Güle Güle Türkiye!

     On April 29, 2014, my time in Istanbul, Turkey came to an end. I boarded a plane that morning to return home to the U.S. I was originally suppose to stay in Turkey for longer, but due to political tensions in the country things changed. 40+ foreign English teachers, including me, were let go from their jobs at our respective schools. The Prime Minster of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is in opposition to Fethullah Gülen and his movement. Currently, Gülen lives in self-exile in the U.S. Still, he owns businesses in Turkey. He also owns multiple chains of private schools (3 separate chains I believe). After his party was re-elected in April, Erdoğan started sending his party to Gülen's schools to harass those schools. Subsequently, many foreign teachers lost their jobs.I, along with the other teachers who were let go, worked at those schools. And so, here I am back in the U.S.

     Still, I am glad that I had the opportunity to teach ESL in Istanbul for the 6 months I was there. Overall, I really enjoyed living in the country. Why?

Friends: I'll miss the friends I made in Turkey a lot. In my circle of friends, we had people from different backgrounds with different experiences. Still, we were able to relate to each other and found common ground. We had fun doing karaoke, playing basketball, poker games, and so on. The highlight of our activities was going to protests and getting teargassed. lol.

Students and Co-workers: Although some students drove me crazy, there are some that I really enjoyed teaching and had fun with. I'll have some good memories of them. I also had good working relationships with my co-workers. Due to teaching at a conservative Muslim school, the male teachers had a separate office from the female teachers. Therefore, I mostly just saw and interacted mostly with the male teachers. Only a few spoke English, and I spoke Turkish to the others. We had some good laughs talking about the job and our students. I'm glad I got to work with those guys.

The Food: I loved the food in Turkey! I loved eating the dürüm, börek, and delicious deserts. I also discovered that I like felafel and hummus (popular foods in Middle Eastern culture) during 3 weeks as a vegetarian. Lastly, I can't forget to mention how tea is a staple in Turkish meals. The most common tea is regular hot brown tea (served with 2 sugar cubes), but you could find kiwi, banana, cherry, and other fruity flavors of tea too.

 

Tavuk Döner

 

Börek

Lamacun

Pastırmalı Humus

Sütlaç

Regular, Kiwi, and Banana Teas

Felafel Wrap (with fries, veggies, olive bread, and corn bread)

     As I've continued to see new countries and be exposed to new people and cultures, I've felt that my understanding of people from different backgrounds has grown deeper. In a way, I feel like my eyes have been widened and subsequently my vision has changed. I will enjoy my time at home, and look forward to my next adventure!

Berkin Elvan: Taksim Protest

     Yesterday, March 11, 2013 at 7:00 A.M., a young boy named Berkin Elvan died after being in a coma for 268 days. Here is an excerpt from an article about Berkin:

"The young teenager, the eighth person to be killed in the Gezi Park protests, went into a coma after sustaining a head injury from a gas canister as he went to buy bread during a police crackdown in Istanbul’s Okmeydanı neighborhood last June. Elvan has since become one of the prime symbols violence faced by protesters throughout the nationwide Gezi demonstrations.

He had only turned 15 in January while still in a coma. A ceremony will be held at a cemevi in Okmeydanı before the burial in Feriköy cemetery on March 12."

     Currently, I live in the Taksim neighborhood of Istanbul, one of the main areas of ongoing protests. Last night after having dinner and playing backgammon, two friends came with me to Taksim when they heard a protest for Berkin was going to happen. We walked up from the metro onto Takism square to see police gathered about. As we walked down Istikal Caddesi, we began to see protestors gathering. We backed away as protesters were pushed back into square. Protestors stood on one side with the police on the other. After being provoked by the protestors (rolling garbage dumpsters, shouting, throwing food, and so forth), the police chased the protestors into side streets. While they did this, my friends and I could hear the rubber bullets being shot by the police at the protestors.
     Later on we made for my apartment, by trying to take Tarlabası Sokak. We could hear tear gas canisters going off in the distance, but underestimated how close we were and how much time was needed for the gas to dissipate. While on the phone with a friend asking about the protest in Okmeydanı, my friends and I walked straight into tear gas accidentally (no visible signs on the ground or in front of us). The burn that I felt in my eyes, nose, and throat was really intense. The gas truly lived up to it's name and reputation (especially with the police here using different mixtures of tear gas). Unfortunately, that was only the first time I'd run into the gas last night, and because of the police blocking areas I was unable to go home. My friends and I had some chats with people along the way, sharing our feelings over Berkin, the protests, and what is happening to this country politically. I can only hope that things will get better for the country that I currently call home. Below, I will post an article about Berkin and a website with pictures of the protests.

