çay

Çay (which is pronounced "chai") is Turkish tea. Though in the West Turkish coffee is most renowned, in fact it is tea that is consumed most often and is most adored by Turks. In fact, Turks drink the most tea per person out of any country in the world - outdoing even England and Ireland! (yes, Brits, take a few minutes to freak out over that...)

This tea is typically prepared using two stacked kettles specially designed for Turkish çay.

Water is brought to a boil in the larger lower kettle.  Then some of the water is used to fill the smaller kettle on top along with several spoons of loose tea leaves, producing a very strong tea. When you serve the tea, you use the remaining water from the bottom pot to dilute the tea on an individual basis, giving each person the choice between strong or weak. 

Tea is drunk from small tulip-shaped glasses on little saucers - showing its beautiful red colour! - with or without sugar, your choice. (No milk)

This is not a tea reserved for special occasions. Turkish people drink this tea anywhere, anytime. You can buy tea on a ferry, in a park. You can have trays of it brought to your workplace by your local coffee shop, restaurant or sometimes convenience store staff. Here is a good picture I stole from the internet of the type of trays used in this case:

You will see young men from restaurants carrying trays like this to local businesses and shops. In this case, he would return later to collect the glasses and payment. 

If the kids are playing at the park, I might buy tea from someone who wanders through, selling it. I don't know if you can see this picture very well, but you can click to enlarge it. This person looks like he is hanging out there for a while, but often times a man will walk through with a giant thermos and a tray with little disposable cups and sugar and stir sticks... A business on the go...

But really if you are going to be at the park for a long time - why not bring your own? I saw this family setting up at the park the other day, and was delighted to watch this woman pull an entire çay set-up out of her bag!

This is the traditional çaydanlik, on top of what appears to be a teeny tiny gas tank like you might take camping. I was impressed. Turks love their tea. 

If you have a few minutes, check out this video of a talk by Katharine Branning, author of "Yes, I would Love Another Glass of Tea: An American Woman's Letters to Turkey":

Afiyet Olsun! (Bon Appetit!)

 

Banned!

This is an interesting experience for me. YouTube and Twitter have been banned by the government leading up to the election here on Sunday. It sounds like Facebook will be next.

I am not exactly well versed in Turkish politics, but I'm not sure this is a smart move right before election day...?

Personally I am amused, for now, since I assume that next week things will return to normal. Another interesting travel experience!!!

"Access has been blocked by Telecommunication Communication Presidency"

Green Bursa

Merhaba ~

Well, the cold that has been circulating through the students and professors involved in the program has finally hit home, and Maymuna is sick and feverish today. A good day to catch up on blogging! It was pretty good timing, because we went for a day trip to Bursa yesterday and we would not have wanted to miss it.

Right off the bat we were happy because we got to take a ferry most of the way there. Which means that Maymuna got another weird wafer! Yay!

Our first stop was the Ulu Cami - the Grand Mosque of Bursa. FYI, the Turkish word cami is pronounced JAM-ee and it means mosque. It was spectacular.  The story goes that Sultan Beyazit I pledged that if he won an upcoming battle that he would build 20 mosques in thanks. He did win the battle, but instead of building 20 mosques, he built one mosque with 20 domes!

Then we wandered around Bursa for a while, exploring the hans and markets.  A han, or a caravanserai as they are sometimes called, is essentially an inn where travelers could stop and rest for the night along various trade routes, and even in city centers. The floor plan is usually square-ish, and with the center open to the sky. The center of a han would probably hold a little mosque, and a place to wash and eat. The rooms along the bottom floor could be made into make-shift shops, while the rooms along the top floors would be places for the travelers to sleep at night. They could keep their wares and horses in the center of the han - at night the main door to the han entrance would be shut and locked, keeping everything safe inside.

