Grassroots

8/31/09

Today our group was informed at 8:30 that we were being picked up by a bus at 9. So we hurried! It was off first to a Gulen school, perhaps the best high school and elementary in Istanbul. Founded by Mr. Fetullah Gulen, the school embodies the values he taught, which were traditionally Islamic. The school has many stories, a swimming pool, two gyms, a cafeteria complete with a thumb scanner, and has 3 theaters for showing documentaries. The tuition is $11,000 a year, and we were shown a very enthusiastic video about the school. One of the most interesting things were the sentences in English that were on the faces of the stairs to the second story. The most memorable said, “Turkey is more interesting than Bulgaria.” Others were English expressions such as “It’s raining cats and dogs.” After the school it was off to the Gulen newspaper, one of the most prestigious in the nation, named Zaman. They have a staff of 10 American journalists and many other associates. Next was lunch, where I ordered chicken pizza, which was ground and lay under the cheese. For dessert I tried some sweet cream as well as some pistachio baklava and a type of burnt pudding with very finely ground chicken in it. After, we went to the Journalism and Writing Center, where we were given a presentation on the mission of the center, which is apparently to facilitate dialogue between different cultures and religions. At all of the Gulen centers we went to during the day, we were served tea and some kind of refreshment. The Turks have hospitality down! Next was the headquarters of a charity organization that works all around the world. They served during the Pakistan earthquake. They work with local governments to build schools and establish long term projects in many countries. After the charity, we headed to dinner. We waited for Ibrahim, our guide for the day, to do his prayers in the local mosque, and for the sun to set, and then we had soup and bread, with an interesting drink made from carob. The dessert was some sort of pastry soaked in milk. After the shared meal, we headed back to do some laundry and sleep.

9/1/09
Today we had free time during the morning, so all the groups from the neighborhood projects finished their maps of their areas. They were to map them according to different features within the neighborhoods. We chose to map ours by zones, and the look and feel of different areas within our neighborhood. One area was particularly full of rundown wooden houses, and lots of trees, and the next area was the mosque zone, where we saw tombs and the ladies in our group had to put on their headscarves. We also mapped locations on our paper where key events took place, such as when we first met our young tour guides and where they mobbed us for money toward the end of our time with them. After our map was complete, we went for lunch at the local Doy Doy restaurant, with the great view on the fourth floor. However, this time we didn’t sit up there because it was drizzling. I had the chicken kebab, nothing too fancy. After lunch we went over to the newer European side and explored some of the music shops along a particular street. After going through about 4 of them, and playing one of the violins in one of them, I chose to get a zurna, a type of Turkish horn that is also popular all over the Middle East. It is very loud and I guess could sound very obnoxious to many. After, we headed up the hill and met the rest of our group at the top. We were headed to an organization associated with the European Union that works with children in some of the poorest areas of Istanbul. They provide after school care, teach them and their families about hygiene and birth control, as well as encourage artistic expression among the children. This has been very successful, and most of the migrant children that attend are figuring out how to integrate better into urban life. Often times the only connection that the migrant families have, especially the internally displaced persons of Turkey, many from Kurdish origins, are through their children. Therefore, this is a prime opportunity to reach these families and help them integrate into society. After visiting the organization, it was time for dinner, and the group went to a very nice vegetarian restaurant. I had artichoke quiche and a rose-flavored drink, both of which were very nice. After, we shared their version of pumpkin pie and cheesecake, as well as a traditional dessert with figs, grapes and apricots. After dinner, it was back down the hill on the underground finiculer, and then back to Sultanemet, where our hotel is, by tram. The sun set as we crossed the Golden Horn, and it was a very great view.