another small post

"The Turks consider it unlucky to step on a piece of bread." [link]

Whenever Kaan and I are walking around, he always makes sure to pick up and move any bread that's found on the ground. He says it's a sin to step on, to walk on food. I've only done a few brief, basic searches on Google, but I haven't found anything specifically forbidding it. Verifiability isn't really what I'm concerned out; rather, I'm curious about from where this belief/understanding comes from. While stumbling around today, I came across a trivia list with the above 'fact'. Again, I'm not interested really in whether or not it's the truth (but Evrim, if you are familiar with this, please let me know!). What's interesting to me is that this superstition/belief/whatever has made its way into the practice of Islam in Kaan's family.

That's really the whole purpose to this post; I discovered something cultural that I didn't know before.


Also, some big German person has come to the German churchhigh school on our street. There are tons of police standing around, soldiers patrolling, and camera crews running around. It's very exciting. I'll try to find something on the news, as I actually have no idea who is here or why.

[edit]
It turns out that the visitor wasn't just ANY big German person.. it was Chancellor Merkel herself. She apparently visited a few sites in Istanbul, including our neighborhood German high school. I took a few photos and didn't see much else. I let a cameraman into the apartment to take some footage (probably not the best idea, but I was excited to help someone get a good shot!). If I can find the clip, I'll be sure to post it. I'll try to post some of the pictures I took too. It was really interesting to see just how many people were actually involved in the street security process. I think there were about 15 cars in the whole procession! I'll be sure to update with news articles as I find them.

happy holidays

This weekend is the beginning of the holiday season for many in the States. This year, the Muslim calendar coincides nicely with my more familiar holidays. The Kurban Bayramı (literally: sacrifice holiday) begins on Friday; today is Thanksgiving! As a vegetarian, neither holiday really appeals to me (based purely on the opinion that both are rather meat-based). I appreciate and enjoy the meaning behind both, and I'm quite pleased to have Thanksgiving day included in the bayram weekend.

We don't have any plans. I might try to go find some pumpkin pie. As I'm not much of a cook, I have no desire to cook a big meal. We'll probably make a small dinner and have some ice cream. Since Kaan has never experienced Thanksgiving, I'll try to explain it to him. We'll have to see how successful that is! I remember writing a short paragraph about Thanksgiving when I was here in 2006. I'm almost certain it was completely grammatically incorrect, but I was still a young Turkish speaker at the time. Hopefully now I'll be able to explain the holiday in terms understandable!

As for the Kurban Bayram, we have few plans to speak of. We have considered going to the mosque on Friday morning for some special bayram prayers. I'll hopefully be able to go; apparently the neighborhood mosques don't have places for women, so we might have to go to an older, farther away mosque. We'll see!

Traditionally, the Kurban Bayramı is the celebration of the end of Hajj (the journey to Mecca required for all Muslims). It has a hint of new beginnings. Although not quite the end of the Islamic calendar, it is situated in the last month of the year. I consider the Kurban Bayramı to be a chance for new beginnings. I believe this is related to the end of Hajj; one who has completed Hajj is considered to be reborn without sin. Even if one hasn't completed Hajj, Kurban Bayramı is still an opportunity to begin again. For me, it also holds a spirit similar to our Thanksgiving. It is normal for many Muslim communities to hold feasts and share their food with friends, family, neighbors, and even strangers. It is important to make sure even the poorest families have food; sharing one's meal with the poor and hungry is considered a good deed.

I feel that this is a similar hope during Thanksgiving. At least in my community, we try to give extra food to the poor and hungry. It's important to share what we can. As many already know, Thanksgiving is a holiday that we use to commemorate the gift the Native Americans gave to the Pilgrims in the first few years of colonization. While that gift was admittedly poorly repaid (hi, massacres and reservations), we still celebrate the kindness of the Natives as the reason our early settlers survived. It's only fair that we today support the survival of the poorest and richest alike. Of course, Thanksgiving is also the beginning of the winter holiday weight gain!

