CURRENT MISSION

Bring some Ottoman splendor to rainy ol Glasgow

ABOUT ME

I was born on the 25th of December, which- as everybody knows- is also the birthday of Dido, the famous singer-songwriter. Oh, and also Jesus. Being born on Christmas made life very hard for me in a Muslim country, as a young boy I was regularly crucified by the neighbourhood kids. (I was also harassed by alcoholics trying to get me to turn water into wine.) Despite these early setbacks, I had a very peacefull childhood. I have one younger brother, Ortunç, who was for a short while a famous commercial actor in Turkey. This was frustrating as we look essentially the same, and went to the same auditions, but apparently casting directors favour actors who can act, which still makes no sense to me at all.
My high school was a German gymnasium, and I am proud to say that I studied there for 5 years- and graduated- without learning more than 10 words of German. I feel this highlights what a genius I am, as Einstein also didn't learn to read until he was 38 years old.
In university I studied industrial engineering, which is just a fancy word for "the department where people who are too lazy to actually study engineering study". Now I am doing a "global innovation management" master in Scotland, although I have not yet found my calling, I want to do something that deals with the fields of neuroscience and philosphy.
I am just getting settled here in Scotland, and I miss my friends and family in Istanbul very much. This is why I am opening a couchsurfing profile, in order to experience new things and meet new people and expand my horizons; so that when I go back to Istanbul I can feel proud of the sacrifice I made in leaving.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My best friend Kerem emancipated himself from his family and started living in a house in the center of İstanbul 3 years ago, and ever since than there were always couchsurfers at his place. Sometimes they came alone, sometimes in pairs, but mostly in Mongolian sized hoards, clans, herds, armies. There were times when we had no place to sleep because we had given every available surface to couchsurfers, and I have many many fond memories of drunken conversations and cultural exchange. I met so many interesting (and more importantly, interested) people through couchsurfing; the hitchhikers and the fanaticly passionate vegans and permanent travellers and eccentric artists and laid back students and rasta haired Buddhists and giggling Erasmus girls and couples so in love with each other that you couldn't look directly at them because you would be blinded by their aura. And after 3 years, it's time for me to join the fray.

Interests

I am interested in finding The Meaning Of Life. And for all you pragmatics out there, I am aware that there is no universal truth to find. But still, having a goal makes things much more fun, don't you agree?
I was into magic for a while. I had fun, until I got really good at it and all my friends started to ask me to perform all the time. I retired after I accidentaly turned my good friend Baran into Bjorn Ulvaeus (from the popular dance group Abba). Now I am interested in philosophy, death, magic mushrooms, flamenco guitar, and the opposite sex. Not at the same time though.

• dogs
• birds
• performing arts
• acting
• dancing
• flamenco
• breakfast
• wine
• flying
• tv
• magic
• guitar
• engineering
• neuroscience
• sociology
• study abroad

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I have seen so many amazing things you wouldn't believe. That's because (until recently) I lived in Istanbul, where everyday life is so packed with the surreal and absurd that there is a course in my university called "Sociology and Analysis of the Turkish Street". I have seen a five transvestites dancing to a George Micheal song playing from a car stereo at 4 in the morning. I have seen a fat policeman chasing a dog that stole his breakfast simit (imagine a Turkish bagel). I have seen a flock of birds fly over the Bosphorous while the sun was rising. I have seen: street fights, acts of altruism from strangers,a suicide bomber explode himself, a parrot who could quote Clint Eastwood, heartbreak, poverty. It's impossible not to live an amazing day in Istanbul.

Teach, Learn, Share

The best magic trick in the world. (This I will only teach to surfers that I really bond with, please no begging)
How to make a bitchin Sangria with just an onion and an IKEA catalog.
Turkish translations of bad words. (Such as: Inflation, global warming, reality TV, traditional sources of energy etc)
The African Soul Spirit gaze. (very powerful shit, no joke)

Countries I’ve Visited

Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Netherlands

Countries I’ve Lived In

Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom