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

Guys guide to Turkish girls: from an exchange student prospective

After almost a month of being in Turkey, one finds that learning about the country that we will be living in for an extended time is more than just learning the language, the curse words, the dolmuş routes, or what are the best places to go in Taksim; it’s the women. One of my mentors once told me that as an exchange student I had no chance at all at dating a Turkish girl.  If you know me, that translated into a challenge rather than an obstacle. From the shy demeanors that they sometimes exhibit to the loving, mothering nature that they offer to the sometimes violent nature I have experienced, the women here are truly complex creatures.  More often than not they travel in a pack which doesn’t make it much easier for me to speak with them. Luckily, I have found a way around this. The fastest way to meet Turkish girls is through their stomachs. From offering to buy them tea to offering them chocolate in a boring lecture class, it is a sure way to make new friends as well as develop intrigue about who you are. *note make sure that you don’t try to give chocolate to girls that have boyfriends, brothers, fathers, or guy friends that might be angered by this gesture of friendship. It might not bode well for you in the future. You have been warned!

                On to dating, it is different here than I expected. Back in the States, when I liked a girl, I would ask her to go to dinner (better yet to let me cook her dinner), a concert, or go dancing with me. I date girls in order to find out more about them besides how much work they have or what new movie they watched. I do it to establish a more personal connection with them. I use it as a litmus test to find out if I really do want to have a serious relationship. Here, it is the common belief that you would only really date someone if you intended to marry them. I don’t know about you, but I am not ready to get married just yet.  After that initial meeting and maybe a joke for good measure, I have found that too often we try to mimic the Turkish culture and fail horribly. The thing that I am referring to is the kiss. Here in Turkey, guys kiss guys on the cheeks as well as girls kissing girls. I have also seen guys kissing girls, but it is important to know when to do this. From what I have gathered, a kiss on the cheek is more of something that is done when people haven’t seen each other in a while. If you are going to attempt it, decide on a side to start on with it and stick to it. There is nothing worse than fumbling a kiss and it being weird or awkward for a significant time afterwards. Another important note is who to kiss and when. Here is a helpful list of people to not kiss: professors, teaching assistants, ISS cleaning staff, cafeteria workers, guys you meet for the first time, girls in the hallways, and the Koç bees. In fact, don’t kiss anyone on the cheeks unless they are doing it first. There might not be such a thing as personal space here, but there is such a thing as common sense.

                While I personally haven’t been fighting the girls off of me, I have heard of some exchange students who have. Being selective in which Turkish girls you hang out with and date can be hard, but I have found a pretty good system to do it. I find that it is better to date the girls that don’t wear Ugg boots when it is +23 C outside. You might call me a loser or you might agree with me, but if you are sweating, it doesn’t matter how comfortable they are it is not snowing and therefore you should take them off. I personally have found that the girls, at Koç at least, fit in to roughly two  categories; the ones that wear boots and the ones that wear Converse. While I have never seen such a popular shoe in all of my travels, I can’t say that I am surprised. Fashion is important as well as what seems to be some sort of hierarchy. I really can’t comment on this subject too much, but I can say that you will probably get in to less trouble with a girl who kicks your butt in Converse rather than boots. But, alas, this is a strictly a very broad generalization.  

I have heard of a couple of places to go on first dates here in Sariyer that are both reasonable for the guys pocket book and classy enough to take a date to. I find that a common thread between them all is their location along the Bosphorus and the view that they have. Even if you don’t have a car, you can get find that public transportation is readily available and can take you to any destination along the Bosphorus. When you are ready to step up your game, I suggest you check out some places further into the city, but be ready to pay the price because they are significantly more expensive than other places you might find. If you ever get to the second date, make sure you check out the Aşk Café. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed. If you decide to go the international food route, you better be willing to pay for it! While some places would run you 60TL others might top out at over 100TL, so make sure you do your homework otherwise you will be rolling up your sleeves.

The last piece of advice that I have received when pursuing Turkish girls is, “good luck”. This advice was given to me and now I pass it on to you. Good luck!

Until next time,
You are what you eat and I am looking for a fine catch

JD

Shadow Theater and Traveling: Bursa, Çannacoli, and Troy

The one thing that has surprised me about my experience here with CIEE is that we are not like every other exchange student. We are the elite exchange students.  We are not just here to learn the language. Through CIEE the doors of the history, culture, people, politics, and food of Turkey have been opened to us. They have done this through the people that they have had us meet, the side trips we go on every other week, the movies that they organize, the meals they organize (and pay for), and cultural interactions and exchanges that we participate in.

