{Please forgive me for not posting over the last few days - I've been valiantly fighting a sinus infection and 100+ degree weather simultaneously, which has stolen the majority of my attention and energies. BUT I'm well enough to upload this now and I hope I don't sound like I'm rambling in this post!}
Waking up was getting tough, but we took solace in the knowledge that we were in for a decent drive to our first stop. I.E. nap time.
The place to which we were headed was on the Asian side of Istanbul (keep in mind that half is in Europe and the other half is in Asia) in a bit more remote a part of town than that of which we had yet seen in Istanbul. This area was not half as developed as the compacted and densely populated European side, but everywhere you looked tall active cranes told the tale that development was on its way. The traffic heading into that side of town was also telling of the development.
We arrived at a beautiful building that stood several stories tall. We walked inside into a large atrium and were lead to the media room of the non-profit organization Kimse Yok Mu. In our meeting with one of the project directors we learned that Kimse Yok Mu is an international humanitarian aid organization that grew quite literally from the ashes of great tragedy. In the 1990s, a major earthquake struck Turkey, bringing down countless buildings and leaving many stranded underneath the rubble. People involved in the search and rescue were hollering through the rubble, "Kimse yok mu?!" - "Is anyone there?!" Likewise, people trapped beneath the rubble were hollering back, "Kimse yok mu?!" Out from the rubble came this incredible organization that provides relief all around the world. I'm including a link to the video that I found in English for you to continue to learn more about their valiant works to make the world a better place. For those of you who can read Turkish or who have clever browsers that translate, their website is www.kym.org.tr But I've also included a video so that you may learn more about them:
We spoke with the project coordinator for over an hour about the many different aspects of the organization, including their situation room, which has numerous screens displaying natural disaster zones and a series of broadcasting channels.
Mesut, Rosemary, and Walt with the ASYA signs in the background - ASYA is the highly trained search and rescue team that is ready to be diployed anywhere in the world at a moment's notice. Oh, did I mention that the rescue team is composed of 100% volunteers.
Of the many other programs in which it is involved, Kimse Yok Mu also provides food aid to people within Turkey and internationally. Here is the project director showing us the insides of the care packages that people would receive domestically.
One of the items for Turkish food aid was a bag of tea and my initial reaction was, "That's kinda a waste of space when other items could be placed instead." But then I instantly realized how tea is an integral, and I mean that, absolutely important piece to the Turkish identity. Think of the soup kitchens during the Great Depression - people were served coffee. It was a matter of pride and of identity to have a cup of coffee in the morning, whether one was preparing for work or not. We heard many times while we were in Turkey that Turks do not ask "how are you?" or "how do you do?" when you first meet them, instead they ask, "What will you drink?" and odds are you'll answer tea. It is a part of who they are and in this way it was the most important piece in the care package. Keeping a person's dignity in tack during times of crisis is so important to preserving one's humanity. Being dehumanized in times of crisis is only too easy and it destroys the soul.
We were able to tour the food containment area and to learn about all the different services Kimse Yok Mu provides. We were extremely impressed and honored to have had the opportunity to tour and to explore so awesome a human aid organization.
The organization was fascinating and we could have spent hours there, but we had another appointment to get to.
Have you ever been to a news and television station? I hadn't and neither had anyone in my group, so we were in for a number of treats once we arrived at our next destination: Samanyolu TV. The first person that we met in Turkey (aside from Mesut) was a man named Emre. We all agreed that everyone who visits Turkey should meet Emre first because he is the most energetic, dynamic, person with more character than most people could fit in one body. Margie later described him as a gumdrop and that was pretty fitting. He was our guide at Samanyolu and we learned all about the station, including its numerous international awards and its place in the day-to-day life's of Turks. Emre took us all around the station, including into a live broadcasting room where we were able to watch a reporter give her live address. Emre indicated to us that we needed to be quiet, which we all respected, but, true to his character, it was Emre who ended up bumping against a stool that made a loud screech right as the reporter went live. It took everything we had not to laugh, but throughout the day Mesut and I would joke about how the reporter looked like she was going to kill Emre.
From there we went into another room where the Emril ('90s reference - if you don't know him, that's sad, but think Guy Fiery or Rachel Ray status) of Turkey was preparing the food for his show. As a foodie, it was really cool getting to see a food show studio and the chef was really nice, he even took a group photo of us, which I'll upload once I get a copy of it.
The next studio room that we visited was for a women's talk show like the view. Emre and I attempted to do a selfie, but failed.
