Day 1: Turkey & Ataturk

Hello! Well - three days, 16 flight hours, four planes and a bus later, we arrived at our hotel on Sunday, 4pm Turkey time (that's 9am for you guys - we're ahead 7 hours). After a brief meeting, a quick bite to eat at a nearby kebap restaurant, we hit the sack for some much-needed rest!

Our first day began in earnest this morning with another Turkish language lesson and a lecture on contemporary Turkish history - specifically the reforms before and after Ataturk. If you don't know who he is (or can't remember from 9th grade social studies), he's essentially the pride and joy of modern Turkish politics. His picture is EVERYWHERE, sort of like Mao in China or the pope in Ireland. He is responsible for so much of what you see in modern-day Turkey, from the incredibly logical language, to the secular state, to the rights and freedoms of women and minority groups. The people here really revere him like I've never seen for a political leader, until maybe this last year in regards to Obama.

In fact, we met a woman today when touring Ataturk's mausoleum who mentioned Obama as a frame of reference when explaining the Turkish pride concerning their leader. I think that's something to remember. But moving on to the mausoleum itself: it was quite impressive. It's a beautiful structure in which every detail symbolizes something Ataturk said or felt about Turkey, or something Turkey felt about the man himself. For example, the walkway to the main structure (see pics) is designed purposefully with random breaks in the stones so that you would have to keep your head down while walking, thereby carrying yourself with the appropriately demure posture. Along the walkway are 24 lions, one for each hour of the day,to provide continual protection. I won't bore you with the rest of the architectural details (I bought a book if you want to read it), but trust me - it was really amazing. Check out the stonework inside the mausoleum itself - the mosaic tiles designed in the fashion of prayer rugs, and the beautiful marble (which, by the way, is one of Turkey's famous exports... 60% of the world's marble supply, actually!).

And in case you were wondering, you were right - the food is absolutely incredible. A few of us stopped for drinks before meeting the rest of the group for dinner, and we were served fresh fruit at the bar with our drinks (how un-american!). We ate dinner outside, which appears to be a year-round affair here with this gorgeous we ather, and took our time over several courses. I could really get used to this!

More tomorrow. Iyi uykular!

(PICTURES: stone work in Ataturk's mausoleum, changing of the guards, the walkway, the view of Ankara from the site, our guides - Ali and Secil.)

Made it!

I'm here - I'm checked in, and I'm heading out for a meeting. Will post more later, but just wanted to let you know I'm back on the ground!

Language, Lectures and Live Music

Well, I can introduce myself, ask for the bathroom, find the bus stop and order soup, all in Turkish. It's not much, but it's a start! It was very exciting, in a most nerdy way, to be in a language class this morning after such a long time. I had no shame and found great pleasure at being able to identify the grammatical nuances to the language as we learned new words and phrases. I know, you're rolling your eyes - I don't care!

After an intense morning of language instruction, our afternoon went by quickly. We had two guest lecturers present to us about the Roman/Hellenistic period and the Ottoman Empire, covering what little I remember from 9th grade social studies in 2 1/2 hours. Although I could recall that the hub of civilization was between the Tigris & Euphrates rivers (is that still a sure-thing question on the Regents exam even now?), everything else suddenly had such relevancy. In just a few short weeks, we'll actually be in the very places to which they referred: Myleas, Troy, Ephesus... We reviewed the series of Sultans during the Ottoman Empire and traced the Turks' patterns of conquest, which was fascinating. Did you know that during his reign from 1451-1481, Mehmed the

Conqueror established a "millet system" that promoted religious tolerance to all pe

ople of Turkey: Muslims, Christians and Jews alike? That his successor Bayezid II invited the Spanish Jews to Turkey to escape persecution during the Inquisition in 1492? This is a far cry from the West's fundamentalist portrayal of the "Muslim World"...

After a break and a great meal at Z-Tejas Grill (happy birthday, Martha!), half the

group returned to the b&b and the other half ventured forth to find live music. 20 minutes and

an

$8.00 cover later, we found ourselves in a great venue called Antone's and heard some bluesy tunes from some hairy men. What a great end to an overwhelming, yet rewarding day.

So, now I can tell you that "az turkce biliyorum" and "tesekkuler" for reading. Bye!

Today's Pictures:

Remember the 1966 Texas University shooting that killed 16 people? There's the infamous tower...

This is the lobby of the Student Union, which apparently has quite the endowment.

See that tree? Yeah, that was a gift from the Dali Lama.

