Bethany goes to Turkey

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Updates, logs, and reflections

April 22

Only a day and a little more of travel and already we have so many stories- interesting people on the planes, connecting with each other in new ways, experiencing Turkey through the eyes of the students. We completed our journey to Antalya, arriving at our hotel, La Paloma, around 8:30 pm. Once we settled in and showered away the grime of traveling, we piled around the table in Simone and Sierra’s large suite for an evening of chatting, writing these blogs, eating dark chocolate, fruit, cookies, and more pistachio nuts than most of us have eaten at one sitting, and laughing at the funny things being said (mainly by Jay). Exhaustion slowly took us out one by one and we retired to our rooms much later than we thought we would!

April 23

Another great day! I wasn’t trying to look cool, as Sierra says in her entry, as I was jumping around the around on the large stone blocks at Perge, the ancient Greco-Roman ruin site. Rather, I was trying to get in a good position to take a photo of the group as they sat in the stadium listening to Jim explain the history of the place and I slipped. Oops! The camera smashed. More later.

April 25

     I’ve had many interesting experiences inences in Turkey, but never what I experienced today! Singing in the van on the hour drive to Kumluca where we were told we’d be singing in a program that was being televised nationwide, visiting a small city school where foreigners have never gone, marching in the city’s major annual parade, being in the "exclusive" center of the stadium with the rest of the big-wigs after the parade for a city-wide program, being careful of our behavior because the press was around- television cameras scanning our group, newspapers snapping our pictures, and an interview on one of the TV stations. We were famous! The teachers were on strike at the school in Kumluca so we were able to spend a lot of time with the students- talking, laughing, exchanging emails. The Turkish students were very excited to meet us. One girl said, "I wish this day would never end." The principal was so happy with the connections being made that he asked if we could become sister schools.
     Next we visited a large private school in Antalya run by an Islamic organization. The organization gives loads of money to the school, so it has extremely nice facilities- marble counters in the cafeteria, chefs who prepare amazing food, a huge auditorium with a gorgeous stage and amazing seating, up-to-date technology and multimedia in every classroom. Because of the high level of funding, the tuition is half the price of other private schools in Turkeey. Jim and Renata’s youngest daughter attends school at this school’s other campus across town.
     Our hosts included the principal, an English teacher, and two sisters from Florida whose father is Turkish and mother is from the Dominican Republic. The sisters are living in Turkey for 2 years to learn the language and culture before returning back to the States. Their chefs prepared a huge meal for us- delicious! Definitely not your everyday school food! The sisters from Florida said this meal wasn’t any different from what the students eat at lunch.
     We later learned from Renata that the principal was very hesitant to have our group come into the school. They’d had never had a Christian group coming into their school. It was a highly unusual situation for them. He finally agreed to have us come to the school after the school day was done for a tour and dinner. After talking with us, he and the English teacher realized how friendly our students were, how eager they were to get to know about the Turkish culture and Islam, and how important it was for our students to meet with Turkish teenagers so barriers can be broken. They wished we had come for the school day and asked if we could return the next day to join in classes with their students. Sadly, we had to leave for Istanbul after dinner.
     In Antalya, our students learearned the differences between the American and Turkish education system. Our students do many after school extracurricular activities and complain about homework. Entrance exams in Turkey determine the course of a student’s educational path; therefore, the focus is more on being a top student. Students take exams before high school that determine the school they can attend. The goal is to get into a top-notch public school. During high school, students attend after-school tutorial sessions, basically going to school after school! During the last two years, the focus is on preparing for the university exam, which determines the colleges a student can attend and what they can study. This exam makes the SAT look like an elementary school exam! Students not only attend tutorials after school (we saw students in classrooms at 7:00 pm, not having gone home yet). They also attend "dershane" on the weekends, special tutoring schools which prepare students for the university exam. On top of that, they still have lots of homework to do.

