HOŞGELDINIZ

Starting a new semester has always been one of my favorite times of the year. The anxiety and excitement of picking out a first day of school outfit, buying new pens and notebooks all crisp and unused ready to be filled with copious notes, and the occasional doodle, and most obviously the security of seeing your friends every day, all highlights of a new semester. However, this year the creature comforts of buying new black G-2 Pilot pens, and hanging out with my friends between our 12:30 classes was overshadowed by the fact that I was in an entirely new academic atmosphere. All my courses and professors, my friends all entirely new, in a new city, with a new culture and language. In building up my expectations regarding my life in Istanbul I needed to factor in the academic aspect in which my hopes and intuitions regarding my ability to integrate as a global citizen and expound my ideas in a more universal setting would be actualized. The first day of school proved to be such an experience. I walked to school from my apartment about 20 minutes away and entered into the one atmosphere where I have always felt comfortable. In one of my first classes we engaged in a discussion regarding the European Union and the actuality of Turkey's accession to the Union. Although a topic that at this point I was not intimately familiar with, I contributed and interacted with the other Bahçeşehir students on an intellectual platform. In my classes thus far my experiences with the students have only added to my practical understanding of the world at large, and sharing those intellectual discourses with students who vary so deeply in background and cannon of exposure is a major component of what makes this semester so incredibly valuable to me personally. Within those conversations lie the basis of understanding at a personal level, and within that premise the ability to ameliorate ones preconceived notions of the other. 

KAPADOKYA

On Wednesday, we packed our bags for another adventure, but this time a little further east of Istanbul; our destination a smaller city called Cappadocia (Kapadokya in Turkish). This secluded area known for its cave structures and wine country is perched up in the mountains of Turkey. The next morning we took off bright and early to explore the UNESCO World Heritage site nestled in the caves that surrounded us. As we walked into the open air museum our noses pink with the cold, we looked upon massive teepee like mountains that used to serve as homes for thousands of cave-dwellers. Walking into the first church I was dumbfounded by the intricate artwork and elaborate nature of the frescos. The vivid colors that had been preserved over thousands of years, still stand as a testament and constant reminder of the devotion people had to their faith, and their constant desire to create beauty in the name of that faith. I spent my afternoon meandering around the site entering room after room of artwork and architecture carved into a mountain side.
That evening the awestruck feeling generated by the structures I had witnessed was only to be enhanced by the Whirling Dervish show I attended. When I was in Cairo I had the opportunity to attend a Tanura dance show that had a beautiful whirling compounds complete with bright colors, lively music and specialized performers. In contrast to that musical show the dervishes I saw perform here in Cappadocia were strictly oriented in a Sufi religious context. They dressed in white robes to symbolize a shroud with tall felt hats a symbol of their tombs, while the leader of the group kept on a back robe as a sign of the dunya (Turkish world for this life). Their soulful music teeming with their reverence of Allah and their submission to his will though the most moving art form was a life changing and spiritually cleansing experience. The repeated rotating and swirling of their flowing white robes combines with the melodious music was unforgettable. During the performance one musician sung a verse from the Quran and after the lead dervish proceeded to have a dialogue with Allah regarding forgiveness of sins and devotion from all, he asked Allah for strength to stay on the straight path and opened the discourse to all in the audience through his movements. Afterwards we sat down with the lead dervish and his son and had our own dialogue with him about the performance we had just seen.
On Saturday our group took a trip Mustafa Pasha a small former Greek town that was occupied by Turks after the creation of the republic. We strolled around the caves and inlets taking in the scenery and learning more about Turkish culture. Our lunch was an unforgettable meal with a local family that opened their home to 24 foreigners and prepared a home-cooked lunch for us to enjoy! After lunch we were able to chat with the family and gain a little more insight into the day-to-day cultural gaps that exist. After lunch we headed to the underground city, an actual city that was dug out of the stone and used as a residence. Walking through the tiny caves and tunnels I understood the feeling of an ant in an ant farm, continually moving around in a labyrinth of uncertainty. Before dinner, we took a trip to a pottery making shop and watched a master potter create a decanter on a kick wheel and demonstrate the technique it takes to maintain this dying art form. Our day of immersion into the Turkish cultural landscape was only enhanced in the evening when we went with our tour guide Sidar to visit a friend of his where we essentially partook in a Turkish music jam session. Sitting in a cozy room covered with Turkish rugs and plush cushions we sat and enjoyed our cay and baklava while Sidar and his friends serenaded us with a range of music from traditional Turkish songs to Tarkan to Hotel California and Johnny Cash. Musically inclined members of our group took the lead for a few throwback songs including our rendition of I Want it That Way, and we concluded our Cappadocian excursion with a range of cultural experiences which enhanced our understanding of my new home in a way that any textbook could not hold a candle too. 