Walt was able to get a couple of really good shots in there because the lighting was every photographer's dream.
The day was getting on and due to the heavy traffic we said our goodbyes to our buddy Emre and we jumped back in the van, heading off to our next destination: a private elementary school for a late lunch.
The school was atop an extremely steep hill that felt as if it was on top of the world.
You can't really tell from this photo, but the view of the city (Istanbul) was incredible. We were a bit rushed, so I didn't stop to take too many photos, but the scope of this hill is prety telling as to how high up this neighborhood was.
Inside the school we were able to sit down with a couple of administers as we nibbled on a typical lunch that the students would enjoy. None of the adults were able to finish our servings. The meal was ENORMOUS: salad, soup, a generous portion of mac & cheese, lamb, fries, tomatoes, a piece of cake and a yummy yogurt drink. It seemed to never end. I don't think the "baked" chimmy changas that I ate from my elementary school were quite as nutritious. (Granted, I went to public school and I did really enjoy those chimmy changas and pizza bagels at the time...today, not so much).
We discussed the curriculum, the trials and triumphs of a school like this, which followed the Gulen movement like all the other educational facilities we visited (more to that in uno momento). It was a great learning environment for students to ever be surrounded by educational and creative stimulation. The educational system in the private schools like this one are different from our own - for example, their school starts at nine and goes until 2, with extra curricular programs until 5. The children have a 1.5 hour lunch/recess break, which helps to relieve a lot of the students' energy creating a very productive learning environment in the classroom. The extremely full bellies probably also aids in calming the students.
With our eyes on the clock, we had to hit the road again, but first we had to walk down that steep hill. I think with our full bellies, it might have been safer for us to have rolled down.
The next appointment that awaited us was at the Journalists and Writers Foundation. The building was also quite lovely, filled with a myriad of awards recognizing their excellence.
Rosemary, Carole and I stepped into the elevator first and it was different from what we are used to in the west where the doors close automatically and then the elevator proceeds to the appropriate landing. This elevator had a swinging door that one had to pull. Once our elevator reached its floor, we failed to realize that we had to push it open to get back out. The elevator proceeded to go back to the first floor where poor Mesut stood standing staring at us laughing hysterically at our "oops". Armed with this newfound knowledge we were successfully able to remove ourselves from the elevator the second time. This is tried and tested, but boy is it true - the elevators that we would encounter throughout the day would have their ups and downs. (The elevator in our dorms that morning stopped below the landing and much later in the evening, Mesut, Margie and Emre were trapped in an elevator that refused to go all the way down to the floor. They were able to get out and down by going back up in the elevator then wisely deciding to take the stairs.)
We settled into a conference room and watched a video on the Journalists and Writers foundation. It is an organization founded on the belief of universal democracy and dialogue. The organization has celebrated enormous success, not only in Turkey, but internationally. Here is a short video depicting their missions and values:
The man with whom we had our meeting informed us in depth on the Gulen movement. (Hey, that's the name from the last post I said I'd expand upon!) The Gulen movement in a nutshell stresses dialogue and understanding between all peoples, from all walks of life, culture, creed and politics. Gulen is a leader who stresses the imperative need for universal education and how once you have an educated society, the eyes of the world will be open to the needs and struggles of one's neighbors. The civil society movement that he has founded has had enormously positive implications throughout the world and it is growing. Here is a brief video that I found by CBS' 60 minutes that summarizes Gulen, his movement, and the impact his followers have had globally. (It also conveniently summarizes my group's meetings for the day.)
Just like our pilgrimage in Turkey was and will continue to build bridges between geographically seperated communities, the Journalists and Writers foundation has been doing the same on a global scale.
This was yet another meeting at which we could have stayed for hours, but we had another stop to make. Before we left, we each received a packet of reading materials on the Journalist and Writers Foundation, including Mr. Gulen's book Toward a Global Civilization of Love & Tollerance. I'll return to talking about this book later.
With messages of hope and of love in our hearts and minds, we drove to the Armenian church that stood along the eastern shore of the Bosphorus. Unfortunately the church was already closed (traffic delays strike again!), but that allowed us time for an incredible walk alongside a beautiful shore.
I deeply enjoyed this evening because we were the only "tourists" in sight. We got to see how your average Istanbul citizen enjoys their Friday evening and we all thought of locals strolling along La Jolla cliffs or through the cobblestone streets of Sea Port Village.
Dinner wasn't for another two hours, so we went for a walk. Following in a line behind Mesut, who wore the name "Mama Duck" from his following ducklings.
