One more photo

This is the ceremonial marker for Ataturk's sarcophagus (not sure if there's a better word for this). Soldiers and guards keep people about 10 feet away from it. Ataturk's actual burial site is in a room directly below this that is not accessible to the public but is viewable on live closed circuit TV (just the room and marker, not his body). A guard stands in front of the flat screen with the CCTV feed, visibly watching the screen for any sign of trouble. And did I mention that the bus was searched (including the undercarriage but not the luggage compartment) when we entered the mausoleum complex a quarter of a mile from the actual mausoleum?

It's a curious thing in a country that leaves priceless antiquities out where people can touch and sit on them.

Ataturk's Mausoleum

We have been on the road much of the day today, traveling between Cappadocia and Ankara, the capitol of Turkey. In 1923, when Ataturk (the founding father of the Turkish Republic) put into motion a massive campaign of modernization and Westernization, the capital was moved from Istanbul to Ankara. Ankara was at that time essentially a provincial backwater, and a huge building program was necessary to remake the city into one befitting the new republic.

I think we have mentioned Ataturk a number of times so far, but I'm not sure that any of us has really clarified his significance to the Turks. After WWI, the Ottoman Empire was in tatters. This previously massive empire (it extended at one time from Austria through the Balkans to modern Turkey, through current-day Syria and the Levant, through Israel and across a strip of Northern Africa) backed the losing side in WWI and was brutally punished by the victors. The treaty the Ottomans were forced to sign at the end of the war left them with essentially nothing but a swath of Northern Turkey and the city of Istanbul, and even Istanbul was subject to significant trade restrictions. Ataturk and the Young Turks refused to accept this state of affairs and staged a revolution against the Ottoman government, nullifying the previous treaty, militarily reclaiming for the Turks what is now modern Turkey, establishing the Turkish Republic, and negotiating a new treaty to claim the land they now possessed. For this reason Ataturk is widely regarded in Turkey as the savior of the Turks, and he retains the status of a national hero to a much greater extent than does a figure like George Washington in the U.S. Ataturk's portrait can be found all over Turkey, in restaurants, private homes, classrooms, government buildings, shops, and a variety of unexpected places. His mausoleum has a status akin to a secular pilgrimage site (where is George Washington buried? Do Americans ever make a special trip there?)

For many non-Turks, Ataturk is more of a mixed bag. Modern Turkey was like a phoenix rising from the ashes of the Empire, but in the process many people were burned. Ataturk reformulated the alphabet from an Arabic-like Ottoman script to a Roman script to make it accessible to Westerners, dramatically raised the literacy rate, adopted secularism (based on the French laicite), prohibited traditional Turkish clothing and demanded that women uncover their heads and men wear no hats other than those worn in Europe (e.g. Fedora rather than fez), and defined a form of nationalism that drew heavily on Turkish ethnicity.

The Ataturk mausoleum was fascinating, and it's high on my personal list of places to bring the students next year. At the site we read some of the official Ataturk hagiography (for the students: I use this term loosely - usually it means a biography of a saint, including a variety of miraculous claims. In this case I'm using it to refer to the claims about Ataturk - you'll see why I use the term in a minute). The official story is that Ataturk died in 1938 and was temporarily buried at the ethnology museum (go figure). After he died there was a contest to determine a design for his mausoleum, and it was constructed. Then Ataturk's remains were dug up and the casket was opened only to find him preserved intact, just the way he died (this type of claim tends to be made for saints too)! He was buried in the new mausoleum after that (in the early 1950s).

There is a museum of the history of the Republic attached to the mausoleum which gives a distinctly Turkish understanding of the last 90 years. I think it would be a useful place to visit early in the course because it's probably the clearest example of all we've seen here of some of the ideas we've been trying to help the students understand, such as the concept of a hidden curriculum.

We were pretty tired late in the afternoon today when we got to the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations today, but I gave the students an assignment to look at which civilizations were amply represented and which are underrepresented (most obviously the Greeks, who are the Turks' historic enemy, and are generally lumped in with Romans as "Hellenistic and Roman" civilizations if they are mentioned at all). The students were also told to think about the meanings behind the adaptive reuse of this building. Adaptive reuse is a concept from architecture (thanks James!) referring to adaptation of a historic building for use as something else. In this case an Ottoman (Turkic) bedestan (indoor marketplace) has been adapted to house artifacts from the neolithic era until the 19th century in the geographic area that is now Turkey. The vast majority of these artifacts are from non-Turkic peoples.

Ramona mentioned the issue of eating during Ramadan. This has been a complicated issue for us, particularly during the last part of our tour with a guide who is a secularist and has some disdain for religious Muslims. After Ramadan began we tried to eat only indoors and we had late dinners so we wouldn't be eating in front of those on the streets who were fasting. This has been, to me, a matter of respect and an attempt not to interfere with other people's form of devotion. I certainly don't expect our students to fast during Ramadan but do want to encourage them to be respectful. Sometimes we've been ofered tea during the day by people who are fasting. We can refuse once, but beyond that would be impolite. As Ramona mentioned, we've been assured by various people that for them continuing to fast when people around them are eating and drinking affords them extra blessing or extra merit for resisting in the face of temptation.

