June had arrived and with it the end of my classes at Bogazici University. Of course there were still final exams to take, but let us not forget that I am a carefree exchange student (except for the fact that my grades actually count unlike most of the exchange students).
The final exam period at Bogazici is much longer than the exam period I was used to at Emory. Instead of only a week, the exam period lasts for two weeks. This can be both good and bad depending on how your exams are distributed. I would say that for me it was mostly good. The first three days of the exam period, I had three exams: Turkish language, EU Relations with Russia, and International Law. With the exception of International Law, my easiest exams were first. This was good because I got those out of the way early without having to stress too much. Then, my final two exams (Political Economy of Turkey and Turkish Politics). Political Econ is probably one of the hardest classes I've ever taken anywhere...so I expected that one to be ugly. The professor of Turkish politics is so lazy that I didn't know what to expect from his exam. Since these exams were at the very end of the exam period, I functionally had about 10 days off with nothing to do.
Certainly, I wasn't going to waste those and so with the suggestion of Brooks and Tyler (two exchange student friends I made over the semester), I decided to find a flight to Budapest. From there, I would meet them and we would travel to Bratislava. I decided after that that I would spend a day in Vienna (the Music major in me could not pass up the opportunity of traveling to one of the music capitals of the world when I was only 40 miles away!).
So there was the idea. I got on a Malev Hungarian flight to Budapest from Istanbul (round trip only $200) which I thought was an incredibly good deal. I met up with Brooks and Tyler at the hostel and we went out for a traditional hungarian meal. I took pictures but couldn't tell you what it was. It was some sort of red meat dish and it was delicious. There was also yogurt involved and some sort of pasta-like dish. I also had a local beer (which by the way only costs about $2 in Hungary).
Brooks, Tyler, and I went back to the hostel and went to bed early since we had an early train the next morning. We took the train for 3 hours and finally arrived in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Once we got off the train, we made our way to a hostel to put our stuff down and explore Slovakia. We then began walking. We didn't really have a plan...we were just hoping to see cool stuff. We walked across the river under the famous futuristic disk thingy that people associate with Bratislava. One thing I did notice as I was walking across the river was the remnants of the old communist apartment buildings. They were not nearly a pronounced as they were in say Armenia or Georgia, but it was still an interesting reminder that only 20 years earlier the entirety of eastern Europe was under communist rule.
We walked to a castle (another famous landmark in Bratislava) but unfortunately we couldn't tour the structure because it was under construction/renovation. It was nice just to walk around. Walking over the Danube River, you could see a good portion of Bratislava. We then walked down a hill near the river to a main courtyard. It looked as if the area had been especially made for walking. We knew we were in the center of town because we were close to the American Embassy. It was funny to compare the American Embassy to the other embassies in Bratislava. The others looked like normal buildings, but the American one was equipped wiht metal detectors and intense equipment to keep out unwanted visitors. I was surprised because I didn't think Slovakia was known to harvest people hostile to the United States but I guess with embassies abroad the US can never be too careful.
We walked around for a bit and then decided to have lunch. Unfortunately, everything in this area was going to set us back at least 10 euros. Oh well, at least the hostel was cheap.
After lunch, we continued walking and saw some neat buildings (including the famous opera house). I definitely took some cool pictures. We also went inside a church (not that going inside a church in Europe is all that surprising). We finished off by randomly stumbling across the Jewish museum. We spent about an hour going through it and seeing Jewish items from this area. They had everything from prayer shawls to menorahs to yads and it was all very ornate.
After the Jewish museum, we walked back to the Bratislava castle and took pictures and admired the view. It was situated on the highest hill in Bratislava and allowed us to see the entire city. We then made our way to a restaurant to meet with a family friend of Brooks'. Doug and his wife had been doing missionary work in Slovakia for the last few years and had been living here. Doug was religious but a really nice guy. He suggested some authentic Slovakian cuisine for us to try (it was some sort of pasta in yogurt with meat on top) and he also suggested some Slovakian beers for us. At the end of the day, we wandered back to the hostel and went to sleep. At this point, Brooks and Tyler left me to return back to Hungary and to Turkey. I decided to take an extra day on my little excursion to head to Vienna since I was so close!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
The Metrobus
I wanted to take this opportunity to write about another amazing aspect of Istanbul: the Metrobus. When I refer to the Metrobus, I am not talking about the busses that stop every few minutes along the streets. Instead, I am talking about an express bus that can take you across the city in about 45 minutes -- truly remarkable. For most of you, this does not seem that remarkable because you are used to the ease of transportation in a car in the United States, so I should qualify this statement by saying it is truly remarkable for Istanbul.
It took me about 45 minutes on the normal bus to get to Taksim Square, which is only a few kilometers from my apartment. The metrobus is a project of the AKP Government and is able to bypass traffic. This is a huge asset in a city of 18 million. On the 2nd outer loop of the interstate (and now it goes over the Bosphorus Bridge as well) 2 center lanes were built on the limited access highway that goes through parts of Istanbul. In the center of these lanes, there is a bus stop every few kilometers where people can get on and off and walk on a bridge over the interstate to either side and catch a local bus. Because the only vehicles permitted to travel in these two center lanes (and they are completely blocked from the main traffic), the buses never experience any traffic. Between stops they travel 60-80km/hr, which is generally faster than the cars on the interstate due to traffic.
Observing and using the Metrobus makes me wonder if the Turks got it right in some aspect of public transit. All of the facts and figures in the US indicate that to built rail lines (like new MARTA lines in Atlanta) it would cost a million dollars a mile (or some close astronomical figure). In Atlanta, there wouldnt be as much of a need for this sort of metrobus system because MARTA already follows the interstate, performing the same function (but maybe on I-75 north of the split with 85 or 285 it could be useful). It's hard to compare Istanbul with American cities because its much more compact and everything is much closer together (though it takes twice as long to get everywhere). Perhaps it would be a more viable solution in places like LA.
The conditions of the metrobus were nice and they ran rather frequently (unless you're taking 1 at 2am in the morning). All in all I thought it was a really cool thing to see and thought it was worth a posting (but that might have something to do with my weird fascination for interstates and limited access highways). If you ever find yourself in Istanbul, it might save some time if you take the metrobus (especially now that they have expanded service across the Bosphorus) or you can always take a ferry.
It took me about 45 minutes on the normal bus to get to Taksim Square, which is only a few kilometers from my apartment. The metrobus is a project of the AKP Government and is able to bypass traffic. This is a huge asset in a city of 18 million. On the 2nd outer loop of the interstate (and now it goes over the Bosphorus Bridge as well) 2 center lanes were built on the limited access highway that goes through parts of Istanbul. In the center of these lanes, there is a bus stop every few kilometers where people can get on and off and walk on a bridge over the interstate to either side and catch a local bus. Because the only vehicles permitted to travel in these two center lanes (and they are completely blocked from the main traffic), the buses never experience any traffic. Between stops they travel 60-80km/hr, which is generally faster than the cars on the interstate due to traffic.
Observing and using the Metrobus makes me wonder if the Turks got it right in some aspect of public transit. All of the facts and figures in the US indicate that to built rail lines (like new MARTA lines in Atlanta) it would cost a million dollars a mile (or some close astronomical figure). In Atlanta, there wouldnt be as much of a need for this sort of metrobus system because MARTA already follows the interstate, performing the same function (but maybe on I-75 north of the split with 85 or 285 it could be useful). It's hard to compare Istanbul with American cities because its much more compact and everything is much closer together (though it takes twice as long to get everywhere). Perhaps it would be a more viable solution in places like LA.
The conditions of the metrobus were nice and they ran rather frequently (unless you're taking 1 at 2am in the morning). All in all I thought it was a really cool thing to see and thought it was worth a posting (but that might have something to do with my weird fascination for interstates and limited access highways). If you ever find yourself in Istanbul, it might save some time if you take the metrobus (especially now that they have expanded service across the Bosphorus) or you can always take a ferry.
Monday, June 7, 2010
The Saturday Markets
In my little neighborhood of Rumeli Hisarustu, far from the city center, they have a really neat thing they do on Saturdays. From 10am-6pm, they have the neighborhood market. I had taken advantage of the neighborhood market sporadically throughout the semester (some weeks more than others) but don't think I ever really wrote about it. To me, the markets were a pretty cool concept (much like a Farmer's Market you would see in the US).
These markets were, of course, slightly different, selling Turkish foods and produce. The market was set up about a 5 minute walk from my apartment along the main road north. Every Saturday, the sellers would set up big white tents covering the area. I really liked the markets for 2 reasons. Firstly, it was without a doubt the best place to buy fresh produce. I am pretty sure this stuff came straight from the farms to our neighborhood. I suppose that in itself is not overly surprising or impressive considering the same thing happens with markets here in the United States too (they are just fewer and further between).
I walked down the streets to find any sort of produce imagineable. They had fresh broccoli, fresh peaches, potatoes, lemons, etc. The best part was the price (my 2nd reason for loving these little markets)! 4 Lemons for 1 TL and 3 TL for a kilo of potatoes was pretty much the norm. They also sold all sorts of authentic cheeses (but I wouldn't touch the cheese in an outdoor market because I am superstitious). They even had freshly caught fish, laundry detergent, toilet paper, and clothes.
I think the diversity of items beyond the produce (which is typically what one would expect at a farmer's market) is what surprised me most. On some Saturdays I would go and buy what we needed for the apartment and come back with bags full of things for only 10 or 20 Lira. It was out of control! They even had "Turkish bananas" which were like the South American ones but smaller and different. I really did enjoy going to the fresh markets and it was another of the aspects of life in Istanbul that I will miss.
These markets were, of course, slightly different, selling Turkish foods and produce. The market was set up about a 5 minute walk from my apartment along the main road north. Every Saturday, the sellers would set up big white tents covering the area. I really liked the markets for 2 reasons. Firstly, it was without a doubt the best place to buy fresh produce. I am pretty sure this stuff came straight from the farms to our neighborhood. I suppose that in itself is not overly surprising or impressive considering the same thing happens with markets here in the United States too (they are just fewer and further between).
I walked down the streets to find any sort of produce imagineable. They had fresh broccoli, fresh peaches, potatoes, lemons, etc. The best part was the price (my 2nd reason for loving these little markets)! 4 Lemons for 1 TL and 3 TL for a kilo of potatoes was pretty much the norm. They also sold all sorts of authentic cheeses (but I wouldn't touch the cheese in an outdoor market because I am superstitious). They even had freshly caught fish, laundry detergent, toilet paper, and clothes.
I think the diversity of items beyond the produce (which is typically what one would expect at a farmer's market) is what surprised me most. On some Saturdays I would go and buy what we needed for the apartment and come back with bags full of things for only 10 or 20 Lira. It was out of control! They even had "Turkish bananas" which were like the South American ones but smaller and different. I really did enjoy going to the fresh markets and it was another of the aspects of life in Istanbul that I will miss.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
The Cem Evi (End of May-ish)
Those of you who have been avidly reading my posts about my Turkish adventures should remember the post when I was in Kars about the Turkish man I met. A few weeks had passed and it was time for me to go to his home to interview him for our Turkish politics project. I can honestly say the story I am about to relate to you is probably one of the best and post powerful experiences I had while I was in Turkey.
Eda, one of my group members, her friend Ozge, and I drove from Istanbul to a small town outside of the city center known as Gebze. It was considered the next province over, but still metro Istanbul. The traffic in the evening was so so and I think the drive ended up taking about an hour and fifteen minutes. Once we got to Gebze, I handed the phone to Eda so that Cemil could explain to her exactly how to reach his home. Cemil was the Alevi worker I met in Kars who had promised to let me interview him about his experiences for our paper.
We went inside and I was greeted warmly. Cemil invited us into the living room so I could explain exactly what the protocol was for the interview. I also had the pleasure of meeting his wife and his infant son. They were a lovely family. Cemil constantly told me that he didn't think his English was sufficient for the interview, but in reality it most definitely was. He spoke English better than a lot of the Turkish people I had met, so I didn't understand why he was so shy about it.
