Yağmur Yağarken Aklıma Takılanlar

Today it is sunny outside. But this summer Moscow has seen rainy days from time to time. Some years it's like that. There are some years when it rains heavily, like summer rain. I can say that this year was like that. 

I keep reading in the news that it rained heavily in Turkey this year too. Some say climate change. Some say it happens like this some years. But the climate has really changed, when it used to rain in the summer it used to clear up immediately, now it rains in torrents.

When I think of summer rain, I think of that delicious earthy smell. I love that smell. When it gets a little wet, a pleasant smell of earth surrounds the place. 

I also remembered three rainbows that were intertwined during my university years, when I was watching a concert at the revolution stadium in METU and it rained and then the sun appeared in the clouds in the distance. And there was a rainbow in the sky, first one, then another one, then another one inside it.

Sometimes I have seen two rainbows inside each other in Moscow. It is an interesting natural phenomenon. A rainbow is proof that life is colorful.

I also remember one day during my university years when my girlfriend and I were soaking wet in the rain. Those were good years.

And now I remembered Şebnem Ferah's song "Yağmurlar" (The Rain), how beautifully she wrote and sang it. I'd better find it on the internet and listen to it. She is a valuable artist. She has a strong voice. I wonder what she is doing now, there has been no news for a while. I wish she would write new songs. In one of his songs he said "none of us are innocent". He might be right.

There is so much speculation that if it rains a little, especially in Istanbul. The infrastructure is not adequate, when it rains a little more than the seasonal norms, everywhere floods immediately with the effect of wrong urbanization, especially with the effect of the construction on the streams. 

It rains a lot in the Black Sea region as well as in Ankara. Just recently, the rain took a young life in Ankara. 

Here in Moscow, it rains a lot when it really rains, but the Russians seem to have built a solid infrastructure in time. There are no floods. On some roads, if they don't clean the drains in time, sometimes there are places where water accumulates, of course, but I have never heard of anyone drowning in a flood. They intervene immediately and clean the gutter and the problem is solved. 

Trees falling down in storms are more of a problem here. Moscow is a greener city compared to many other cities. Generally, the layout is planned in a way that I can call a middle garden between the buildings. Sometimes there are entrances to this middle garden in the middle of the building in the form of an arc under the building. There are children's playgrounds, basketball courts, and of course trees and benches where residents can sit and relax and take a breath. There are many trees that fall down in storms on the cars parked on the road under the trees. But in recent years, since the meteorology constantly warns about storms via SMS, such material damages have decreased recently. People have started to take precautions immediately when there are such warnings, they park their vehicles in safer places and prevent any damage. At the same time, these trees have also been seriously reviewed, and those that were likely to fall have either been cut down or pruned.

In short, the city needs maintenance and the Russians are good at it. Even if there is a war, even if the country collapses, such organizations continue to work. When the Soviet Union collapsed, while the White House was being bombed by tanks over the bridge, the Moscow subway was still running. 

I wish we could have such an organization in our country. I think there is a lot to learn from the Russians about urbanization. You can't see shanty settlements like we do here, you can't even dream of trying to build a shanty here.

Of course, every country has its own problems. Here, too, if you go outside Moscow a little bit, you immediately realize how hard people are struggling to survive. There are even abandoned villages. Ghost villages. Sometimes on the internet, young people go to these places and shoot and post it on the internet. Shabby infrastructure, dilapidated houses, maybe one or two old people living in some of them. There are places like that. 

When the country is so big, the distances between settlements are also very long. It is not easy to build roads, bring infrastructure, natural gas, water and sewage to such long distances. The only thing is electricity, without which it is not possible to provide a livable environment. In remote villages, people get water from wells, sewage from septic tanks and heating with wood and coal. If natural gas can be brought, great. Otherwise, bottled gas is still used in the kitchens. So I can say that life outside the big cities is not that easy here.

Yes, I was talking about the rain, what came to my mind. The last time my wife and I went to a park here, we got soaked to the skin. We took an umbrella with us just in case it was going to rain, but to tell you the truth, we weren't expecting this much rain. It was so muggy that we thought we should go out and get some air in the nearby park. They organize the parks very well, there are all kinds of flowers, it's quiet and peaceful. Since spring came a little late, it was the time when the flowers were in full bloom. While we were trying to get away from the noise of the city and get some air, the rain poured down and soaked us despite the umbrella. We barely made it home. 

Climate conditions are really changing, I think it is necessary to review everything that has been done. The problematic infrastructures need to be identified and perhaps renewed according to the new conditions. It doesn't work to blame the old ones for not doing anything all this time. Yes, they did a lot wrong. In fact, sometimes when I see the tweets of former mayors, I wonder how they managed to govern this city for so many years. But blaming the old ones only goes so far, we need to look ahead. People expect service. I know, it is already being done, but these people have been accustomed to seeing what has been done in front of their eyes for so long. They don't see it on their own anymore. That's why what is being done needs to be explained well. Unfortunately this is the way it is, maybe one day people will return to their factory settings, but it seems to take time. So don't stop, we have a lot of work to do. Keep working.

By the way, I put on Şebnem Ferah's album when I remembered it from the article, and I've been listening to it. Now "Minefield" is playing. What a beautiful song.

Love and respect to everyone from Moscow.