The Middle of the Road

After about 2 months here, I feel comfortable enough to call Koç University and Istanbul home. Neglecting those feeling of homesickness, I am embracing the joy that it is to live in a country that has a culture so similar and yet so different to my own. As I wander through the student center and the various academic buildings, it no longer bothers me that I am only a visitor here. I have gained the respect of my professors and peers and have become a valuable part of this community. From the table top conversations with my engineering masters program friends to dinner parties I have organized to the dance parties that I have attended under Odeon, I feel genuinely noticed and accepted. My initial thoughts of not fitting in and being ostracized were swept to the side as wave after wave of generous Turkish hospitality always kept me surrounded with good company. Like a Brave New World, there was always somewhere new to go, someone new to meet, and of course something new to eat. With the helpful guidance and study trips of my program, CIEE, the insightful mentors of ISS, and the cultural interactions that I have shared with my new friends, I have learned a great deal about Turkish culture. After experiencing the culture, I began to study the language to help me further interact and to not lose the meanings of conversation in translation. Enlisting the help of my roommate, I gained invaluable practice in formal sentence structure and entry into the local social scene. Knowing how to converse and understanding more than a tourist just passing through, I have found that I have formed deeper connections with the people that I interact with daily. I am thankful that I was able to come to such an engaging and endearing community and such a wonderfully beautiful country. Dancing, laughing, eating, and genuinely enjoying my time here only two words come to mind, Turkiye Seviyorum! Maybe I will go to grad school here... maybe...:D

Remember,

You are what you eat, and I am enjoying the company!

JD

Rain, rain go away!

I have to say that trecking around in a tour bus this entire Cumrihuriet break has been a welcomed reprieve from the flood like amounts of rain that this area of turkey has been receiving. One hour bus rides here, three hour bus rides there and none of them have really been that bad.

Traveling around to some of the smallest villages set up on the outskirts of some towns that are significantly smaller than Istanbul reminded me of one thing. No matter where I go, this is still Turkey. Trekking out to Mardin today, a town that is about 15 km from the Syrian and Iraqi borders I was definitely reminded of this all so ever statement. Mardin or as I like to call it, the city in the clouds, was home to the Syrianic Christians. These Christians stood their ground and worshiped as the y pleased through empire after empire of Islamic and Crusader entanglements.  The founded the Deyrul Zafaran Syriac Orthodox Monastery which is famous for its saffron production, its olives, as well as its rich cultural and historical significance. After the Kurdish rebellion in the 20^th century though, many of the Syrians decided to move back to Syria or abroad to the US. Walking through the monastery that was set up there, I was completely surrounded by wonderful art and iconography beautifully decorated with both Arabic and Aramaic script. Even to this day, the official language of worship is Aramaic. Popping into a famous local restaurant we were able to experience a cuisine that is only present in Mardin. We were served Kitel Raba; which are a type of Syrian meatballs, also called Içli Köfte here in Turkey. They are Meat and vegetables inside of a bread casing and are especially delicious. We also were served Dobo, which is a type of lamb, garlic, and tomato soup that warms the souls of those fortunate enough to have it during the cold and rainy days like the ones that we experienced.   Continuing after lunch, a walking tour of the city was arranged for us to get a better view of Mardin on this wonderfully rainy day. All of the steps and streets passages that we took turned into rivers channeling the water and the grime down to the base of the mountain that it was situated on. Through the mysterious mist, we wandered through street after street, to find ancient castles and caravanserais dotting our paths and 12^th century mosques with minarets decorated with rope lights that seem to be suspended in the air as if they were magic.

After landing in a one room airport in Adiyman we started our drive to Nemrut Dağı. The flight, that was just under 2 hours, had taken us from the soft rolling hills of western Turkey and deposited us in the harsh, rocky, barren lands of the steppes that were the home to both the Türkmen and the Kurds for centuries. This alien like land had little to no grass, large boulders scatted around lik pepper flakes on water, and large gourges carved out by run-off by the mountains. Continuing on the one lane highway, past the oil and natural gas fields, we took smaller busses to shuttle us up the face of the mountain. Dropping us off in the sea of white we were directed to the path that literally led to no where, or at least no where tha we could see because of the thick fog. After about half an hour of strong winds, cold mist, and the sound of a donkey accompanying us up the mountain face, we reached the summit. Nemrut Dağı’s summit is comprised of 3 distinct elements; the first is that the entire summit is made from the gravel that was carted up to the mountain by the ruler of the ancient civilization that lived there and finally the eastern and western great, stone statues of both Greek gods and the images of the rulers. There was also a sacrafical platform that extended into the emptiness in which the wind was at least 3 times stronger and could have taken another life if I wasn’t careful...

We didn’t travel to just explore the cities; we also explored the economic and cultural initiative known as the Gap Project. The Gap Project is responsible for building the Ataturk Dam on the Euphrates River that provides electricity, jobs, and revenue for the people of the Southeast Turkey region. We were fortunate to get a presentation for this project, which is almost entirely government funded with the usual answers to all of the really tough questions. My favorite response would have to be that “there is nothing wrong with the Gap Project. Everyone loves the Gap Project.” It made me think that everyone in that office had a brain slug or something. You can’t argue results though and the Gap Project definitely puts fourth some big figures. The only problem with those figures is that they aren’t always the figures that need to be reported. I am speaking about the city that they flooded called Halfeti. This town was once a mountain side town that overlooked the Euphrates River until 1997 when the damn was completed and the flood gates were shut. This gave birth to a modern day Atlantis to Port Royal, Jamaica with buildings gradually disappearing into to the new lake only breaking the surface for the power connection or for the tip of the mosque’s minaret.

Needless to say, this displaced a lot of people and the government had to replace everything. Too bad it was only the land owners were reimbursed and not the migrant workers. Despite this, the Gap Project has also taken it upon themselves to give extra schooling to women in the area to help elevate their status from being only housewives. This is really significant because of the fact that they have provided these women with education past the compulsory eight year that is mandatory for children here.

Harran  wandering around this old and muddy city filled with beehive houses, we turned corner after corner of mud path following chickens and clouds of little children to find ourselves on the steps of a Kale. When those kids say that they want to play castle, they play on and in the 13the century castle. Like little mountain goats they climbed to the very top of the castle. Playing on the zeniths of the remaining arches. While it is madness to me, but really it is all just a game to them.

Şanlıurfa – The town of the prophet Abraham (Ibrahim) and the Balıklı Göl, the fish lake that is home to thousands of magical white karp. It is said that if you catch one of these fish, you will go blind. A very traditional town, we really didnt get to explore it much because of the flood like rains. We did however eat like the sultans and participate in almost dervish like dances as well as eating real Çiğ Köfte at the Urfa sıra gecesi . Music, food, dancing... not a bad way to spend my first Haloween in Turkey. Maybe my NOD friends might disagree. ..

Gazıantep also known as the Home of Baklava definitely lived up to its reputation. After downing a quarter kilo of this wonderful, wonderful painfully delicious dessert, we prepared for our 3 am flight by smoking Nargile in an old 18^th Armenian house that was turned into a Çay Baçsei and spent our few remaining hours in the town playing Tavla and drinking tea. What a great way to unwind before getting back to Istanbul at 6am on Monday…

Until next time,

You are what you eat, and I am dancing, eating, traveling, and LIVING!

JD