His wife and his child went into the other room, along with Eda, so that we could complete the interview. I set up the tape recorder and began. Through the interview, I learned so many interesting things about both Cemil and the status of Alevis (admittedly a people I had never even heard of until we got this project for my Turkish Politics class). For example, when his family moved from the village to Istanbul in the late 1960's, some of his relatives moved to Switzerland, France, and Germany for political reasons. As a child, he had to hide his identity, even pretending to be Sunni by going to the normal mosque. He even told me that when his friend found out in high school that he was an Alevi that he was shocked because Cemil was "too good of a guy" to be an Alevi. It is amazing what sort of prejudices Cemil had to deal with in his own community. He also talked about his feelings during the Sivas Masssacre of Alevis in 1993 and how he has tried to become more observant of Aleviism but not so religious. In general, I think he had come to terms with his identity and he is very proud of it which I really respected and admired about him.
An interesting point about Cemil is that his family is a member of the Dede sect of Alevis. Most Alevis are actually of a different title (which I cannot remember). Basically, these are the commoners. The Dedes on the other hand are people who are charged with leading the Alevi community and it is passed down from generation to generation. So his father is actually the current Dede of their community in Gebze. Cemil and his brother will both have the ability to be a Dede (and Cemil's brother had already taken over that role to an extent).
After the interview, we had dinner. Cemil's wife also knew English but she was pretty quiet because she wasn't sure if her English was good enough. It was, but she was still embarrassed. The dinner was very delicious (I wish I could recall exactly what we had, but it was very good). So because we were so interested in Alevi traditions, we came on a Thursday night, the night that they have their religious services. Cemil invited me and Eda and her friend to come watch the service.
I rode with Cemil over to the cem evi. We had a really interesting talk on the way over. He asked me about my religion and stuff (which was only fair because I had been asking him questions all night). I told him that I was Jewish and then I told him about some of the hardships I experienced during my time in South Georgia (granted these hardships were nothing compared to what Cemil had to go through...and I told him that). Nevertheless, we bonded over our surprise and disappointment over how close-minded people can be sometimes in our respective communities. It seemed that even though he was Alevi (which was a type of Muslim) and I was Jewish, we had a lot in common with respect to our pasts. It was really neat to share that with him.
We finally arrived at the cem evi and I was introduced to Cemil's father. Eda had almost finished her interview and I went inside the actually sanctuary to see the cem evi and get ready for the service. Cemil introduced me to a younger boy close to my age. Unfortunately for me, he did not know very much English. Cemil told me to stay there while he prayed in a different place. I later found out that the reason Cemil left me was because he was afraid that I would ask him questions the entire time and interrupt the service. He was probably right...
I made some interesting observations about the room and about the environment. My first observation was that at the front of the room. Behind where the Dede sat was a picture of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. In Islam, normally, it is not permitted to have images of any person inside the mosque. I guess the idea is that one would focus too much on the picture of that person and it would distract one from praying to God. This is why you find that mosques generally have mosaics. It is a form of art that does not need the image of a person (or other distracting images) for its admiration. The second surprising thing was that the picture was of Ataturk. The Alevi religion is obviously much older than the early 1900s. Why is it that a picture of the founder of modern Turkey is on the wall? What was there before Ataturk? Also, Ataturk was definitely not an Alevi. The reason that his picture was there, and why Alevis loved Ataturk so much, was because of his commitment to secularism. Secularism was the only way in which Alevis would even have the possibility to practice their religion and they are huge believers of it. In fact, they vote for the Republican People's Party (the founding party of Turkey) religiously (yes, pun intended). Still, despite their reasons for loving Ataturk, it was so interesting for me to see a picture of him in such prominence in a religious building. There was a picture of someone else in the cem evi, but I didn't know who it was.
My second observation was that, as people filed in, we were in the same room as the women. The women could see us and make eye-contact with us. I thought this was very strange considering how in a normal mosque, there is strict separation between men and women during prayer because the opposite sex may cause you to think impure thoughts or be generally distracting while you are praying to God.
My third observation was also related to the women (perhaps this is precisely why the women should be separated from the men during prayer). The women were wearing head coverings. However, the head coverings were not completely covering their hair. For each of the women their hair (as much as 2 or 3 inches) was actually showing in the front of their headcoverings. Not only were they not covered but in a place of worship! It was very surprising.
So after I had studied the room for a bit, the Dede came in and it was time to start. Unfortunately for me, the entire service was conducted in Turkish, limiting my ability to truly understand what was going on (not that I expected it to be in English anyway...). However, some of the observed rituals were just as interesting to me. There were no chairs or anything like that...only a carpet. The custom was the same as at a normal mosque where you had to remove your shoes to enter. At the start of the service I sat on my knees with the bottom half of my legs under me just like you see on TV when Muslims are praying and bowing in the mosque. I don't understand how they do it because after a few minutes my legs started hurting a lot. Maybe it takes years of practice to build up the endurance to sit on your legs like that...or maybe I wasn't doing it right. Who knows?
I made several observations that I wrote in an email to Cemil asking what they meant but never got a chance to find out (still they are interesting and I want to share them with you all). Towards the beginning of the service, a semi-circle was formed and different people would stand up and go to the front. There seemed to be some sort of circular dance going on (but I didn't know the symbolism or what it meant). The circle got bigger until there were enough people. When the people stood up randomly to join the circle, they did it in a certain way, standing up on the side of their feet with each foot tilted slightly inward. When people stood up, it seemed to be at random and I have no idea if they were selected beforehand or if there was some rhyme or reason to it. Luckily, not everyone stood up to join the circle and so I did not feel pressure or fear of embarrassment at not knowing what to do.
