The photos from top are:

- Protest site Abdi Ipecki Park. The statue depicts the hands of a worker, the sculptor who made the work in the 1970s, has visited the site and given TAYAD his support.

- This poster shows the 122 people who have died in death fasts and asks - how many more have to die?

- TAYAD activists Semiha, Aysu & Denis.

article below from Green Left Weekly www.greenleft.org.au

Turkish activists demand "End isolation! Close the F-type prisons"

Since 1982 122 people have given their lives in a struggle for the human rights of political prisoners in Turkey in unlimited hunger strikes, known as death fasts. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the formation of TAYAD (Association of Solidarity with the Families of Prisoners) whose members continue to work heroically inside and outside Turkey to draw attention to the struggle of their sons, daughters and friends. TAYAD's history goes back to the 1980 military coup when thousands of revolutionaries and progressives were thrown into Turkish jails. Attempting to crush prisoner organisation, the military junta introduced the practice of isolation or solitary confinement. Death fasts became the only form of resistance left to the prisoners. In 2000 this resistance became widespread with 840 prisoners across Turkey declaring themselves on death fast. In response the Turkish state attacked 20 prisons in an attempt to transfer resisting prisoners to new F type prisons, purpose built for isolation. In the process, 6 women prisoners were burned alive and another 22 prisoners died from gunshot wounds. Six hundred prisoners suffered serious physical and psychological harm as a result of force feeding. Today five people are on death fast in Turkey - Kamil Karitas, Sevgi Saymaz, Serpil Cabadan, Gulcun Goruroglu and lawyer Behic Asci. Currently TAYAD activists estimate there are between 600 and 1000 people held in isolation for holding revolutionary socialist beliefs. Another 3000 Kurdish political prisoners are held in Turkish jails. Green Left Weekly's Ruth Riordan and Simon Cooper spoke with TAYAD activists Aysu, Denis and Semiha in Ankara's Abdi Ipekci Park,where members of the organisation have held a continual protest for over 1000 days.

Semiha's 20 year old son, Ugur, has been imprisoned since January 2005. "At first when my son was 16 and became a political activist, I was thinking only of my son. But after he was put in prison and I realised one day he could be on death fast because of isolation, I realised this affected many more people so I am here for my son but also for the sons and daughters of other people" she told Green Left. Aysu added, "First I'm here because I'm a human being and I'm a mother. I know isolation is a big problem and I have to do something about it, so I am here".

When asked about the effects of isolation, Aysu replied, "the one hundred and twenty two people who have died show us what isolation causes. When prisoners come out of isolation, sometimes they have forgotten everything. It can cause hearing, sight and balance problems. When we go to visit prisoners sometimes the guards attack us - so we have to wonder, what can they do to our sons or daughters".

"Sometimes our letters don't get through to the prisoners, sometimes we send gifts like dried flowers but the prisoners don't receive them. The letters we receive are sometimes censored", Semiha added. The prisoners have limited visiting rights with family members sharing the same last name but this is arbitrarily denied by prison authorities.

TAYAD activists in Abdi Ipekci Park have suffered much police harrasment. "They are always attacking us" said Denis, who 2 months earlier had his nose broken by a police baton at a protest. On June 11 TAYAD activists gathered to mark 1000 days of protest at Abdi Ipekci Park, when they attempted to march towards parliament police attacked using gas bombs and truncheons, many protestors required hospitalisation.
Unsurprisingly, the TAYAD activists report that some people who sympathise with their cause are afraid to visit the protest and show their support but others bring flowers. "In general, people are very good and supportive" Aysu reported.

When asked what people could do to support TAYAD's struggle the activists replied that isolation needed to be understood in its global context. "First they isolate countries - Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq - then they isolate people. We have to make imperialism change. In Turkey we have act to change isolation but these prisons are supported economically by Europe and the USA. Turkish prisons are not much different from Guantanamo", Aysu concluded.
"In Turkey there is a media blackout on our protests so it is important to spread the word internationally, let people know what is happening in Turkish prisons and maybe get parliamentarians internationally to discuss isolation" Semiha added.
Aysu, Semiha and Denis all agreed that the Turkish government, police and military are afraid of TAYAD. "They know our demands are revolutionary" said Aysu "they will always attack TAYAD but we will stay here and we will win".

to show your support for Turkish prisoners email sydtayadkomite@mynet.com or check http://www.tayad-committee.com/

The calcium cliffs of Pammukale.

Another view of Cappadocıa

Pictured here is an ancient Christian monastery carved into a cliff in Cappadocia. You can just make out the holes in the rock formations - they are the windows and doors.

Israel Out of Palestine/Lebanon!

As we've been travelling we've been dismayed with the news of the Israeli war machine's brutal onslaught against the Palestinians in Gaza and now against the people of Lebanon. The civilian death toll in Lebanon has now almost reached 300 with Israel threatening a ground offensive.

But there are also protests around the world condeming these outrageous attacks. In particular its encouraging to hear of the big demonstration in Sydney (15,000 - 20,000 people) along with the 2,500 person anti-war demonstration held in Tel Aviv yesterday.

****Here is an article translated from the Israeli newspaper Haaretz from the Green Left Weekly Discussion elist about the Tel Aviv demo.

---Anti-war Tel Aviv rally draws Jewish, Israeli Arab crowdBy Lily GaliliMore than 2,500 people on Saturday attended a mass demonstration against the war in Lebanon, marching from Tel Aviv's Rabin Square to a rally at theCinemateque plaza.

The rally was the first of its kind protesting against the IDF's offensivein Lebanon. Unlike previous anti-war protests in Israel, major Araborganizations in Israel - among them Hadash and Balad --participated in theevent in large numbers.They were joined by the left flank of the Zionist Left --former Meretz leader Shulamit Aloni and Prof. Galia Golan, alongside the radical left ofGush Shalom, the refusal to serve movement Yesh Gvul, Anarchists Against theWall, Coalition of Women for Peace, Taayush and others.

These Jewish and Arab groups ordinarily shy away from joint activity. They couldn't come up with a unifying slogan this time either, except for thecall to stop the war and start talking. However, protest veterans noted thatin the Lebanon War of 1982 it took more than 10 days of warfare to bring outthis many protesters, marking the first crack in the consensus.

The protest drew some new faces, like Tehiya Regev of Carmiel, whose two neighbors were killed in a Katyusha attack on the city. "This war is not headed in the right direction," she told Haaretz; "the captured soldiers have long since been forgotten, so I came to call for an immediate stop tothis foolish and cruel war."

The rally, which received wide international press coverage, had a theme unfamiliar from previous demonstrations here. Beside the usual calls for theprime minister and defense minister to resign, this was a distinctlyanti-American protest. Alongside chants of "We will not kill, we will notdie in the name of Zionism" there were chants of "We will not die andill not kill in the service of the United States," and slogans condemning President George W. Bush.

*** Information about the Rally in Sydney

Sydney rally against Israeli attacks on Lebanon & Palestine
The streets were filled with throngs of people -- many from Sydney's Lebanese and Palestinian communities -- as 20,000 people marched on July 22 to protest the bitter injustice of Israel's latest offensive against the people of Lebanon and Palestine.

<http://sydney.indymedia.org/node/37881>

**** Turskish Rallies calling for Israeli withdraw from Gaza

ANKARA - Turkish Daily News
Thousands of protestors took to the streets across Turkey to protest Israel and declare support for the Palestinians.

<http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=48950>

We're in Cappadocia now - a completely mindblowing place where volcanic rock has been eroded into the most crazy shapes. Throughout the centuries people have carved buildings out of the cliff faces and spires.

Soon we'll be uploading photos of Ephesus (amazing and beautiful) and Lycian rock tombs in Fethiye. The tombs were cool but Fethiye and the close by beach of Oldunez are freaky new colonies of British package tourists. Cafes advertise Tesco's (major British supermarket chain) bacon and English cream teas and everyone sounds like they've walked off the set of East Enders! So we moved on...