I must end here for now, because it's a very short night tonight for us. Wake up call is at 2:40 am. We will see you all soon.

Suzanne Mallery

Soldier guarding Ataturk's Mausolem

Hello to all the incoming honors students. You'll be happy to know that the students who are with us this year are already helping us plan for your trip next year to make it even better than it is now. We hope you are excited about traveling with us next year, but if you aren't, don't worry. Many of the students from this year weren't too enthusiastic about Turkey until they took the UNHR 121 class in winter quarter.

Reading our blogs may not give you a good understanding of some of the underlyng themes and conflicts in Turkish society right now, particularly if you don't have a good background understanding of modern Turkey. Very briefly, one of the big discussions in Turkey right now is how to be a secular republic when the vast majority of the population is Muslim in some form (whether nominal or devout). Secularism in the Turkish sense is very different from American secularism. Turkish secularism insists that any expression of religiosity be private, and thus barred from any public sphere under the aegis of the government. For example, women wearing headscarves are banned from the universities, and sermons in mosques are written by a government ministry. In practice this leads to friction between Muslims seeking a greater voice for Islam in the public sphere and secularists seeking to uphold Ataturk's vision for the Republic and avoid the potential for Turkey to become like Iran. The practicalities of this delicate balancing act often seem counterintuitive to the minds of those educated in American schools and universities.

Our visit to the tomb of the Mevlana (Rumi to many people who are not Turks) in Konya yesterday demonstrated some of these oddities. The tomb and mosque complex were built by one of the Ottoman sultans. This functioned as a religious pilgrimage site and a working mosque and tekke (like a Sufi monastery where the brotherhood lived and worked). With the birth of the officially secular Turkish Republic in 1923, Sufi orders were banned, and the site was converted to a museum (as was the case with the Haghia Sophia in Istanbul). Thus this is officially a secular site, and we were discouraged by our guide (who is a strong advocate of secularism) from covering our heads inside the former mosque, as this appeared to him as an alliance with the islamists. At the same time, however there were many people in the museum-mosque engaged in prayer and devotional practices. Some of the students expressed discomfort about not knowing the appropriate etiquette in this situation, and indeed the issue is more than "etiquette" or even respect. It reflects a deep political divide, and wearing or not wearing a scarf is in part a reflection of one's political position. We can always fall back into the role of "tourist" as a defense, but our goal is to be students rather than tourists.

This issue of the "tourist" role has been a difficult one, particularly for the last part of our trip. Because we are now traveling in a bus with a guide and because we are traveling long distances with a regimented schedule, it is easy for the students to fall into a passive role. This was a concern for me about this portion of the trip, and I think it will be useful to make some changes for next year. The difference in their behavior and engagement stands out to me, but I do understand it. I think being in a different city each day for the past five days has been a bit hard on all of us. The students were very active learners for the first week, so I know they are quite capable of sustaining the excitement of discovery and active learning, but the fatigue of long bus trips coupled with reduced freedom to explore on their own seems to have sapped some of their enthusiasm. Last night and tonight we will be in the same hotel, and I think that is a good arrangement for us. The students are definitely aware of the tendency to be more fatigued and passive with the guide, and have been working to counter it. They tend to do best when they have the opportunity to roam a bit. In the evenings and during their free time many of the students have gone to the hamam (Turkish bath - an experience in itself, even when it's affiliated with a hotel) or to folklore shows. They are also taking advantage of their fre time to meet people. Now that they have gained an understanding of how much the Turkish people tend to value relationships, they are taking advantage of every opportunity they find to talk with people about their lives, what they value, how they experience the changes taking place locally and nationally, and what they dream for the future. We have many discussions over meals about what they are learning from the people they meet. Neither I nor our guide can always answer their questions satisfactorily, but often what they need most is an opportunity to frame or elaborate on those questions in ways that encourage them to go out and ask more.

Yesterday morning we stopped at the Sultanhani Caravanseray, a waystation for traders in camel caravans in the 13th century. Christina gave us some background information on it and then we all had a chance to explore the rooms and climb around a bit. Julian bypassed the sign (in Turkish) saying it was forbidden to climb on top of the caravanseray and went up to take some pictures. Paul says Julian is in training to become a National Geographic photographer. Several of the group also climbed to the top of the walls of the masjid (small mosque for travelers). Often there are no caretakers or guards keeping people off the ruins, so our students have more of a chance to explore and pose their own questions. They seem to learn more this way. Alex has pointed out, though, that the full accessibility of these monuments (especially in comparison with the overzealous guarding of the Zeus Temple we observed in Berlin) only strengthens his argument that architectural artifacts should belong to the finder rather than to the nation on whose land they were discovered. These arguments are only more complex in situations like Turkey, where the artifacts are uncovered on land that is now governed by the Turkish Republic, by German archaeologists, during a time when the Otttoman Empire was in power (and allowed the Germans to remove them), and where the original people who created these objects and buildings were Hellenistic, and thus to great extent the ancestors of the modern nation of Greece. We have been focusing on this problem of perceptions of identity and history, often anachronistic. The term "Anatolian" seems to be used here in cases when the Turks want to claim a non-Turkic past as part of their own history (e.g. the Hittites, Hellenistc period, etc.) For example, Homer was officially an Anatolian here.

