Today made me understand why everyone who has been to Turkey talks about how welcoming the Turks are. First Ahmet, a faculty member of the education department, came to pick me up at my place to take me to school, so that I wouldn’t have to take the bus on the first day. He drove me to school and even drove around the campus to show me the exact stop where I would be getting off the bus tomorrow.
He took me to my office which I share with Ferayal and another woman whom I’ve not yet met. Ferayal is a vivacious and extremely well-read professor in the education department. Her Ph.D. is in literature, but she teaches everything. My desk was ready for me with a computer and a high-speed Internet connection. Ferayal asked me when my birthday is (January 18th), and she promptly presented me with an early birthday gift – a small carpet to “add some color” to my room. I met Berna, the research assistant and another faculty member Nesryn, who just passed her Ph.D. oral defense.
When Ferayal noticed that I was having trouble navigating the computer menus in Turkish, she made a call to the computer lab and three computer students were promptly sent to fix the problem. While they were adjusting my settings to English, the girl’s stomach growled loudly. Ferayal offered her a piece of candy, but the young woman declined because she is fasting for Ramadan. Later Ferayal offered the young man fixing the computer something to eat, but he also declined. He said that although he was not fasting, out of respect for those who are, he preferred not to eat in front of them.
I later asked Nesryn about the meaning of Ramadan (Ramazan here in Turkey). Why do people fast? She explained that it is a lunar month set aside for fasting from sunset till sundown – that means no water, no food, no cigarettes, nothing. The fasting is to remind Muslims what it is like to go without. For one month a year, they are to experience what it feels like to be hungry so that they may build empathy for those who truly are. Women who are pregnant or nursing, children, the old, and the infirm are not expected to observe the fast. I think that few if any of my colleagues are fasting although I think they keep the spirit of Ramazan close to them.
At the end of Ramazan, a three-day festival called Baryan will be celebrated. Each household that can afford it slaughters a goat. The goat is to be divided into thirds. One-third goes to the poor. Nasryn says that some people are so destitute that this is the only time their families are able to eat meat. Another third goes to one’s neighbors, and the last third goes to the household for a feast. Neighbors then go door-to-door to share food and celebrate in everyone’s house. What important society values that Islam encourages – to care for people less fortunate, to share your bounty with them, and to engender community.
I am stunned at the level of sophistication of the teachers here. Although they seem to be relatively young, they are not only well-versed in their Ph.D. field, but they have an extremely in-depth knowledge of other fields such as linguistics, ESL, teaching methodology, as well as many publications to their names. Almost all teaching in higher-education here is in English. The faculty is completely fluent, and I expect that the students will also have excellent English skills.
Nasryn invited me to her home for lunch/dinner. She first walked me down the pedestrian mall (most neighborhoods have one), where you can buy just about anything you want. We stopped and she bought ingredients for kofta – a Turkish meatball. Nasryn is from southeastern Turkey and she is a Kurd. Although Kurds fought in the war for Turkish independence, they were not given the recognition or freedoms they were promised after the republic was established. In fact, they were persecuted in much the same way that blacks were in post-Civil War U.S. Until recently, it was illegal to teach the Kurdish language in schools. Even today the Kurds in Turkey have substandard schools and their home geographic regions have little infrastructure. The language is taught at only a few private schools, and their political parties are often abolished by the government as soon as they are formed. It was really interesting to speak with her because I was warned repeatedly not to broach the subject of Kurds or Armenians with (non-Kurdish) Turkish people.
Although I said that I would post pictures on my blog, my camera, unfortunately, bit the dust today. It has been slowly dying, but usually tapping it makes it work for a few more shots. I had to resort to rather hard “tapping”, and I don’t believe it will be working again.
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