Kocetepe: The Biggest Mosque in Ankara

Here are some photo's of Kocetepe. It is the mosque I was explaining earlier. It can hold up to 110,000 people at one time. Ayse explained to me that next month she will go there to celebrate Muhammad's ascension to heaven. Under Kocetepe is a very large super market. It is very ironic that I could eat under the mosque while people fast for Ramadan above. Kocetepe is also in Kizilay and has huge boulevards underneath it.

On Friday morning I was walking by Kocetepe with Cydney and we saw huge crowds of men. There were many helicopters circling and police around. We saw that in the middle of the crowd was a man that looked very familiar. The man got in a motorcade. As he drove toward us he opened his window and waved to us. It was the president of Turkey! No one was around us, so the President was personally waving at us!

Some Turkish pronunciations:
*Kocetepe is Ko-ja-te-pe
*Mosque in Turkish is Camii or Ja-a-mee
*Ramadan in Turkish is Ramazan
*Ayse is A-ee-shey

Culture SHOCK!

Over the past week we have had seven visitors staying with my host family. In talking with other program participants that have visitors we have hypothesized that there are probably so many visitors because of Ramadan and because Monday is Turkey's Independence Day. Below are some descriptions of the visitors and my culture shock dilemma...

Visitor Number One:
My host grandmother has five children. I have now met four of them. The first visitor came on Thursday night. His name is Amhet and at 35 years-old he is the second oldest child in my family. He only came to stay for two nights before he went to visit his other siblings in Istanbul. My host grandmother has two daughters living in Ankara, two in Istanbul, and Amhet. He lives in a town about a 7 hour bus ride away, where he works as a surgeon. Amet was a great visitor. He was genuinely interested in who I am and where I am from and tried very hard to communicate with me. Because of his schooling he knew a some English. We were able to have a simple conversations. He explained to me that when my host grandmother forces me to eat more and more when I am full, to just say no! He also explained to me how he already missed his children at his home. Because this is a two-bedroom apartment and there are already three people sharing my host mom's bed (her, the grandmother, and 7-year-old child), Amhet slept in the living room. As it turns out, both couches in the living room convert into beds! The first night he came we went to Emine's house for dinner. Emine is the second to youngest daughter in the family and is hosting another Pitzer student (Cydney). I will draw a family tree and profile the host family I am staying with for you in a later post... Must keep you on your toes somehow!

(Friday night I slept over at Emine's house to spend time with Cydney, to explore the city at night, and use their internet to Skype my family).

Visitor Number Two:
I either didn't quite catch this visitors name or blocked it out. Yesterday afternoon (Sunday), I had just got back from Emine's house and was sitting in the living room coloring with my coloring book with the 7-year-old. All of a sudden a man was sitting at the dinning room table with my host mom. I introduced myself and said nice-to-meet-you all in Turkish! He was wearing hospital scrubs. I asked him if he was a doctor or a nurse and he said a nurse that worked with my host mom. Later I was resting in my room and my host mom (I am just going to start calling her by her name: Ayse) came to get me and asked me to bring my computer. The visitor was setting up internet for her but could not get it to work. Although she had an internet signal, no web page could open. The same thing happened on my computer. However, I had Skype working and showed them. Then Skype failed and we turned off the computers to relax. Ayse and the visitor sit on the couch across from me and we all watched TV.

An hour or so goes by and I turn on my computer again. They start asking me how much money nurses make in the US. I explain that I have no idea. They get frustrated and ask again and I give them a ballpark number of 50,000 dollars. Given that all nurses make different amounts of money depending on their education, specialty, etc. I connect to Skype, and begin Skype-messaging my friend Misa who is currently in Korea on a Fulbright. I tell them I can ask her for a better estimate. The visitor runs over and starts asking why I can Skype but do not have Internet. I say, "I don't know." He asks more questions. I explain that I have Internet, but cannot connect to the web. I explain that for some reason with not email access I have Skype. He keeps asking me, "why?" I keep saying, "I don't know." And it goes on and on and on. He gets louder. He hijacks my dictionary so that I cannot use it to help respond. He waves his arms in the air and gets even louder. He is almost shouting! He is bombarding me with questions in Turkish. I respond, "I don't know!" He sits closer and keeps waving his arms. Then he starts touching my computer screen and pointing at it violently. I had been patient but I begin to lose it about now. I look to my host grandmother and to Ayse for help. I put my hands on my face. He continues. I close my laptop and run out of the room. I begin to cry. I realize then I am going through culture shock. Right as I get to my room, my actual mother calls and I pick up. Ayse comes running but I just point to my phone and close my bedroom door. My mom calms me down. The grandmother comes and gives me my dictionary and then I lose it again. Then Ayse comes and asks me what's wrong. At this point I was so upset that I couldn't speak. I point to the word "aggressive" and to the living room. My sister calls and I ask Asye to leave. She leaves with my dictionary. My sister calms me down. Then I sit and breathe and the grandmother comes in and gives me a hug. If you know me, you know I do not like hugs. However, at this point it has been two weeks in Turkey without any human contact and the hug was calming. Ayse comes back in with a note in English that says, "he was not angry, calm down, I sorry, he left, dinner soon."

