Post Written By: Leah Ranta

Thursday morning alarm set. Time? 4:15am. Why so early you may ask? After a busy week of meetings and academia, the group is ready for a bit of a vacation. Destination: Cappadocia. Also known as the land of natural chimneys, historical valleys, and of course the filming location of Star Wars I!

Once again, Turkey has far exceeded our expectations. Although we were unable to stay in the famous cave hotels, we were greeted by spacious rooms and an invitation to a home cooked dinner. After dropping our luggage, we began our adventures. From climbing through Imaginary Valley to running through Monk Valley, our tour guide did not anticipate how much our group was ready to explore. Taking pictures from afar was simply never enough, and a 10 minute stop often turned into an hour. The monastic complex at Goreme was particularly amazing for it's sheer size and beauty. The community held around 3,000 people, and the numerous hand carved cave churches still had the original wall paintings visible today.

All in all, it was an exhausting afternoon of hiking and visiting some of the oldest hidden orthodox churches in Turkey. Although you will have to ask each student for themselves, I heard more than one say it was like jumping into a Dr. Seuss book. After our hot air balloon tour at 3:30am tomorrow, we will be redefining, "Oh the places you'll go!"

Hotel in Cappadocia

Hiking through Devrent (Pink Valley, Imaginary Valley)

Exploring the Goreme Open Air Museum 

Pasabag (Monk's Valley)

Post written by Lisa Tu:

Today started with a free morning. Most slept in and then parted ways: to walk along the seashore, to get breakfast, or in my case, to follow Shane, Ben, and Leo in a mini adventure just fifteen minutes away. We saw beautiful jewerly showcased and decided to stop in the store. My first impression of the store owner was that he was pretty built -- that was an understatment. Shortly after proving our intrest in his work (he handmade many of the jewerly) he told us that he was going to go to San Francisco, CA to meet his friend, Arnold Schwarzenegger. At first, I was not sure if he meant that it was his dream to meet him, but then he showed us his championchip photos for body building, clothed in awards and all. It was crazy! He was extremely built! He had many titles that I could not keep up with...all I can remember is "master of ... " Anyways, he was very kind. He then shared with us that he was from Syria, and that he had escaped around 5 years ago. He had beautiful traditional neckalaces made with the inspirations of his hometown in Syria. We spent quite a bit of time and money on the Jewerly, but it was well worth it. We then headed back to the hotel to regroup and then made our way to the Tarlabasi Community Center. Below is an image of the walk there:

This area of the town is made up of minorities in Turkey - Syrian refugees, Gypsies, Africians, nontraditional families - a concentrated area of low income families. The buildings that were standing and were the homes of people living there were barely kept, and some  buildings did not have walls on four sides. It was an unforgetable view as we walked past children playing, and both women and men working (of all ages) through the streets to find the community center. I did not take photos of those buildings. Anyways, we had trouble navigating because there were no street signs. Nontheless, Turkey showed us their hospitality once again and helped us ask around and walked us to the location we were looking for. Once we arrived, we went up to the community center with a lobby/work area, and one small classroom. The Tarlabasi Community Center (Tarlabasi Toplum Merkezi TTM) is a non-governmental organization that was founded in 2006 for the purpose of supporting the equal participation of the residents of Tarlabasi, one of the multli-dimensionally disadvantaged regions of Istanbul. Since 2006, TTM, has provided social, psychological and educational support and consultation for more than 5000 disadvantaged children, adolescents and women in Tarlabasi. Since their move to this singled classroom building, they have had to cut down on their activities due to location. Today, our class presented an activity to the students (about 15) on Gender. There were four categories 1) girls, 2)boys, 3)both, and 4) neither. The students then had a pile of description words and had to agree as a group to which group they thought the words would belong. The students were so engaged and debated with each other on what should go where. Based on the awswers we could see they had many examples based on their own neighborhood. The students debated for a long time and without much guidence was able to turn to us leading the activity and told us that everything could go in both, except maybe "good behavior" since both girls and boys could be "bad." It was such a rewarding experience watching the students so engaged. 