And here we are at Antone's, unwinding after a demanding day - me and my new friend

Wendy, a history/sociology/women's studies teacher... how cool is that?

Merhaba... from Austin!

Hey, everybody! Well, it's the end of our first day here in Texas as guests of the UT Austin's Center for Middle Eastern Studies. After a long day of traveling (for Julie, our team member from Hawaii, especially!) we made our way to the Hardin House where we received a warm and welcoming reception to a cozy bed & breakfast. The participants and program coordinator arrived, and I found myself in the company of some incredibly interesting, passionate, talented, and good-humored people. We have teachers of all sorts: world history, English, humanities, ESOL, art, photography, and a librarian to boot. We're our own travelling liberal arts program!


After introductions, we hopped aboard a shuttle and made our way to Town Lake to watch the famous Mexican free-tail bats take flight from the Congress Avenue Bridge... and it was everything we hoped it would be. It was amazing! The colony is 1.5 million, and we must have seen at least two-thirds of the group come racing out from beneath the bridge. A few fun facts: did you know that these bats can consume up to 30,000 pounds of insects... every night? You'd be hard pressed to make a living killing bugs here in Austin. Or, did you know that bats give birth to babies that are 1/3 their own size? That's 45+lbs and up in our scale, folks - yikes! Well, try this one: did you know that bats are mammals, nurse their babies, but won't adopt abandoned bats if their mothers don't make it back from a night of hunting? Or that this Austin colony of bats is almost entirely female - and each year they arrive from Mexico already pregnant? That gives a whole new meaning to Spring Break in Cancun... Thanks to a knowledgeable and entertaining tour guide (and day-time teacher!), we learned more than just the usual Turkish fare. :)

So it's time for some rest; we begin our orientation in earnest tomorrow. A little Turkish language, some Ottoman history, and much discussion about our curriculum projects. There's no such thing as a free lunch, kids - there's lots of work to be done!

So long! - Sarah (and roommate Julie - aloha!)

Austin Bats!

http://www.mefeedia.com/entry/austin-bats-mexican-free-tailed-bat-ecofact/16864618

Only one week away!

This morning I received a more detailed itinerary. I spend the first three days in Austin, Texas as a guest of UTA's Center for Middle Eastern Studies for the Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO). In addition to meeting the program organizers and learning about the curriculum project I will develop upon my return, I will be attending classes and lecture on the following topics:

• Turkish Language Study
• History of Roman/Hellenistic period in Turkey
• Intro to Islam & Islamic history
• History of the Ottoman Empire

We will taking a dinner cruise in downtown Austin to see the famous Mexican free-tail bats take their twilight departure from the Congress Avenue Bridge, have dinner at Z-Tejas Grill and Threadgill's, and hopefully hear some really good music before departing for Ankara on Saturday morning!

Once I get to Ankara, I again resume an academic schedule of classes and lectures:

• more Turkish lessons
• Political Modernization in Turkey: Ottoman Legacy and the Republican Transformation
• Culture Logics of Turkey: Pitfalls in Intercultural Understanding
• Identity Politics: Current Issues in Turkish Politics. the Rise of Islamism, and Women's Issues
• Current Economic Crises from Turkey's Perspective: Homemade or Imported... Does it Matter?
• Contemporary Art in Turkey: From End of the Ottoman Period to Today
• Turkey's Educational System: Issues and Challenges
• Turkey in the World: Relations with Europe and Neighbors
• A Brief History of Anatolian Civilizations

But that's not all - we will get out of the classroom. While in Ankara, I will get to see Ataturk's Mausoleum, the Ankara Institute, Bilkent University, Middle East Technical University, an Ankara Women's Center, Samanpazari, and of course lots of time for shopping and dining! After this jam-packed week, we leave for the road trip portion outlined below. We don't have details for the third and final portion of the seminar in Istanbul yet, but if it's anything like the rest, I will be overwhelmed with the experience!

So now all I have to do is make it through this last week of Regents testing, final grades, classroom clean-up, and housepacking. Almost there!

Getting Ready...

Well, we're getting close! I'm making my travel arrangements, writing packing lists, and reading the books UT Austin is sending me (this seminar is being facilitated by The Center for Middle Eastern Studies). I've been reading Crescent and Star: Turkey Between Two Worlds by Stephen Kinzer and Istanbul by Nobel-prizewinning Orhan Pamuk, and I've been using my Rosetta Stone to learn a bit of Turkish too. For anyone interested in knowing more about Turkish history and society, I would highly recommend the Kinzer book. It reads nicely (not as dense as a political theory or history book), and I find it to be absolutely fascinating!