Later I go in for dinner and the grandmother gives me another hug. I notice the table is set for five people. The grandmother and I begin to eat and the visitor comes back. He says something to me. I smile and just look down and eat. At this point I am exhausted! I eat and go to my room. I talk to my sister one more time on the phone and get ready for bed. Then the 7-year-old asks me to play Monopoly and I explain that I am tired. Then Ayse comes to ask the same thing and I explain the same thing. It was only 8:30 PM but this was a hard day for me. I plug in my iPod to help me relax and fall asleep.

I knew before this experience that Turkish people are pushy and sit closer than people in the US. I know that it is just part of their culture. And after two weeks of being here I thought I was adjusted. Something about this small incident made me snap! I know the visitor was being harmless and was just curious. I know to him he was not being aggressive. But at that moment he was just too passionate. I have reflected and understand what happened and why it did. Culture shock is tough and I may go through another experience similar to this, but that is part of traveling and learning and I embrace moments like this for what they teach me about myself.

Visitor Number Three:
Tonight, we had five guests at our dinner table. Around 6 PM we had Ayse's cousin come and visit. He fixed the internet! I can now go online and post this message from my home! No more internet cafe's! However, the internet does not work on Ayse's laptop because she has Window's 7. Bummer. The cousin was very nice and interested in communicating with me like Amhet. He explained to me that he is an Engineer and for his job he is going back and forth between Iraq to Turkey. He called Iraq, "little America," which I found kind of funny and interesting to hear from this area of the world. At one point while we talked a news flash came on the TV about the president of Turkey and the referendum, which he is trying to pass in September. The referendum would make Turkey less secular, and would somehow effect doctors, lawyers, and teachers negatively (now that I have internet I can do more research). I asked Ayse and she said she is voting no, so is the grandmother, and the visitor. The visitor stayed for dinner and then left on his motorcycle.

Visitor(s) Number Four:
Tonight, around 8 PM (dinner time) four more people showed up. It was Ayse's youngest sister, Hava (which means weather in Turkish). She has a four-year-old daughter, a small baby, and a husband. They are visiting from Istanbul and staying the night. Although we have had other visitors, Ayse really scrubbed the house this morning and cooked a lot to get ready for her younger sister. I have never seen her work so hard and the house was already clean. Maybe it was because now a baby was coming; I don't know? We all had dinner together. This was the first time we ate in the dinning room.

First we ate potato soup. Then they had a ravioli like dish with meat and I had a plate of pasta and a light red sauce that was the size of my computer screen! Literally! Then the grandmother started scooping seven dolma (stuffed grape leaves) onto my plate, then she scooped tons of bean salad, and regular salad. They served me Fanta Soda and water -- I am not a soda drinker but I feel obligated to drink it when they give it to me. I was so stuffed and I was barely halfway through the meal. The grandmother has a bad habit of over-feeding me. The rest of the family began to notice that I was getting really full when the grandmother started to shuffle stuffed bell peppers onto my plate and pushed a loaf of bread at me! Welcome to my breakfast and dinner experience! For those of you who worry, I am not going hungry! Ayse explained that I could stop eating if I wanted to. So I did.

We then sat on the couch watching and talking. It was really cool to see the family interact. The grandmother was so happy to see her daughter and her grandchildren. The son-in-law even went to the Mosque with her. Around 10:30PM we had tea and three types of cake. I am "doydun," full! I will explain more about these visitors when more time elapses. Plus fun stories about my week to come later!

iyi gecelar (goodnight!)

Turkish Keyboards, Antalya and More Adventures!