There are many famous hans along the Silk Road, and Bursa has many beautiful ones. Some of them still function as hubs for specific crafts or trades, while others have been converted into shops and cafes, very pretty public spaces. Some are a combination of both. The fun of finding a han is that it just looks like a single large door from the outside, and then you walk through and find a beautiful square -

We wandered through the markets where the fruit and vegetables looked so vibrant and fresh. I came  upon this table of olives - I could not even get all the varieties in the frame. There were perhaps twenty or more!

We also found this shop which sold various jarred products, cheeses and HONEYS. There were several cases, as you can see, of different varieties...

Since the Iskender Kebab was born in Bursa, we had to indulge for lunch! This is a bed of pita bread strips with doner meat and tomato sauce on top, served with yogurt and a few vegetables. 

We got back on the bus with the students and visited the spectacular Yesil Mosque & Tomb (yesil means green):

Our last stop in Bursa was the Hudavendigar Mosque. This was a special treat because one of the security guards recognized Ozayr from a previous trip, and gave us behind the scenes access, including the terrace area that overlooks the plaza.

I wish we had more time in Bursa, as there was so much more to see! Forgive my brevity - you can read more about the beautiful city of Bursa HERE.

Lale

Forgive me for saying so, but we spotted the first tulips of the season the other day near the Blue Mosque. Just a peak from a couple of brave blooms:

I wrote a post last year about tulips in Turkey, you can read it here. In Turkish, tulip is "lale" pronounced "lah-lay." Sending strong sunshine wishes for everyone back home. Just think, your tulips are under there, starting to make plans for blooming soon!

Food (the first of many posts)

I have spent a lot of time trying to compose a good blog post in my mind about Turkish food. It's a cuisine that back home might be categorized as "Mediterranean" and it has components that are vaguely Greek (HELLO YOGURT) and Middle Eastern. But really it is something pretty unique and diverse.

When we travel here I am constantly having this debate with myself - I wonder which is best, as I bounce back and forth in my mind between my favourite traditional, sophisticated Turkish dishes of the many good restaurants here, and the irresistible draw of the awesome street food. Why do I even feel compelled to pick? I don't know.

Through all these musings (and munching) I realized that no one post could possibly do it all justice, so I will act the hipster and take photos and post about our culinary experiences as we go. It may seem that we are eating out constantly. That is not *quite* true, but it is very easy to eat out here. When we are on-the-go during the day it is extremely easy and fast to pick up a snack for just a few lira - not talking McDonald's, I mean real food, real ingredients, sometimes cooked right in front of you. Food here is quite inexpensive - we can eat a comfortable, simple dinner of durum for 4 people here for 25 Turkish lira - that's about $10. At the nicest restaurant we go to here for special occasions, we probably would never top $50 for our whole meal.

As I am typing this Maymuna just came in and asked if we could go out and get something to eat. She has embraced the food, despite her allergies, and she is a complete foodie at heart just like Ozayr... Got to go!!

Happy Anniversary!

Last weekend was the one year anniversary of the Istanbul Center opening! We gathered together with friends and tireless supporters of this program to celebrate at Tapasuma, Mark and Nedret Butler's restaurant on the Asian side. It was a delightful evening, and we are all so very happy that this dream has come true for the Butlers and all the other great people who worked so hard to see this happen, including our very own Ozayr Saloojee. It was a lovely celebration of this accomplishment. We even had a cake! Guess who blew out the candles?  ;-)

Settled in

It's hard for me to believe that we have been in Istanbul almost 3 weeks now. This is the 3rd time here for the girls and me. We've honestly lost track of how many times Ozayr has been here... It's a little bit like coming home, but at the same time a whole other world. That is the charm and ease of Turkey for me, and what makes it a great study abroad for students. Istanbul, of all Turkish cities, has all the amenities of modern North American life - a great transit system, wireless internet, even Starbucks! Our apartment and the student residences are equipped with just about everything you need to feel as if you were at home. And yet, Istanbul is different enough to make you feel, on occasion, that you are somewhere truly exotic... The food is different, the commerce is different, the demographic of the people here is different. This makes coming here feel new and exciting, but also perfectly manageable. Most Turks in the hospitality industry speak some degree of english (many perfectly). Even among those who do not, it is in the nature of the Turkish people to be friendly and helpful to strangers. Last year I got lost in the streets outside the Grand Bazaar and had someone come up and offer me directions. Turkish people love children and shopkeepers have been known to give away little trinkets just because they found delight in something your kid did or said. This is a big change from the "keep-to-yourself/don't take candy from strangers" outlook we keep back home. It is quite an extroverted and friendly culture, and despite it's massive size (it is the third largest city in the world), it is easy to be comfortable here. We are looking forward to 2 more months, and hosting lots of friends and family!