Also in the main part of the ceremonies, there was a lamb rug, water, candles (symbolizing Allah, Muhammad, and Ali), and the bottom of a broom. I could tell that they symbolized this trinity because when each pair (it was a boy and a girl) went up to the Dede, they would say while walking in rhythm, "Ya Allah, ya Muhammad, ya Ali." The random objects were very interesting. Also interesting about this was that the men and the women stood right beside one another. So there was close contact between men and women throughout the service. After they said some stuff, they went through the same motions that brought them there backwards (walking backwards but saying the same things...it was very interesting).
Later in the service, a few people formed a circle and danced. There seemed to be more girls than boys. I think there were other interesting/peculiar things but I don't remember them as this happened about a year ago now. I spoke to Ozge and Eda and they both said it was interesting for them. They said that at one point when the guitar was being played (over the call to prayer which is actually considered to be extremely disrespectful in Muslim culture), they said in Turkish that they were doing it to symbolize their ability to worship in their own way or something like that.
The service ended up lasting about 2 hours. Afterwards, when I left the cem evi, swarms of people came up to me. Cemil found me again and translated for me. They were very curious to know how I liked the service and what I thought. I wasn't quite sure what to say because I was still taking it all in. I told them that it was very interesting and I learned a lot. The answer seemed to satisfy them. I asked Cemil why they were so interested in what I thought (and interested in me in general). He told me that I was the first non-Alevi ever to attend the cem evi before and so people were very curious. I was surprised and honored. No one had ever attended and Cemil asked me to come. It was certainly an evening that I will never forget.
Eda, one of my group members, her friend Ozge, and I drove from Istanbul to a small town outside of the city center known as Gebze. It was considered the next province over, but still metro Istanbul. The traffic in the evening was so so and I think the drive ended up taking about an hour and fifteen minutes. Once we got to Gebze, I handed the phone to Eda so that Cemil could explain to her exactly how to reach his home. Cemil was the Alevi worker I met in Kars who had promised to let me interview him about his experiences for our paper.
We went inside and I was greeted warmly. Cemil invited us into the living room so I could explain exactly what the protocol was for the interview. I also had the pleasure of meeting his wife and his infant son. They were a lovely family. Cemil constantly told me that he didn't think his English was sufficient for the interview, but in reality it most definitely was. He spoke English better than a lot of the Turkish people I had met, so I didn't understand why he was so shy about it.
His wife and his child went into the other room, along with Eda, so that we could complete the interview. I set up the tape recorder and began. Through the interview, I learned so many interesting things about both Cemil and the status of Alevis (admittedly a people I had never even heard of until we got this project for my Turkish Politics class). For example, when his family moved from the village to Istanbul in the late 1960's, some of his relatives moved to Switzerland, France, and Germany for political reasons. As a child, he had to hide his identity, even pretending to be Sunni by going to the normal mosque. He even told me that when his friend found out in high school that he was an Alevi that he was shocked because Cemil was "too good of a guy" to be an Alevi. It is amazing what sort of prejudices Cemil had to deal with in his own community. He also talked about his feelings during the Sivas Masssacre of Alevis in 1993 and how he has tried to become more observant of Aleviism but not so religious. In general, I think he had come to terms with his identity and he is very proud of it which I really respected and admired about him.
An interesting point about Cemil is that his family is a member of the Dede sect of Alevis. Most Alevis are actually of a different title (which I cannot remember). Basically, these are the commoners. The Dedes on the other hand are people who are charged with leading the Alevi community and it is passed down from generation to generation. So his father is actually the current Dede of their community in Gebze. Cemil and his brother will both have the ability to be a Dede (and Cemil's brother had already taken over that role to an extent).
After the interview, we had dinner. Cemil's wife also knew English but she was pretty quiet because she wasn't sure if her English was good enough. It was, but she was still embarrassed. The dinner was very delicious (I wish I could recall exactly what we had, but it was very good). So because we were so interested in Alevi traditions, we came on a Thursday night, the night that they have their religious services. Cemil invited me and Eda and her friend to come watch the service.
I rode with Cemil over to the cem evi. We had a really interesting talk on the way over. He asked me about my religion and stuff (which was only fair because I had been asking him questions all night). I told him that I was Jewish and then I told him about some of the hardships I experienced during my time in South Georgia (granted these hardships were nothing compared to what Cemil had to go through...and I told him that). Nevertheless, we bonded over our surprise and disappointment over how close-minded people can be sometimes in our respective communities. It seemed that even though he was Alevi (which was a type of Muslim) and I was Jewish, we had a lot in common with respect to our pasts. It was really neat to share that with him.
We finally arrived at the cem evi and I was introduced to Cemil's father. Eda had almost finished her interview and I went inside the actually sanctuary to see the cem evi and get ready for the service. Cemil introduced me to a younger boy close to my age. Unfortunately for me, he did not know very much English. Cemil told me to stay there while he prayed in a different place. I later found out that the reason Cemil left me was because he was afraid that I would ask him questions the entire time and interrupt the service. He was probably right...
I made some interesting observations about the room and about the environment. My first observation was that at the front of the room. Behind where the Dede sat was a picture of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. In Islam, normally, it is not permitted to have images of any person inside the mosque. I guess the idea is that one would focus too much on the picture of that person and it would distract one from praying to God. This is why you find that mosques generally have mosaics. It is a form of art that does not need the image of a person (or other distracting images) for its admiration. The second surprising thing was that the picture was of Ataturk. The Alevi religion is obviously much older than the early 1900s. Why is it that a picture of the founder of modern Turkey is on the wall? What was there before Ataturk? Also, Ataturk was definitely not an Alevi. The reason that his picture was there, and why Alevis loved Ataturk so much, was because of his commitment to secularism. Secularism was the only way in which Alevis would even have the possibility to practice their religion and they are huge believers of it. In fact, they vote for the Republican People's Party (the founding party of Turkey) religiously (yes, pun intended). Still, despite their reasons for loving Ataturk, it was so interesting for me to see a picture of him in such prominence in a religious building. There was a picture of someone else in the cem evi, but I didn't know who it was.
My second observation was that, as people filed in, we were in the same room as the women. The women could see us and make eye-contact with us. I thought this was very strange considering how in a normal mosque, there is strict separation between men and women during prayer because the opposite sex may cause you to think impure thoughts or be generally distracting while you are praying to God.