Watching the Sufi dancers (whirling dervishes) last night also seems to have impacted the group. The environment was quiet and medtative, and I have heard a lot of comments and questions from group members and expressions of a desire to understand more. In general, I think the students have been impressed by their opportunities to observe Muslims in worship and prayer. They have been respectful and curious and have gained a greater sense that there are people here sincerely seeking God.

Because we are here during Ramadan, the month of fasting, we've been told many times by people here how many hours and minutes they have left until they can eat and drink when the sun goes down. We have also observed the great generousity of people who continually offer us tea, even when their own throats are parched. I think these relationships and observations will be very valuable to these students as they continue in their search to understand their place in the world and the diversity of people in it.

Again, I must mention how impressed I have been with our students. They have been tremendous about allowing themselves to be challenged in new ways and about reaching out to get to know people and trying to undertand situations that seem foreign to them. I have heard very little complaining even when they are tired or inconvenienced or don't feel well. Each one of them has demonstrated strengths that I never knew they had. I am also thankful to the families who have given their blessings to these students to go with us across the world and experience something life changing. They are all returning with many stories and thoughts and ideas, and I think many of them will see their own lives differently for the experience.

Suzanne Mallery

P.S. This may be our last post before we return. I'm posting from a truckstop on our way to Ankara. If our hotel tonight has wireless I will post again, but since we have to leave the hotel at 3 am for our flight home I won't search out an internet cafe in Ankara

A Day Insıde of Rocks

This morning we woke up and had a lovely breakfast at our hotel here in Ürgüp in Cappadocia. Our dining area is SO nice its worthy of mentioning ın the blog. You walk under an arched doorway wıth wooden doors ınto a beautıful garden/dınıng area wıth stone pathways. The stone buıldıngs surroundıng ıt have steep steep twestıng staırways leadıng to other parts of other buıldıngs...ıts just a beautıful locatıon and many of us weren't antıcıpatıng such a beautıful spot... ıts "quaınt" :)

Today we started out by headıng to Nevşehır. Thıs town was named after Gregory of Nyssa one of the Cappadocıan Fathers (also termed ın the 4th century as the Three Saınts of Nyssa). Gregory along wıth Basıl the Great and Gregory of Nızıanzus were the defenders of the Nıcean Creed. They establıshed the ıdea of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spırıt (the Trınıty) as beıng equal-- that ıt ıs ımpossıble to thınk of one member of the trınıty wıthout thınkıng about the other two.

So ın vısıtıng thıs town named after one of these three men we fırst went to an underground vıllage. It was pretty amazıng! These homes are carved out of porous stone and they were expanded upon as needed. We crouched down and moved through thıs large labrynth (yes, ıt was that complex), complete wıth multıple levels and long tunnels. These types of homes housed Chrıstıans years agowho would hıde there to escape relıgıous persecutıon.





As we traveled along today we made a stop at a roadsıde bazaar where we looked around, bought some thıngs, others clımbed up on these huge boulders to look at the amazıng vıew, and some of us even took camel rıdes! (yes, thats rıght ... we rode on camels! -ha ha-) It was pretty "WoW".... what an experıence! LoL


After drıvıng and seeıng many of these holes and door ways carved ın the sıdes of hılls, and actually gettıng to see an underground vıllage, our tour guıde suggested we try to vısıt a frıend of hıs who actually lıves ın one of the cone shaped homes made out of thıs stone. So we dıd... and ıt was REALLY nıce... ıt was cool ınsıde and the walls were paınted all whıte. It was a sımple neat home carved ınto a hıll, complete wıth a beautıful terrace wıth patıo furnıture, beautıful flowers and a hammock :). These homes at one tıme were prımarıly pıgeon houses where they would collect pıgeon feces to be used as fertılızer. They later were used as homes that the state has trıed to take away from many people, however thıs famıly has the deeds and what not so they were able to contınue lıvıng there.


The house was down ın a valley that we accessed vıa a long staırcase. There was an amazıng vıew from where we stopped by the sıde of the road to get down there. Where we stood overlooked far out to many homes lıke the one we were vısıtıng... also we could see many other beautıful large rock stuctures.


Our last two stops were at open aır museums where we saw sımılar facılıtıes carved ınto stone. These were huge areas wıth some parts stıll needıng excavatıon. The fırst area was a church that had remants of carvings of crosses and paintings on the walls--evidence of Byzantine Chrıstıans. At the second area we were able to go ınto far more areas. Thıs was a monestary and were able to see where the monks ate and worshıpped. There were many churches at thıs sıte, a few of which had BEAUTIFUL frescos on the walls and up in the dome structures.
It was amazıng to see how detailed these carved buıldings were and how large and complex these places were. It was really a great experience to see how some Chrıstıans got by to avoid being persecuted for their faith.





Just another fun-filled day in the lives of 11 traveling students =) Sımply amazing.


