Taskim Square

While I'm excited for just about every aspect of our trip, I must say that I am most excited about visiting Taskim Square. Much of our journey in Turkey will be focused on the nation’s rich history with its former cultural and historical importance, but I also find modern Turkey intriguing and believe that a greater familiarity of the current Republic will allow us a better understanding to such a foreign and important area of the world.

Taskim Square is said to represent the contemporary center of Istanbul. As visitors to Istanbul, we might at first simply marvel Taskim Square because of its proximity to many restaurants, hotels, museums and other touristy attractions. We might consider it something like the Times Square of Turkey, but not quite as epic. However, I believe Taskim Square represents something more important to the Turkish state. I take into consideration the major protests have been staged in Taskim Square, some of which of ended in violent left-right confrontations. The political violence resulting from these protests in the 1970’s and 80’s resulted in a ban on any type of major gathering in Taskim Square. Recently, this ban has been lifted.

On the other hand, Taskim Square is also a site of celebration. The Turkish public commemorates festivals such as New Years here. Also, music concerts and football (or, as we call it, soccer) game screenings are also common events for the square. One certain festival that caught my attention was a march called Gay Pride Istanbul. This annual attraction gathered more than 10,000 in 2012. I suspect that such a large gathering to support gay rights is not common is majority Muslim countries such as Turkey. In my humble opinion, this only makes Turkey out to be unique in the region and having a very distinct culture of its own.

By examining the more recent history of the Turkish Republic, I believe that we will be able to understand better some of the current issues that Turkey and the region are facing. Also, I hope that this will help us understand the Turkish identity. With Turkey’s attempt to join the European Union, understanding the Turkish identity may put into question the traditional idea of what it means to be European. Also, with a vast majority of Turkish citizens being Muslim we will be better able to consider Turkey’s situation in the Middle East and the region’s Western relationship as a whole. To me, Taskim Square seems to embody Turkey and its challenging, changing political character - an important aspect to our trip in and our world. Also, it’ll probably be lots of fun!

Happy Holidays to all!

Sweet Tooth

I totally have a sweet tooth, so you can bet that I'll be trying some of these!

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/04/travel/istanbul-turkish-sweets

Mevlevi Sema Ceremony

        One ceremony from our itinerary that I am excited to attend isthe Mevlevi Sema Ceremony. Earlier that day we’ll be at the Galata MevleviTekkesi, which, from what I gather, is a Mevlevi Whirling Dervish hall (theMevlevi are an order of Sufis).

    The tradition of the whirling dances originated Konya andeventually spread throughout the Ottoman Empire. Dancers receive 1,001 days oftraining in ethics, codes of behavior, prayer, religious music, etc. to be amember of the dancing order. Directly before the ceremony, dancers fast for a fewhours. They proceed to then whirl in white robes while reciting prayer forabout 15 minutes at a time (I think it’s remarkable that they don’t get dizzy! Icertainly would!). They keep their eyes open and watch the world blur by. Thehope is that after the training and dances, the members of the order go back totheir former occupations and resume their lives with a deeper spiritualunderstanding.

    Due to secularistpolicies, the entire Mevlevi order was outlawed in 1925 by the Turkish government. Though the orderremains illegal, the government granted the Mevlevi rights to perform. Thesedances are mostly tourist attractions nowadays. I found this tradition reallyinteresting because so many cultures have traditional dances, yet I haven’tseen anything like this before. Not only is it a cultural dance, it’s alsoreligious and philosophical and they receive nearly 3 years of instruction! I’m very excited to see this groupperform! 

    This is a link to a youtube video of another group with anarration.There is also a bit of information about this tradition in the Istanbul travelguide we have on page 47 under Winter- events.

Ephesus

The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus. Picture found here.

I would have to say that one of the places that I am most excited to visit is Ephesus. Ancient European history has always fascinated me, and I especially enjoyed learning about struggles for power and imperialism and about how this imperialism affected societies' cultures and infrastructures. I enjoy being able to "see" history where it occurred, which is one of the main reasons why I wanted to apply for this course in the first place. My goal is to integrate what I already know about the area with what we see and learn while abroad to create a better understanding of the area and how its past culture has affected its society today. There is so much history surrounding ancient Turkey, with some of its evidence remaining for students and tourists to see today. Experiencing this history on site is what I am most excited about. I want to be able to see the evidence that remains and, as a result, be able to understand more about how and why the Romans, and eventually the Turks, took control of the city.
I remember learning about the Turks in my high school freshman and sophomore World History courses and being enthralled with how conflict and imperialism can change the course of history forever. For me, seeing the sights at Ephesus will allow all that I have learned about it to sink in and solidify the images that I have only seen in my textbooks and on Google. Although I am not sure of everything that we will being doing when we go to Ephesus, I am hoping to be able to see some of the ruins that give clues about Roman imperialism. Ephesus is home to the Temple of Artemis--one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Library of Celsus, and other sites that were built in or around the time of the Roman Empire. Visiting Ephesus, I think, will be one of the most rewarding experiences of the course because it will not only allow us to expand our knowledge about Roman imperialism, but it will also allow us to truly experience some of the most amazing aspects of ancient Turkish history and culture.

Thought you all might enjoy this comic strip... :)

Just a little historical humor to brighten your day! :)

(The comic strip is Barney & Clyde, by Gene Weingarten, Dan Weingarten, and David Clark.  See more here.)

Can't wait for the trip course!

-Olivia

Apocalypse Fever Hits Turkey . . . Again

Just received this in the mail today!

As most of you know I study the Book of Revelation, which is also known as John's Apocalypse and which is the last book of the Christian Bible.  The Apocalypse, which was written in the first century CE as a response to the influence of the Roman Empire in Asia Minor (i.e. modern Turkey), was addressed to Christian congregations in seven cities, including Ephesus . . . one of the cities we will be visiting while we are abroad.  (FYI: I'm giddy over the thought of visiting Ephesus and when we get there you all might have to help me when I faint with excitement.)

Anyway, you all may be aware of the fact that the "Mayan Apocalypse" is predicted for December 21. And, interestingly, it seems that excitement over this apocalyptic scenario (which happens to be a product of European colonialism--ask me about that later) has spread to a little town near Ephesus!  It's like the Apocalypse has come home!

We'll definitely be talking some about the Apocalypse of John when we are in Ephesus (and Laodicea), in part because it shows how one group of people understood and tried to resist Roman imperialism. Also, since one of the aims of this course is to think about how particular fields of study engage in academic inquiry, Michael and I will be highlighting some of the ways that our disciplinary lenses and scholarly interests relate to what we are experiencing in Turkey.

(FYI:  If you're interested in a peak at some of my scholarship that kind of engages the ancient Roman world as it emerged in Asia Minor, you can check out an online article I've published here.  It's written for those in biblical studies, so it's pretty technical.)

OK . . . it's time for this

So, you may be familiar with this song, "Istanbul (not Constantinople).  If not, don't kill me for putting this in your head!  Anyway, while the song was originally record in the 1950s it was covered in 1990 by They Might Be Giants, a smart, yet somewhat nutty, band popular with all the cool kids during that time.  (For what it's worth, I've probably seen TMBG in concert more times than any other band . . . although I'm not 100% sure about that.)  But here you go . . . don't laugh too hard at the 1990s video effects.