İ am writing from another Internet cafe in Ankara. İt is very hard to type on this computer because it is in Turkish. The Turkish alphabet has 29 letters including two sets of i's, u's, o's, g's, and c's, which makes typing on a Turkish keyboard confusing. The alphabet itself is easy to learn because it uses Latin letters. However, most sounds are very different than the English pronunciation. For example, the letter c makes a je sound and the letter c with a line bellow it has a che sound. Similarly, i with a dot is an ee sound and i without a dot is an uh sound. İf you want to write an englısh c sound than you must write it with a k. For example, Canada would be Kanada. So far, İ have learned a lot of Turkish! Wednesday İ have my first test! İ still use a dictionary to converse with my host family, but hopefully won’t soon. Typically, we pass the dictionary back and forth pointing out words to make the other person understand.

Turkish class meets three days a week for four hours. This gives our group the ability to travel on the weekends. This weekend we went to a coastal town named Antalya. Antalya is a touristy town so it was perfect for our limited Turkish vocabulary and as a first trip. It was an eight hour bus ride heading south of Ankara. We left Thursday night and arrived Friday morning. The bus system in Turkey is much cheaper then the train and plane route. İn total a round trip ticket cost 60 TL. The bus is exactly like a plane where they serve refreshments and snacks.

When we got in, all seven of us Pitzer students meandered the streets of this very old city until we found a reasonable hostel. We stayed at Erkel Pansion for 30 TL a night. Thıs included seven beds, three bathrooms, a kıtchen, and two large balconies ın a great location. İt was a great deal! To get to the hostel we had to walk through an ancient Roman gate and small streets with tea vendors. On Friday, we were exhausted so in the afternoon we went to the beach. It was guzel or beautıful. Antalya is on the Mediterranean. The water was clear, blue, and clean. Those of you that know me well know that I do not swim without goggles! Wearing them and my bikini, İ swam deep and saw lots of white and black fish. The beach was rocky, but not jagged. All the rocks were smooth and round, and easy to walk on. İn my opinion, it was better than sand. Wıth the temperature 103+ degrees, the water was refreshing. At the end of the day, all seven of us had sunburns despıte the massive amounts of SPF 50 we put on. So tired, we went to bed around 10 PM and slept in the next day.

Originally, we had planned to explore caves and anchıert Roman ruıns on Saturday but we were warned by the manager of the hostel that their location would be even hotter and very far away. We were already in a constant sweat so we went to a waterfall instead. The waterfall was named Duden and was amazıng! When İ use my own computer at the University, İ will upload photos for you to see! There were caves that wrapped around and behind the waterfall and it was very cool (in both meanings). We relaxed there until maybe 6PM. İn Turkey, corn is considered a fruit, so before we left Duden we went to a corn stand. A man offered me about ten flavors to choose from and stıred my corn and put ıt ın a cup for me to eat. İ was adventurous and got corn wıth pepper and pomegranate jucıe. My frıend Carolıne got hers wıth hot chılı sauce and Cydeny got ıt wıth lemon juice - all good choıces. That night we went to dinner, walked around the city, and slept. Sunday we went back to Ankara.

Tonıght (8/23), I got back from Kizalay (downtown Ankara) and did my homework, played cards with my host brother and mother, and had dinner. After dinner my host annane or grandmother began to get ready to go to the Mosque, as she does every evening. İ asked my host mother if i could go and she was very surprısed that i was interested. As İ mentioned before, the family is celebrating Ramadan. I was allowed to go, but in order to do so İ had to put on leggıngs under my longest skirt, a long-sleeved shırt, and a headscarf. İ also had to remove my nail polish and jewelry. When I got there, İ dıd a ritual of washing my hands, feet, arms, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and entıre face three tımes each. İt was very cool to see where my host grandmother goes every nıght at 9PM. The outing became a family and neighborhood affair. Usually, it is just the grandmother that goes and İ stay with my host brother. However, because İ went and my host mother was home she came and so dıd my brother. He had been playing in the street with the neıghbor chıldren and a frog. For some reason the chıldren wanted to come too and one even convınced her mother to go. It was a very small mosque, but one that I hear every night from my bedroom. As soon as we entered, I took my shoes off and went upstaırs to where the women sıt. The women went through the motıon of standing and kneeling repeatedly. I sat and watched. The chıldren got bored and started makıng noıse and bothered their mothers.