15-year-old Gezi victim Berkin Elvan dies after 269 days in coma

40 Tragic Pictures From Turkey As Clashes Erupt After Death Of 15-Year-Old Berkin Elvan

English Conversations (Grades 5 and 6)!!

     For the last week or so, I've been working on a small project with the students. I basically wanted to film them doing a short English Conversation about different topics in different parts of the school. For each of my 5th and 6th grade classes, I have conversation time. During this time, I take 4 students out of one of their other classes (which they love), and have them just talk with me for a while (without the English book, which they also love). I love this time with them, because I get to have more one on one conversations and it's more relaxed. It is during this time, that I made the videos. I created the framework for the conversations and provided lines (not Yusuf's though! : D ), but the students substituted in their own words. Unfortunately, I could not access certain rooms of the school to make videos (like the music room, movie room, or auditorium). Still, making the videos was a lot of fun. Some of the students were shy on camera (although not in class), but still performed well I thought. The students really enjoyed making the videos, and there were MANY outtakes. Hopefully, they are more motivated to learn, for the purpose of making more videos in the future. Below, I have a compilation video of some of the conversations between my 5th and 6th grade students. Enjoy!

 

Kariye Müzesi and Eyüp Sultan Camii

     This past weekend, I visited two important sites for the city of Istanbul. One of the sites that I visited was the Kariye Müzesi (Kariye Museum), also known as the Church of St. Saviour in Chora. The church dates back to the 11th century, with the translation of "in Chora" to "in the country" suggesting that the church originally stood in a rural setting. The mosaics and frescoes currently in the church were added by Theodore Metochites, a theologian, philosopher, and an elite Byzantine official of his day. He wrote that his goal when he restored St. Saviour was to relate how "the Lord himself became mortal on our behalf". His mosaic the Genealogy of Christ conveys this idea well. The mosaic is displayed in two domes of the church, and portrays 66 of Christ's ancestors. The life of Christ is also displayed in the Infancy of Christ mosaics and other mosaics. In his Life of the Virgin mosaics, the life of Christ's mother Mary is portrayed. The portrayal is based mainly on the apocryphal Gospel of St. James, which gives an account of Mary's life. The frescoes in the parecclesion are meant to reflect the parecclesion as a place of burial. This is prominently displayed in Anastasis. In it, Christ is shown dragging Adam and Eve out of their tombs. Under Christ's feet are the gates of hell, while Satan lies before him. The Last Judgment fresco in the vault overhead depicts the souls of the saved to the right and those of the damned to the left. The mosaics and frescoes displayed in the church are very nice to gaze upon, seeing how different lives and events are portrayed in them. More information can be found at http://www.choramuseum.com/, and I have a short video of the museum below:

   The other site that I visited was the Eyüp Sultan Camii, or Eyup Sultan Mosque. The original mosque was built in 1458 by Mehmet the Conqueror in honor of Eyüp Ensari, who was a companion and standard-bearer of the prophet Mohammed. Because of his importance to Islam, this site and it's adjacent tomb are important places for Muslims. After it fell into ruins, the current mosque was completed in 1800 by Selim III. The inner courtyard of the mosque is a garden in which two huge trees grow on a platform. This platform was part of a sultan's inauguration from the days of Mehmet the Conqueror. The covering of the mosque is predominately gleaming white marble. Across from the mosque is the tomb of Eyüp Ensari himself, believed to have been killed during the first Arab siege of Constantinople in the 7th century. The decoration of the tomb is mostly in Ottoman Baroque style. The outer wall of the tomb facing the mosque and most of it's interior have a covering of tiles.  Unfortunately, the tomb was closed to visitors. I did get to go inside of the mosque though, and once again witness practicing Muslims during namaste (prayer). I was also randomly included in a photo with a Turkish man, and had a short conversation with a man who spoke no English outside the mosque. Below, I have a short video of the mosque:

The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii)