Thanks to the IMF Riots in Taksim, this week was no different. After watching a seemingly cultural historical comedy named Karagoz and Hacivat we learned the fable of the two legendary comedians who successfully delayed the construction of the town of Bursa’s minaret and paid for it with their lives. From this end, the chief architect created shadow puppets, made from oiled, stretched camel hides, and gave birth to one of the oldest art forms still being practiced today; The Karagos and Hacivat shadow theater. CIEE arranged one of the master puppeteers to perform for us. It was an incredible performance, complete with flying carpets, slap-stick comedy, dancing girls, and magic. It really gives the three stooges a run for their money.

The art and skill of the master puppeteer, who controlled all of the puppets as well as the voices for all the different characters, was supplemented only by a tambourine played by his son.  Truly a once in a life time experience! Next time I see it, I will have learned quite a bit more Turkish and hopefully understand more than just a few words.  Exploring more of Bursa, the home to the first Ottoman capital (and apparently the most beautiful and warrior like women in all of Turkey as my friend from Bursa told me) we visited the great mosque built in the 12^th or 13^th century which is still in use today. This mosque was the backdrop for the lunch that we had. Each town in Turkey is famous for a particular dish. Bursa’s dish was the Bursa Kerbap also known as the Iskander Kerbab. It is comprised of thinly sliced lamb from a vertical oven served with a yogurt, tomato sauce, and squares of bread. Underneath the succulent sliced meat are grilled tomatoes, green peppers, and Baba Ganoush (a sauce made from stewed eggplants, lemon, and olive oil). Every bite we took was with a chorus of the Koran, head scarves, and the Mufti’s call to prayer. On this Friday afternoon, the most important time of prayer for Muslims, the great mosque was packed to capacity and people began laying carpets and cardboard squares down in the streets so that they could participate in the prayers. Sipping my afternoon chai overlooking this spectacle, I was resigned to the fact that I am a bad Muslim. I guess that I’ll make up for it by being a good student. 

Playing hopscotch between the European and Asian side has its benefits. Traveling to Troy (Troia) to see the city brought down by jealousy, lust, and rage, stories that echoed in my head from my grade school days returned to me.

While standing in the temple to Athena, I could imagine the sound of the Greek gods clashing from the sound of the waves in the far off horizon and the constant wind that surrounded us. While the Trojan horse was gone, the history of the city still remained and was constantly being unearthed by archeologists. From the top of the Turkish Mount Olympus we could see the Gallipoli Penninsula and the war memorials from Turkey’s more recent past.

Making it over to the Gallipoli (Çannacoli) about sunset, we hugged the windows of our tour bus as we met memorial after memorial of French, Aussie, Kiwi (New Zealanders), and Last Sons of the Ottoman empire’s soldiers who gave their lives to respectfully take and protect the Dardanelle Straights. We made our way to the trenches overlooking the Dardanelles as the sun melted into the sea and set the water on fire.

Distant islands disappeared under a hazy shawl and my first glimpse of Greece disappeared with it.  Paying our last respects at the Turkish war memorial, I read these powerful words: “There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they live side by side here in this country of Ours.”

Successfully protecting their country from a French and Anzac coalition, Turkey showed its might and valor. While in reality the conflict ended in a stalemate, Turkey gained far more than just experience in war. They guided a charismatic war hero named Mustafa Kermal Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey and the harbinger of law, social, and financial reform that brought the Ottoman Empire out of the dark ages into modernity. The pride of the Turkish people has no other country with which it can be compared to. Arguing otherwise might just get you seriously injured or even jailed…

On our way back to Koç and back to Istanbul, we stopped to visit a local organic farm, Named the Klan Farm, outside the town of Eçebat, and were able to see yet another side of Turkey. Aside from trying to develop a lifestyle through the use of going back to the basics, they set aside the need and use for pesticided and are trying to be profitable at the same time.  They do not receive the subsides that all of the other farms get because of this and the fact that they do not use genetically altered seeds makes them almost revolutionary.  We were graciously welcomed to the farm and took a tractor ride out to their fields. We rolled up ourselves and helped to weed an entire field of vegetables. After we washed up at the house, we were treated to an incredible organic lunch comprised of all of the organic food that they produce. Lunch, if I can call it that, was  actually more of a feast, wave after wave of domato çorba (tomato soup), eckmek (bread), borek (Think of it like a spinach and cheese puff pastry), Parslain and yogurt, dolma (stuffed eggplants and bell peppers), Kofte (Meat rolled in dough), and for dessert, Peyair Hervası ( a sweet cornmeal soaked in a rose water, sugar, honey mix) and as much fruit as we could stomach.

The farm has set up an eco-tourist business and offers people a chance to stay on the organic farm for a small fee. Meals are free as long as you work. If you work, you eat. It’s as simple as that. I am grateful that CIEE had us stop here to visit and see yet another way that Turkey is modernizing and developing as a nation and to speak to the farmers that are working to make this happen.

Until next time,

You are what you eat, and I am enjoying the star treatment

JD