Day 3 Linguistic and Visual Vocabularies for Ottoman History

Today we start out in Istanbul and end in Safronbolu. What does that last name sound like?  Yes, the deliciousness of Safron!  Hoping to purchase some for cheaper than U.S. prices. Going to Koc University (do not have Turkish alphabet on here so cannot spell it exact). It is said Koch. Then going to Bogazici University. It is said Boyazichi. I have learned some already about Turkish and super excited to report on more.

Just checked into the hotel in Safronbolu.  Very quaint, almost chateau style. Old. Lovely. Very excited to explore tomorrow, but it is 9:00 p.m.  Am skipping dinner to talk with children. Eating is so late here, especially during Ramazan. 

Below I will post pics of today and annotate later. 

Koc University. Beautiful, private university. More American style. 

We studied poetic tradition of Ottomans. The above poem was by a woman (extremely unusual). Very fascinating. Poetry was used as way to seek the divine and also about longing for love. Because of the cultural sensibilities, this was done in a longing for an androgynous being, usually in language of pre pubescent boy, because inappropriate to speak publicly about women. These were oral poems recited publicly. 

Our teacher for the morning. 

My cafeteria lunch at the university. 

Don't you think these exit signs are much more fun than ours?   I have understand that sense of urgency at times. :-)

We had a Turkish language lesson. I can now count to five and say some basics. Easy, phonetic alphabet. 

Crossing the bridge to the Asian side

Countryside from my 6 hour bus ride

Our hotel. Has a sweet appeal, especially after a 6 hour bus ride. :-)

Day 2 First Day of Ramazan

Above is what I ate for dinner last night. The grand finale was my inner sweet tooth's favorite. 

Istanbul is the only major city that straddles two continents. Across the way there is Asia. We will go to that side later. 

Wow!  I keep pinching myself that I am actually here and experiencing such amazing times.  Today is the first day of Ramazan (Ramadan everywhere else). Muslims fast for the daylight hours and then break the fast at night with much feasting and celebration. It lasts for 30 days. They also use the time to examine their lives and remind themselves of virtues such as compassion, forgiveness and charity. It is also a time to not gossip, speak ill, etc.

There were crowds at the mosque waiting to break the fast. They do this with dates and light foods and then have a large feast late at night with family and friends at restaurants or at others' homes. I am enjoying so much this experience. 

Here is a run down of the day:

Breakfast here at the hotel includes such items as olives, tomatoes, and cold meats. Kids, when I get home we are converting. :-)

We went to a couple of hours of class this morning. We learned about alternative narratives to the "decline" narrative of the Ottoman Empire. So many social and cultural things happening, and it doesn't always have to be the testosterone-driven narrative of weakening armies and empire. This wasn't brand new to me, but much of what I'm learning is. 

We all went to a cafe for lunch. Delicious food here in Turkey!  We then went to a museum in an old traditional Turkish house/mansion near the edge of the Bosphorus after driving a bit. We saw ancient artifacts and a good selection of Ottoman items including the most astounding works of embroidery, a major handicraft of the era. No photos were allowed there unfortunately. 

We then boarded a boat and rode several miles of the Bosphorus, which connects the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea. Gorgeous day! Perfect temp for a boat ride and gorgeous scenery!  Ended with a several course meal. Michelle and Leslie, the baklava here is incredible!

Our first lunch course besides salad. Anyone recognize any of these?  

Traditional Turkish house along the Bosphorus. This was the museum we went to. 

Yes, that is the Turkish flag with one happy girl on a gorgeous boat ride down the Bosphorus. 

Looooong flight and Istanbul!

Our 9.5 hour flight from NYC turned into 10.5, but I did manage to sleep. Counting that blessing, because we finally made it to the hotel at 2:30. Class started at 3:30, and we introduced ourselves in a group Circle Up on top of the hotel roof, which happens to have the best view of Istanbul.

I am working with an incredible group of educators. There are so many passionate teachers, and our professors are top notch. Today I already got to use a little of the Turkish I have learned. Besides a little introduction class on the geography of the area and expectations for our study groups (I'm with the Trade and Economy group), we all went to eat at Khorasani, a few blocks from our hotel. We had this delicious smoked and grilled meat kabob, a type of flatbread, salads, appetizer of another small flatbread with a meat that tasted like goat and the sweetest baklava for dessert. Good thing we are doing much walking. :-)

Then we walked down a main street of Istanbul with our prof, Barb. She has been here many times, and is super fun in addition to being an expert. 