* Photo soon once permission to show children is approved... for now, some art made by students to try to cover up the bare walls: 

We took group photos then headed to our next meeting: LAMBDAistanbul - an LGBTI Solidarity association that strives to raise awareness and education to empower the istanbul community of gender issues and equality. They wish to include gender identity in the constituion and add gender discrimination definitions of hate crimes.  The activists start by explaining some history of the LGBT movement, and describe how elecitions are being affected by this movement (the general elections for parties is this upcoming Sunday). Early last week, our group met up with LGBT activist who identifies as gay, and explained an intresting opinion: lesbians have it easier than gays since they are almost "going up in the social class" since they are more masculine and while gays are more "feminine" and are thus brought down the social class in traditional settings. One of our students brought this opinion up to see what LAMBDA thought. LAMBDA disagreed with the comment, explaining that men will always have advantages over women because there will always be an invisable wall for women. Making it hard for them to express theirselves since most of the time, traditionally, their bodys are not really "owned" by them. The example given was about a woman who reached out to the LAMBDA explaining that she was 26, who had to quit her job and change her life since her parents locked her in the house after telling them she did not like men. Whereas for males it is unheard of to have a 26 year old man who will have his family lock him up for telling them that he liked men. They also explained that Men + feminine = Gay, but women + masculintiy = still a woman.  More information on LAMDA can be found here: http://www.lambdaistanbul.org/

Tomorrow we are headed to Capadocia and will resume our blog then! 

Post written by Shane Miller:

Today was our ninth day in Turkey. A beautiful, cool morning greeted our crew as everyone woke up and grabbed breakfast, but trouble was brewing in paradise - two of our intrepid students were ill. After checking with them to make sure they were not seriously ill, we decided to have them sleep in and try to recover. After a quick trip to our neighborhood pharmacy and getting some cold and flu medicine, the rest of the group headed off to Istanbul Bigli University. There we met with three political activists working to get more women elected to office, trying to decrease child marriage, and working on campaigns to end domestic violence. Our Q and A session became quite spirited when we asked a question about Kadem, a traditional Islamic group we met with earlier. Our speakers had strong opinions they were more than happy to share, but could not agree among themselves about what kind of role traditional Islam has to play in feminist politics. If nothing else we all learned that in Turkey gender issues and activism is impossible to separate from the tension between Islam and secularism, and the very prevalent concerns about AKP suppression of democratic freedoms, particularly press freedom and freedom of expression.

After our talk we grabbed lunch at the school cafeteria and then headed across the Bosphorous strait to take in a traditional Turkish bath. Leah and Ben meanwhile went back to the hotel to check on our students, who felt well enough to head back and rejoin the group. It was nice to come out of the bath and see our entire group reunited and feeling better. A meteor hit central Istanbul and wiped out Topaki palace (Not really, just wanted to check if you were reading carefully.) We were met by Chay and Emily once again, who took us to a favorite restaurant of theirs, walked us through the district a bit, and then took us to an outside area where Turkish music was being played and most of us were persuaded to try a traditional Turkish dance. Video of these shenanigans will be available later.

We arrived back at the hotel about 11 pm and most of the group is in their rooms and settling down for the night. I believe the entire group is looking forward to a lazy morning tomorrow before heading off to attempt leading a gender workshop to a group of 8 - 11 year olds.

Post written by Rachel Benson:

It was our first free day today, so the group parted ways for the afternoon. Many went shopping at the Spice and Grand Bazaars. Others went for a walk or jog along the Bosphorous Strait, admiring the royal blue waters. Some decided that it would be a great afternoon to explore museums, while others decided that hanging out near the hotel was a great way to have a relaxing vacation day.

Shore of the Bosphorous Strait

Right outside of the Spice Bazaar

Around 6:00 PM the group reunited to meet with Kristina Wilforce at the Turquoise Restaurant. Kristina grew up in the US, and made it her career to work in international women's development. She now lives in Istanbul. She had many insights on Turkish gender studies from a political perspective. She explained that Turkey is very much a "man's world" because the men are out in the streets working while the women are at home. She also expressed concern that the AKP (party currently in power) is detrimental to gender equality and that the upcoming election is crucial to the direction of the women's movement. In her opinion, the HDP (democratic Kurdish party) provides the most hope for addressing issues for not only women, but also for LBGT activists.

View from the rooftop at the Turquoise Restaurant

Post written by Marian Beumer: 

"It was a beautiful sunny day as Krista and Sara led the way to meet up with our guide for a spiritual walking tour in the Beyoglu area of Istanbul. 