The Absence of "Holidays"

I read this article this morning: Can We Bring the Holidays Down a Notch?  It highlights one of my very favourite things about being away... American culture seems to dictate that we hurtle from holiday to holiday, and celebrate! celebrate! celebrate! each one. Of course as homeschoolers we avoid much of this but those who engage with the school system (either as teachers, parents or students) must see this as a relentless parade of classroom decorations, loot bags and themed outfits you need to put together for your kids to wear to school.

It is refreshing for me to see that the rest of the world does not operate like this. I was in Venice for Valentine's Day and I saw no pink hearts, no Valentine's Day sales in the stores, nothing, in one of the most romantic cities in the world.

Are we addicted to the rush of being constantly in a "holiday mode"?  Are we desperate for meaning and tradition, and are searching to find it in Hallmark holidays? Or is it simply that consumer culture offers big companies the opportunity to colour something green or pink and get you to buy it. I know that Target took its green decor down before St Patrick's Day was even over, and the place is covered in Easter bunnies now (pretty much banking on the fact that you will buy your Easter chocolate now and eat it in the middle of the night and have to buy more in April). The same thing happened with Halloween and Christmas. There's no down time.

Anyway, whatever the reasons, I'm enjoying the peace and quiet over here. Day to day, business is as usual.

The weird wafer that I had last night

Hi guys! Maymuna here! This is the story of a wafer that I had last night.

The ferries in Turkey {usually big ferries} have little convenience stores inside where you can buy snacks and chai. Little ferries will sometimes have guys that will sell the same things except from a tray. They might offer sandwiches or chips, and a few canned drinks. This wafer is something that you can generally only get on a ferry or in a convenience store. I had tried this kind of wafer before but i could not remember it, so I wanted to try it again.

We were taking a ferry back from Kadikoy after going to Ciya for dinner. My Dad had said that I could have a wafer so my dad found two [one for me and one for my sister]. It was HUGE. I unwrapped it and took a bite. It was flaky and crispy, and gooey and sweet on the inside thanks to the “Nougat sauce” as spotted on the label.

That might be the best ferry food I have had [but I have not had a lot, so…]. I have bad allergies to: dairy, eggs, sesame and shellfish, so it was a treat that I could have it! {even though my Mom says that it is probably horrible for me anyway}.

Bye for now,

                     Maymuna

Miniaturk Redux

Sorry for the silence on the blog this week! If you haven't already, please check out Ozayr's post on the UMN blog about our visit to Miniaturk this year here. There is also a link to Hafsa's post about it last year here.

Thoughts on "Other"ness

It’s in our nature to think of the lives we lead as being “the norm.” We take notice when our paths cross with people of other cultures and they differ from us. When this occurs on our home turf, we tend to think of them as being different, or sometimes strange. Perhaps it is human nature to prize conformity to a certain extent. But if we want to live in an accepting and diverse world, exposing young people to differences becomes increasingly important. I think it is so important for people to realize that their way is not the only way. That the person you see in your hometown who is wearing something different, or speaking differently, is not weird. That if you went to their hometown, you would be the weird one!

I think that 90% of North Americans understand all this theoretically, but so many of us go through life without having experienced BEING the “other”, BEING “weird”, BEING the minority in the room or on the tram…  Part of the adjustment I see on the faces of the students who come here is that they have never been a minority before… It’s a very enlightening experience, especially, let’s be honest, for white folks. Have you ever been the only white person in the room?