Multiple times everyday, İ hear the call to prayer from a mosque. I hear it at 4AM from my bedroom wındow (yes, it wakes me up everyday) and 10 AM ın my Turkısh class. The call is very beautiful and it is a story that is being read from the Quran. I thınk it is important that İ see the mosques and attend services here to better understand the people İ live amongst. Although İ have never actually read the Quran, İ have been taught throughout my education at the Jewish Day School, University Prep, and Pitzer College that there is a passage in the Quran that says that all religions should be respected - a good motto for my travels and lesson for the world!

Another cool place I saw last week was Ataturks Mausoleum. Ataturk was the founder of modern Turkey and led the revolution ın the 30’s. His mausoleum is larger than the Lıcoln Memorial ın Washington DC and had a gold encrusted cieling! İ also saw the largest mosque in Ankara, whıch can hold up to 110,000 people! İ went under the Mosque to buy groceries and a towel before my trıp. The store under the mosque is huge and similar to a Sears or Fred Meyer. İ thought it was ironic that while people were fasting and praying for Ramadan upstairs İ was getting dinner and shopping downstairs!

Well İ have tons more stories but this is about all İ have time to write. Just to reiterate photos and more stories will come later with more Internet access. Hope you are all doing well!

Hocakal! (goodbye)

Marhaba!

Hi all! I am alive and well. I am writing from an internet cafe in Kizalay, which is downtown Ankara. Everyday İ wake up wıth the sun and take either the metro or a bus to the city for an intensive Turkısh class. So far, İ have learned a lot. The class is very fast paced. My host family is very nice, but does not speak any English. They live just outside the city in an apartment. There is a 7 year old son, 13 year old cousin, and grandmother. İ have only seen the mother once. They feed me very well! Everyday İ get breakfast, which is bread, cheese, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and tea. I feel very bad eating in the morning because the grandmother prepares my food and she is practicing Ramadan. I eat anyway though. İn the evenıng we eat together and always have soup bread rice salad and some other vegetarian dısh. İ eat lunch in the city. I also probably drink tea 10 tımes a day. It is very good tasting, but so hot. It is hard to drink sometimes because the weather in Ankara is in the 100's and we do not have air conditioning. I am perpetually sweatıng.

İ will not have internet for another 3 weeks. After I get to school, I wıll fıll you ın more and be able to skype. This weekend İ am planning on going to a coastal town named Antalya. Hope you are all doıng well!

Greetings from Dallas!

Today has been quite an adventure, as traveling always is... This morning I woke up and left my house in Kirkland, Washington at 9:25 AM. My mom and I drove to REI (an outdoor sporting goods store) to pick up some extra luggage tags and a bag to put my hiking bag in so that I could check it. I arrived at the airport to find an enormous line for security! With 45 minutes to go until boarding I was concerned. Right as I was able to see the metal detector in front of me, a security officer came over to the 20 people in front of me and said that the machines were broken. At this point, I started to wonder if the "Friday the 13th" superstition had some truth to it. The security officer then funneled us to a machine behind us (in Sea-Tac Airport to get to Gate N the security machines are staggered). I had about 20 minutes left before boarding and I still needed to take the tram! Luckily, I was far enough back in the line that I was funneled through first! I made it to the plane on time and even had a minute to spare to get a bottle of water!

Now I am in Dallas, Texas. They say that everything is bigger and better in Texas… Well everything is definitely bigger! After boarding my plane in Seattle, the couple that sat next to me introduced themselves. They were very kind and had the true Texas cheer. The husband said to me, “well I hope the plane can take off. On my Alaskan cruise I sure ate a lot!” Like the rest of the people sitting around me, he was a larger man. This is real America for you - my hotel is surrounded by steakhouses and burger joints!

It was 104 degrees and humid this afternoon in Dallas. Luckily it will be cooler when I arrive in Ankara on Sunday… 98 degrees (but no humidity)! Tomorrow, I plan to leave my hotel around 11 AM to navigate the Dallas airport. Below is my itinerary:


Leave Dallas on Saturday at 4:20 PM
Arrive in Frankfurt on Sunday at 9:15 AM
Leave Frankfurt on Sunday at 3 PM
Arrive in Ankara on Sunday at 7:20 PM

*Please note that I will be going through many time zones, so the flights are not as long as they seem.

When I arrive in Ankara, the Pitzer Coordinator in Turkey will take me to my host family. I am not sure yet if I will have Internet access at their house so stay tuned and be patient.