Ruth .K. Smith - kT

Turkey, Seljuks, and Whirling Dervishes

Today, September 7 2008, was the 14th day of our trip and what a wonderful day it was! It started off like any other day. Today, however, I had the great honor and pleasure of french braiding Jasmine's lovely hair. After that, my roommates, Jasmine and Katie, and I went downstairs for breakfast, which was rather scrumptious. Then, it was finally time to explore the Museum of Stone and Wood-Carving. We were initially scheduled to visit this site yesterday, yet we were unable to, so the guide decided to postpone it until this morning. 

This museum was formerly a madrasa or a Quran school, where Mirvana and his father once lectured. The museum consisted of many Seljuk monuments, which were characterized by many stone carvings. The eljuks are the Turkish people that came before the Ottomans. The most significant part of this building was its monumental gates. As we entered the museum, we saw a big court yard and little rooms on the sides, which were formerly study cells. 

As the rest of the group wondered around the museum, I was w

ith Dr. Suzanne Mallory and the guide and they were talking about the history of the Seljuks and how they were more liberal Muslims compared to the Ottomans, who once ruled the Muslim world. They did not have any Khalifs, because they believed that

 true Islam states that there is to be no author between man and God. 

After listening to this very insightful conversation, I decided to look around closer, and realized just how wonderful these inscriptions were. They were clearly carved words onto stone. The reason why I can confidently say that they are clear is because

 I am blessed with the ability to read Arabic and most of the words were in Arabic, due to Islam. Many of these stones had mythical creatures on them, and I saw Alex and Dr. Paul Mallory attempting to decipher what they were exactly. It is very nice to see geniuses at work! 

When our time was up in this museum, we moved on to the great Alaeddin Camii or Mosque. This is one of the 13th century's earliest mosques. Unlike many of the modern mosques we have seen, this one had no dome and had a flat roof and was composed of many wooden pillars. Outside the mosque was a list of all the dead Seljuk Sultans. Also, right outside the mosque was an odd structure, which was protecting what seemed to be a remnant of an old wall. The guide described it as a modern structure protecting an ancient wall. This made me think about the irony of the situation. There you had an old, extremely meaningful piece of history protected by a newly born meaningless structure. You would have to see it to understand.  And here it is: 

The guide clarified that this Mosque had been evidently renewed, since the original Seljuk structure must have been much fancier and more ornate. 

I still recall the first time I found out we were going to the Alaeddin Mosque, I thought of Aladdin... the disney character. I asked Dr. Suzanne if this Sultan had anything to do with the disney character, yet unfortunately he did not! I was so excited about telling my younger siblings that I went to Aladdin's mosque, but now, that would be a lie! Oh well! 

When the mosque had been toured, we moved on to the bus and got ready for a relatively long drive to the Sultanhani Kervansaray. On the bus, Christina gave an excellent presentation on the Hans. She stated that this one was of the biggest ones and was built in 1229. The purpose of these structures was as an overnight stop for traders and were within 10 miles of each other. They offered 3 nights of free lodging, which is a rather generous offer. They were usually large triangular or square structures and sometimes had a mosque or masjed in the middle. The particular one we visited was square-shaped with a masjed in the middle, and was infested with pigeons everywhere. 

When we had seen this, we crossed the street to a little restaurant across the street and the guide treated us to some tea, before we headed off for a half-hour drive for lunch. It was always difficult for me to eat, with the knowledge that most if not all the surrounding people were fasting. Then, I spoke to Dr. Suzanne about it, and she told me not to worry about it, since seeing people eat, as they fast actually brings them closer to God and to their devotions. I guess that does make sense, yet we were also taught to respect the Muslim religion and Turkish culture, so I am still trying my best not to rudely eat in public before the time comes to break the fast. 

After lunch, we headed for Cappadocia. On the way, the group played the concentration game and black magic. I, however sat daydreaming of how lovely it would be to go home and be with m family again. We made a stop to view the remarkable houses that were in the mountains... literally. They were beautiful!  

When we finally arrived to our hotel, the Surban Hotel in Urgup, we checked in and awaited dinner which would be at 7:45. I was personally quite pleased with the time, since the fast breaks at around that time, and we would be respecting the Turks and eating at a proper time to depart at 8:40 to see the whirling dervishes. 

By the time dinner was over, we had to rush to the bus to make it by 9:15, and we did! We had some time to spare once we got there, so we posed for pictures. When the doors opened, we entered, and after moving from the fifth row, ended up getting the first three rows. The performance was extravagant! About 11 men came into the room. 5 of them were actually whirling, 5 were playing various musical instruments and singing, and one seemed to have been guiding the dancers. It begins and ends with oral recitations that I believe were in Arabic, spoken with a thick accent. The whirling was mind boggling. They truly seemed to have been on a rotating device of some sort. I really enjoyed the spirituality of the event. It all circled around prayer. Initially, one of the musicians prayed aloud, then the 5 whirlers began to whirl, stop, and whirl again for about 5 times. The whole performance was repetitive, yet symmetrical. My interpretation of that would be a portrayal of equality and fairness through God. The dancers greatly respected each other, and this was evident through their bowing to each other. Another religious aspect that sprung out is the meditation that accompanied this activity. Looking at the whirlers as they twisted and observing their facial expressions and motions, one can see the serenity and desire for spiritual union with God. 