It’s natural too to pick out differences when we travel to a new environment. It’s almost as if we hold up a vellum overlay over what we are seeing. “Ok, no, this doesn’t match up,” we say, and sometimes we can pinpoint where, and other times we know the fit is different but we can’t say exactly how. Some of these things are thrilling and other unsettling, but every time it’s a chance to learn and grow. Here are some of the little things I’ve been noticing since we left North America.

Certain attitudes. Particularly toward smoking, littering, fast food, and pooper scoopers. There are still a lot of smokers out there. A really shocking amount of Italians and Turks are lighting up, everywhere you turn. If you think North America is crippling the tobacco industry because we’re not buying anymore, I am sad to say that I think they have more than enough customers in the rest of the world. Same goes for fast food. Turkey, for one, has embraced the advent of McDonald’s and Coke, with many parents resenting the blatant advertising and inducements to kids (like, get internet credit with your bottle of Coca-cola). Sadly, dropping your garbage on the ground has not gone out of fashion yet. The sides of highways and parks are often strewn with bottles, wrappers. It’s painful to pass by some of the most beautiful buildings in Italy and step over garbage and dog poop.

I have discovered the reason why Americans sound so loud on trains. (This probably goes for Canadians too.)  Europeans are pretty quiet on public transport. No loud, too-much-information cell phone calls, or lecturing their kids… They tend to sit pretty quietly or talk in hushed tones. A mobile phone call will be greeted with a short greeting and maybe a murmur or two before the call is quickly ended. This is why, in comparison, every American family who enters the tram saying “JOHNNY ARE YOU ON? STEP OVER THAT. OK. IS THIS GOING THE RIGHT WAY? I WISH THESE SIGNS WERE WRITTEN IN ENGLISH. JOHNNY DON’T LICK THAT!” sounds so obnoxious. It’s probably not (only) that they are speaking so loudly, but that everyone else is so quiet.

Created and creative economies. Sometimes it feels like, in the States, that you either go to university and get a white collar job, or you don’t go to university and you are extremely disadvantaged. Blue collar jobs are looked down upon. In Italy and Turkey, I feel like there is a much wider gradient of opportunities that are considered “successful.” It’s just as valid in society for you to be the 5th generation gondolier in your family. Turks too are incredibly industrious, and where there is a need, a “business” forms to fill it. (no need for a patent or small business loan, lol). Opportunities still exist plentifully within that range between corporate cubical-dweller and garbage man. 

Work/Life balance. There’s no denying it, people work HARD here, but somehow work is not king. In Italy, shops and businesses close down in the afternoon for a little siesta. People go home, have some food, maybe a nap, and open up again around 4:30. There is actually a city ordinance in Rome that enforces quiet during this period of the day, just as if it’s night. Ozayr’s Italian colleagues stop checking their work email when they leave work for the day and do not work on weekends. Turkish people have a similar dedication to their work, but will stop for a tea break and leisurely meals. When I think about how we “take a break” in the US, it almost makes me laugh. Even when we go to Starbucks and sit down for coffee, we get “to go” cups, as if we could be called away at any moment!!

The absence of American pop culture.  The more time I spend outside of the States, the more I appreciate that people here are interested in real news. The media covers issues and people of actual consequence to the world at large, and the more I see the celebrity culture of the States from afar, the more it seems like a smoke screen a la Brave New World - a diversion that keeps us from being engaged with the rest of the world and our own communities, from caring about things that really matter. Gosh, that sounds extreme, doesn’t it? I guess I have gone almost 2 months without knowing what Kim Kardashian is doing, and I REALLY LIKE IT. 