ENTER LIKE QUEEN OLGA

Every morning my classmates/ fellow study abroad students roll out of our single beds in these tiny rooms in our hotel at 7:30AM to begin each day with a two and a half to three hour lecture. As I previously mentioned Professor Medina accompanies us on our excursions around the city providing historical context to all the sights and monuments that we see, however in addition to that he also is our instructor during that lecture, which in itself is the most rewarding experience I have had the pleasure of being a part of. To actually have my professor teach us, then later be the voice in our headsets explaining the significance of the Chora Church, and its importance to the Iconoclast Controversy, or explaining the techniques used by Byzantine craftsmen to create mosaic artwork, or marble structures really takes this whole seminar to another level completely. However, in addition to that privilege I must say that Professor Medina is one of the most well read, and engaging man I have had the pleasure to learn from. Now as a student of Middle Eastern studies combined with the fact that I'm a Muslim, I can say I have heard my fair share of "This is the general gist of Islam" lectures, and by and large most lectures are informative and straightforward rundowns of the rudiments of Islam, its inception, and its growth in the mid to late 600s. This lecture that I received from Professor Medina was, not to put it lightly, the absolutely best overview of Islam that I have ever heard. His judicious way of including the most nuanced components of the religion while also creating a stable foundation for those without as much background knowledge was not only unique but also, unbiased and straightforward, and his usage of metaphors to color his points is unmatched as far as I can judge.  

Today we visited the church - turned mosque - turned back to church with Muslim influences, Hagia Sophia which all things considered may be my new favorite structure on the planet. Before entering Hagia Sophia we were outside looking at the base columns of the second Hagia Sophia which burned down in the early 500s, in order to fully understand the grandeur of the building now. As Professor Medina and our program coordinator Burak indicated which side we should enter from, we could all hear Professor Medina's scratchy yet soft Spanish voice in our earbuds; "Now, we must enter like Queen Olga did and take in the beauty of Hagia Sophia from the main entrance, and welcome to the largest church in all of Christendom ."  With that phrase,  I stepped foot into the most ornate, and elaborate building I have ever seen. The dim lit lanterns shed light onto the dazzling combination of the most beautiful discs on the wall emblazoned in gold with the name of Allah, and the names of the Prophet Muhammed and all of the five Caliphs (Thank you Eva Phillips because by some miracle I could read their names in calligraphy). While in the same area, also notwithstanding the glittering (literally glittering, they were by and large made with gold) mosaic walls that depicted Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and several of the apostles. The reconstructed mihrab and minbar that were decorated with various quotes from the Quran in the main room, and the walls adorned with a combination of both typically Muslim and Christian decorations, as well as slabs of marble that had been sliced with a string of silk, typical wall decor for the time, stood as a testament to the history and dynamic transformations the city of Constantinople endured throughout its existence. Needless to say the breathtaking beauty of this city is not limited to the windy streets of Kadikoy or the hustle and bustle of Taksim, but can also be oozing from the center of the old city of Constantinople in a building that has reputably seen the most vicissitude, out of any building in the world. 

OVER THE BRIDGE TO ASIA

Although I have only been in Istanbul for three days, it seems although I was made to live in this unique city brimming with winding alleyways, overcrowded and chaotic bazaars, the most delicious döner Kebap (pronounced: DU-ner not doner) this side of the Bosporus Strait. My first impressions of Istanbul were exactly what I had remembered from my short visit not even a year ago, however this time I was immersing myself in the dynamic beauty of this country from the eyes of a "short term local," as our program director refers to it. Because I am enrolled in a Signature Seminar program, a two week-three credit crash course that academically covers Byzantium to the beginning of the Ottoman Empire, and practically provides us with some orientation regarding not only this sprawling city but a gauge for Turkey itself. Our first six days in Istanbul, are spent in the intellectual neighborhood of Kadıköy (pronounced: CAD-i-koi) across the Bosporus Straight and Sea of Marmara on the Anatolian side of Istanbul. On Saturday, we began our schedule with more orientation information, and our first Survival Turkish lesson! Our language professor Idil taught us to introduce ourselves and began constructing our framework of the Turkish language.  After a walking tour of this part of the city and a beautiful walk along the Bosporus that ended with a satisfying cup of Çay (Pronounced: chai) in the drizzly European weather, my new friends and I began to explore the city! We lost ourselves among the vendors and eventually found ourselves having a fresh meal while watching a Turkish football match. Today we went on a private boat tour up and down the Bosporus, while learning about the various palaces, fortresses, mosques, and garrisons that litter the coastline.  After the tour we attended our first lecture with our Professor Alex Medina who will accompany us throughout this seminar and not only teach us in a classroom, but teach us while we tour around Istanbul and all the breathtaking and poignant sights it has to offer! Three days into the semester and I am already wondering how I am ever going to leave this city that has challenged me in more ways than I can say, yet has truly captured my heart.

OFF TO ISTANBUL NOT CONSTANTINOPLE

When I was 12 I made a list of all the places in the world I want to visit. As I have grown since then so has the list, but more importantly so has the the number of places I have been able to cross off the list.  From Rome to Salzburg to Malaga and Cairo I have been fortunate to have had exposure to so many different people, cultures, and places. On Thursday evening I get to jet off on another adventure to a city at the crossroads of two continents. I have never really been someone who is afraid to travel away from home, in fact oddly enough I have enjoyed pushing myself out of my comfort zone. This semester in Istanbul is another opportunity for me to do just that. I, Azzah Ahmed get to study and live in the most unique city in the world....someone pinch me because I am definitely dreaming. I chose to study in Istanbul largely because of a combination of coursework options, encouragement from my friends and family, and another look back at my never-ending list of places. While I add my last few items to my slightly overweight bags I cannot begin to describe my level of excitement for the trip I am about to undertake, leaving behind my creature comforts for a city that embodies the best of both European and Asian flair. As I am learning to say in Turkish, Gule Gule!!