This performance truly made my day, and though they may have been worshipping as Sufists or Muslims, I truly felt that I could relate to them, and I truly respect their devotion to our one universal God.

More photos

If you would like to see more photos from our trip, click on the "More photos" link on the right side of the page. I haven't been able to get the slideshow to work from here for some reason, but this is where we'll upload more photos of what we're doing.

Life On the Road

I have always wondered how life would be like as a rock star on the road... and now I think I do. For the past couple of days, we have been on the road on our tour bus for hours; only stopping for bathroom breaks, lunch, and of course, our destination. Today, our destination was the city of Konya, which was a seven hour bus ride! So how did we pass the time? 

Need I explain...

Today, we visited Mevlana Museum. 

This museum is dedicated to the 14th century mystic philosopher Mevlana. Known for his love for others, and unflinching concern for humanity, he was also a big fan of meditating- while spinning around. His unique meditations prompted his later followers to formulate his principles into a religious order; therefore, making him the accidental founder of The Whirling Dervishes (which we are going to visit tomorrow)! 

Not only did the museum contain his mausoleum, but there were a number of Korans on display that came from all different centuries, shapes, colors, and sizes! I noticed that people were trying, with excitement, to read through all the Korans, as if the Korans of the past and present differed. I appreciated the Muslim people more because of this because they showed me that they had a deep sense of respect towards the history of their religion. But if there was one thing that most fascinated me about the mosque (now turned museum) was that Muslims still use it as a place of worship! I witnessed Muslim of all ages, praying towards Mevlana and some of his followers' tombs, and tearing up at the displays of Korans, and that of the holy beard of Mohammed. That was a sacred sight for me, and I only observed in amazement that Islam truly has very faithful followers.

After our brief visit to the museum, we took a short stroll through the main streets of Konya, where surpringly, we were not tremendously hassled by the bazaar store clerks, but were rather hassled by stares (think of a group of multiracial students walking through a non-touristic street). We then headed back to our (fourth) hotel of the week: The Balikcilar Hotel,

where we dined in and celebrated Julian's 21st birthday (planning to celebrate his legality in the US upon return).

Late nights in a hotel? Check.

Riding on a tour bus across cities? Check.

Receiving stares or amazement wherever we go? Check.

Rock star status?   ;-)

Rock out,

Michelle Lumban-Gaol

reflections

Thus far our blog entries have been mostly travelogue rather than reflection (and of course not nearly enough photos). I think this is probably because we are in the midst of experiencing so many new things that it is sometimes difficult to devote the energy to process everything, and even more difficult to write about the reflecting we are doing. We have had a number of opportunities to talk among ourselves about some of our thoughts and feelings, though, and I'd like to share some of this with our families and friends at home. Hopefully other members of our group will add some of what I miss, as I know I can only barely begin to scratch the surface of this topic here.

In the last few days in Istanbul we had some incredible experiences interacting with people here. All of us have made new friends and have been enriched by the generosity of the people here in sharing their lives with us. Our conversations with people here have often stretched us in unexpected ways and pushed us to think about our own cultures and values in a different light. I think we were all sad to leave Istanbul and our new friends and have felt keenly the desire for more time to explore the city and continue building relationships.

Some of our experiences with people here have been as a large group, but we also split into smaller groups fairly frequently, and I will share a mix of those experiences. We have met Turks, Kurds, Armenians, Greeks, Afghanis, Arabs, Hungarians, Georgians, refugees, people who have been forced to migrate within and between countries, life-long Itanbulllus, converts to Islam, non-religious Muslims, women with and without headscarves, secularists, students, elderly people, families, young parents, newlyweds separated by dire economic circumstances, and relatives or family friends we had never before met. We have found points of connection in similar experiences, feelings, and life circumstances, and we've learned a lot from our differences. We've had opportunities to break the fast in the celebratory evening meal with Muslims after sunset; drank endless glasses of tea offered by our hosts, given and accepted gifts; admired cats; bartered for souvenirs; gathered around a piano to hear original compositions sung and played by our host; listened to the life stories of various people; learned to use some new and different toileting systems; ridden ferries, a funicular, buses, trams, taxis, trains, and subways; sung our way through a number of Disney films; walked many kilometers; learned some Turkish; played games using dried pasta as markers; been awakened by the Ramadan drummers before dawn; adjusted enough to sleep through the call to prayer; and eaten and enjoyed new foods. One of us was successfully diagnosed and treated for an allergic reaction by a local eczane (and no, the suspect was not some unusual Turkish allergen but the dye in a pair of socks brought from home). We have been humbled numerous times by the hospitality of Istanbullus who have offered us food and drinks even when they themselves were fasting, invited us to use their space to work or relax or chat, offered us rides and escorts to places that were difficult to find (often the response was something along the lines of "Oh, I was just going there! You can come with me"), given up their seats on trams to ensure we had places to sit, and explained to us rules and systems that seemed incomprehensible. On the few occasions when people were rude to us or tried to overcharge us, we were hotly defended by other Turks who went out of their way to "make it up" to us or try to right the perceived wrong.