My third observation was also related to the women (perhaps this is precisely why the women should be separated from the men during prayer). The women were wearing head coverings. However, the head coverings were not completely covering their hair. For each of the women their hair (as much as 2 or 3 inches) was actually showing in the front of their headcoverings. Not only were they not covered but in a place of worship! It was very surprising.
So after I had studied the room for a bit, the Dede came in and it was time to start. Unfortunately for me, the entire service was conducted in Turkish, limiting my ability to truly understand what was going on (not that I expected it to be in English anyway...). However, some of the observed rituals were just as interesting to me. There were no chairs or anything like that...only a carpet. The custom was the same as at a normal mosque where you had to remove your shoes to enter. At the start of the service I sat on my knees with the bottom half of my legs under me just like you see on TV when Muslims are praying and bowing in the mosque. I don't understand how they do it because after a few minutes my legs started hurting a lot. Maybe it takes years of practice to build up the endurance to sit on your legs like that...or maybe I wasn't doing it right. Who knows?
I made several observations that I wrote in an email to Cemil asking what they meant but never got a chance to find out (still they are interesting and I want to share them with you all). Towards the beginning of the service, a semi-circle was formed and different people would stand up and go to the front. There seemed to be some sort of circular dance going on (but I didn't know the symbolism or what it meant). The circle got bigger until there were enough people. When the people stood up randomly to join the circle, they did it in a certain way, standing up on the side of their feet with each foot tilted slightly inward. When people stood up, it seemed to be at random and I have no idea if they were selected beforehand or if there was some rhyme or reason to it. Luckily, not everyone stood up to join the circle and so I did not feel pressure or fear of embarrassment at not knowing what to do.
Also in the main part of the ceremonies, there was a lamb rug, water, candles (symbolizing Allah, Muhammad, and Ali), and the bottom of a broom. I could tell that they symbolized this trinity because when each pair (it was a boy and a girl) went up to the Dede, they would say while walking in rhythm, "Ya Allah, ya Muhammad, ya Ali." The random objects were very interesting. Also interesting about this was that the men and the women stood right beside one another. So there was close contact between men and women throughout the service. After they said some stuff, they went through the same motions that brought them there backwards (walking backwards but saying the same things...it was very interesting).
Later in the service, a few people formed a circle and danced. There seemed to be more girls than boys. I think there were other interesting/peculiar things but I don't remember them as this happened about a year ago now. I spoke to Ozge and Eda and they both said it was interesting for them. They said that at one point when the guitar was being played (over the call to prayer which is actually considered to be extremely disrespectful in Muslim culture), they said in Turkish that they were doing it to symbolize their ability to worship in their own way or something like that.
The service ended up lasting about 2 hours. Afterwards, when I left the cem evi, swarms of people came up to me. Cemil found me again and translated for me. They were very curious to know how I liked the service and what I thought. I wasn't quite sure what to say because I was still taking it all in. I told them that it was very interesting and I learned a lot. The answer seemed to satisfy them. I asked Cemil why they were so interested in what I thought (and interested in me in general). He told me that I was the first non-Alevi ever to attend the cem evi before and so people were very curious. I was surprised and honored. No one had ever attended and Cemil asked me to come. It was certainly an evening that I will never forget.
The Belgrade Forest
In keeping with my desire to make the most of my study abroad experience, I had decided that I was not going to let classes get in the way of enjoying Istanbul. Now that the weather had warmed up and the rain had stopped, it was much easier and more fun to go exploring and discovering. One place I was particularly interested in was the Belgrade Forest. The Belgrade Forest is the point of origin for all of the water in the famous Basilica Cistern. The Ottomans actually dug a canal from the forest all the way to the Cistern in Sultanahmet.
The forest is one of the only places around Istanbul where the ancient landscape is still preserved. According to the websites I read, the forest consists mostly of oak and birch trees. The reason I really wanted to visit was because my guidebook had a picture of an ancient "bent" (dam) built by the Ottomans that I wanted to see for myself. Actually, the reason I previously wanted to visit Eastern Turkey was because of the pictures I saw in the guidebook. I guess many adventures in Turkey were sparked by pretty pictures. Well, whatever the reason was, I decided to check it out.
I took the bus to Sariyer and then changed buses to go to a smaller town that is right outside the forest. After about 45 minutes on the bus, I arrived at the town and some locals pointed the way for me to enter the forest. The path in was a paved road with trees on the overhang. I started walking wondering how long it would take for me to get to the main part. The walk took at least 45 minutes, but the scenery was really nice. Once inside, I had the opportunity to buy overpriced potato chips and drinks...and opportunity that I would not take advantage of until later after I had become desperately hungry from not eating lunch. I think 5TL for a bag of chips is just absurd!
So I took my water and I began to walk a ways. I found a nice shaded stump on a path in the forest and decided I would stop there first. I had brought my readings from my Political Economy class (the one with over 1200 pages of reading and ridiculous reading quizzes) to get some work done. I sat and read for an hour or so before getting tired of reading and decided to explore some more. I got up and walked a ways towards a clearing. I was looking for a lake. I met these two Turkish guys and spoke to them for a few minutes and they took my email address. They seemed nice. I also stopped at the little restaurant and had something to eat because I was famished. The food was good...your traditional Turkish kebab with rice and cooked tomato. They told me what direction to go to find the lake and I backtracked and walked around it.
After a bit more walking, I finally got to the bent (the same one as all the pictures in the book). The dam created a really pretty lake with the forest surrounding it. I walked around about halfway to a bench on the lake and stayed there and read for a couple more hours. I ended up speaking to another Turkish couple who were celebrating their anniversary and I took pictures of them. They were really nice and the guy spoke English. The place I picked was really relaxing. The trees around it created a nice shade (and nice landscape too). Looking over the lake was beautiful, as it was surrounded by forest. It was a very calm and relaxing place.
