 | Michael Wray September 19, 2023 |
A PERFECT TURKISH MOMENT
WHY TURKEY? Whenever I visit my homeland, Canada, I inevitably get asked what’s so special about Turkey that I was willing to leave my family and friends and a country that ranks 14th on the list of happiest countries in the world. I explain the great appeal for me of living in a country with such an incredibly…
|
| Michael Wray May 1, 2023 |
AFTERMATH
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back At the dawn of 2023, I was feeling that things in the world had been showing signs of improvement. First and foremost, at great sacrifice to its people and infrastructure, Ukraine had managed to repel the invading Russians from its heartland and seemed poised to launch an effective counter-offensive to its east…
|
| Michael Wray February 6, 2023 |
Earthquake in Turkey, February 6th, 2023
Not Again! In Turkey the Unthinkable has happened again – a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook the southeastern part of the country and Northern Syria at 4:17 a.m. last night, leaving more than 60,000 dead at the latest count. It is the strongest earthquake to have hit the country since 1999 when almost 20,000 people lost their lives…
|
| Michael Wray December 10, 2022 |
Winter In Istanbul
It Sure Beats My Hometown This year marks the 28th winter that I’ll be spending in Istanbul, and after growing up in a small town in Northern Ontario, I couldn’t be happier. Today is December 10 and it’s a balmy 18 degrees with gray skies and a high probability of rain. Compare that to my hometown of Sault…
|
| Michael Wray October 8, 2022 |
YOU CAN NEVER GO HOME AGAIN
Really? Never? I’ve spent the past couple of months processing my trip home to Canada this summer and have mixed feelings about the title of Thomas Wolfe’s posthumously published final novel. On the one hand, I love my adopted country, Turkey, and can’t imagine going back to live in my homeland. On the other, when I do…
|
| Michael Wray April 5, 2022 |
A long and Winding Road
A Most Consequential Meeting The main theme of Milan Kundera’s book, Life is Elsewhere, is the notion that the grass is always greener on the other side of the street. That is, that we might be happier someplace else instead of the place we actually are. I live in İstanbul but the circumstances around how I came to…
|
| Michael Wray December 14, 2021 |
THE BLAHS
LIFE IS ELSEWHERE One definition of existentialism is that it’s a loathing of repetition. This has stuck with me over the years, as I’ve tried over and over again to prove that the grass IS actually greener on the other side of the fence. Thus, I started out on one path in university before taking a four-year break…