested my Russian by speaking with a tenant-neighbour) and for dinner where they cooked traditional Adyg food: Ships. Mmmm delicious....
*We had two conferences- pictures of the later below- first the 1st Conference named after Shalva Inal-ipa (the abkhaz historian-etnograph) and second the Circassian Academia conference- an internet communication group and network, which we realized with a lot of effort! Details later!!! I presented my thesis in the later, and my work published before in Turkish on the "name giving traditions of Adyghe-Abkhaz in Adapazari-Duzce region of Turkey". My presentation was translated from English to Russian simultaneously.
*there was a long lecetric problem due to a trafo crash down in Abkhazia. We had 2 hours of electricity and two hours of darkness for some days and it was everywhere really cold!!!!
*I do not have a heater so my house is still cold though today the problem was fixed!!!
*Atilla Tsugba and Hayri Kutarba become my neighbours: and well they are a lot of help in many things like: I have washed two many clothes and today is a day without a rain so can I hang some clothes to your balcony, or I need help with this gas oven, or they need help with a only russian speaking master who came for fixing something!!! It is great to have so many people around!!!
*Many else to say but I am afraid this problematic blogger will not work! So Thats all for now! And by the way: I have also been part of this FaceBook craziness going around. But that takes too much of my time that I spent on the internet. So maybe it is better for me to forget that there is such a thing- and there I have so many friends that I have not talked for ages, that do not know where I have been, or what I have been doing, and very likely where in the world is Abkhazia... Well I know there are many others too that are interested in Abkhazia and ----I wish internet will be cheaper and faster soon!

26 September 2007- late to post ... internet is so slow these days

2007-10-07T04:58:00.000-07:00

I am sitting in my bed, in this -relatively- cold evening thinking of my cousin- in the middle of I do not know where- just far far away... .drinking the strawberry flavored tea that she brought for me from a long distance country that I forgot which... and wonder if she is thinking of me, wherever she is, maybe today she saw a chocolate bar that was strawberry flavored, or oxygen in a can that is strawberry flavored, or maybe some tool with strawberry design on top! She remembers me whenever she sees a strawberry and thinks that I will like and well yes I do like them a lot!! I feel her so close to me all the time. And many times, I think of her in her environment having some fun, or being melancholic- as she likes that too... But now when I think of her there is something missing...

I look at her blog-diary, I read and check the photos, but still I can not think of her in a concrete place! That is not good!!! I am afraid she feels the same way about me... Well I update as many photos as I can and try to write as many detail as possible for the readers of my Abkhazia diary, still it is not easy to dream of something that you have never experienced even a similarity. By the way she is in Japan! So I decided to think of things we lived in the past... and I checked the photos that we took in Germany about two years ago- the best one -that is hanging on my wall- is the one with her and my aunty, in which we- three adult size person- fitted inside a small box, you know those that you throw the money and have to stay still for 4 different shots of portraits. Well, this one is black and white, and we did not sit still. Actually there was not enough place for us to sit at all. In those, we try to fit our heads into the single-portrait size frames!

Anyway, I wonder how it is like to stay in a Japanese temple just to learn a language. Would I ever stay in a Monastery in Abkhazia, just to learn Russian? Would it be fun? Well if it would be the Afon Monastery than it will be great silence, and with those sun sets great enthusiasm for writing!!! And very possibly a lot of touristic polution :(

They are saying this year 2 million toruists came to Abkhazia! 2 million! I only had 5 guests, three from Germany and 2 from Belarus and they would have come even if it were not to me! This is a good number and I wonder if it is better to do trade related to tourism than to be an academician? That was a joke! I like being an academician and by the way I had a conference last week, in Ankara. Well- no comment! And I have another one in Abkhazia next week- I have to get prepared!!!! And I have another one that I am one of the organizers at the end of october and I have to deal with my paper for that too. Well you see, I am back to academic life in full speed.. :D

What else should I say...

About my life in Abkhazia after I returned from the conference: First of all I came very comfortably this time. The “Russian Custom Controllers” that do now have uniforms, have greeted me with laughs, and gave me my passport back in a few seconds with everything complete with small jokes in mixed Turkish and Russian. Than I shared a taxi with an Abkhaz lady and an Abkhaz student from Turkey. Than it was late and there was no minibus to come to Sohum and we bargained with a Gagra minibus driver, the lady giving 1000 rubles and us 900 rubles. Too much! Will never ever come on wednesday if I can... By the way, did I wrote about the happy third ticket!!! Aeroflot don – the only firm that flies to Sochi, the nearest Russian airport to Abkhazia, had a campaign that you can buy the third return ticket (if you gave the first two, to the seller) for 205 Euros instead of 300 Euros or so... It is cheap! I was planing to take the ship from Trabzon but think about it, taking a bus to Trabzon for 15 hours from Istanbul or 10 hours from Ankara that costs around 50 dollars, taking a ship from Trabzon to Sochi for 50 (pulman- open seat) or 75 (shared compartment) dollars and spending at least a day or two in the ship because of weather conditions, and spending another on the way, spending at least 5 hours at Russian customs- because they are really happy to see you- the walking banks according to them- and than you have to take a bus for an hour to come to the Abkhazian border. Does it worth it? No way!!!! Ofcourse I came with the plane...

