Ramazan başladı

This morning I went to a bakery we enjoy to pick up a few snacks-I wanted to celebrate the birth of my new nephew and I figured it was too early for a drink (I’d say 9am is too early). It was slim pickings and I got what I could. At school I noticed fewer people in the cafeteria and less people smoking and finally remembered that Ramazan (Ramadan) started-a ritual fast of about 30 days. Muslims do not eat or drink when the sun is out, breaking their fast at sundown with a meal (Iftar) and before sunrise (Sahur)-in the summer the fast can last up to 17 hours. They also abstain from cigarettes, alcohol, sex and in other habits we might generally consider bad. For those of you familiar with Lent, it is similar, in that in addition to fasting, one is also to contemplate, practice self-discipline, share and help others (via charitable acts).

It is only the first day and I already felt a bit strange, ashamed of wanting to drink my water in front of my professor, waiting until she turned her back. Being unable to finish our lunch, we also took our watermelon to class only to find out that our Turkish instructor is also fasting which created another awkward moment, though I am sure we felt more awkward than he. (Especially when he ‘caught’ us eating it during the break and said ‘Afiyet olsun!’ which is a phrase you say to anybody eating-before, during, after, when they are talking about eating or buying food, pretty much all the time).

My remaining three weeks in Turkey should be interesting, then. Aside from future awkard moments that I am sure we will have, we also have to look forward to book fairs, decorated mosques and what sounds like will be a generally festive atmosphere on the streets in the evening-I am especially excited to be able to see Istanbul during Ramazan.

This weekend will be the first test of Ramazan travel as we are heading to Tokat/Amasya, in the Black Sea Region (but not on the coast). We have been assured by our hosts/coordinators that all meals have been planned. To be continued…

Kapadokya=Caves-Ceramics-Carpets-Canines

This gallery contains 48 photos.

Our latest trip was to Cappadocia, famous for its ‘Fairy Chimneys,’ underground cities, pottery and carpets. We sampled a bit of all of these. I actually do not remember the names of the two open-air museums and underground city we … Continue reading →

Konya, parks and pide.

Our trip to Konya was at least three weeks ago now but I have not had a chance to do much of anything aside from school work-as it turns out, taking three hours of Turkish every day in classrooms without air conditioning really wears one out. Allegedly the air will turn on this month…doubtful.

To answer a few questions about Konya, yes, we did see the ‘Whirling Dervishes’ (the ceremony is called ‘Sema’). We were actually lucky to see them because these ceremonies do not happen every weekend. This particular night was special in that it was, if I remember correctly, Miraç Kandili, Mohammad’s night journey. For this reason (the holiday) the Mevlana Museum was also packed with people going to visit Rumi’s tomb (Rumi was a Sufi poet and mystic. After his death the Mevlevi Order was formed, which is known for Sema. The Konya order is now the Mevlana Museum). Despite not having a particularly good seat for viewing the ceremony, it was still enjoyable and extremely relaxing (I am pretty sure I fell asleep toward the end, but it was a really long day, in my defense). The order is open to all ages, it would seem, as there was a boy who looked like he was eight years old. A note on why/how they whirl: The Dervish spins on his right foot, with his right palm facing heaven, and God, and his left facing down toward the ground. The spinning, in short, is representative of one’s spiritual journey-both the separation from God, and the relinquishing of earthly things/desires that brings one closer to God.

The reason I fell asleep during this spiritual journey was due in great part to the fact that we left for Konya very early in the morning from Ankara and, when we arrived, visited two museums both former schools-Ince Minaret Medrese (1279) and Karatay Medrese (1235), the Alaeddin Mosque (1235) and, of course, the Mevlana Museum. In between we ate what probably totaled to about 20 feet of pide (it might have been more, you know I am not good with the math). While I am interested in most things material culture and historical buildings, I found myself more intrigued by and interested in people watching. There were so many families enjoying the parks around the museums and mosque and I could not help but take photos of them instead of the objects in the museum. One particularly interesting sight was a crowd of people standing in the heat outside of a school. On that day middle school students were taking a placement exam to determine their eligibility for certain high schools-the better you do on this test, the better the high school you are able to attend and so on.

The highlight of the Konya trip, that some of you may know already from my facebook post: I made a successful Klingon to Turkish comparison to our guide, in Turkish, and he understood AND agreed with me. Good times.