Ephesus

Hi everyone!

Like Sarah said earlier, I'm also really excited for our day trip to Ephesus.  Originally, I was looking forward to this because in religion class last year I had to do a project on the Book of Ephesians.  I thought it would be so cool to walk among the ruins of a city that once had a book of the Bible addressed to them.

I find the whole religious aspect of the city fascinating.  For example, two councils of the early Christian Church were held in AD 431 and AD 449 in the city, but even further back in its history are the gods of the Greeks and Romans.  This is demonstrated by many of the ruins, like the Temple of Hadrian, which was built in honor of one of the five good emperors of the Roman Empire, Emperor Hadrian.  It really interests me to see how religion and politics interact, and this ruin is a perfect example of that.

I also think that ancient ruins are interesting- it amazes me that the buildings have survived for so long and have weathered so much.  It makes me feel so small to think that we will be walking where people thousands of years ago walked as well.  I do not know exactly what we will be seeing, but I read about The Library of Celsus, and it seems like such a beautiful ruin.  Apparently, the statues in the niches each represent a certain trait: Sophia (wisdom), Arete (virtue),Ennoia (intellect), and Episteme (knowledge).

I hope everyone's having a good break!  Can't wait to see you all!

KOÇ UNIVERSITY

Hello All!
        I hope your break has been relaxing and enjoyable as mine was. But, now I'm just about ready to go back to school and on to Istanbul!  While I'm sure all aspects of our journey will be intriguing and mentally stimulating, I'm most excited about going to the University.  Even though I have traveled out of the country before, I have never really considered the amount of similarities and differences in the educational system between the United States and other countries or had a chance to visit one.  Last year in French class, I briefly compared and contrasted different aspects of French and American universities such as cost, level of difficulty, and manner of education (like the amount of people who go in to trade school).  It should be really interesting to study the differences between the United States and a country such as Turkey where the yearly schedule is completely different due to different celebrated holidays and a culture that is almost independent of the United States unlike France.
        Koç University was founded very recently in 1993 due to the resources of the Vehbi Koç Foundation which has won many philanthropic awards such as Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy (the equivalent to the Nobel Peace Prize for Philanthropy). While the University has only be around for 19 years, it has quickly become of one the best universities in Turkey. So far, I have found many similarities between Elon University and Koç University.  For example, they practice many "green" actions such as all lights, heating, and cooling is controlled by motion sensors where they turn off after 15 minutes of inactivity.  Also, the University is a liberal arts college where they encourage and require courses outside of the major while also demanding a specialization in the chosen field so that the students may be well-rounded.  Finally like at Elon University and many other colleges in the United States, social media is an important factor in the Turkish education system where they encourage all students to like, comment, follow, etc on a variety of networks such as Facebook and Twitter.  
      I can't wait to learn more about this incredible university!! For more information, visit their extremely easily navigable website. http://www.ku.edu.tr/en Enjoy the rest of your holiday! See you all next year. ;)
 

Istanbul Modern Art Museum

The one item that particularly jumped out at me from ouritinerary was the visit to the Istanbul Modern Art Museum.

A lot of people think of modern art as looking somethinglike this:

(Ellsworth Kelly, Colors for a Large Wall, 1951)

or this:

(Dan Content, untitled 1, c. 1970)

and generally inspiring a feeling ofI-could-totally-have-made-that-myself. But modern art is much more than that. Modern art can be wildly expressive, on a deep, emotional level.  It is difficult to look at a painting likethis:

(Leonid Afremov, Flame Dance, 2008)

without feeling some small part of the pure joy and freedomfelt by the artist.  It can also providea view of the culture the artist lives in, like in this painting:

(Jasper Johns, Map, 1961)

Art is unique in its ability to portray the views of anindividual without accidentally absorbing those of others.  If we attempted in any other way to get agrasp of the modern culture in Istanbul, whatever we learned would be anamalgam of the ideas and feelings of many people, due to the unavoidablealteration of thoughts as they spread. But in a painting or sculpture, an artist can freeze their opinion on asubject, and that opinion can spread without fear of alteration.  In this way, we may see a side of Istanbulthrough this modern art that we otherwise would not get to see at all—the sidethat is the everyday lives of its people. 

This close-up look at individuals’ lives is fascinating tome.  Too often, we assume that all thosewho live in a foreign place lead similar lives. But in fact, their daily routines are as richly varied and diverse asour own.

Modern art has also traditionally been an outlet forpolitical frustrations—perhaps, we will see in the museum a bit of the strugglebetween Turkey’s secular government and its devoutly religious people.

One exhibit at the museum that looks particularlyinteresting is “Modernity? Perspectives from France and Turkey,” which includesart like this:

(Thomas Hirschhorn, The One World, 2007)

and will be on display during our visit.  The exhibition “opens for discussion how the remains of modernity can transform thepresent and the future.”  This should beparticularly interesting after a month of studying the intersection of Turkey’srich history and its attempts to modernize.

If you, like me, are interested in the museum, you can checkout their website here. 

Cool Travel Apps!

If anyone is planning to bring their iPhone (or other app-capable device) with us on the trip, here are two apps that might be a good idea to download!

WhatsApp

This app allows you to send text messages over the internet instead of through your wireless provider.  If you are worried about roaming charges and don't want to pay for an international plan, simply switch your phone to "Airplane Mode." (Settings panel on iPhone.)  This will prevent you from using 3G, and will only allow you to use wireless networks nearby (i.e., the one at the hotel.)  Then, when wireless internet is available, you will be able to send and receive "text messages" through What'sApp.  Note: Only other What'sApp users will be able to talk to you, so make sure to tell your family/friends to download it before you leave.

Download for iPhone: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/whatsapp-messenger/id310633997?mt=8
Download for other devices: http://www.whatsapp.com/




Triposo's Istanbul Guide
This app is a nice little guidebook for the city.  Most of the information is available offline, so you don't have to worry about roaming charges.  It features a map of the city, a fairly comprehensive phrasebook, and information about places to see, eat, shop, and more!

Download for iPhone: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/istanbul-travel-guide-by-triposo/id430534193?mt=8
Download for Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.triposo.droidguide.istanbul&hl=en

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.