As the sun began to set, I decided I needed to start walking back before it got too dark for me to find my way back and before the buses stopped running. I got up from my spot and walked around the lake back to the main area where cars parked. Then, I started to walk back down the entrance path to the bus stop outside the forest. On the way down the path, I saw the Turkish couple I had spoken to earlier. They were having a barbecue in a clearing in the forest. They had all sorts of fresh lamb and fresh chicken and were using a grill to make dinner. They invited me to join them.
Talking to this couple was really interesting. I learned that while the man was Turkish, the woman was not. She was actually Russian. They had met on the internet and fallen in love. She moved to Turkey to marry him. The most interesting part was that she had never spoken a word of Turkish before she met her future husband. In fact, when they communicated online, they both spoke English because they both knew it a little bit and that's how they got to know each other. Since they have been together, she started learning Turkish, and he started learning Russian. At this point of my time in Turkey, I had thought a lot about what it means to speak a language and to learn a new language and to communicate in a language that is not your first language. The most interesting part about this couple is that in learning each other's languages, they had developed a language of their own. They understood each other, but no one else could understand them. They spoke in a mix of English, Russian, and Turkish to suit their needs. The hodgepodge made sense to them but no one else. It was really quite fascinating.
We talked about other stuff but I don't remember what. It was so amazing that these people invited me to join their barbecue (the food was delicious and I was hungry). After the sun set, I helped them clean up and take things to their car. They offered me a ride and drove me back to my apartment in Hisarustu.
The forest is one of the only places around Istanbul where the ancient landscape is still preserved. According to the websites I read, the forest consists mostly of oak and birch trees. The reason I really wanted to visit was because my guidebook had a picture of an ancient "bent" (dam) built by the Ottomans that I wanted to see for myself. Actually, the reason I previously wanted to visit Eastern Turkey was because of the pictures I saw in the guidebook. I guess many adventures in Turkey were sparked by pretty pictures. Well, whatever the reason was, I decided to check it out.
I took the bus to Sariyer and then changed buses to go to a smaller town that is right outside the forest. After about 45 minutes on the bus, I arrived at the town and some locals pointed the way for me to enter the forest. The path in was a paved road with trees on the overhang. I started walking wondering how long it would take for me to get to the main part. The walk took at least 45 minutes, but the scenery was really nice. Once inside, I had the opportunity to buy overpriced potato chips and drinks...and opportunity that I would not take advantage of until later after I had become desperately hungry from not eating lunch. I think 5TL for a bag of chips is just absurd!
So I took my water and I began to walk a ways. I found a nice shaded stump on a path in the forest and decided I would stop there first. I had brought my readings from my Political Economy class (the one with over 1200 pages of reading and ridiculous reading quizzes) to get some work done. I sat and read for an hour or so before getting tired of reading and decided to explore some more. I got up and walked a ways towards a clearing. I was looking for a lake. I met these two Turkish guys and spoke to them for a few minutes and they took my email address. They seemed nice. I also stopped at the little restaurant and had something to eat because I was famished. The food was good...your traditional Turkish kebab with rice and cooked tomato. They told me what direction to go to find the lake and I backtracked and walked around it.
After a bit more walking, I finally got to the bent (the same one as all the pictures in the book). The dam created a really pretty lake with the forest surrounding it. I walked around about halfway to a bench on the lake and stayed there and read for a couple more hours. I ended up speaking to another Turkish couple who were celebrating their anniversary and I took pictures of them. They were really nice and the guy spoke English. The place I picked was really relaxing. The trees around it created a nice shade (and nice landscape too). Looking over the lake was beautiful, as it was surrounded by forest. It was a very calm and relaxing place.
As the sun began to set, I decided I needed to start walking back before it got too dark for me to find my way back and before the buses stopped running. I got up from my spot and walked around the lake back to the main area where cars parked. Then, I started to walk back down the entrance path to the bus stop outside the forest. On the way down the path, I saw the Turkish couple I had spoken to earlier. They were having a barbecue in a clearing in the forest. They had all sorts of fresh lamb and fresh chicken and were using a grill to make dinner. They invited me to join them.
Talking to this couple was really interesting. I learned that while the man was Turkish, the woman was not. She was actually Russian. They had met on the internet and fallen in love. She moved to Turkey to marry him. The most interesting part was that she had never spoken a word of Turkish before she met her future husband. In fact, when they communicated online, they both spoke English because they both knew it a little bit and that's how they got to know each other. Since they have been together, she started learning Turkish, and he started learning Russian. At this point of my time in Turkey, I had thought a lot about what it means to speak a language and to learn a new language and to communicate in a language that is not your first language. The most interesting part about this couple is that in learning each other's languages, they had developed a language of their own. They understood each other, but no one else could understand them. They spoke in a mix of English, Russian, and Turkish to suit their needs. The hodgepodge made sense to them but no one else. It was really quite fascinating.
We talked about other stuff but I don't remember what. It was so amazing that these people invited me to join their barbecue (the food was delicious and I was hungry). After the sun set, I helped them clean up and take things to their car. They offered me a ride and drove me back to my apartment in Hisarustu.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Exploring Bebek with Burcin
After the excitement of my Spring Break adventures, I had to somehow return to the routine of Boğaziçi. As I had settled in and grown accustomed to my classes, I had started making new friends, both Turkish and American, and building relationships with them. One such friend was Burcin, a fellow student in my POLS 440 class. Burcin, like me, was kind of an outsider at Boğaziçi because she was actually a student from another university in Istanbul. Her university, instead of teaching all of their classes in English, teach all of their classes in French. She was interested in the class we were taking (EU Relations with Russia and CIS Countries) and received permission from her university to take the course at Boğaziçi. We started talking originally one day in class when she ended up sitting next to me and asking me for some notes but it was only occasional.