Peace Mothers sentenced to 12 months jail

Istanbul - Twenty four women have been sentenced to 12 months jail after being found guilty of voicing separatist propaganda. The women aged between 40 and 75 are members of the Peace Mothers initiative which has worked since 1999 to mediate between warring parties within the Kurdish region and between Kurdish and Turkish forces. The Turkish Daily News reported that the women had chained themselves together and blocked traffic in the south-eastern city of Diyarbakir calling for a general amnesty and an end to isolation in prisons. The women also carried a banner that said: “Mr. Öcalan is our political will.” Abdullah Öcalan is the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Ocalan and many other political prisoners in Turkey are held in solitary confinement.
The women's lawyer Meral Bestas said “The demonstration and the slogans were aimed at peace. It was an innocent act and should be protected under the freedom of _expression. If not, the court will be punishing a call for peace.”
The women were arrested on Feb. 22 this year and freed after spending two months in jail. If the Supreme Court of Appeals approves the sentences the women will return to jail for a further 10 months.

a 10 000 seat theatre built about 2000 years ago

looking out from the walls of Pergamon

Temple of Trajan

Here are some of our photos of the ruins at ancient Pergamon. Bergama is a smallish, dusty, agricultural town, a Turkish version of Dubbo or Parkes, except when you look up to the hill above the town and see the remains of an ancient acropolis! Its pretty impressive, however in a country with so many amazıng historic sites, most tourists who visit Bergama come for the day, the ruins aren't consıdered as impressive as others such as Ephesus. Yesterday afternoon we met a young Turkish guy who told us how few jobs there were in Bergama, many young people have to leave to seek jobs in bigger cities and the town ıs attempting all sorts of urban redevelopment projects to tempt tourists to spend more time (and therefore money) in Bergama. No doubt Bergama's tourist attraction rating would be increased if the friezes which originally covered the Temple of Zeus at the Acropolis were still there rather than in the Pergamon Mueseum in Berlin!

See this NY Times article for more on this
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9D02E6DD1030F937A2575AC0A961958260

Everywhere we've been we've been receıved wıth warmth and amazing hospitality. You can barely walk down the street without being offered a glass of çay (tea). Our vocabulary is expanding slowly to include - please, thank you, hello, good bye, how much? and we can count to 10! Everyone is interested in Australia and seems to have a good impression of the country but we were wondering last night how a couple of Turkish tourists with the equivalant of our vocabulary in English would be received in Dubbo or Parkes - not wıth quite the same degree of welcome I imagine.

Also on top of the Acropolis, we met a guy from Swan Hill who stopped us to approve of Simon's "Up yours Howard" t-shirt - we should have had Green Lefts and badges with us!

Travelling UnAustralian Style

We're currently in the city of Cannakale, a beautiful place on the southern shore of the Dardenelles. The town is very popular with western tourists (especially Australians and New Zealanders) because its the closest centre to Anzac Cove. Cannakale is also about half an hour away from the fascinating ruins of ancient Troy. Some of our photos from Troy are below.

Gallipoli itself holds little interest for us so we're not going. But it seems we may be one of the first Australian travellers to stay at Cannakale and not sign up for one of the package tours. The workers at our hostel did a doubletake when we explained our disinterest in goıng to Gallipoli at all - "But you're Australian aren't you?" Similarly, some Australians sharing our dormitory room were completely bewildered (and a bit nonplussed).

There isn't anything meaningful to celebrate, commemorate or be proud about the Anzac invasion of Turkey during WW1. Far from being the "fire in which Australian nationhood was forged" as the jingoistic media pundits and politicians will claim at every opportunity, Gallipoli simply represents a massive waste of human life and potential at the behest of the rich and powerful.

157,000 people lost their lives during the Gallipoli ınvasion - 90,000 of them Turks. The Australian and other allied troops, ordinary working people, were sent to fight and kill people on the other side of the world - people who had surely never done anything to them and who had certainly never threatened Australian shores.

They were fighting in a world war that cost millions more lives. A war that was fought by the major imperialist powers for control of the world's markets and resources.

İn recent years the Australian ruling class has developed a penchant for invading predominately İslamic countrıes. Gallipoli was just the first foray. And as always the lives of the troops were considered expendable.

From here we plan to travel down the coast of Turkey before heading to Ankara and back to İstanbul. We're hoping to interview leaders of some of the legal revolutionary political parties and cover the plight of Turkish political prisoners many of whom are currently on hunger strike.

Ruth and Simon in Cannakale

Sımon at Troy

The plains of İlium as seen from Troy. The Dardenelles are on the horizon.

