"Turkey 101" - Dr. Itir Toksoz


Today began our more academically oriented program (the "core" of our Dialogue) in Istanbul. Yesterday's tour was a bit too much like tourism for us, but it also was essential to our understanding of Turkey and of Istanbul in particular. Today, Dr. Itir Toksoz (NU Alumna, PhD, Political Science) provided us with a rich and sweeping history and political analysis of Turkey (for 2 hours in the morning) as well as an orientation to the city - on foot and on the impressive transportation system: subways, trams, buses, water taxis, and more. We purchased the Istanbul-equivalent of the "Charlie Card"; it's more of a button on a plastic stick, which you press (the button) into the turnstiles on any of the modes of transport. We started with a tram; went down to the port, where we'll be jumping on a water taxi to cross over from Europe to Asia (yes, we're in one city, on two continents). That will begin on Tuesday.

Sunday is an exploration of Istanbul for the students on their own (i.e., in small groups of 4 - 6), with a bit of a "Scavenger Hunt" I've designed so that they have particular destinations they must reach, and yet have their own experiences and discoveries unencumbered by a tour guide, a professor, or 31 of their closest friends :-)

A number of people (professors and students alike) have been hit with some kind of tummy bug. So Sunday also will be a day of rest (it is the weekend after all) for those who need to do so.

Istanbul with it's 13 - 20 million people (yes, the population is that much uncertain!) is a massive city, but after Itir's guidance today, and our own exploration across the Golden Horn, it seems even more "manageable" today than it was yesterday (I put it in quotes because it still is a massive city, with Cairo-like traffic, albeit with much cleaner air, beautiful hills, waterways, and again, it is the entryway to Europe).


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

You can't get there (Serbia) from here (Kosovo) - go to Montenegro!

Image
“You can’t cross this boundary from here [the Kosovo “border”/Administrative boundary]. You’ll have to go to Montenegro and then enter Serbia from there.” Thus sayeth the Serbian policeman at the boundary/border, yesterday (Thursday) around 3:30 pm. The reason? We had a stamp on our passports that read “Republic of Kosovo”, which Serbia does not recognize as independent nation-state (nor do a small number of nation-states of the international community – Russia, Spain, Greece, and 6 other members of the EU). “Kosovo is Serbia.” What he was proposing was for us to “re-enter” Kosovo (1/4 th of a mile back from where we came); return to the town of Mitroveca (where we just left 90 minutes ago); cut over to the West, and enter Montenegro (another 90 minutes-2 hours); then drive to the Montenegro-Serbia border (another hour); then drive until we catch up with the road we could have been on – only one hour from the point on the map where we were standing that ver
Read more

(Remember me?) Back in Amman, Jordan Dialogue 2016

Image
'been a long time without posting ... time to get back in the game! I'm in Amman with students on my "Jordan Dialogue 2016"!  Had to stop in Beirut (thanks APSA-MENA!), prior to joining up with my group here in Amman.  I want to give a shout-out to Mr. Charles, Ms. FaHu, and Lt. Briskin plus the inimitable Dr. Shakir for leading the group here ahead of me. Now we're all together and my first day with everyone was a trip to Ajloun Castle after they all toured Jerash ... Note - I was standing right in front of this group, but they insisted on using the selfie stick!  And I found a kindred spirit with a nearly matching hat.  Plus, a non-selfie with the amazing Farhana. Ajloun Castle - built by  nephew of Salah ad-Din al-Ayyubi ( Saladin ), in AD 1184-1185. 
Read more