Woooot!

oncelikle 1-10 temmuz tarihleri arasinda biz sizi haberdar edecegiz deyip, 10 temmuza kadar beklemeyip, beni de ulser yapmayan koc uni'ye tesekkurlerimi sunuyorum.

beklenen mujde! ocak-subat ayindan beri uzerinde calistigim, mart itibariyle basvurumu yaptigim koc uni'nin art history and archaeology graduate programindan full fellowship geldi mi? geldi. costum mu? costum. masalara cikip oynadim mi? ee, oynamadim. oynardim aslinda, ama ortam musait degildi dun. onumuzdeki maclara bakacagiz. yani illa ki bir masaya cikip oynama ortami olusacaktir diye iyimser dusunmek istiyorum.

konuyla ilgili daha uzun yazarim gibi gibi. daha kontrati imzalayip yollamadim ama pazartesi onu da halledeyim, gercek bir memurin tavriyla isleri full resmiyete dokeyim, ondan sonra gelsin dunya turu, gitsin caribbean cruise? yok lan, iste tell-atchana/alalakh kazisina misafir gozlemci olarak katilim gosterme, belki bir iki sefer bodrum, en kisa zamanda mumkunse her odasina (iki) beni her an izleyecek ceiling cat yapistirdigim daire, and it takes two to tango. [note the masterful use of the oxford comma!]

hayat bana guzel be! (insert nazar boncugu)

Byzantine intrigues

John I Tzimiskes (you can tell he's the bad guy with a name like that) killed his uncle Nikephoros Phokas while Nikky was asleep, on the floor of his room, in front of his icons. Apparently, Tzimiskes had been having an affair and was in league with Theophano, Nikephoros' wife (in name only, as Phokas had been living a chaste life after his first wife's death -romantic) and the Empress had let John and the plotters in the palace -they were dressed as women.

Says Leo the Deacon, contemporary chronicler.

On the left, nice manuscript image of Nikephoros Phokas, on the right, a coin with John Tzimiskes, being crowned by the Virgin.

Dating Manuscripts

Dating systems and dates of manuscripts. For those who may be struggling with those Byzantine manuscripts which only have the date from "creation" mentioned. Also, note that the Byzantine year starts on September 1st, not January 1st, so it can get tricky.

Yes, this is what I do on a Friday night.

Oxfordshire Blues

Well, not Oxfordshire, Oxford proper actually. Still, somehow "blues" did go better with "shire" -without any intentions to make a subtle reference to Lord of the Rings, whose author is an Oxonian- in any way.

Oxford is almost always rainy. And if you live in Oxford, or in any other part of the UK, it's actually compulsory to talk about the weather for at least 10 minutes every day. Except Sundays. God created the world in six days and rested on Sunday, watching football, presumably.

It's not a city, it's a town. I think a city needs to have a population of at least 500.000 people, and I am being generous.

Back to the rain business: it's actually better when it rains. It's too humid to be comfortable in warm weather. When (if) it gets above 24, it actually gets uncomfortable. And all these years we ranted and raved about good old Istanbul.

The University: dreaming spires, yes there is all that. There is also an iron clad bureucracy that would put France to shame. In order for things to work, you have to know people. And people you know have to know other people, preferably more important people than themselves. Alternatively, having nerves of steel and the patience of Job may also work. In the long run.

Colleges: They all hate each other, don't believe if they state the opposite. Little states within a state. When they're not hating each other, they look down their noses to the relatively newer establishments. (i.e. "OP" - the Other Place or, say, St. Catz.)

Ducks: ducks, as in Anas platyrhynchos. I live right by the canal and I wake up with ducks, laugh with ducks, cry with ducks, fall asleep with ducks. Like roosters, but they quack throughout the day, not only at dawn. Not that I'm complaining, they're good company for a rainy day.

Bicycles: You have to have one, period. Park near the Odeon cinema for a downtown stroll. Please don't ride through Cornmarket, it's really annoying. It's already chaotic as it is.

More to follow later. So far so good.