Anyway, after I came I did not do anyhting for a few days- still it was tiring for me. And the first days had to clean the house- what a mess! Has there been a disaster in the house? - And tidy, and wash things... and rest...and shop... and take photos- for you! (You can check them at the picasa web gallery)

Well, a few days after I came there was a rumor about kidnapped boys from Tkuarchal rayon. So many different things we heard... Now everything is clear- at least more clear... A group of young military soldiers were being trained near to the border in the mountains. They were resting when they were attacked by a group wearing black clothes and masks- georgian army special team they are told to be... killed the two teachers after torturing them, took 6 of the soldiers that were not wounded during their shooting show and went... It created the fear in the people- you may think. But not really. People are not aware at all, still the funeral of the two Russian soldiers/teachers attracted about a thousand people to Sohum. They were taken within Abkhazian flags and with hundreds of red roses carried by soldiers at the front...

Well that is a sad story... that is why I will cut it short...

Other than that I have received a piece of land from the Gudauta rayon administration! Well, we just wrote an application about a month ago and it was accepted. It is a land in a village near to the main road, 10 minutes from the Gudauta center, but a small village very near to the historical Lihni village. I can even start farming- but really it is not my but my mothers field of interest. She is a farmer in our village in Sakarya doing organic farming... Maybe she will come to suggest me what to do with the land!

Oh I was nearly forgetting!!!! I have started to attend the university caucasian dances group- Dioskuri- and it is going... lets say fine. Being a late new comer, who does not have any knowledge of the main steps, or any coreography, and does not know anyone who can teach her at extra hours, I am exiled to stay at a corner and follow whatever I can with my own ambition. Every monday, tuesday and thursday I will be there from now on. And next week my school is starting. Woah ;,(( I have not yet finished my homework... I have to study harder but I have pain in my eye and I think I should not even be here, infront of the computer. Maybe I should drink another tea to feel better....

All for now. Next time to write more about everything. (Ps: to see interesting fruits from the market- check the market gallery)

Photo Albums Available

2007-09-16T06:01:00.001-07:00

Many photo albums are available now at:

http://picasaweb.google.com.tr/abkhaziadiary
or click here

Selected available titles:

Abkhazian Women Clothing
Food & Restaurants
People
City, Streets & Buildings
Hare Krishna
Nature & Animals

The white-Abkhazian-cat:going to give birth soon!

2007-09-06T02:24:00.000-07:00

This is the national Abkhaz cat- I was told so-... it is completely white- single color eyes (not like van cats of Turkey), not deaf (as the Ankara cat is), needs to be protected!

the green eyed cat

2007-09-06T01:46:00.000-07:00

Information for future visitors of Abkhazia!!!!

2007-08-20T16:00:00.000-07:00

Information for future visitors of Abkhazia!!!!

2- Please check if a visa to enter Abkhazia is required for you according to the passport you have at the Ministry of Foriegn Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia's official website at :

www.mfaabkhazia.org

3- If you require a visa than please fill in the form at that page and send it to the ministry before your trip. Please consider you will have to pay 10 dolars for your visa at your arrival to Sohum otherwise you can not get your printed visa which is your ticket out! If you do not require a visa than enjoy your journey directly.

4- Please consider that Abkhazia's status is not recognized by any country officially (but people from all over the world recognize its independence-such as the UNPO members) and there is an ongoing embargo (still you can find anything you need). The borders are open but it is not very easy to pass because of the regulations and restrictions on both Georgian and Russian side.

5- If you will come from Adler-Psou, the Russian Border you can not leave the country from the Georgian border since you will be arrested by the Georgians and be charged 900 Euros and there is nothing we can do about that. If you require a visa for Russia than you MUST have a double entry visa to go back. The border is a little crowded in summer and autumn - since many people wants to come here for a cheap holiday and in autumn there is a trade of mandarin going on.Usually, Russians take their time in document checking since they want it to be as problematic as possible for the visitors so that they will not come again... Still last year, people from Germany, Spain, Denmark, Belgium, England, France and some other parts of the world came to Abkhazia.

6- If you will come from Georgia they say that you may have to wait for 2 weeks to get a permission which you may not receive at all. This is usually the answer when you ask if you can. I think the best way is to just go and pass the border but I do not want to be the one to suggest. The information I got is not trustable. But if you manage to get it than you may go back from the same border or through Psou to Russia if you have a suitable Russian visa. Sorry but Russians do not issue a visa at the border and there is no consulate in Abkhazia. If you go back to Georgia, it is possible that you may be questioned informally on your purposes of visit but it is not usually very problematic as far as I heard!

7- I know it seems too much trouble to take. But I think it will worth it!!!! Ask the people who have already come!!! We have the greatest nature, best sea, interesting traditional cousine, the Ritza lake region for mountaineers and people who love trekking and camping in the mountains (snowboarders came to Abkhazia just recently), religious monuments such as the 300 year old church, or the monastry, a great history that we know little about- the dolmens that belongs to an old past, the castles of hundreds of years, the exiled Abkhazians of the Tsarist period and their distinct Caucasian culture still living in the modern world, the Soviet heritage- we are all one and equal- you can still see the same piece of Muhina glass in every house, the Abkhazian-Goergian war of the 1990s- with its monuments and loss in every family and its remains in every corner, the transition period with its "capitals"- the market that has it all....

8- One last thing you should remember, when Abkhazia will be recognized officially you will have a chance to say: I was there before it was even recognized! I felt their belief in independence! I lived their independence within their borders! I knew it! And I supported it!!!!

And this is the end of the 14th August Memorial Day...

2007-08-20T15:55:00.001-07:00

With three Abkhazian friends under the map they made with cloth pieces!

And we were on TV in the evening...

2007-08-20T15:47:00.000-07:00

The youth organization was invited to the official National Abkhazian TV and so we were... I made a short speech in Abkhazian, having a look at a paper for the things I forget but it was all in Abkhazian and I thinked much better than talking in Turkish and having it translated. Now all will remember- she knew little but she talked big! Not something like - you do not speak my language, who are you to talk here- or worse, you tell us to not to speak in Russian and bossing us, and now you come on tv and talk in Turkish, puh! That was a little quarrel with the other girls from Turkey. I mean they knew much better Abkhazian than me, but since Abkhaz youth preferred to talk in Russian they preferred to talk in Turkish! Which I a little hardly and bossy rejected! I sometimes behave too much- but only for things I believe!!! And I believed it was worth reading or making mistakes in Abkhazian!!! They say I was fine... Which is good!!! And these are the youth watching the alive show- afterwards!

And than flags met at the red bridge...

2007-08-20T15:41:00.000-07:00

And than flags met at the red bridge...Half coming from the Georgian border, the others from the Russian border...
There were Abkhaz from Abkhazia, Turkey, Moscow and other parts of Russia, an Adyg, a Migrelian (Megrel), Armenian... in the group and among the flag holders!!!

And the next morning we marched to the red bridge where the war started!!!

2007-08-20T15:32:00.001-07:00

And the next morning we marched to the red bridge where the war started!!! And we three young girls from Turkey, one Adyg and two Abkhazian, carried an Abkhazia flag at the front...

And than a car came by...

2007-08-20T15:21:00.001-07:00

With a special plaka written Apsyni. And one Abkhazian and one Adygeyan flag hanged on it!!!Ah my Adyg blood boiled up ofcourse! I ran and meet them but they were Abkhazians who had Adyg friends...

From the camp... at Machara

2007-08-20T15:14:00.001-07:00

And came the 14th of August! The Memorial Day of the War!!!

2007-08-20T15:08:00.001-07:00

And came the 14th of August! The Memorial Day of the War!!!
It is the starting day of the war... And this is at the camp by the Abkhazian youth at the entrance of Sohum city, where the war started, and they marched from both borders to Sohum with flags and flowers for as much graveyard of war martyr...

Gypsies!!!

2007-08-20T15:04:00.001-07:00

There are many of them in Abkazia... but this is my first eye contact with one... She holds a bird in the hand that takes out your fortune from the bottle!!! Wanna try???

When the group from Turkey came...

2007-08-20T14:56:00.001-07:00

We saw how an average income buffet owner can give away what she has to her guests without a second thought!!! She cut the melons she should be selling when she learned we were Adyg and Abkhaz from Turkey!!!!

This is really Abkhazia!!!

2007-08-20T14:53:00.001-07:00

You see we even have sea parachute! Or whatever it is called!!!!

A long late post....

2007-08-20T14:33:00.000-07:00

It has been so long... It feels like months... Do not know where to start... Maybe from the last thing: I got my first HC visitors and it was great! Except that I somehow got ill and was in bed for two days. But I am recovering...

And thanks to a friend coming from Turkey I did not get too bored during this period. Because she brought the book I had ordered months ago! The 7th book of Harry Potter! It was hard to leave it when I had to run to the bathroom, or when I could not read because of the pain in my stomach, or when I had to sleep because of my fever but still I managed to finish it in these two days... It was great...

Well, it has been holiday for nearly two months and I spend about a month of this period in Turkey. The first was just after the first year exams- from Russian I got a 4 and from Abkhazian a 5 out of 5- and I went there basically for the wedding of my old friend from the university preparation course, a soul twin. Maybe I already wrote about that... And the second time I went just after 3 weeks for the wedding of my cousin, which was cute, and a circassian family friend's, which I could catch only the last dance to close it up since they were the same day; and the wedding of my Circassian friends from London- which I missed due to a hurt ankle. And, I voted at the national elections in Turkey, for the independent politician- I mean who would support a party if each is worse than the other....

Fortunately, my aunt was there too and it was great to see her sometimes I feel we have so much in common, and she really knows to listen to others- though only if she wants. Well, I should learn a little from her!!!

Before I leave friends came from Turkey. A group of young people, as part of an exchange program, and I had a friend among them. We hanged around with them for some time and I hosted the young girls one night. What a crowded house it has been...

When I arrived there was another group- the Circassian Friendship Club from Turkey. More than a month I did not talk in Abkhazian at all. And I forget it all! In a month! How can this be? Well how did I forget my Adygeyan? Though I hope it will come back when I improve my Abkhazian to a better level, it is gone for now... Russian? It survives somehow, but I did not study at all... I did not do any of my summer homeworks. Well I started but not at a good point to complete them in due time. On the first of September the university opens- and I am a bad student! I should be studying now!!!!

About my house a little, it turned out to be too noisy: with the butka next door that plays music till late night, and cars and trucks going crazily fast all day and night, and drunks singing in the streets till morning... I can not have a rest in this house! I still do not have an oven- can not cook but make tea with a spiral water heater... And it is good to eat fruits and salad and yogurt in summer....The house is not just noisy but it is also getting dirty very easily because of all these cars... I sometimes feel the things I wash up do not smell clean just because I have to hang them on the balcony which looks to the road. I clean, I wash, I wash the dishes-that I do not understand how I make so many dirty things in such a short time; I tidy- I mean one room house is a trouble. You do not have a space to be untidy!!!!

What else about me? I went to a repatriants house the weekend before. It was good talking and good experience and good study. I have to start doing something about my phd... At least to form a proposal...

And my young repatriant friend, Yeliz who have graduated from the Abkhazian Language and Literature Department here, turned out to be a better teacher than my writer friend Hayri since she can concentrate on the thing we do and she forced me to study a little more when I wanted to run away.

And we spend some time talking with another friend Shaika who has a possibility to go to my university this year... Otherwise she will be in Istanbul for her education!

Well, well... A lot has happened and have to choose the things that come to my mind... I made some interviews and wrote some pieces to the Jineps newspaper in Turkey.