One day after class we started walking together. I was walking back to my apartment and she was walking towards the bus stop (they are in the same direction) to go back to her home in Levent. She asked me what I was up to for the rest of the day and I said I didn't really know and then asked me if I wanted to walk with her to Bebek. Bebek is a section of Istanbul that is right on the Bosphorus. Basically, when you looked down towards the Bosphorus from Boğaziçi's campus, you could see a harbor and that was Bebek. I had heard some exchange students talking about it before, but had not ventured down there myself. I hadn't gone down there for two reasons. First, up until a couple of weeks before spring break, it had rained virtually every single day. Second, the hill from Rumeli Hisarüstü was incredibly steep and I was lazy.
It was time to brave the hill and see this place myself. The weather was nice for a walk outside, so that made it easier. We meandered our way down the hill until we got to the main street that runs along the Bosphorus and we took a left to walk along the shorline. Bebek, along with Etiler (located at the top of the hill next to my neighborhood) is one of the wealthiest places in Istanbul. As I walked along the coast, I could easily see this. There were nice restaurants all over the place (including a Starbucks and McDonalds even!). There was also a waffle stand that was infamous for selling the perfect Turkish waffle. We walked north, passing the great Fortress of Europe, until we found the place Burcin wanted to take me. It was a slightly pricy place, like the others in this area, because it was right on the Bosphorus. We decided to sit outside, right on the water and requested a tavla board. The place we were sitting was actually a wooden outcropping from the land, allowing us to feel as if we were on top of the Bosphorus. Looking over the rail, we could enjoy the crystal clear blue water, the light breeze, and the surrounding hills dotting the landscape. It was absolutely wonderful. Unfortunately, because the place was so beautiful, there was a premium to enjoying the scenery. Each glass of chai cost 5TL. I know that doesn't seem like a ton of money (considering it's only about $3), but these tea classes were the standard small Turkish glasses. Many other places only charge 0.50 or maybe 1TL for the same tea. It was still nice to get one glass and enjoy the scenery.
I told Burcin that I was pretty good in backgammon (after losing to Umut a lot you do end up learning a few things) and she decided she wanted to give it a crack. She couldn't believe it when I beat her. I don't really remember what we talked about (probably a lot of things) but we had a really nice time sitting out in the sun and hanging out.
After tea, we continued walking towards Bebek once again and decided to find a place to eat. We settled on this nice looking restaurant across from the Starbucks (in the center of Bebek). I was really excited about the place because it was my first real encounter with Turkish fine dining. Did I also mention that the waiter spoke English AND the menu was in English? Çok güzel! Truthfully, the food was probably not authentic Turkish but more of a fusion of a lot of different things. It was still good to have a nice meal and I ended up having a steak. It was really delicious (I do wish I could remember what I had with it. I just remember the meal being good). Burcin and I talked a while (by the end of dinner it was probably 10pm). Afterwards, we took a taxi back to the top of the hill and we parted ways. It was a really nice way to get to know a new friend and a great way to explore a new part of Istanbul!
One day after class we started walking together. I was walking back to my apartment and she was walking towards the bus stop (they are in the same direction) to go back to her home in Levent. She asked me what I was up to for the rest of the day and I said I didn't really know and then asked me if I wanted to walk with her to Bebek. Bebek is a section of Istanbul that is right on the Bosphorus. Basically, when you looked down towards the Bosphorus from Boğaziçi's campus, you could see a harbor and that was Bebek. I had heard some exchange students talking about it before, but had not ventured down there myself. I hadn't gone down there for two reasons. First, up until a couple of weeks before spring break, it had rained virtually every single day. Second, the hill from Rumeli Hisarüstü was incredibly steep and I was lazy.
It was time to brave the hill and see this place myself. The weather was nice for a walk outside, so that made it easier. We meandered our way down the hill until we got to the main street that runs along the Bosphorus and we took a left to walk along the shorline. Bebek, along with Etiler (located at the top of the hill next to my neighborhood) is one of the wealthiest places in Istanbul. As I walked along the coast, I could easily see this. There were nice restaurants all over the place (including a Starbucks and McDonalds even!). There was also a waffle stand that was infamous for selling the perfect Turkish waffle. We walked north, passing the great Fortress of Europe, until we found the place Burcin wanted to take me. It was a slightly pricy place, like the others in this area, because it was right on the Bosphorus. We decided to sit outside, right on the water and requested a tavla board. The place we were sitting was actually a wooden outcropping from the land, allowing us to feel as if we were on top of the Bosphorus. Looking over the rail, we could enjoy the crystal clear blue water, the light breeze, and the surrounding hills dotting the landscape. It was absolutely wonderful. Unfortunately, because the place was so beautiful, there was a premium to enjoying the scenery. Each glass of chai cost 5TL. I know that doesn't seem like a ton of money (considering it's only about $3), but these tea classes were the standard small Turkish glasses. Many other places only charge 0.50 or maybe 1TL for the same tea. It was still nice to get one glass and enjoy the scenery.
I told Burcin that I was pretty good in backgammon (after losing to Umut a lot you do end up learning a few things) and she decided she wanted to give it a crack. She couldn't believe it when I beat her. I don't really remember what we talked about (probably a lot of things) but we had a really nice time sitting out in the sun and hanging out.
After tea, we continued walking towards Bebek once again and decided to find a place to eat. We settled on this nice looking restaurant across from the Starbucks (in the center of Bebek). I was really excited about the place because it was my first real encounter with Turkish fine dining. Did I also mention that the waiter spoke English AND the menu was in English? Çok güzel! Truthfully, the food was probably not authentic Turkish but more of a fusion of a lot of different things. It was still good to have a nice meal and I ended up having a steak. It was really delicious (I do wish I could remember what I had with it. I just remember the meal being good). Burcin and I talked a while (by the end of dinner it was probably 10pm). Afterwards, we took a taxi back to the top of the hill and we parted ways. It was a really nice way to get to know a new friend and a great way to explore a new part of Istanbul!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Day 12 - Trabzon (May 4, 2009)
Although technically Spring Break was over and Em had returned to Istanbul, Sonya and I had decided at the beginning of our trip to leave an extra day for Trabzon at the end to explore more and enjoy our last bit of Spring Break. I think we also did not want to go back to school and enjoyed the thought of missing the first day back.