We have had a number of discussions among ourselves about our thoughts and reflections on what we are experiencing. For example, we've had several discussions about how each of our own ethnicities (and how visible they are) impacts the way people interact with us. One of our group seems to be perceived as particularly "exotic" looking, and she has been approached on the street several times by complete strangers asking to take a photo with her. One man even handed her his toddler to hold for a photo. There also have been several incidents in which some of the women in the group have encountered seualized comments from strangers. Fortunately the students were not subject to the worst of this (that dubious honor goes to me) but these have led to some good discussions of factors in Turkish society that may contribute to this problem. We have also been discussing the hidden curriculum in museums and other cultural sites and the ways that both we and the people we meet are concerned about how our cultures are perceived by the other. We went to an "Ottoman village" yesterday where the people supposedly live like they did in Ottoman times. Because I have been in real Turkish villages it felt to me a bit like the Disney version of reality. It is the same idea as colonial Williamsberg in the US except that real people live in these villages all the time. We began a discussion of where the people put their satellite dishes, how this setup impacts their lives (e.g. None of the men work. The women support the families by selling jam, running teahouses, and cooking for tourists), and how what restrictions on people's lives are imposed to maintain this version of reality.

I have been very impressed by the students' flexibility and eagerness to engage with the people and cultures here. They have extended themselves far beyond what would be their normal comfort zones to experience new things. I feel honored to have been given this opportunity to learn from them and share their enjoyment of new discoveries.

One of the things I have enjoyed the most about this journey together has been watching our students rise to the challenges presented to them. The traditional classsroom provdes only a limited range of opportunites for students to show their strengths. My respect for this group of students has grown a tremendous amount as I have watched them interact with each other, with people freom other cultures, and with my kids and mother-in-law. I see characteristics that I admire in each one of them and it's a real pleasure to me to get to know each of them better.

I have one request for any reader. I set up a slideshow on the right hand side of the page. There are only a few photos in the show, but I can't tell if it is working. The photo hosting sites I tried were all blocked in Turkey. I managed to get into Flickr through a "backdoor" and put a few of the trip photos onto our account, but I can't tell if it's working because the feed is blocked here. If our readers can see the photos in the slideshow I will add more photos. SO ... Could someone please comment on this post to tell us if you can see the slideshow and what country you are reading from? Thanks.

Suzanne Mallery

DAY XII

Merhaba Family & Friends,

What a day this has been! It all began with an early morning wake up call you pick up not understanding a word their saying because it's all in Turkish. Then, it's the daily race against my roommates, Niiang & Michelle, to the restroom. Luckily, today we were able to get ready with little complications making it to breakfast with 20 minutes to spare. We ate quickly leaving enough time to stock up on food. By 8:30 am we're "on the road again," this time heading to Ephesus. Ephesus is mentioned several times in the Bible. The well-known story about Ephesus is when Paul was speaking in the acropolis to the Romans against their idols of Artemis. Paul was booed off the stage, fortunately, leaving the city alive. We were actually able to see the acropolis in person, it was huge! It could hold up to 22,000 people! There were many other things to see also, like the library, different styles of pillars, the agora, & we can't forget about the lovely restroom! Ephesus was amazing, unfortunately, it was really hot today so at times we were racing to the shade overlooking a couple things on the way. Nonetheless, we were still able to stop every so often for impromptu photo shoots, which caused us to get left behind by the tour guide (we can't help it if we're a photogenic group :o) The Mallery's were even able to get a cute Christmas Greeting Picture out of one of the photo shoots! 

After visiting Ephesus, our next stop was the Ephesus Museum in Selcuk (the "c" in Selcuk has a funky squiggle under it but I can't seem to figure it out how to do it so . . .) Anywho, once we got there we saw the preserved artifacts that were excavated from the site. The gladiator exhibition was very interesting. I can't believe people enjoyed watching others kill as a sport! I love sports & all but that's a bit much! 

Later, we were set free to eat lunch on our own, which in reality means eat-food-that-you-"borrowed"-from-the-hotel. Michelle, Niiang, Katie, Ramona, and I had a lovely little picnic just chatting away about girl things. We met up with Meagan & Jasmine giggling away to Dane Cook & his top heavy koolaid pitcher. The next thing we know, it's time to get back into the bus to continue our journey on to Pamukkale aka Cotton Castle. The drive was about 3 hours long so we popped in Leslie's Prince Caspian movie and fell asleep to a laughing witch and Alex conjuring up pranks for a bus load of sleeping students (yeah I know, not the best thing to fall asleep to but we're exhausted!) Once we arrived at the tavertines, calcium carbonate pools, we trekked up awhile and then out of nowhere a Marshmallow Kingdom appeared! Seriously, it was unreal! The sight left me speechless. . . . . . .see that was my speechless moment :o). We were able to walk along replicas of the tavertines, which wasn't the most comfortable thing, but we managed to do it making it all the way to the bottom with the help of Christina and Julian. 

Lastly, after walking around in the tavertines we headed to our hotel to freshen up for Sabbath evening vespers. Following, vespers we ate a magnificent meal at our hotel's buffet feeling our stomaches so that we will have a peaceful nights rest. Until next time. . . .

