We had a wonderful time with Marc and Connie on the start to their Turkey travels. Having good friends visit us from afar always means so much to us. Unfortunately, there was a bit of political unrest while they were here due to ISIS activity along the border, but it didn't seem to hamper their visit. Protests are something we've grown accustomed to, but I'd rather our visitors avoid. We spent a day in Karikoy, one of our favorite areas on the Asian side and explored Istikal Caddesi. We also took a trek to the Museum of Innocence, designed by Omar Pamuk while writing his novel. I mistakenly thought we had read it for book club- ooops. I think Marc could have avoided that stop on the travel itinerary. We also took them to a traditional Mahane in Cicek Pasa (the flower passage). From their travels, they experienced a taste of Turkish culture and dipped their toes into the maze of Istanbul. We're sure thankful for their friendship. Glad that they left with some stories to tell of their adventures.
This past weekend we took a trip with Linda and Craig over to Troy and Gallipoli which are located just across the Sea of Marmara. Linda is the deputy principal for the primary school and her and her husband were keen to travel with us to this area. We ended up hiring a car and driving, for the first time in Istanbul, from our place here in Ortakoy to the sea port. After traveling on the ferry for about two hours we landed in Bandirma and then drove for about three hours down to Troy which is located just below the entrance to the Dardanelles. Troia (Troy) is famous for the Trojan Horse described in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, but was also a well established civilization for hundreds of years. After Troy, we attempted to catch a ferry over to Bozcaada which is a small island just off the coast a little further south of Troia, but we missed the ferry so the girls just spent some time playing with some puppies that were there by the port. We then headed back to our place in Canakkale which is closer to the entrance to the Sea of Marmara. After a wonderful dinner and stroll along the coast, we headed off for bed and an early start the next morning. The following day we then hired a guide and traveled over to Gallipoli which is the site of a series of battles that took place in 1915. At that time, the Allied forces were attempting to invade Turkey through the Dardanelles which then would allow them to invade Constantinople (modern day Istanbul) and also have control of the Bosporus and access to the Black Sea. The Turkish forces were headed up by Mustafa Kemal who was at the time a 25 year old lieutenant for the military. Despite numerous attempts and a great loss of life by Australian, New Zealand, British, French, Italian and Turkish forces, Gallipoli was never taken over and the Allied ships were not able to travel up the Dardanelles. This victory vaulted Mustafa Kemal into the spotlight in Turkey and eventually resulted in his movement into politics as the future leader of Turkey. It was a full weekend, but we enjoyed the trip and were once again thankful for where we are currently located and how easy it is to access some amazing places in the world. This is a note from Asli who works at MEF IS. She has explained the Kurban Bayram holiday...
On Saturday the 04th November 2014 the entire Muslim world will start celebrating the second holy festival on the religious calendar. Saturday is the first day of Bayram – we call it that way in Turkish – where all Turkish people will celebrate and enjoy the holiday for the next 4 days. On Kurban Bayramı – or the Sacrifice Festival – unlike Ramazan Bayramı there has been no fasting before the festival. The common practice for this bayram is that all Muslims around the world are sacrificing an animal - usually a cow, hen, chicken or sheep - to share with all that are in need. Even though there is a difference in practice with Ramazan Bayramı the idea behind it is the same: To share the blessings with all around us and to cherish how lucky we have been to reach all we need. The common feature of Ramazan and Kurban Bayramı is the candies! It is a tradition to give out candies during this time just like Ramazan Bayramı. In this respect we may call it very close to the “Trick or Treat” fun in Halloween except here we have no costumes or trick or treat. So be ready! You may have some pretty dressed children knocking on your door for some candy. It is not only limited with candies but if you have nice Turkish neighbors and if you decide to visit them during Kurban Bayramı, I assure you will be served with all kinds of traditional Turkish food including Dolma (stuffed grape leaves with olive oil), börek and baklava! I hope you all have a very good and relaxing time during this long Bayram break we have!!! |
AuthorChrista Keppler Archives
July 2015
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