Time in Minnesota: 12:48 PM
Time in Turkey: 8:48 PM
More Turkish disaster today. Our professor is so energetic and genuinely funny, but she gets really confused by our questions. Often. And might possibly be deaf, because she talks over us a lot. All in all, learning Turkish was an interesting experience. And I'm sure I'll still rely on sign language when talking to the people in Istanbul. Almost all of them know English anyway.
Speaking of knowing English...
After exploring the Blue Mosque, Katie (a group mate) and I stopped to put on our shoes, with the result that the rest of our group surged ahead of us. As we were walking towards the group, a Middle Eastern man asked Katie to take a picture of him and his friend. After the picture was taken, he asked if Katie and I would be in a picture with him and his friend. We talked a bit, and found out that he was a tourist from Iran. Our conversation wasn't significant, but it was still amazing to take a picture with a man from Iran who was genuinely interested that we were from America. Even if that was the only reason he wanted a picture of us. Here in Turkey I am finding that every day old stereotypes are questioned and even broken.
The month of September is Ramadan for the Muslims, who are not allowed to eat from sunrise to sunset. Breaking the fast at sunset is called iftar, and is a celebration in its own right. A few of us decided to do iftar with the crowds at sundown, which meant that we had to stake out a spot in a park and battle crowds that would rival the Minnesota State Fair. Everyone was laughing and smiling. People were taking pictures. A band was playing traditional music in a bandstand. A man on stilts came walking by and they were selling cotton candy. It was amazing to see how much joy the people had. Personally I'd be incredibly grumpy if I hadn't eaten in many, many hours...
When the call to prayer finally came around 8, everyone in the park became reverently silent. After the prayer, the Muslims ate with a quite sort of solemnity. The mood in the park visibly changed; the people as a collective seemed to understand and respect the significance of the ceremony. It was truly an experience to be part of.
So you all know that I'm usually much less dry than I seem to be in these posts. Know that I still have a sense of humor.
Wishing you all the best!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
it's turkey time
To whom it may concern.
First blog ever. Want to keep up? Read.
First adventure: Turkey. Left Minnesota at around 2:30 pm on the 26th, and arrived in Istanbul around 4:15 pm on the 27th. Major jet lag. Maybe slept...5 collective hours? I thought this would help me get to sleep that night (even though my body might have thought it was still the afternoon), but I woke up to the sound of the Muslim call to prayer at 4:50 am Turkish time and had troubles falling back to sleep. It might have been worth it to hear the call in the dead of night, however. Electric.
Next day was the first day of classes at Boğaziçe (pronounced boe-a-zi-chi) University, just up the street from the Superdorm, where we will be staying until September 7th. Out scheduled class material was Turkish. Now, Turkish isn't exactly known for being easy. Especially when it sounds like a combination of Portuguese, Norwegian and Japanese. And especially when your Turkish teacher has extremely high expectations. Long story short, we mumbled out a few words, tried to learn a few grammatical rules, and ended up extremely confused.
A taste of the words I did learn:
Merhaba (Hello)
Günaydin (Good night)
Amerikaliyim (I'm from America)
Allahaismarladik (Good bye - literally, something like: Allah light your way)
This last one sounds like alas, small dick. Take from that what you will.
Today we toured. Made a stop at the Topkopi Palace first, the palace of the sultans of the Ottoman Empire. It has an amazing view of the Bosphorus, not to mention ridiculous opulence (read: crazy jewels. Most of which the Turks stole). Enough opulence, in fact, to keep a harem of 3,000 women, children and slaves.
Next stop: Hagia Sophia (in Greek, Holy Wisdom). It was once a church, way back when Constantine converted to Christianity and took all of Constantinople with him. Later, it was changed to a mosque when the Muslims took charge of the city. Now it's an odd mixture of both. Because no one can decide whether it should now be a church or a mosque, however, the good ole USA stepped in and declared it a museum. The building itself is a strange dichotomy: 4 minarets surround the church and there is Arabic writing throughout the inside, but mosaics of Christ, John the Baptist and Mary, and engravings of crosses, can be seen throughout the inside as well. Hagia Sophia is a truly gorgeous place. But its history alone would be enough of a draw.