     On Sunday, November 10, 2013, I visited the Sultan Ahmet Camii with my friend Hande (who made a great tour guide as she's Turkish and works in the area). The mosque is known worldwide as the Blue Mosque. Sultan Ahmet I had the Blue Mosque built with the intention of surpassing its neighbor the Aya Sofia in grandeur and beauty. The exterior of the mosque does rival that of its neighbor visually. It features prominent curves, six minarets (a tall spire with an conical crown), and the biggest courtyard of all the Ottoman mosques. The interior features thousands of blue tiles, which gave the mosque its nickname, 260 windows, and big central prayer space. Upon entering the courtyard, you see the main entrance where only worshipers can enter. Tourists use a separate door on the side of the building. To keep its sacred atmosphere, admission to the mosque is actually controlled.
     Once you enter, your shoes are removed, and you are looked at to see if your dress attire is suitable to enter (ex. no showing of the legs). The interior of the mosque is definitely nice to gaze upon, with the its ceiling designs and tile designs that catch your eye. The most important part of the interior would have to be the mihrab. It is located in front of the prayer area. It is made of sculpted marble with a double inscriptive panel above it. It is also surrounded by many windows. To the right of the mihrab is the minber, or pulpit, where the imam stands when he is delivering his sermon at the time of noon prayer on Fridays or on holy days. As for Ahmet, who ascended to the throne at the age of 13, he died one year after the mosque was constructed at the age of 27. His tile-encrusted tomb rest in a separate building on the north side facing Sultanahmet Park.

Below I have a short video of the mosque, along with a bit of the spice market that Hande and I visited after.

Hagia Sophia: Church of Holy Wisdom

     On Sunday, October 20, 2013, I made my way to the Hagia Sophia. The Hagia Sophia, or Church of Holy Wisdom, is known as one the world's greatest architectural achievements. More than 1,400 years old, it stands as a testament to the architecture of the 6th-century Byzantine capital. It was built over two earlier churches and inaugurated by Emperor Justinian in 537. The church stood as the world's largest cathedral for nearly 1000 years. The church was dedicated to the Wisdom of God, the Logos, the second person of the Holy Trinity (hence it's second name). The building also witnessed the excommunication of Patriarch Michael I Cerularius on the part of Pope Leo IX in 1054, an act which is commonly considered the start of the Great Schism. In the 15th century the Ottomans converted it into a mosque. The bells, altar, iconostasis, and sacrificial vessels and other relics were removed and the mosaics depicting Jesus, his mother Mary, Christian saints and angels were also removed or plastered over. Islamic features-such as the mihrab, minbar, and four minarets-were added. Until the construction of the nearby Blue Mosque of Istanbul, the Hagia Sophia stood as the principal mosque of Istanbul.
    The museum stands in good shape today, despite being so old. It gives you quite a feeling upon walking in.  You can see all the hard work that the architects of the building put in to make the building a holy place. I love learning about the history of places I travel to, so I try to always find a good museum to visit. I usually will spend hours inside, taking my time as I take in all the museum has to offer. This was definitely the case with the Hagia Sophia. Below, I will post a short video of some video clips and pictures I took while at the site.

Side-note: I didn't edit in any background music (as I don't have any new instrumentals), so feel free to mute the video to tune out the background noise.

Istanbul, Turkey!!

                Today is the first day of my newest adventure, teaching English in Istanbul, Turkey. I think my interest in Turkey began when I made a Turkish friend in South Korea. He treated his girlfriend, another mutual friend, and I to Turkish food at a restaurant. I loved the dinner and the desert that I ate! I also had Turkish food later during my time in Korea, and loved it then also! Later on, I researched Turkey and learned how much Turkey has to offer. When it comes to Istanbul, the city was formerly known as Constantinople or New Rome (before being known as Byzantium). It was the capital of the Roman Empire, under the Christian ruler Constantine the Great who influenced the spread of Christianity throughout the city and beyond. Later, the city was taken over by the Ottoman Turks which resulted in the spread of Islam throughout the city (and also beyond), making Istanbul predominately Islamic today. Thus, Istanbul (and Turkey) is filled with history from both beliefs. Today, Istanbul is known as the city that bridges Europe and Asia, with one half of the city being more European and the other half more Asian. As a result, both cultures are present, making Istanbul an interesting city to explore. That will be one of my goals while living here. I want to explore the city’s multifaceted culture.

                When I first arrived in South Korea, I was pretty nervous when stepping in front of the classroom to teach. I had never taught before and wasn't sure how I would go about it. Thanks to the experience from teaching there, I am actually not nervous about teaching here in Istanbul. I look forward to teaching the students, and to the experiences I will have with them. The name of the school I will be teaching at is Fatih Koleji. It is a big privately funded wealthy institution that oversees a college, high school, and primary school. This institution not only operates in Istanbul, but internationally. The institution is known for pulling students from wealthy families (as the tuition is very high), and offering better education than public schools (resulting in brighter students). I will be teaching at the primary school level, with students ages 6-13. I believe I will be the only foreign English teacher at my school, with their being Turkish English teachers to offer any assistance I will need. I can only hope that I have well behaved students!

                I feel very blessed to have this opportunity, and hope to make the most out of my time while here. Keep me in your thoughts and your prayers!