Saturday, March 17, 2012

Istanbul: March 5th

Monday morning we visited Bahcesehir University, a private university in Istanbul, for a lecture on the position of Greek minorities and women in Turkish society.  The presenter focused a lot on identity and how where we come from shapes a large part of that identity.  Very interesting stuff.

Afterwards, we were treated to a delicious rooftop lunch at the university.  The terrace we were on was absolutely gorgeous and had a perfect view of the water.  Since the weather was incredible, we enjoyed our time basking in the sun.





Notice that I'm not wearing a jacket in those pictures.  It's been a LONG time since that has happened, and it felt incredible.  If hanging out on the terrace wasn't awesome enough, our next activity was a cruise down the Bosphorus.  We boarded this enormous ferry-sized ship, and moments after we were all on, it pulled away from the dock.  We had the entire ship to ourselves!  It was like three floors, had a bar, and lots of comfortable lounge chairs.  Koray took to the microphone and provided us lots of informative commentary, as well as entertainment as always.  

Taking to sea (er, strait) with Conflict & Migration
All. to. ourselves.


Molly and Laurie taking a break from their usual shenanigans for a picture :)

Bridging the gap between Europe and Asia.  Literally.


Sarah enjoying the sun.
So yeah, the cruise was incredible.  Such a beautiful and relaxing way to spend an hour and a half floating between two continents.  Not real life.  Oh, and here's a quick video.  Ignore my nerdy commentary and my Philadelphia accent.




After the cruise, we boarded the bus en route to a surprise visit, which turned out to be the Greek Orthodox Patriarchy.  Basically, the Vatican of the Greek Orthodox church.  Lots of interesting issues come up when you consider that the headquarters of the church is in Istanbul and not somewhere in Greece.  Also, it comes without the hype and fanfare of the Vatican in Rome, tucked away on a small street in a traditionally minority neighborhood.  This visit was great for my small group focus, as we were focusing on Greek/non Muslim minorities.  

Outside the church

...and inside
 After taking a look around the church, we went outside and took a short walk down the street.  Like I mentioned before, it's largely a minority neighborhood, and conditions are very different from many other parts of Istanbul.

Hollowed out house



Finally, it was back on the bus to head to Biligi University, where we watched a video on Turkish politics with some students there and then had the opportunity to discuss key issues.  Aside from discussing politics, it was a great way to ask questions about Turkish culture and student life in Istanbul.  Afterwards, the students joined us for dinner and a group of them invited us out that night.  We accepted, and they took us to a bar that was converted from an old apartment building.  The room we were sitting in was furnished just like a living room, complete with couches, bookcases, and a TV cabinet.  Very cool atmosphere.  I also finally got to try the local pilsner, Efes!

Serefe!  Skål!  Cheers! 

Like I said, we went out right after dinner.  Probably like 7pm.

...The beauty of this was that Grandma Tara still got to go to bed at a decent hour

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