I already wrote my article for the ESCAS conference to be held in Ankara next month. We have a panel there... About the Caucasus.... Come along if you will be around. 15th September, afternoon section...

I am working on another for the Abhaz-Adyg institutes' international ethnography conference in October about the Naming traditions among the Adyg-Abhaz diaspora in Turkey.

And we have organized a workshop as the Circassian Academia, our group for so long, that will take at the end of October in Abkhazia!!! Well, i am happy that I suggested it should be here since it will be great experience for all young academicians and a good support for Abkhazia, and I think I love to host people!!!!

By the way another group came from Turkey which is young and dynamic and I have some friends among them but I do not feel like talking in Turkish anymore. So I little avoided them- and I was ill... So maybe I should go and see what they are up to now. Oh and I need to take the books for the library that they brought...

I will try to keep up-to-date as I have been trying for so long....

Today I wrote a letter to the friend that wrote me 2,5 months ago to learn about my life in Abkhazia- who I had responded as, I will write you back in a few days!!! So I am better in updating my blog!!!

And, last minute news:

*Met my friend Saide from Maykop. A good talk about Adyg-Abkhaz life in the Caucasus!!! Should write that article soon!!!

**my idil- cousin- went to Japan for a summer school!!!! Cool. I misss her....

I admire:

2007-07-21T17:15:00.000-07:00

I admire people who have time to do all the things they wish to do!
I admire people who travel when they wish to!
I admire people who take lots of pictures and find time to take a good look in all!
I admire people who update their blogs everyday or very frequently!
I admire the ones who can write all their ideas in a short time!
I admire those who turn their writings into some kind of sharable text!
I admire those, more, who publish their writings!
I admire journalists who can create news everyday!
I admire writers who write all ideas and dreams on their minds!
I admire those, more, who can edit the photos they took!
I admire all anthropologists who observe and write notes to not to forget!
I admire those anthropologists who make academic publications even more!
I admire those, who spend each day more time, to love those that they love!
I admire those who read lots of books!
I admire the readers who can buy first copies of the books they wish to read!
I admire people who watch all new movies of their interests!
I really very much admire people, who can do all these and still find time to sleep, to swim or do other sports, go to purposeless walks, watch documentary films on tv, eat good food, cook good food.... Who can live as they wish are the ones I really admire!!!

Market place-2

2007-06-28T14:27:00.000-07:00

The cheese court! Does not seem very hygienic, though, really delicious!!!

The market place....

2007-06-28T14:25:00.000-07:00

My flat!!!

2007-06-28T14:24:00.000-07:00

The first pics from my flat! Now looks more like a place to live. Pics soon to come!!!

2007-06-28T14:01:00.000-07:00

I had guests from Adygeya last month!
The two interesting people I know from Maikop!
The first is Beroko Memet- repatriant from Adapazari, living in Maikop for over 15 years. He is a driever and he is an interesting fellaw!
Sabahat, is originally living in Lozan. Aged 74- living her early youth as a character. She travels around the world, but every year once or twice stays in her appartment in Maikop. This time she came to Abkhazia with Beroko for a day, to see me and other young friends she had during the Abaza Congress....

2007-06-28T13:57:00.000-07:00

Some people do not need to share a full talk to communicate! Asta is one of those! She is also writing a phd dissertation. She is a geographer! She is a researcher. She is someone that I will share a lot more in time!!! She is the future leading social scientist in Abkhazia!!!

2007-06-28T13:44:00.000-07:00

Me, Selin and Yeliz... The day before Yeliz graduated from the Abkhazian Literature department!!! She is a repatriat that will have a great role at her homelands future formations!!!

2007-06-28T13:43:00.000-07:00

My Russian language teacher, Vasili Ivanovich, and my only classmate at prep school- Selin!
Mr. Vasili Ivanovich is a great example of how ethnicly non-Abkhazians can be Abkhazian nationalists!!! Like me as an Adyg being one :D

2007-06-28T13:40:00.000-07:00

Taking a passport (renewing) is a lot of bureacracy in Abkhazia. Most of the population did not yet received a passport. After a long waiting, and receiveng the information that her passport is ready, Lisa and I went to Ochamchira to take her passport. Altough, her aunt was working at the office, and she had submitted full documents for sure, she had to arrange some photocopy that was missing from his file.... However, as we went out for xerox, electric cut off and we had to wait for about an hour for a single copy.
In the end when she got it, she was so happy that she was the first to receive her passport among her sisters...

2007-06-28T13:27:00.000-07:00

Kecba Alhas! The young dancer of the Aphaz Dance school! He is a real talent! and always fun...

2007-06-28T13:23:00.000-07:00

My frend Max, his little Bagrat and wife. The future faces of Abkhazia.
Max is the Vice Minister of Foriegn Affairs of Abkhazia...
Bagrat will be the open-minded generation grown up under a democratic rule thanks to people like his father...

The language

2007-05-09T03:32:00.000-07:00

Abkhazians in Abkhazia use as their daily language, Abkhazian. The girls that I stay with talk - esp. when I am not around asking questions- in abkhazian. They make jokes, gossip, argue and even see their dreams in abkhazian. I am sure of that because they can not find in Russian dreams dictionaries what they have seen or talked or done....
This is really important since Abkhazian is one of those languages that has come to distinction....
In the outside world I try to catch pieces of conversations. In the bazaar (market) for ex. if both sides of a conversation are Abkhaz they ussually greet in Russian and continue with Abkhazian. Ofcourse the numbers come in Russian since most take basic mathematics in school- in Russian language.
In the university, my lectures go fine since our teachers try hard to not to mix our minds. I have started to respond many questions asked to me in Abkhazian besides I am even capable of giving a toast speech in Russian and reading a poem or singing a song in Abkhazian...
The arguments about the alphabet, whether it should be kept cyrillic or changed to latin is also in question here too. (It is argued in the diaspora too!!!)
By the way, there is a funny Abkhazian rap song!!! Abkhazians do not only make classical or ethnic music in Abkhazian but also pop, rap and children songs....That is another hope for the language...
All about the language issue for now. I still could not find a place so it is boring to write in corners of internet cafes... I hope to add more titles on religion, the city of sokhum, the market and bagrat sinkuba- the famous writer who is jubilee for the 90th birthday is currently taking place... as soon as possible...