Walking amongst the people calmly, without a real time restraint or agenda during a breathtaking sunset was one of my favorite evenings in Turkey.
Eventually though, all things must come to an end. It was time to go to our dinner. We met two new friends who were connected to our group through a sibling in the States and we enjoyed an absolutely lovely dinner with them. The food was expected, meeting them was expected, what we didn't expect was for Emre to show up and that these two new people in our lives would give five perfect strangers exquisit gifts: personalized, hand made, porcelein plates.
As you can see, Emre wasn't expected, so he boasted his tea cup plate.
As if receiving our own personalized plates was not enough, a fireworks show set off over the Bosphorus from a seaside castle. Really. Can't make that up. It was simply a magical evening.
And what would a magical evening in Turkey be without dondurma! (Ice cream!)
And what would a magical evening in Turkey be without dondurma! (Ice cream!)
We walked to a nearby ice cream shoppe and poor Mesut had to order for his now 8 full grown children. It took upwards of 10 minutes for our ordering process. I felt so bad for the waiter, but we kept him laughing, so I hope we made his evening.
And boy did the ice cream make mine!!!! (As if the evening was lacking in any way.)
That's mulberry on the left and vanilla on the right on top of what I would describe as a sweet, moist angel cake.
The evening drew to an end and we wished our new friends numerous well wishes, countless thank yous, and invitations to come visit us in California. It was sad to say goodbye, knowing that this was our last night, but we also knew that this would come.
There was one last stop to make before we could go home and rest - the grocery store. Carole, Margie, Mesut and I went into the grocery store by our dorms and bought that instant coffee I raved about in an earlier post, sweets, spices, and tea. We wanted to share the treats that we had enjoyed in Turkey with our friends and families.
The next morning we woke up early and enjoyed our last Turkish breakfast (for the time being - I have a sneaky suspician I'll be enjoying the food and the rich company of the Turkish people there again).
It was time to say "gule, gule," "goodbye."
Even the evening before one of the last things we saw on our magical evening was this sign:
I have no idea what the majority of it says, but "Gule Gule" means bye-bye. I thought of Ben Franklin's quote, "Guests, like fish, begin to smell after a few days." And without having access to laundry, if we stayed much longer, we undoubtably would.
Bidding Mesut goodbye at the airport was not so difficult as we initially imagined because we knew we'd see him again stateside soon. He had family to visit and wasn't scheduled to return to the States for a little while still. Even though we're all big kids now, it was odd to walk through the airports without our our mama duck. It's really quite sobering to realize how dependent we were on Mesut and I truly hope he knows how much we appreciated his guidance throughout the entire experience. It truly would not have been possible without him.
Boarding the plane was tough. I wasn't quite ready to leave Turkey, but I was happy to be heading home. I couldn't wait to sleep in my own bed and to see my family (of course that especially includes Bella Tuna Todd).
On the exceptionally lengthy flight, I started to read Mr. Gulen's book.
The book is already worn due to the long flight, but I'm about 1/3rd of the way through and it is one of the most inspiring reads I've enjoyed. If you're looking for a light but powerful book, or if you are lost and searching, I highly recommend finding this book. Please do not assume that it is stricktly an Islamic text. The book was written to open the hearts, eyes and minds of people to the core values and truths of what it means to be Muslim, and to be a global citizen. I've made numerous notes and marked passages throughout and I will quote three passages for you:
"Love is the sultan that reigns on the throne of our hearts, with no power struggle being involved." (Gulen, page 4).
"[T]he greatest gift that the generation of today can give their children and grandchildren is to teach them how to forgive - to forgive even when confronted by the worst behavior and the most disturbing events." (Gulen, page 29).
"[W]e should remove all ideas and feelings that pull us apart, and run to embrace one another." (Gulen, page 7).
Reading this on the plane ride home was a perfect threshold for the responsibility that now lies on the shoulders of my companions and me; to spread the word, to teach those who will listen that we are all brothers and sisters, regardless our differences. Like the professor we met in Izmir said, "Our nationalities are different, but our hearts are the same."
These words, these values and beliefs have echoed in my heart strongly over the last few weeks and with the gifts from my brothers and sisters in Turkey posted throughout my room, I will daily be reminded of these messages. I hope that through reading these posts, you too have shared a laugh with me, learned, and grown, on this, our shared adventure through a culture different, but so very similar to our own.
Until next week dear readers. Thank you for coming with and taking me to this passage that will shape the rest of my life.
Your humble author,
S. Faxon
No comments:
Post a Comment