                                                                 Happy Sabbath,

Chelsea Johnson

To my family & friends,

I hope all is well back home. I miss & love yall more than yall could imagine! See ya soon. -chels

Some Photos

The first photo here is a view of the Bosphorus from our hotel in Istanbul, and the second shows the gorgeous spices displayed for sale in the Spice Bazaar in Istanbul

Today started a new chapter in our journey throughout Europe and the Middle East. Not only have we now left Istanbul, but we also began to travel with the tour group which appears to represent a major change that will occur for the rest of our trip. Rather than the previous days of our travel, today we have moved by tour bus and have had a very regimented schedule that both removed many of the chaotic elements of our trip, but also limited our interaction with Turkish people.

Our day began early with our departure from the hotel at 6:45 and we then took a car ferry across to Bursa. From there we went to the large silk market that Bursa is so famous for and looked around at the various shops with some people making purchases. Once we had finished there we were whisked off to a series of mosques and mausoleums, most of which date back to the time of the Ottomans. These locations were beautiful, but soon the heat of the day and the earliness of our start seemed to blur them all together. Eventually we made it to our hotel, which was arguably a more beautiful sight than any of the mosques we have seen. It is a very nice hotel and even as I write this most of the girls are in the Turkish bath hopefully having a wonderful time.

On a deeper level today we were given an assignment to try and find the hidden message behind the culture around us, both purposeful and what has become second nature. This assignment forces us to look past the clear appearances and instead concentrate on the reasons behind the world around us. Some of the things that were discussed were the conflict between secularism and Islam in Turkey and the way to look at both sides objectively and also the way the Turkish government presents itself and Turkey. Our tour guide is a vocal secularist and it provides a fascinating juxtaposition to the Turks and Kurds that we have met in our travels. Although there is the possibility that Chelsea will remain slightly afraid of him simply because she was unexpectedly interrogated on American military involvement in the Middle East and the current support of the Turkish government. Another interesting observation to make is the way the Turkish government presents the sites that we will be visiting. The combination of all of these fascinating elements will make this assignment an interesting one; one that will hopefully force us to reexamine our entire world to find the hidden message.

On a practical note, this is Alex Wisbey posting today. I think that I am still logged on as Jasmine because she used my computer to post in Berlin, but let me assure you that this is me and that we are sharing the burden of the blog. I hope that everyone is having a wonderful summer because I know we are. Peace.

Last day in Istanbul

Hi friends and family! Merhaba! (Hello!)

Today, like every day, seems like it has been a long day.

At 9:15 the group saddled up and left for the docks. Unfortunately, Aydin wasn't feeling too well so Dr. Paul stayed behind to take care of him. We arrived at the docks just in time and pushed off. The morning had perfect weather, just like most of the days we've been here. As the ferry started chugging up the Marmara sea to the mouth of the river, the wind picked up. The wind felt wonderful as the sun peeked out from behind the clouds every now and again. The steady rock of the boat was soothing, but annoying for some... (Especially those trying to steady piping hot apple tea!) Cameras were whipped out quickly to capture light reflecting off the water and  sights seen from the sidewalk, but now have turned wondrous. 

I loved the crisp air blowing across my face and the smell of salt wafting up from the spray of water against the boat. The boat crossed under the first bridge, the Bogazici bridge. This bridge is one of two bridges and is the older. We saw many palaces and interesting sights close up to the left of the boat. There were all sorts of different kind of ships and houses on the coast. A dock had been turned into some kind of spa place and had a huge swimming pool on it! I bet if you were to swim in it, you would think you were swimming in the Bosphorus. Near the second bridges, the Fatih Sultan Mehmet, we started turning around. Here there is a fortress called the Rumeli Fortress. In this photo you can see the second bridge and fortress.

*(Here's a video clip of us on the Bosphorus :) you may have to tilt your screen for optimal viewing... http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7823907846269217089&hl=en )

Since our days have been pretty packed and this day was our last full day in Istanbul, we were given some free time to explore and shop around before meeting back up at 6. Most of us explored the Spice Bazaar to look for gifts like Turkish delight, tea, coffee, and other presents. 

Some of us desired to go back to the Grand (Covered) Bazaar to pick up specific items, so we went there for an hour or so. 

After the Bazaars, the group I was in went back to the hotel to do laundry, pack, and take naps. Other students explored the city to talk with turks, buy carpets, and walk around. At 5:15, Ramona, Jasmine, Julian, Alex, and I set out to find the meeting place for dinner: Galata Tower. Forget the tram, we walked. 

And walked. And walked. 

Over the bridge, through traffic, to Galata Tower we go.

Now to get up to the tower, one must climb a small mountain... and looking back, I wish I would've taken a picture of the staircase that put my endurance skills to shame. 

Dinner, however, is another story. A short distance away we arrived at Evi-Galata House. This building has a long history; including taking identity as a prison, police station, residence, and restaurant. The food served is mostly Georgian and Russian,... aka, delicious!

 

By the time the chocolate cake was served, everyone expressed immense satisfaction. 

Leaving Evi-Galata, we took the tram back (thank goodness!). Even though it was getting late the streets were packed with people breaking fast from Ramadan. It was like a huge carnival had settled into town between the Ayasofia (pictured) and Blue Mosque.