I apologize if this post seems a little disjointed; the more time I spend here, the poorer my English becomes. My main purpose in writing this (aside from not falling into the trap of dead blogs) is to clarify one point: despite all of our cultural, religious, political, and personal differences, the traditions of being thankful and of sharing with others are common. Even being in a city that's 6000 miles from home and many degrees different from my own, I'm able to find the undercurrent of similarities. Celebrating Thanksgiving won't be the same, but it will be hard to ignore the presence of the sharing spirit.

In the Thanksgiving tradition, I'm thankful for being given the opportunity to be here, in Turkey (that means you, DU Study Abroad!). I'm thankful for my family, who have been supporting me through not only this trip but for all of my life. I'm thankful for Kaan, who's been an inspiration and blessing for me. I'm especially thankful for my friends like Jessi and Eleanor, who have been putting up with me throughout the semester. I'm thankful for my friends back home and abroad, all of my Turkish friends (hi, Evrim!) and American friends alike. I'm thankful for all of the hard times I have and will experience, because without those hard times, the good times just aren't as nice.

Please, everyone, have a safe, blessed holiday season. Happy Thanksgiving (eat your TOFUrkeys please), eid mubarak, bayramlariniz kutlu olsun.

Turkish words for this entry:
bayram (bye-RAM) holiday
Şükran bayramı (shoe-KRAN bye-RAM-uh) literally: thanks holiday
kutlamak (koot-lah-mahk) to celebrate
paylaşmak (pie-lahsh-mahk) to share
'Bayram kutlu olsun!' (bye-RAM koot-LOO OL-son) 'May the holiday be blessed.' (a common salutation during any holiday)

recent developments

It's been a really slow day here at good ol' Cafe Nero, so I figured I'd post an update with the recent happenings.

I did decide to go to Ağrı for the wedding. Kaan and I decided that we'd be able to make/find enough food for me that I wouldn't have to go hungry. I decided the cultural experience of a traditional wedding was also a really important thing to see, especially since none of my Turkish friends will be marrying any time soon. I was excited to meet his family and see his village. We had decided to fly out Wednesday night or Thursday morning and return on Sunday night or Monday morning. This would mean that I'd have to miss two days of school, but sometimes absences are acceptable. There was a lot of drama over buying tickets, but we do finally have a reservation for two round-trip tickets. Now, there is an even bigger problem than food or tickets: there was a death in the bride's family. There's the chance that the wedding will be postponed for some time. I'm disappointed for Kaan's brother, but if we don't end up going this weekend, I won't be heartbroken. The wedding WILL happen; now it's just a matter of when. If we do go this weekend, I'll be sure to take lots of photos.

I ran into Doğan Amca again a couple of weeks ago. Jessi and I were walking down the street and saw his car. We peeked into the nearby shops to see if we could find him. He had been across the street, registering a new car with the local police station. Together, the three of us ventured to Karaköy to eat some amazing baklava. He said it was the best in Istanbul, and he was definitely right!

Some of you may know of my interest in learning about Islam, especially Sufism and Sufi groups. Turkey has been the birthplace of many Sufi movements, so being here has given me the opportunity to really explore some of these traditions. However, as with many things in Turkey, the opportunity is something I have to work for. This Doğan Amca fellow has been very helpful, but I haven't had much of a chance to cultivate the friendship and access these hidden traditions through him. Part of me is reluctant to get involved with anything that might require any sort of commitment; I suppose I have a slight commitment-phobia. But knowing him is a start.

As far as I understand, he goes to a Jerrahi tekke, in the same tradition in which I've done some exploration previously. There are a number of other Sufi traditions present in Turkey; the Mevlevis, commonly associated with the Rumi and the Bektaşis, associated with Hacı Bektaş are the two that come to mind. I don't know very much about these other two Sufi groups, but I do know the Bektaşis are closely related to the Alevis, another branch of Islam that interests me. While exploring Kadıköy with my friend Annika last week, I found a gentleman who self-identified as a Bektaşi. He offered, as Doğan Amca did, to show me around and, I suppose, serve as a sort of guide to the tradition. So far nothing has really come of either of these acquaintances (other than some delicious baklava!), but it's really comforting to know where to go if I get the nerve to start to really explore.