Final stop: the Blue Mosque, so named for the blue tiles that characterize the place. The mosque sits directly opposite Hagia Sophia, so it could compete with Christianity for religious prevalence in Instanbul. The afternoon tour of the mosque was excellent. But what was really special was the experience I had inside later that night:
A few of us decided to try and sit in on a special prayer service, since it is currently Ramadan in Turkey. We weren't sure how this would turn out, since typically tourists are asked to leave when prayer services are being held, but when we arrived at the mosque (as the only non-Muslims in sight) we were told we could stay. Half of us ended up with the women on the second level of the mosque, and the other half ended up on the ground floor towards the back of the mosque (since women are not allowed to pray in the front of the mosque with the men). Although I sat viewing the ceremony on the ground floor without participating in the prayers, the group upstairs was guided by the women in the complicated process of bowing, prostrating and standing. It was a beautiful sight to hear and behold. The reading of the Qur'an is something indescribable. Very powerful, to be sure. The entire ceremony was one I'll never forget.
It never ceases to amaze me how genuinely nice people here in Turkey are. They all say hello and practice their English on us. They help us watch out for cars in the road (because driving in Instanbul is nothing short of chaos). One man even helped us cross the street. And they all put up with out terrible Turkish. I can't wait to see what more I can learn about this wonderful culture, and what other stereotypes I can examine and possibly break.
This post is much longer than the rest will be. Suffice it to say that I am alive and having a wonderful time.
Allahaismarladik!
First blog ever. Want to keep up? Read.
First adventure: Turkey. Left Minnesota at around 2:30 pm on the 26th, and arrived in Istanbul around 4:15 pm on the 27th. Major jet lag. Maybe slept...5 collective hours? I thought this would help me get to sleep that night (even though my body might have thought it was still the afternoon), but I woke up to the sound of the Muslim call to prayer at 4:50 am Turkish time and had troubles falling back to sleep. It might have been worth it to hear the call in the dead of night, however. Electric.
Next day was the first day of classes at Boğaziçe (pronounced boe-a-zi-chi) University, just up the street from the Superdorm, where we will be staying until September 7th. Out scheduled class material was Turkish. Now, Turkish isn't exactly known for being easy. Especially when it sounds like a combination of Portuguese, Norwegian and Japanese. And especially when your Turkish teacher has extremely high expectations. Long story short, we mumbled out a few words, tried to learn a few grammatical rules, and ended up extremely confused.
A taste of the words I did learn:
Merhaba (Hello)
Günaydin (Good night)
Amerikaliyim (I'm from America)
Allahaismarladik (Good bye - literally, something like: Allah light your way)
This last one sounds like alas, small dick. Take from that what you will.
Today we toured. Made a stop at the Topkopi Palace first, the palace of the sultans of the Ottoman Empire. It has an amazing view of the Bosphorus, not to mention ridiculous opulence (read: crazy jewels. Most of which the Turks stole). Enough opulence, in fact, to keep a harem of 3,000 women, children and slaves.
Next stop: Hagia Sophia (in Greek, Holy Wisdom). It was once a church, way back when Constantine converted to Christianity and took all of Constantinople with him. Later, it was changed to a mosque when the Muslims took charge of the city. Now it's an odd mixture of both. Because no one can decide whether it should now be a church or a mosque, however, the good ole USA stepped in and declared it a museum. The building itself is a strange dichotomy: 4 minarets surround the church and there is Arabic writing throughout the inside, but mosaics of Christ, John the Baptist and Mary, and engravings of crosses, can be seen throughout the inside as well. Hagia Sophia is a truly gorgeous place. But its history alone would be enough of a draw.
Final stop: the Blue Mosque, so named for the blue tiles that characterize the place. The mosque sits directly opposite Hagia Sophia, so it could compete with Christianity for religious prevalence in Instanbul. The afternoon tour of the mosque was excellent. But what was really special was the experience I had inside later that night:
A few of us decided to try and sit in on a special prayer service, since it is currently Ramadan in Turkey. We weren't sure how this would turn out, since typically tourists are asked to leave when prayer services are being held, but when we arrived at the mosque (as the only non-Muslims in sight) we were told we could stay. Half of us ended up with the women on the second level of the mosque, and the other half ended up on the ground floor towards the back of the mosque (since women are not allowed to pray in the front of the mosque with the men). Although I sat viewing the ceremony on the ground floor without participating in the prayers, the group upstairs was guided by the women in the complicated process of bowing, prostrating and standing. It was a beautiful sight to hear and behold. The reading of the Qur'an is something indescribable. Very powerful, to be sure. The entire ceremony was one I'll never forget.
It never ceases to amaze me how genuinely nice people here in Turkey are. They all say hello and practice their English on us. They help us watch out for cars in the road (because driving in Instanbul is nothing short of chaos). One man even helped us cross the street. And they all put up with out terrible Turkish. I can't wait to see what more I can learn about this wonderful culture, and what other stereotypes I can examine and possibly break.
This post is much longer than the rest will be. Suffice it to say that I am alive and having a wonderful time.
Allahaismarladik!
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