It should have been a diary!!!

2007-05-09T03:25:00.000-07:00

Who said it is not??? I just do not write everyday. I had one of those periods of wishing to do nothing!!! I just feel not like writing...
The basic reason for this is the overload of information. Everything new... everyone new... a completely new life... If I wanna be a good anthropologist than I should be writing more and more each day... But I just do not feel like doing that... What do other ant.s do at such times???

Hotel/Guesthouse or as the title says: Holiday Home Abkhazia

2007-03-31T07:51:00.000-07:00

Sohum Basketball Girls Team at practice

2007-03-31T07:48:00.000-07:00

An average table for the `guest`

2007-03-31T07:45:00.000-07:00

With neighbors at the appartment of Liza Kutarba... (Second from left)

2007-03-31T07:41:00.000-07:00

Day6-27.03.2007

2007-03-31T07:36:00.001-07:00

Today at last I managed to take the helath report from the policlinic. Well we woke up hard this morning since we sat late at night looking at photos at my computer with the girls and after we talked (do not ask how) with Liza. Sometimes girls do not need same words to communciate- I really can understand her. This is also due to her character- she finds a way to explains herself.
In the morning it was so cold that we were freezing and it was very hard to get up. Anyway we went to the policlinic about 9:30 and we waited for her friend and after she decided not to anymore and applied officially. 150 Rubles for the report. Waited for the signs and that is all, nobody take a look at me. I have not seen "a" doctor. Just as it would be in Turkey.
After I thought I was lae for class and went to demographia. Erkan was not there and I sat and studied Abkhazian. Than Selin called me to say that the teacher decided to make an extra hour so I should come to the university. I hardly found a marshrutka (minibus) to go.
The teacher was kind and she made me read the alphabet and find some sounds such as the "p" and "p," sounds problematic. She made me read many things and told me to write somethings and study well for the things.
We had some kind of "milfoy acapuri" (bцrek) at the corner of telecom. 3 acapuri, pepsi for Selin and juice (sok) for me for 80 Rubles. Also we had some kind of desert that I liked from Adygeya called Kartoska. Selin bought them since I wanted but she could not eat.
Than I went to the hotel and had a bath. After I went to Demographia and met with Selin and Yeliz for a few minutes. (Yeliz- sister of Erdoрan that I had met before). Than went to the university with Erkan and did my registration by giving my papers to Tamara. Tomorrow, Erkan will call the rector and it will be complete. Than we met Sinejan and went to Selin's house to study English. She is really ambitious to learn English. Than we came back home with Liza at 7:30. We had Abista and Akut and ofcourse Cheese!.. I ate so much!!! And after Saide (Saya), the updoor neighbour called us and it appeared that she asked us for dinner. Oh, I had never eaten so much and she made me drink Champein. It was a nice one but half a bottle is too much with all that food!!! At least we could understand each other much more. Vadik- another neigbour and his father was also there. I slept feeling a little dizzy....

Day 5-26.03.2007

2007-03-31T07:35:00.000-07:00

I waited for Liza to wake up and get ready since she did not let me to leave alone and I was late to go with other girls. Anyway, she came to the city with me and I went to hotel and take a shower and came back for the Policlinic at 12:00 and when we went there they told us to come the other day!!! Зerkes saati= Circassian timing....
Than I met with Selin to take her Abkhazian notebook but since we decided to study English with Sinejan in her house, I left my bag there and went to the ministry. Timur had dropped by the internet cafe and asked for me. I went there and thanked him for the phone he borrowed me and returned it. Than had a walk araound the city under the rain. It was great. That green sea, and the clean air... I did not have my camera with me since I had left my bag at Selin's. Than I had Achapuri and tea at Narther- where we had been before... Well since it is an open air restaurant with small bugonvilles it was a little cold.
At Selin's ofcourse we chatted rather than study. Than I had to leave to the internet cafe to go to Liza's.
In the evening we had akut and looked at the photos with their neigbour Saida.

Day 4

2007-03-31T07:34:00.002-07:00

I love Sundays! Because the next day is Monday which is when all will get solved- all will be working and I will be a student at the university!!! (I hope) Today I came to Kutarba's since I had promised. All morning I was at the hotel dancing and thinking. The weather was not so good so I did not go out. Ate my bananas and a little piece of cheese I could break since I did not have a knife and the dentist has forbidden to bite hard things because of my bracelets. Met with Liza about midday.
She was at a relatives house (Manana Kutarba-Khasba's) and was baking a tort. I sat and drank coffee, juice and ate pieces of her tort. The view from the balcony was incredible. It is a really old appartment with all those details and beatiful style. Just at the centre of the city. Milada and Davur the children were so lovely, smiling to me all the time...
After we took a marsrutka to Liza's house. It is a 5 room house. The room at the enterance is not included- that is the living room that opens to three places- one kitchen, one to the hall that has the bathroom, toilet and a room; and the dining room that opens to three rooms.
Their father was very angry to me when he learned that I will rent a place. He hold my ear, showed me a fist, told me I was his 8th daughter, told her girls to take my passport and than I would have to stay here, told it was too expensive to pay 80 dolars for a house where there is only a single room and no hot water.... They sincerely asked me to stay in their place.
Than their neighbour Saida, who is married to a returnee and who lived in Turkey for some years came. She spoke Turkish and she was so kind and so close- asked me to come to stay at their place (upstairs). She said I could never earn 80 dolars a month to give to a house- that it was too expensive... What will I do????...