There isn't much to tell about school. Russian seems to be working out; I think I've come to an agreement with my professor about a class schedule. I think we sort of have a mutual understanding of what will happen, so that's a relief. Otherwise, there haven't really been any developments in school. I have a paper proposal coming up soon, so I need to start thinking about that. I guess I'll be spending some time in the library this week and next week!

I did finally get my residence permit. The last two trips were super easy--literally walk-in and walk-out. I'm really glad for this; after the four hour trip and ensuing frustrations I more than deserved an easy trip.

No luck on finding the cockroach eating spider, so we're still battling the damn things. I'd like to say we're winning, but they keep getting creative and hiding in new places. Someday we'll get those buggers!

I can't think of anything else that's happened in the last week, other than renewing my addiction to the Sims 3. Rest assured all my free time is spent manipulating the lives of my puny pixelated friends.

riding in cars with boys

On Saturday, Jessi and I ventured to the tourist part of town to see Sultanahmet (the Blue Mosque) and Ayasofya (Hagia Sofia). With our spanking new museum cards, getting into the Ayasofya museum was super easy. It was nice to bypass the lines, for once!

It was Jessi's first time at visiting Ayasofya, so I was more than happy to wander around the museum while she took it all in. It is quite an amazing place, especially considering when it was built. Such an amazing piece of history! And it's really wonderful that it is still standing and functional. Just amazing. I've been several times, but I'm still blown away every time.

The trip to the mosque was a little rushed. It was nearing prayer time, so there quite a lot of people around. I opted to stay to the side and let Jessi do some exploring. I'm not really a big fan of ornate mosques like that. Sure, they're beautiful to look at! But I feel like that detracts from the purpose. I feel the same way about churches. I'm always more interested in looking around at the building than paying attention to whatever is being said in a service. Maybe it works for some people, but I'd rather have something simple than overly ornate.

After visiting the mosque, I decided I was going to search out the Grand Vezir tea house. Maybe two years ago, the Sheikha Habiba in Boulder mentioned that there was a Jerrahi tekke in Istanbul. She sent me very vague directions: go to the Grand Vezir and ask for Edip Amca. He'll show you or tell you where the tekke is. So for a long time I was curious about the location of this particular tea house. I'd never been able to find it, although I didn't spend an extraordinary amount of time looking. I mentioned to Kaan that I was looking for it and the tekke, but we never ended up going. So when Jessi and I were looking at the Egyptian Obelisk and I noticed the Grand Vezir tea house nearby, I was very excited. I told Jessi I needed to ask them something and ran across the road.

Excited and nervous, I asked about this gentleman. They told me to wait at the next door carpet place, that Edip Amca had just left. So Jessi and I waited. He had apparently gone to pray, and we were expected to wait for him. He didn't ever show up, which was slightly frustrating. However, we were introduced to another older gentleman, who entertained us for half an hour or so. His name was Erdogan Amca (if I remember correctly). He also goes to the tekke and will take me if I show up. He explained to us some symbolism in the Ottoman seal, the tugra. He told us of his love of carpets and of cars. Being some sort of mechanic or engineer, he had renovated a 1930 Mercedes and was still driving it! He took us out to show us the car; it was really remarkable. He said it was something like 6 meters long and had been running for 37 years. It was the sort of car I imagine Atatürk riding in.
(it's Jessi's photo!)
Anyhow, we mentioned to him that we were going to head back to Taksim to get some food and drink. Just as we're about to leave, he tells us to wait just one moment. After a couple of minutes, he comes back out and opens the doors for us. We eagerly climb into this beautiful car and off we go, three new friends in an amazing old car!

I was so incredibly thankful that Jessi was so patient. It was a long, tiring day. We were both grouchy and hungry. Waiting for a mystery gentleman in a strange carpet store for almost an hour did nothing to help our mood. But I'm really glad we stayed and chatted with Erdogan Amca, because it ended up being a really awesome thing, riding in this amazing car with a sweet old man. Even better, he told me that I'd just need to show up on Monday, and he would take me to the tekke. I'm not sure if I'll go today or not, but I'm really glad to finally have an opportunity to continue my study of Sufism.