Different courtesies. The guy going through the door in front of you is probably not going to hold the door for you. And you know that way that North Americans sort of hang back from the curb when the bus/subway is coming, because no one wants to be presumptuous and get up there first? That's not going to happen here. If you hang back from the curb, someone else is going to just assume you don't WANT to be first on the bus, and stand in front of you. No one is being rude, I just think it's not the same mentality. Whereas when we stopped in Amsterdam it seemed like everyone stood in line FOR EVERYTHING. One thing we learned in Italy is that they consider it rude to bring you the check before you ask for it. Meanwhile, we are sitting there wondering why no one is bringing the check! It's no wonder that when we interact cross-culturally that it can be so easy to offend one another, don't you think? 

Languages. In Europe, and especially Italy, people speak multiple languages as a matter of course. A waiter in Rome or Venice probably speaks AT LEAST Italian, English and French. A concierge in Istanbul will be fluent in Turkish and English. It speaks to me of a willingness to engage, not just with tourists, but with the rest of the world. Am I being too idealistic in this interpretation? All I know is that in North America if someone tries to speak to us and they don’t speak English, we are almost offended. A Coke commercial aired with “America the Beautiful” sung in different languages and it was an outrage. In parts of Canada people grumble about learning both of our OWN official languages. 

Meanwhile I find it interesting that though the girls and I have mastered a smattering of Turkish (like under 50 words probably), we can get by quite well. I think this is due to the helpfulness of the Turkish people in general, and because we mainly hang out with ex-pat Americans and other English speaking transplants. This has given me plenty of food for thought, as you can imagine. This is a taste of the immigrant experience for me, but I will save those observations for another post! 

PS. Looking at this list, it would seem like I like everything in Italy/Turkey better - not true! I miss so much about life back home... but that's another post as well ;-)

Meat and Greet

Hello, merhaba! I am writing to you from the beautiful city of Istanbul :-) We made it!

It has taken us a few days to get settled in but as always Turkey has us totally charmed already. The evening we arrived we went with the students from the airport to their residences to make sure they were all settled in. Then we took a taxi (or taksi, if you want to be all Turkish about it, there is no x in the Turkish language) to the apartment where we are staying. This apartment is all about THE VIEW that overlooks the Bosphorus, from Dolmabahce Palace on one side all the way over to the Blue Mosque on the other side. Pretty amazing. Prepare yourselves for probably a thousand pictures taken from my living room window.

Of course, the necessary flip side to this gorgeous coin is that you have to climb a considerable hill to achieve such a vantage point! I think there are over 100 steps leading up to our apartment building (with another 2 floors to go up inside, but there is an elevator for that).

Stairways like this and steep hills are common in Istanbul, except perhaps in the historic center. In an interesting bit of symmetry, Istanbul is nicknamed a city "on 7 hills" just like Rome. I am totally willing to do the climb  - I can work off some of the cappuccino and pastries from Italy now :-)

That first night, even though it was late, we were anxious to get out into the city at large. So after beds were made, we set out again, walking along the water, taking a funicular up to Taksim Square. We walked together down Istiklal Caddesi, one of the most famous pedestrian avenues in Istanbul. It was a Saturday night and packed full of people. We ducked down a narrow alley, steadily making our way - oh so familiar to us now - to our favourite hole-in-the-wall restaurant Durumzade, where they sell the best durum (sort of like Turkish shawarma) and lentil soup in all of Istanbul. Ozayr discovered this place years ago and has been going for years, bringing students as well. We were greeted not only with the amazing smells we had been craving, but some familiar characters as well. "Hosgeldiniz hojam!" was our welcome, as they recognized Ozayr immediately. That translates roughly as "Welcome, Professor!" We sat down and had our meal in the middle of the hustle and bustle, now nearing midnight. Then we walked home, full and tired, happy to be back in the city once more.

It was after 1 a.m. when the girls were tucked into bed after a long day - one which started with cappuccino and cornetto, and ended with durum and chorba. More on food another day, but in the meantime you might enjoy this "No Reservations" episode if you are curious about what Turkish food is like beyond "meat on a stick." Anthony Bourdain can be a tad coarse, so a warning to sensitive viewers. Definitely consider pre-watching if you wanted to show it to your kids. The restaurant we went to on our first night is featured in the episode at about the 15 minute mark.