Kids were eating cotton candy, families were buying toys and food, and sidewalks were bursting with people. Traffic was terrible so we easily crossed the street and headed back. Chelsea and I bought some pistachio and caramel ice cream on the way back. The flavor was very unique but we enjoyed it.

I'm sure you have enjoyed seeing our pictures and reading our blogs. But these representations do only that. The experience that I have had in Istanbul is not one I'll easily forget. And even though I'm so far behind in my daily journal that I don't want to think about it, I believe that recounting the stories and places I've been to won't be difficult. 

I hope :)

I have really enjoyed my stay and look forward to Bursa tomorrow. Which... is in a few hours so I'll be off. From Turkey, Allahaismarladik! (Goodbye!)

Meagan

Hi to the Academy

Dear LSA K-3 students,
Hello from Turkey! Look at a map to see where we are when you are in school.
We have seen many buildings and displays about people who lived more than 1000 years ago. Yesterday we visited Haghia Sophia, which is very large and very beautiful. It has been both a mosque and a church. Look up "mosque" on the internet to find out more about what it is. Around 4 am every morning we hear someone chanting from each mosque to tell people that it is time for them to pray.
We also visited a cistern, which is a big room where water is stored until people need to drink it. More than 300 years ago, people forgot that the water was underground. They built houses on top of it. But a few people found out that if they dug a hole in their basement there was a big space under their house, and if they put a fishing line into the hole they could catch fish down there! Now there are bridges above the water so can walk on the bridges and look at the fish below you.
When we eat breakfast on the roof of our hotel the big black crows, seagulls, and little sparrows come to visit us and beg for our food. Yesterday one of the big crows got really brave and stole a whole roll of bread from Cait.
Cait and Aydin say hi.
- Science Granny and Science Mom

Learnıng about Kurdısh sıtuatıon

Thıs mornıng we took our tıme eatıng breakfast, then we went to talk to a man. He told us how the Kurds were mıstreated and about the ınjustıces done to them. For example, some Kurdısh farmers were forced to move ınto the cıtıes. They were gıven one week to leave theır homes and vıllages where they have lıved theır whole lıves. These farmers do not know how to make money ın the cıty! They have been farmıng theır whole lıves, so ofcourse the dısplaced people lıve ın poverty. Thıs ıs done because the government ıs tryıng to seperate them so that they wıll not be able to work together to rebel. However, thıs ınternal seperatıon allowed the Kurdısh cause to spread throughout the country. The government also uses the medıa to ınfluence the mınds of the people by portrayıng the Kurds and heartless terrorısts and showıng the grıevıng mothers of the men that the PKK kılled. However, they do not show the grıevıng Kurdısh mothers who lost theır sons to the soldıers. Ofcourse they don't. The government ıs tryıng to make ıt seem as ıf Kurds are vıcıous people. As the man says, they are called terrorısts for tryıng to protect theır bread and famılıes. Knowıng that the medıa ıs very ınfluentıal, the Kurds have started to broadcast some programs on televısıon that can vıewed ın many countrıes. In thıs way, they can have a voıce, a chance to tell theır sıde of the story.

The man told us storıes of how he and hıs famıly experıenced mıstreatment. Once, the man was forced to pay money or he would be sent to jaıl. In fact, once he was taken to jaıl because he dıd not pay the amount requested. At one poınt, he joıned the army. When he joıned the army, he was statıoned ın hıs town so that he would have to kıll hıs people. Another tıme, he came home from work and was questıoned by soldıers and followed home. When he was home, he was greeted by hıs famıly, and when the father saw the soldıers wıth hım, the father asked what was goıng on. Immedıately, the father was beaten ın front of the whole famıly and the soldıers ınsulted the mother and the whole famıly. The man's father dıd not return tıll the next mornıng, beaten. Storıes lıke these are very common. In fact, thıs story ıs a very mınor case. There are other ınstances where people are murdered.

Ofcourse, struggles lıke these are very common, but the man belıeves that one day both Turks and Kurds can lıve peacefully. For the Kurds, educatıon wıll play a huge role ın helpıng to solve thıs current problem. We wıll just have to see what happens ın the future, won't we?

Well, after that ınterestıng talk, we had lunch and then we went to the Grand Bazaar and had free tıme. We were free to move about the Bazaar and the cıty, to explore and to learn on our own. It was very excıtıng. We were gıven 10 lıras each to fınd somethıng for South Hall. We had to barter ın order to get somethıng at a decent prıce. It was really hard and ınterestıng. Some of us had natural ınstıncts for thıs sort of thıng and got great prıces, whıle others struggled to fınd somethıng they could afford because they are not very good at bartarıng. I'm afraıd I was one of the people that was not very good at bartarıng. After shoppıng for hours, I only bought a couple ıtems! All ın all, ıt was a good day. We all wısh that all of you at home can experıence the beauty of thıs cıty!!!!

If my famıly reads thıs.......hı! Yes, I'm alıve and doıng well. And yes, I mıss you too. I'm havıng a great tıme and wıll be travelıng agaın Wednesday morıng, goıng around western Turkey. Sorry, there's no pıctures. I'll update later. Bye!!!!