Day 3-24.03.2007

2007-03-31T07:34:00.001-07:00

I again woke up early. Had the courage to have a shower this morning. Walk around the halls for the showers. Find it at the other corridor. Seemed clean. Had place to hang clothes and towels. Had a lock both at the main door and inside door. Took my things and went there. The water was cold for ten minutes and I was nearly going to cry but than first drops of hot water made the freezing water warmer. Than warmer and really hot. I had to wash my head with the soap I brought from Turkey since I had forgotten to take a shampoo with me. Still I feel like I need to scratch my head.
Anyway, after the shower I felt better but I still had those question marks going around my head. Should I take the flat for 2000 Rubles. Does it worth? What if two days later they tell me a better place for the same prize. Mixed up... Thinking about the facilities I may need. Internet will be a problem with a shared phone. I asked about the satellite net to Tugcan. He told me it cost 500 Dollars to build and have to pay 50 dollars every month. No thanks man! It is too much!!!
Later today Sinejan told me it is even slower than internet cafe connection which is dial up and really slow. Well, have to consider this detail deeply. Maybe would be best to connect from an internet cafe and I may have a separate line that I will not need to wait in the row and I may connect from my own computer. Should talk to Liza with the help of someone. Of course this means no internet after 5 o'clock in winter since there is no transportation and there is no single person in the streets after dark.
I dropped by to see Liza and tried to update the blog my diary. www.abkhaziadiary.blogspot.com. I copied the file maybe a hundred times but when I published it, it disappeared. I could not understand really why. I should write to my brother about that...
Than we met with Sinem and went to the sport centre where they played basketball with Sinejan and others. I realized I did not played basketball for 7 years. The ball seemed so strange and heavy and when I could not stop myself from playing without warm up I felt incredible pain in my arm and back. Still had some at the evening.
After we walked and Sinem went to an internet cafe and we talked with Sinejan about the English exam she will have next week and I promised to help her study. We went to a small market and I bought banana (kg-50 rubles) and smoked cheese (kg 170 rubles).
We met some returnees on the way and we sat with them. Everybody told the stories of a haunted house that one returnee owns. During the war the night they got back Sohum they get to this house where a Georgian woman whose son had died was living. The next morning the Georgians left Sohum and the house was left to them. As days passed interesting and unexplainable things had started to happen to each of them. They felt there was someone at the house. Fighting with them at their sleeping, woke them up, walk or run at the upstairs or all through the house when they were all downstairs together. I first thought it was the psychology of the war but they said they showed a video recording of something white and really fast moving in the house to all their friends that did not believed them back than... However, the recording was lost a week later... Interesting.... Was a good start for my research on Witch and Haunted believes of Abkhaz groups. However, it was getting dark and cold so we had to change our place to a closed restaurant.
We went to Pitztza and ate pizza. The talk started to turn on me after a while. They asked me if I was an agent- I said it would have been fun but no I am not. I think this is our destiny- I mean the academicians. And I think it is because all those academicians who play on both sides and do not do something because they wonder but because they have to.
By the way, though I had all the time rejected to be action oriented in field research I feel like my perception on this issue is starting to change. Will it be a problem? Will that effect my perception and approach to the issue. I feel the work I may do could do some real help to the people and Abkhazia...

Day 2-23.03.2007

2007-03-31T07:33:00.000-07:00

I woke up at 8:00 though I slept late. It is interesting to see how places change habits. In Istanbul I had lost controll of my life and would sleep in the morning and could not wake up before somebody woke me up. Here, I cannot sleep till midnight, but i wake up early in the morning. I hope this will not change after Sunday when they will arrange the hours according to the summertime.
Last night I misunderstood Liza when she called me by the phone at the hotel. I thought she asked me if I would like to go totheir village Kutol till Sunday this evening but she had said "utra" which i realised was "morning". I also had promised to be in Demographia for registration to the university at 10. Liza arrived at 8:30, and I had to say her I cannot come. Than she left, and I left for Demographia, again having a coffee with Maxim at the Ministry before that. They wrote me a paper saying I am the guest of Demographia and that they will pay for my stay at the hotel. I took back my passport from the hotel and took it to Demographia. They told me I should go to check up at the hospital at 2:30.
Erkan showed me the way to the restaurant opened by returnees from Turkey- called Antalya. I had Turkish Pide with Cheese and Sok (Juice) for 140 Rubles. The Juice is half a litre- not only a single glass.
Just as I was leaving I heard some guys talking in Turkish. Met Erdoрan and Turgut. They deal with some construction works. Erdoрan is living with his family and they returned a while ago. He has 2 girl sisters- Yeliz, an English Teacher and Filiz is a student of Abhaz language. Turgut is a new returnee- originally from Bilecik and he does not want to return back to Turkey. He said he wants to die here...
Than I met Okan, from Hendek. Came here during the war, saw his two borthers die, left Abkhazia for 6 years; but returned recently back to Abkhazia. Also I met Kavkaz, who blaimed his granny for giving him such a name that he has to carry so much responsibility. (Considering the paper I wrote about name giving traditions in Abkhaz and Adyge communities in Adpazarэ-Dьzce region he would have been a good example.)
I left for the hospital but when I arrived to Demographia I learned that the hospital was off on Friday afternoon. Registration was left to Monday... Wished I had gone to Kutol. However Liza had also returned from Kutol because she had to do somethings. She asked me to her house again but I said later. Anyway, together with Liza we went to see a flat that belonged to somebody Okan knew. They asked for 3000 Rubles. Top floor, single room, nice view, little balcony, new fridge, tv, no hot water (and maybe no water- i did not get that very clear) but promised to build the water pipes and I could get a heater for myself. All payments included at the rent- electricity, water, taxes, etc... Floor wooden (clean), wallpapered (not bad) and an average door (would be safe э guess because we could not even open it from inside). Said I will think.
At the internet cafe where Liza worked we came across another relative of Hayri who too us to Eteri- another close relative. Eteri showed me a flat in her appartment. 2000 Rubles for a room with bed, table, broken tv that will be repaired soon, working fridge and heater, all things that I may need. There is water but no heater so Eteri told me I can use her place to wash. This house seems safer since you enter one hall and than on the right the tenders house and left mine. Disadvantage: telephone will be shared- wonder if I can take another line?...
Later that day, I met with Gkecpha Selin and Sinejan. Selin came to study here 4 months ago. She has build her life, she had a housemate Jansel but since Jansel had to leave she lives alone. Everybody repeats to me that I should stay with her but I do not want to destroy her life, also that way we can never improve our languages. We will communicate in Turkish and all year goes to rubbish!
Anyway with them we had a dinner- hachapuri and tea- 50 Rubles each! I also met Tuрcan, another returnee here for about 8 months now. Sinejan is the daughter of a returnee family and is in Abkhazia for 4-5 years. After dinner they left me to the hotel. It was nice time we had but they told me I can find very good places for 2000 Rubles and now I have a question mark. Should I take the place or not hurry????