Now for the photos of the day, all from my iPhone. Will post some from my SLR camera when I return. 

The Blue Mosque or Sultanhamet Mosque, the most famous in Istanbul, from top of our hotel. 

The Hagia Sofia, which was a Byzantine Christian cathedral then mosque and now a museum. Again, this is the view from the roof and also similar from my room though a lower floor. So stunning. 

Where the meat for our dinner was cooked. It smells amazing here. 

Where we ate dinner. 

Turkish Delight and other scrumptiousness. 

The Constantine Column. You guessed it--dates back to the emporer and once had a statue of him on top. Behind is another mosque. 

Perhaps my favorite photo of the day, the Burger King with the neighboring mosque minaret. 

New York City

Arrived in NYC last night at midnight. Thank you Isaac and Jim for hosting this country girl. Isaac walked me all over Central Park and the West Side this morning. We crammed a ton in to 3 1/2 hours!  On Air Train now to JFK to fly straight to Istanbul after navigating the Subway with Isaac's help. Super excited for this adventure.

Isaac lives in Harlem, about two blocks from the famous Apollo theatre.

Itinerary and Thoughts While Preparing for Ottoman Seminar

I add this photo of the interior of the Hagia Sofia and the one above of Iznik as teasers for what is to come soon.  I leave for Turkey in less than two weeks and thought I would share a few thoughts about preparing and about this blog.

• First, for all my friends and family who worry about me going (Turkey is experiencing protests against the government, and the major protests are in Istanbul, where most of the seminar is.), please know I will be prudent.  I am excited, not worried.  
• Second, this blog is a journaling requirement of the institute and will have some content related to tying ideas back to the classroom.  It won't just be a travel log.
• Third, I will have some specific thoughts related to the study group I am in, which is Trade and the Economy of the Ottoman Empire.  If you think I might be obsessing on one area, it is because I am assigned to that and will be thinking of it often, though I am really interesting in EVERYTHING.
• Finally, please feel free to post any comments or questions.  I promise that if I do not answer them all while traveling, I will when I return.  If you don't want to officially follow this, I will not be offended, but if you do, you will get notified of updates.  I will try to post at least something daily, but it may be brief.  Some days will be busier than others, and I want to spend more time experiencing than writing on this.  I will go back after the seminar and add information and photos to the specific days.  

I am posting a link to the Syllabus/Itinerary.  Good luck deciphering some of the names.  I have studied it and the Turkish alphabet just enough to be able to hopefully correctly pronounce some of the places and names correctly.  

Thanks to all of you--family, friends and students who are supporting me!  I really appreciate you being excited with me.

Next Adventure Coming this Summer: Ottoman Cultures & Empire in Turkey!

I just found out this week that this summer I will be traveling to Turkey for 3 weeks to study the Ottoman Cultures and centuries of the empire.  I am thrilled to be selected as one of the fellows for this National Endowment for the Humanities/Primary Source program.

See more about the program here.

I am so excited, I can hardly contain myself.  :-)

Celebrating & Reflecting in DC: TGC Graduation

I experienced a gorgeous autumn weekend in Washington D.C. as my Teachers for Global Classrooms group met up to celebrate the completion of our program, present our capstone projects, and reflect on our experiences over the last year.  We now engage in our charge to teach global competencies and take our learning back to our schools and communities.  What an invigorating experience during the last year!  I will forever be impacted by these events and memories.  

 Moroccan Lamb and taboulleh at a great restaurant in Dupont Circle.  A group of my Moroccan cohort fellows reminisced and compared the food with Morocco's, which was quite close, though the bread was not as good.  We had a Moroccan server who had lived where Tom and I went.  What a fun evening!

 Stephanie, Tom and JoAnn, three of my favorite Morocco groupees.

 Under-Secretary of State Tara Sonenshine addressed us during a luncheon Friday afternoon.  She thanked us for our dedication to helping students become global citizens.  Sonenshine is a formal award-winning journalist and former Vice President of the World Institute for Peace.  Her biography may be found here: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/187350.htm

With last February's roomie in D.C., Arlis Groves from Sacramento, California area.  Arlis went to Indonesia in July.  We ran into each other in the Denver airport on our flight to DC.  Because it was the morning after the first Presidential debate, we also ended up on the same flight as Jim Lehrer, the debate moderator, and anchor for News Hour on PBS.  I even sat next to a producer for CNN.  What an amazing experience in itself.