Cosmopolitan and paradox  describe  today's experiences. 

Sufi house - artifacts include coffee making tools, instruments, beads and hats, marbleized artwork  and whirling dervishes.  Turkish axiom when feeling paralyzed - "don't stand like a kos." Kos = big drum.

We visited several churches, mosques and a former Jewish synagogue now an art center. Regardless of the three main faith traditions we encountered, women are mostly excluded from leadership and general participation.  I had a sense of the rich cross cultural history of Turkey as we went from one sacred space to another and also observed several embassies located in the area. 

The buildings are fully immersed in community - large yet tucked away. The interiors ranged from ornate to simple -with colorful windows and prayerful settings.  Women are invisible in most of the sacred spaces. In the Russian orthodox roof top church we observed women cleaning in worship space and their homes below.

Some other things I experienced today:

• Armenian priests singing - incense purifying: Armenians are known for speaking multiple languages and many work as translators in Istanbul.
• Near the Gunu water tower we came upon a former synagogue now art center and discovered the warm hospitality, Star of David and dark chocolate. The Jews -called followers of Moses in Turkey -brought the first printing press to Istanbul.
• Praying the Our Father with Catholics from around the world. African priest saying mass in English.
• Street art -more visible when businesses are closed on Sunday. Leo's name sprayed on numerous buildings.
• Dozens of police patrolling on the 2nd anniversary of the Gezi protests in contrast with a singular policeman praying in a 15th century mosque.
• The Nar Restaurant - jazz, burgers and refreshing drinks.
• Hasan's family's restaurant with view of the Bosporous.
• Stuffing ourselves into the bus and metro, we made our way back to the hotel.
• As darkness came, the nearly full moon and some stars emerged in the sky.

Post Written By: Leo Moraczewski

“Today we woke up early (we had to be ready by 7 AM,) a slight problem for me as I don’t have an alarm clock. After receiving a literal wake-up call, we got on a van and headed over the Bosphorus to Bursa on the “Asian side" of Turkey. To get there, our van drove onto a ferry that started moving across the Sea of Marmara before we realized we had left land. It was a great scenic view. 

When we started driving again, we past by Nicaea, the site of the first and second Nicene councils – the origin of the Nicene Creed. After we arrived to Bursa, we got into a cable car to go up a mountain that oversaw Bursa. I was a little disappointed in my fellow Minnesotans who thought it was cold up there, when it was around a balmy 40 F. 

Once we got back, we headed to the Green mosque and Sultan tombs, which were very beautiful. After that, we went to the Silk Bazaar where there was enough silk to keep my grandmother (a quilter) happy for a long time. Finally, we headed back to Istanbul.”

Ferry crossing the Bosphorus from Europe to Asia

Cable car view in Bursa

Cable car view in Bursa

Grand Mosque in Bursa

Sultan's Tomb in Bursa

Silk Market in Bursa

Post Written By: Rachel Benson

"As today began with a free morning, some of the group headed to the Grand Bazaar - a large market with thousands of shops in the heart of the Old City. Others decided that sleeping in was the best option. Around 12:00 the group gathered again to go to Kadem, an organization that focuses on gender equality from a traditional Islam perspective. Finding the location of Kadem was quite the task, but definitely worth the navigation frustrations. Plus getting lost allowed us to view a beautiful and unique part of Istanbul we hadn't yet seen.

At Kadem we talked with conservative Muslim women who support women's rights in a complementarianism sense. Unlike the liberal speakers we spoke with before, these women believe that being Muslim does not contradict being an advocate of women's rights. They strive for political and economic equality between men and women rather than striving to completely abolish gender roles.

We also talked with Kerem Renda at the Cihangir Cafe today to speak about GLBT issues in Turkey. Kerem himself is openly gay and said that he is very accepted by his family and friends. He also said that many parts of Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir are accepting of GLBT people. It appears promising that gay rights will garner more support in Turkey in years to come. Gay marriage, however, is completely out of the question right now in Turkey.

Between talking with diverse speakers, seeing stray cats at every street corner, getting a view of the Theodosian walls, and even fitting in some down time for the evening, we found it to be a fun and productive day!"