Sorry...

2007-03-31T07:31:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the styles, and problems but first of all the telecommunications technology is not much developed in Abkhazia, and second i am not very much used to the russian computer language :)))

The real Day 1- 22.03.2007

2007-03-31T07:30:00.000-07:00

I thought I slept too much. I was wrong! It was only 8 o'clock when I woke up. I spent some time to tidy my stuff and more important my mind. Took some pictures of my room and the view from the balcony. Locked my computer in by luggage- incase... Got ready and left "Holiday House Abkhazia" at 9. Went out and walked through the town. Made a call to my mom- she was still asleep, or she did not answer since the numbers are not visible. I called Kutarba Hayri Ersoy, my collegue and consultant. He was so worried about my trip to Abkhazia that i did not have time to worry for myself. Later during the day, I learned he called everyone till morning since my Turkish line didnot work after I entered Abkhazia (nobody knows why) and he was really worried.
I said hi to Maxim and others at the Ministry of Foriegn Affairs while I passed by the parliamnet building. They were so sincere in their manners that I felt I have done right to come. They made me feel I belong here... I felt really shame when Maxim told me they are fasting (oruз) at the moment for 40 days till the Eastern. He told it when I gave him a box of chocolate. I felt so uncomfortable, but he was very kind and he wanted to reject the choclate. I told him to distribute it to his friends though later I wondered if they were all the same... Cultural differences- most important differences come with religion and religous beliefs.
After that I just dropped by to see Kutarpha Liza, but her sister was there instead. We hardly communicated with her but she hugged me and kissed me many times...
I arrived at the Ministry for Repatrition (Demographia as the returnees call it) at about 11. Kutarba Erkan, the vice president and a returnee met me there and took me to the University to become a prep student and study Abkhazian and Russian. However, the office was closed. We returned back to the Demographia. While I was waiting there all the girls working at the offices remembered me from the Congress time, many of them hugged me and show their happiness for my "return to the homeland". As we wait time passed and I started to wonder when the lunch break was since I only had a cup of coffee all day. At about 2:30 the girls at the office asked me if I would like to have a cup of tea with them. That was a very interesting combination of food at the table. Turюu (???), a kind of Sэzbal-Salad (Pancar Ezmesi), cheese, bread and of course ajuka. It was the greatest breakfast I had for days since I was so hungry. After, we went to the university one more time. This time we met the president and she said we need to register and she asked for health report, diplom, passport, 6 photographs. After I may start my classes, 2 days Russian and 2 days Abkhazian.
Later, I left and had a walk back to the Ministry from Demographia to meet Temur who we had also met during the Congress and had been in touch. Since his brother (cousin) was getting married he had a day off but when I called him he was very kind to meet me and spend a few hours with me. While I was waiting for him, I met Kuchba Ali- my Apsua Koshara teacher from Ankara who was doing some investment in his homeland. He insisted I should not stay alone since it may not be safe. I was a little uncomfortable with him insisting like that. I am still not very sure about this issue. Anyway, Temur than took me to buy a phone number. However, one of the two firms- aquaphone- asked for 50 dolars for the line that can be called internationally. The other one-amobile was 250 Rubles (1/5 percent of the other). Unfourtunately, since his sister was working in aquaphone she would arrange us taking it without passport. So with a-mobile we passed the street to see if Kutarba Liza was at the internet cafe she works, to ask her this favor. Her sister responded they have already bought a line for me and that they will give it to me next day. I met Kopsirgen Fэrat at the cafe. He is also a returnee from Turkey, married to local girl. He told me his wife speaks Turkish and that insisted I should be their guest.I found the right response to all those invitations: "I want to build a life here. If I will be your guest, nobody will help me to find a place of my own. Than it will not be my life, I will only be a tourist. Please let me find a place to rent. Than I will frequently be your guest." After he left, Liza's sister was very angry, as far as I understand becuase they wanted to take me to their place and that if I will go somewhere it should be their house. They met me long before and ask me to come to their place when I came in December.
Temur was very kind in giving me his second number and phone for the night. I may say I felt a little more comfortable, but thats not true because I started to think about the negative things when everybody told me it is not good to stay alone, in a hotel, etc. Than I realised, it was not the real danger that made them talk like that- it was part of the culture- they would feel guilty if they didn't show their hospitality. So I watched some parts of "Dark Angel" series to relax my mind and I slept a little late. By the way we just had Turkish coffee again and I bought a pack of biscuits for the night. Loved it but couldn't eat much of it. "Wada nigazarovannaya" (Still water) was also available at the shop so I may say I was lucky.