April 26

     After breakfast and morning devotions, we traversed through the Hippodrome in Sultanahmet, past an Egyptian obelisk, and made our way to Topkapi, the palace of the Ottoman sultans. There were many Turkish school children visiting the palace as well. Turkish children have no fear in testing out their English sh skills. "Hello. Vhat ees your nam? Vhere are you from?"
     Our first stop in the palace was the Harem. Many stories of treachery, deceit, madness, and luxury are contained in those ornately tiled walls. With so many girls for the Sultan to choose from, or his mother to choose for him, the chances were slim of being chosen for that coveted role of bearing the Sultan’s child. The backstabbing that went on the Harem makes the drama of middle school girls’ friendships and cliques pale in comparison.
     Topkapi is a hugely expansive place. It would take hours to stroll through all the courtyards and see all the sites. We didn’t have hours, so we hit the highlights- the jewels! Gem-encrusted thrones, daggers and swords with huge diamonds, emeralds, and rubies, golden boxes in which various sultans could store their Qur’ans.
     After a restful lunch, we hit the Grand Bazaar (Kapali Carsi). Store after store of gold and silver jewelry, Turkish rugs, meerschaum pipes, tea sets, Turkish Delight (lokum), purses from every imaginable couture house (Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Gucci- you get the picture), t-shirts, soccer jerseys, belly-dancing outfits, traditional pillow covers for throw pillows, pashminas, silk scarves, marble chess sets, Turkish drums (darbukas). The list is endless. I’ve been to Kapali Carsi countless times in my life and nd still haven’t made it to the stores in the back of the market! How can one ever make it to all 4000+ little shops?
     Our pre-trip Turkish lessons had been useful thus far in the trip. Turks LOVE it when foreigners take the time to learn a few words of their language. Our students felt this gratitude in Antalya whenever they used Turkish words. In Kapali Carsi, the students took the suggestions of phrases and gestures to use while shopping to heart. Hesitant at first, many were soon telling merchants that their prices were "cok pahali!" (very expensive). They used gestures such as one to indicate displeasure/no/not interested- quickly jerking your head upward while simultaneously raising your eyebrows and making a "tsk" with your tongue. They bargained hard, offering to pay half the price a merchant gave, and eventually finding a compromise somewhere in between.
     After a while, the sights, sounds, and size of the bazaar overwhelmed even the most die- hard shopper in our group. So many colors, so many languages swirling around, so many merchants telling you "I have the best" "I give you the best price" "Would you like to drink cay, cola? You don’t have to buy anything", so many people bargaining and working their way through the bazaar. It’s a lot even for a seasoned Kapali Carsi shopper like me! It was time to leave and eat dinner.

April 27

     Our morning started with our usual breakfast and devotion time on the terrace of the hostel. The terrace has a lovely view of the Sea of Marmara from the front and the Blue Mosque, our first stop for the day, from the back.
     We queued in line with the rest of the visitors at the mosque, taking our shoes off before entering the building. On my other visits here, visitors simply left their shoes on a rack outside the entrance and retrieved them upon leaving. Apparently, shoe theft became a problem. Now, visitors put their shoes in baggies and carry them.
     The mosque has amazing stained glass windows, beautiful blue and white Iznik tiles on the walls and domed ceiling, prayer rugs covering the expanse of the floor, and huge chandeliers. The mosque is a working mosque and a few people were saying their prayers while we were there. Tourists clearly outnumbered worshippers.
     As you exit the Blue Mosque, you immediately see Haghia Sophia (Aya Sofya) across a flower-filled courtyard. The early Christian church was turned into a mosque when the Ottomans conquered Constantinople, and then into a museum in 1935. The juxtaposition of both church and mosque are very evident in Haghia Sophia. Its minarets reach high into the sky; large green medallioallions with gilded Arabic calligraphy hang in the interior; the remaining sections of large mosaics depicting Christian scenes adorn the walls. Before entering the building, we had fun posing as statues on ancient Greco-Roman pillars littering the grounds and jumping into an old (and obviously empty) sarcophagus for a photo op (Collette, Simone, Sierra, and Kelly).
     Next we ventured underground into a dank massive cistern (Yerebatan Sarayi) built in the 6th century. The cistern has over 300 illuminated marble pillars. One pillar is known as the weeping pillar because water constantly trickles down its ornately carved surface. Two of the pillars are placed atop Medusa heads. It’s strange to think that these priceless giant Medusa heads were considered rubbish- just something used to support marble columns. Water is now levied away from this section of the cistern so visitors can see the heads.
     I learned how important Chi-su’s hair is to him when we were in the cistern. Water occasionally drops from the ceiling of the cistern, and one drop landed on his head. His hand flew to the top of his head. "Oh, my hair! It’s getting ruined!" Wow. That’s the first time I heard something like that from a male! :)
     We went to TEGV, a Turkish educational foundation, after lunch. TEGV is run almost completely by trained volunteers. The volunteers help children from poorer urban neighborhoods gain skills and have opportunities that they might not otherwise get. The programs children participate in range from computer skills, reading, drama, art, chess, academic games, etc. We donated books to TEGV. The elementary school children at the center couldn’t contain their excitement when they were given the books. They immediately swarmed around us, pointing to pictures in the book and asking what they were in English.
     One little fellow was more interested in which soccer teams we liked than he was in the books. "What’s your favorite soccer team?" he’d ask in Turkish. Thank goodness I answered correctly, "Besiktas," and I was his new best friend. But then he asked Luke which was his favorite team. Sadly, Luke chose the wrong team- Brazil. The little guy went ballistic! Oh, the noises of disappointment and anger he made over Luke’s choice. Good thing Luke was twice as tall as this kid! The kid might have taken him out!
     Later, Celil took us to a place for dinner that had traditional Turkish folk music and dancing, whirling dervishes, and belly dancers. When the first belly dancer came on stage, Kelly exclaimed, "Look at her shoes!" The show wound down shortly after midnight. We piled into a van and made our way back to the hotel with thoughts of folk dancers, Turkish music, people from all different nationalities who attended the show, and the many unique experiences we had there swirling through our heads.