Ruins of Ancıent Troy.

Pro-Kurdish Party Leaders Charged For Speaking

ISTANBUL - İn 3 successıve days 5 leaders of the pro-Kurdısh Democratic Society Party (DTP) have had criminal investigations launched against them by Turkish government authorities. The alledged crimes are of "praising and aiding" the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) through public statements and in DTP leaflets.

İn the southeastern city of Diyarbakir the Publıc Prosecutor"s office completed an indictment against the DTP mayor Osman Baydemir on July 4 for a single sentence in a speech he made during a series of pro-Kurdish protests that erupted throughout Turkey in March.

The mass demonstrations began after the public funerals of 14 PKK members killed by the Turkish military in the eastern province of Bingol. Turkish police and troops immediately declared the protests illegal and met the demonstrators with severe repression. Over 20 people were left dead.

According to The New Anatolian Baydemir has been charged for making the following comment: "This city, this region, was mourning 14 people but now its risen to 16." Baydemir was refering to the 14 dead PKK activists along with a further two protestors killed at the beginning of the mass demonstrations.

Turkish authorities argue that this comment amounts to siding with both the "illegal" demonstrations and the PKK (which is listed as a terrorist organisation). İf convicted Baydemin faces up to 10 years in prison - a little over 8 months jail for each word uttered.

Baydemin already faces other criminal charges for alleged ties to the PKK including for allowing a Diyarbakir city ambulance to transport the dead body of a PKK member slain by Turkish security forces! Another DTP major from the nearby city of Batman has also had charges filed against him for alleged membership of the PKK.

İn another case Mahmut Almak, the DTP head in the northeastern city of Kars, is facing a lengthy sentence for a speech he gave at a recent conference. Commenting on the struggle for democratic rights and Kurdısh autonomy Almak argued that a successful and democratic resolution of the ongoing conflict will not come about through the existing officialdom of the Turkish state. İnstead he called for the launch of a civic political alliance between the Turkish and Kurdish peoples to achieve democratic change. The Public Prosecutor is asking that Almak be sentenced for 15 years in prison for expressing this viewpoint.

Almak condemned the new charges against him in the July 6 edition of The New Analtolian declaring Turkey to be a graveyard for the Turkish and Kurdish peoples in terms of democratic rights but a heaven for those in power. İn the 6 months since he became the head of the Kars branch of the DTP Almak has had 7 charges laid against him for making statements allegedly in praise of the PKK and the Kurdish struggle.

Two central leaders of the DTP were also charged on July 6 for handing out what authorities have called "pro-PKK leaflets" at the March 8 İnternational Womens Day protest. DTP chair Ahmet Turk and former party co-chair Aysel Tugluk have been accused of distributing leaflets which included remarks about imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan - an illegal act under Turkish law. If found guilty they can expect 2 years and 6 months in prison respectively.

inside the blue mosque

check it out Mikey! leeches for sale at the spice markets!

Aya Sofia from the Blue Mosque. Aya Sofıa was built around 473 AD and for 1000 years was consıdered the most amazıng church ın Chrıstendom. It was turned ınto a mosque and then wıth the natıonalıst revolutıon ınto a museum - inside it is the most incredible and beautiful feat of engineering you can imagine. Everybody should be able to see these amazıng creations.

the blue mosque iın İstanbul

Istanbul ıs the most wonderful place to start our adventure! We arrıved 3 days ago after 32 hrs ın planes and aırports (ugh!) and sınce then have been totally enchanted wanderıng ancıent streets, explorıng beautıful mosques and the Topakapı palace, fantastıc markets and so much more! We're here untıl Sunday when we'll head south to the Aegean coast. We're slowly learnıng a handful of Turkısh phrases and are partıcularly good at orderıng yummy Turkısh food but are strugglıng a bıt as wıne ıs very expensıve here! We're buyıng the paper everyday and tryıng to learn more about Turkısh polıtıcs - fascınatıng struggles between secularısm and Islam / relıgıous freedom, whıch revolve around women's role and dress especıally. Wıll wrıte more later and get all our gadgetry fıgured out to post photos etc, but for now

Hosça kalın

ruth & sımon