Day 1_ 21.03.2007

2007-03-31T07:29:00.000-07:00

I wished it for so long... I wished to come to the Caucasus. I wished to come and study Circassian, imporve my Russian. I have already written a thesis about the North West Caucasus. But I knew the day I sat foot in the lands, where the grandparents of my grandparents, and relatives of so many people I knew were forced to leave, I knew that I belong to these lands... I left to come back as soon as possible. That was at the end of 2005. It does not seem to long when you count it. I came to see Abkhazia, exactly 1 year after I left Adygeya. The feeling was same. This time, I was not alone. There were 150 people with me at the airport who had come for the World Abhaz-Abazin Congress, many of which were living their first "homeland-motherland-fatherland" experience and a considerable amount had some kind of connection to the life here due to frequent visits.
I decided the first day, if I could, I should come to Abkhazia. I had many reasosn for this. For example, Sohum is more beautiful than the somewhat "urbanized" Maikop- though I could never put aside the beatiful days I lived there and it was much better than any town I had been to until than. Still, Maikop lacked the sincerety of Sohum. Sohum, had lived a war where most of the city was destroyed and the wounds did not yet fully covered from this experience. It is possible to see torn out buildings, holes in the walls, completely broken down houses and an unrenewed infrastructure all over the town. However, this does not make you feel a stranger to the realities of this city. Though the war is not forgotten and a young Abhazian reminded me that the smiles on the faces of the people was only for us-the exiled siblings, it was great to meet all those people who hugged you the first minute you met and invited you to come back to the homeland. Another reasons was I felt like I could be some use to the people of Abkhazia. I could help for the construction of the "social knowledge" infrastructure. I could do necessary impact assessment research for the development projects of the country. I could say at the Russian Language course "Abkhazia, eta maya strana". They appreciated the work I have done and told me I could be of use if I came.
They made me feel, I could do it. And here I am. In Sohum. After waiting for so long... I decided at the last minute to come with the plane. We were late at the airport. Last one to Check in and the contuar closed. They wrote my name wrong on the boarding card and changed it with complaints. The police at the passport controll accepted my paper saying I will attend a language course in the Russian Federation- though not there I will attend a Russian and Abkhazian language course soon. At the plane I realized I did not open my phone the international roaming- bad timing. Tried till the planed moved and manged to turn it on- it was as simple as dialing *131#. The girl sitting infront of me was very kind in arranging her seat in such a way that I could hardly breath. Who cared... The red wine and the mixed luch of cheese, salami and pasta was fine. I rushed to the door and than to the passport conttrol, which was of no use since a group of girls kicked me and passed me. After all, the passport controller asked me questions in Russian, and took my passport, leaving her place to ask some questions to her chief, and I had to wait for about 15 minutes at the first check. Than came the second check, I do not know why. This time it took about 5 minutes. Than they told we could take our luggage and I was again kicked by some ladies carrying 20 bags out. Than a policeman checked if we took our own bags... Than we had to wait for the customs check line. The girl sitting infront of me and her boyfriend kicked me to the side and passed infront of me. I saw them putting some rubles among their passports. I think the police find it too little since they kept them for some time. And they did not even look at my passport or bags, not even to my face. Just made a hand moment saying me to leave. I was so happy and I rushed to the door, and than to the exit. "Stop" said a policeman at the last door. "Passport" he said, showing another control personnel. Had to walk back, and give my passport and the guy, who had asked me to marry him when I came in December, told me I have to have a transit stamp and I have to wait till everyone leaves to take it since I have to return to the first desk! Bureacuracy!!!
Fortunatlely, Akuzba Yavuz was there to take me to Sohum. I told him and he said there is no need. When he said so, they said "if you are sure they won't ask at the Psou Customs..." he said yes and we left... And there was no need!.. Anyway, when we arrived to the Psou police controll, it was their dinner time and we had to wait for about 20 minutes. Than they let us in. Another, passport controll but this time to leave the Russian Federation. You have to walk through the bridge over the River Psou with your bags and we did. And we were in Abkhazia, and the Abkhazian customs checked our passports too: and we were in Abkhazia!!!
Than we came to Sohum in about an hour. They brought me to a hotel Abhazia- where they told me I could stay for a night with payment, and after they will give me a paper from the demographia and I may stay for free for a month.
Than we went to a restaurant to catch the last minutes of the dinner in honour of .... Soner, the new parlimantarian (choosen by the people of Abkhazia on 18 March 2007 elections) who is a returnee from Turkey. Did not stay too long and they brought me back to my hotel. And this time I had a good look around my room. It was not the best, neither the wors. I had seen worse conditions among my friends who were students in small towns of Turkey. Also, this was to change soon when I found a house for rent. The only annoying thing seem to be the voice of water splitting from the broken tub. I put a plastic piece under the splitting part and there was no more "shirrr" sound. Some kind of a truck passed seconds ago- making a lot of noise, but after Baрdat Street where I stayed at my grandpa's house the last six months it was nothing.
The phone doesn't work here though it did at the customs. I do not know why... I will anyhow have a local line tomorrow.
The electric heater makes the room warmer and it is not really cold. But I feel it is time to sleep now, since it has already been the second day. :)