Just returned on an overnight train from 3 days in Istanbul. Ate way too much, very little sleep, but absolutely wonderful experiences! Cuma (Friday) we visited the Jewish Museum, Galata Tower (360 degree view of the city), the Egyptian Spice Market, the Greek Orthdadox Patriarchate, and took a boat down the Bosphorus. Cumartesi (Saturday) tours included the Hippodrome, Sultanahmet (Blue Mosque), Aya Sofya, Topkapi Sarayi (Topkapi Palace), and Binbirdirek Cistern. Pazar (Sunday) we saw a Shadow Puppet play at Istanbul Modern and a Whirling Dervish sema.

I just wanted to share some of the things that struck my interest along the way:

I saw hundreds of fishermen (I mean fishermen not fisherpeople because I did not see a single woman) lined up on one of the bridges across the Golden Horn, casting their lines into the Halic.

Hostels are a wonderful way to travel.

Soggy shoes and lots of walking is not a very good combination. Don't worry, I warmed up.

Sitting in an audience of children, in hysterics over a Shadow Puppet play dating back to the 13th century, is a must.

A long quote from a pamphlet on Sema, the universal movement (the pamphet is the from the Whirling Dervishes sema):

Contemporary science definantly confirms that the fundamental condition of our existence is to revolve. There is no object, no being which does not revolve and the shared similarity among beings is the revolution of the electrons and protons in the atoms, which constiture the structure of the smallest particle to the stars far in the sky. As a consequence of this similarity, everything revolves and the man [sic] carries on his life. his very existence by means of the revolition in the atoms, structural elements in his body, by the circulation of his blood, by his coming from the Earth and return to it, by his revolving with the Earth itself...Sema is the turning of humanbeing towards truth, soaring by sence and love, quitting the egoism and existing with God and as a perfect man returning to slavery with a brandnew soul servitude to all creatures...

I'll post some pics from the weekend next time.

just a few sites around my city:

Çok güzel!

For anyone who loves me enough to send me some mail :) here is my address:

CG, CIEE c/o
Active Languages
Ataturk Blvd, Selcan Han, NO 127
Turkish Language Unit (ACTOM) Floor 6
06640 Bakanliklar (don't dot the 'i')
Ankara

merhaba family and friends!

I've been staying very busy with 3 hours of Turkish lessons every day and lectures by univerisity professors on various topics from Islam to Turkish culture to Human Development in Turkey. Here are a few things I've picked up along the way:

The walking pace here is much more leisurely compared to the states, while the driving is completely insane. Drivers always have the right away. most busy intersections have overpasses for pedestrians, while the brave may gamble a bit, dodging araba/taxis/dolmus/otobus with great skill.

Military service is required for all Turkish males. Raising your eyebrows & your chin, while making a ttttss sound means "no".

I was at a cafe with some friends on afternoon and we thought would be fun to play cards. It was of those places where board games are provided for entertainment. We began dealing the cards and a garson (waiter) comes over to our table and tells us in Turkish to put away the cards, and that we could be jailed for playing cards in a public space. We were with one of our Turkish friends and he explained to us that cards are associated with gamling, which is not something people do in public.

I'm on my way out the door to Kizilay for class...

Gurursuruz!

At the top of the citadel!

Picnic area on campus. When ODTU was founded in the 50s it is said that there were no trees to be seen. Now there are trees as far as the eye can see. New trees are planted every spring in the young forest, which was planted by university professors, students and staff.

Kocatepe Camii

Ankara around dusk.

young girls playing at the citadel

Here is an interesting tidbit...the Turkish language has only one irregular noun, su (water), and one irregular verb, dmek (to be). Words are formed by agglutination, meaning affixes are joined to a root word. I began language class yesterday and İ'm trying to pin down a similar moment during my schooling when İ've felt so engaged. The language itself is very fluent. My Turkish professor (Hacam is a Turkish term of respect used instead of a first name) came into the classroom and just began speaking basic Turkish phrases, like hello (merhaba), my name is (Benim adım), what's your name (Senin adın ne?), welcome (Hoşgeldiniz), American (Amerıkalıyim), nice to meet you (Memnu oldum), and many others. Since there are only 6 of us in our class, we are getting lots of practice. The language class goes for 3 hours everyday for the next two weeks until regular classed begin. After a few days in Ankara knowing absolutely no Turkish, the language I've picked up so far really goes a long way.

So I have some time before our language class begins so I'll give you a little snap shot look at what I've been up to.

There are 12 other students from the states in this program (CIEE) with me. Our resident director Kathryn and program assistant Ezgi have been helping us become acquainted with our new residence. Both are very friendly and knowledgable. ODTU, the university I am enrolled at, is a very large campus compared to St. Kate's. Instead of a pond and woods, there is a lake and 3043 hectares of forest area. There are currently about 23,000 students attending school here. It is one of the most competitive universities in Turkey and it is considered a very prestigious thing to attend. From campus you can take a mini bus to Kızılay, one of the busiest area of Ankara. Our language school is in Kızılay so this has been our main hang-out areas the past few days.

Yesterday we met with a group of Turkish students learning English at the language school to talk about our cultural perspectives of Turkey (and theirs of America). This was quite humorous, with many references to pop cultural figures like Brad Pitt, NBA stars like Jordan, and McDonalds. My friend Riley and I got to explore some areas of Ankara with a few of the Turkish students last evening. Highlights included an aerial view of Ankara, iskender (döner kepap on pide wıth yogurt, melted butter, and tomato sauce) DELICIOUS, and lots of needed practice of Turkish. I also tried liver (çığer), though I'm not sure if I will eat it again.

That's about all for now. I'm having a wonderful time so far! Hope all is well back in the states. Keep me updated!

Merhaba.
An update on my travels so far. I flew into Ankara Sunday afternoon. The countryside was absolutely spectacular. Ankara sits on a plateau surrounded by rugged mountains. I am living ın the dorms at my university Middle East Technical University (ODTU in Turkish) temporarily. On Sunday I will move in with my host family. The only details I know so far is that I will be living with my host mom and little brother in a middle-upper class area of Ankara. I began my Turkish lesson this afternoon and it was both exciting and intense. Another more update with more details soon, I promise.
Hoşcakalın.
Caity