We weren't sure where to go or what to do with our last day but took some suggestions from Hüsniye. She suggested that we see Atatürk's House. We found the information on how to get there and took the bus up the hill to check it out. It was a very ornate, white, house with a beautiful garden. It reminded me a lot of touring a very small version of Mt. Vernon. The furniture was beautiful and we got a good sense of how royalty lived in the early 1900's in Turkey. Apparently, Atatürk had many houses around Turkey and these were a dime a dozen. It was still neat to see it and to walk around the gardens which had a lot of different flowers.
We took the bus back down to the seaside and decided to head into the Şişman Restaurant for lunch. We came into the restaurant at about 11:45am or so. Sonya, Em, and I had been DYING to eat here ever since we saw the name on the first day. The reason being is that on our trip, we sort of developed an inside joke between us. Whenever we ate a lot of food or something like that, we referred to each other as şişman. The word is Turkish for a fat person. So after an entire week of joking about this, on our last couple of days of the trip we actually see a place with that name! It was hysterical for all of us! So of course Sonya and I HAD to eat there!
Well we went inside only to find that it was not a regular restaurant but instead more like a pub. They did not really have lunch food and only had snack food. Despite this minor setback, we were determined to say we ate at the Şişman Restaurant! So what did we do, you ask? We did the only natural thing that could be done! We ordered a pitcher of beer! I think the Turkish people working there thought we were crazy for drinking a whole pitcher between the two of us before noon but we didn't care because we ate at the Şişman Restaurant!
Following our little afternoon of fun, we walked around the Russian Bazaar and around other shops throughout Trabzon. After walking around for a while, Sonya and I had decided that we had become bored. I also think it was tough for Sonya because she had really started to miss Seçkin at that point. The weather also began to turn a bit rainy so we found ourselves a cafe with a backgammon board, bought some tea and relaxed for the duration of the afternoon. By about 6pm, we went to the hotel and packed our belongings and met Hüsniye for dinner at her favorite place, the Forum. The Forum was a shopping mall with a food court full of Turkish and American foods. I ended up eating Sbarro's because I had been missing American food like crazy! After a nice dinner with Hüsniye, she walked us to the dolmuş and helped us to the airport.
We said our goodbyes with her and then went through security to board the plane back to Istanbul. At around 10pm, we arrived back in Istanbul, took the metrobus back to Hisarüstü and said goodbye to the best Spring Break trip I have ever had.
After 12 days in Eastern Turkey, I felt I had learned so much about a side of this country that not many people get to see. Additionally, I was excited about the fact that we had taken some risks which turned into some really neat experiences (such as meeting the Kurdish people on day 3 or hanging out with the college students in Van). All in all, the people in Eastern Turkey showed us an incredible amount of warmth, friendship, and hospitality that I will not soon forget. The people in Istanbul who told me that Eastern Turkey was dangerous and that I should not go were probably right. However, in going, I ended up having one of the most incredible trips and experiences in my life. I can't really convey in this blog how truly awesome the trip was...I hope one day some of you can experience a trip like this one too.
We weren't sure where to go or what to do with our last day but took some suggestions from Hüsniye. She suggested that we see Atatürk's House. We found the information on how to get there and took the bus up the hill to check it out. It was a very ornate, white, house with a beautiful garden. It reminded me a lot of touring a very small version of Mt. Vernon. The furniture was beautiful and we got a good sense of how royalty lived in the early 1900's in Turkey. Apparently, Atatürk had many houses around Turkey and these were a dime a dozen. It was still neat to see it and to walk around the gardens which had a lot of different flowers.
We took the bus back down to the seaside and decided to head into the Şişman Restaurant for lunch. We came into the restaurant at about 11:45am or so. Sonya, Em, and I had been DYING to eat here ever since we saw the name on the first day. The reason being is that on our trip, we sort of developed an inside joke between us. Whenever we ate a lot of food or something like that, we referred to each other as şişman. The word is Turkish for a fat person. So after an entire week of joking about this, on our last couple of days of the trip we actually see a place with that name! It was hysterical for all of us! So of course Sonya and I HAD to eat there!
Well we went inside only to find that it was not a regular restaurant but instead more like a pub. They did not really have lunch food and only had snack food. Despite this minor setback, we were determined to say we ate at the Şişman Restaurant! So what did we do, you ask? We did the only natural thing that could be done! We ordered a pitcher of beer! I think the Turkish people working there thought we were crazy for drinking a whole pitcher between the two of us before noon but we didn't care because we ate at the Şişman Restaurant!
Following our little afternoon of fun, we walked around the Russian Bazaar and around other shops throughout Trabzon. After walking around for a while, Sonya and I had decided that we had become bored. I also think it was tough for Sonya because she had really started to miss Seçkin at that point. The weather also began to turn a bit rainy so we found ourselves a cafe with a backgammon board, bought some tea and relaxed for the duration of the afternoon. By about 6pm, we went to the hotel and packed our belongings and met Hüsniye for dinner at her favorite place, the Forum. The Forum was a shopping mall with a food court full of Turkish and American foods. I ended up eating Sbarro's because I had been missing American food like crazy! After a nice dinner with Hüsniye, she walked us to the dolmuş and helped us to the airport.
We said our goodbyes with her and then went through security to board the plane back to Istanbul. At around 10pm, we arrived back in Istanbul, took the metrobus back to Hisarüstü and said goodbye to the best Spring Break trip I have ever had.
After 12 days in Eastern Turkey, I felt I had learned so much about a side of this country that not many people get to see. Additionally, I was excited about the fact that we had taken some risks which turned into some really neat experiences (such as meeting the Kurdish people on day 3 or hanging out with the college students in Van). All in all, the people in Eastern Turkey showed us an incredible amount of warmth, friendship, and hospitality that I will not soon forget. The people in Istanbul who told me that Eastern Turkey was dangerous and that I should not go were probably right. However, in going, I ended up having one of the most incredible trips and experiences in my life. I can't really convey in this blog how truly awesome the trip was...I hope one day some of you can experience a trip like this one too.
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