April 28

     Istanbul is like no other city in the world- full of culture, history, and wonderful contrasts that reflect its unique geographical location on both the Asian and European continents. It is here that Constantine made Christianity a legally recognized religion in the Roman Empire and it is here that the greatest Islamic empire, the Ottomans, located its power base.
     After an early breakfast, we left the ease of touring in the Sultanahmet district where everything is within walking distance and tackled public transportation to head north to Rumeli Hisari, a fortress built in 1453 on the Bosphorus as part of the Ottoman strategy to conquer the city. We made our way up the narrow steep stone steps to the upper towers to see wonderful views. It was a beautiful sunny day. The Bosphorus shimmered blue as ships glided through its water. Traffic zipped along the Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridge, one of the largest suspension bridges in the world. Judas trees in full bloom speckled the shoreline with purple. Unlike the sites in Sultanahmet, the fortress was refreshingly devoid of tourists.
     We climbed around the fortress like it was a giant jungle gym- up and down the narrow stairs- exploring every nook and cranny until Katie and Katy arrived. The Katies are Americans and have lived in Istanbul about 3 years. We settled in on top of one of the towers to hear the Katies tell about their experiences as Christian teenagers in Istanbul.
     The guards at the fortress were pleased to hear "tourists" speaking Turkish and we soon had three guards who took it upon themselves to call taxis for the next leg of our journey to the Etiler district where we visited Akmerkez, a gleaming cosmopolitan mall. The difference between Akmerkez and the Grand Bazaar is one of those contrasts that define the city. While the bazaar is noisy with the sounds of bargaining, talking, buying, and selling, the shops at Akmerkez are filled with blaring pop music. Only Turkish food can be found in the Grand Bazaar, but in Akmerkez the choices range from Pizza Hut to Schlotzsky's Deli to Arby’s. Want a bellydancing outfit? Go to the bazaar. Want a banquet dress? Go to Akmerkez. Want to bargain? Bazaar. Want to go broke? Akmerkez!
     Later, we took a relaxing boat ride along the Bosphorus. I thought everyone was shopped out! Yet as the realization of this being our last hours in Turkey settled in, talk on the boat turned to the things that still needed to be bought and "Can we go back to the Grand Bazaar?"
     We disembarked the boat in Arnavutkoy and piled onto a bus. The morning bus was a relatively pleasant ride because we missed the commuter rush. Afternoon buses are a different story. The very full bus kept getting fuller and the temperature higher. The bus inched along in bumper to bumper traffic. Horns honked, people pushed, cell phones blared out their pop song ring tones. Outside, we saw vendor after vendor selling Turkish flags in preparation for a political protest scheduled for the next day.
     After a seemingly endless ride, we hopped on the tram for a smooth ride back to Sultanahmet and a quick visit the Grand Bazaar. Turkish tea cups were a popular item to buy today. Celil joined us after a bit and showed us how real bargaining is done. He is the master bargainer and was able to get a tea set for a price much lower than any of us could get! He also gave Turkish tea to take back home to those who wanted it.
     Evening settled in. Unpacked suitcases waited for us at the hostel. Our time had run out. We hit a little restaurant which served gozleme: very thin circular bread (thinner than tortilla bread) sprinkled with your choice of feta cheese, spinach, ground lamb, onion, or sometimes parsley on one half. The other half is folded over the bottom and cooked over something that’s similar to a grill, but with a cover over the coals that food is cooked on. Musicians played Turkish folk music as we finished our last meal in Turkey.
     The memories made here will last a lifetime. The understanding of a new culture and the friendships that developed between our students and the Turkish students will hopefully be remembered by both sides as they become adults and move into influential positions in their communities and their world.

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