From Gretchen

GSE friends on the Bosphourus between Europe and Asia Minor

We have finished our experience of a lifetime.  I cannot begin to tell you what a joy it was to share this experience with four such fun, professional people.  John, Kimetta, Lee and Sarah – you are the best.  I KNOW there has never been nor will there ever be a better GSE team.  I hope you are enjoying our blog as much as we have enjoyed our trip to Istanbul.  We would like to thank Rotary International and Rotary District 6950 for this incredible opportunity.   A  special thanks to Carl Brody here in the US and Asli Yanardag in Istanbul for being the people who made it all happen.  It was perfect.  A picture is worth a thousand words.  Do you agree?

The Best GSE Team Ever!

Every day was a great day.

Galatasaray, Fenebahce, Besiktas

Busy, busy days

Our Last Week- Cultural Experiences

We began our last week of cultural visits at the Istanbul Archeology Museum, where we saw a variety of sculpture dating back since the beginning of human history. The museum featured masterpieces including Greek/Roman Gods and Goddesses, Egyptian Sarcophaguses, and other pertinent historical figures.

Alexander the Great

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Egyptian Sarcophagus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a hearty lunch of kebab, we once again experienced the Grand Bazaar. Our barganing skills vastly improved as we made our final purchases before our journay home. Gretchen found the tea set she was looking for, Lee found some impressive artwork, Kimetta and Sarah stocked up on some jewelry, and John found an intricate historical dagger. Although we cumulatively spend almost an entire day there, we only saw ten percent of over 4,000 shops.

We made some new friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trying on the merchandise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jewelry Shopping

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyone need to buy a book?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next day, we took a leisurely cruise on the Bosphorus, where we took in more scenery and saw Yoros Castle, which is located on the border of the Bosphorus and Black Sea. Constructed in the 15th century, this castle was a crucial defense post to protect the city.

Yoros Castle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bosphorus and Black Sea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a wonderful suprise when our friends from the inbound Turkey team met us after a Rotary club meeting to take us to Taksim, which is well known for its nightlife.

At one of Istanbul's rooftop jazz clubs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pinar and Hande

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Istanbul skyline at night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our visit to the wonderful nation of Turkey ended with a tour of Dolmabache Palace, which served as the headquarters for the Ottoman Empire as well as the home of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Republic of Turkey. This palace features a crystal staircase, harem, and beautiful rose gardens.

Dolmabache Palace

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rose gardens were one of the features of the palace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A peacock strutting along.

Our Last Week-School Visits

Our last week in Istanbul featured visits to a variety of private schools on both the European and Asian sides of the city. Our first visit was to a school, funded and managed by the Rotary organization, that focuses on educating students who are deaf and hard of hearing. The school is extremely successful with teaching students using the “oral only” method, where they learn how to read lips and speak.

Most students' favorite subject throughout the world... lunchtime!

The school's Rotary wall.

 

 

Next, we visited Bosphorous University, which was the first university in Istanbul to offer instruction using the English language. We took a tour of its beautiful campus. During the tour, we had a sneak peek of its Cultural Heratige museum. At the end of the tour, we baarely got away without being soaked by students involved in a Super-Soaker fight.

Our next day of vocational visits consisted of visiting a cluster of prvate schools for the students of the faculty and staff of Istanbul Technical University. We were amazed by the fact that the schools all used innovative, hands-on techniques and strategies and the latest innovative techniques to teach their students. In addition, students at the high school graduate with the ability of speaking three languages; Turkish, English, and Spanish.

Kimetta speaking Spanish with members of the language department.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the science centers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The kindergarten gym.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The school cafeteria looks like a fine dining restaurant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our last school visit was rather unique, for it was a high school that was planning an International Baccalaurete program, which is a program that provides an international education to students throughout the world. We were surprised to discover that in addition to meeting the faculty and touring the school, we were to had our brains picked. We were video interviewed on our thoughts and feelings of education in the United States and Turkey for the purpose of the school’s  professional development program.

Project Based Learning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What an amazing classroom!

 

The Princes Islands

We had the enjoyment of taking a day-long excursion to the Princes Islands! The Princes Islands is a group of nine islands located off of the coast of Istanbul on the Sea of Marmara. This is one of the rare occasions where we were not faced with the hustle and bustle of traffic in Istanbul. Cars are not allowed on the island; one must get around on foot, horse and buggy, or bicycle.

Our exploration of the two largest islands began with a seafood feast on the island of Buyukada, which is literally translated into “large island”. Our feast consisted of calamari, octopus, and sea bass. Of course, we ended by having chai and Turkish coffee.

They make us work way too hard!

The octupus was delicious!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch, we took a not-so leisurely horse and buggy tour of the island. Unlike the horse and carriage tours in the United States, where one relaxes on a romantic ride at a slow pace, Turkish carriage drivers believe that they are Nascar drivers at the Daytona 500. We held onto our hats, and anything else that was possible to hold onto, as our two carriages raced to see who would make it to the finish line first.

Selda and Gretchen- hanging on for dear life!

 

Shouldn't the driver be keeping his eyes on the road?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After our tour of the “large island”, we headed to Heybelida, where Gretchen watched a local futbol game while the rest of the team hiked up a large hill to a national park to take in some scenery. On the way back from the park, we were once again joined by a large group of students, who were on a field trip and were dying to practice their English on us. Needless to say, their English was way better than our Turkish.

A scenic view from the park.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the middle of a field trip.

 

We want to take the opportunity to thank Selda, who stepped in once again to be our guide for the day for the second time on this trip. We miss you! You are in our thoughts!

The Whirling Dervishes

Lee and Sarah’s host families took them to a showing of the Whirling Dervishes in Taksim. The Sema ceremony is a spiritual journey in which participants seek union with God. The religious ceremony takes place in Konya each December, but many theaters provide showings for visitors of Istanbul, as it has become a popular tourist attraction.

The ceremony consists of four selams or salutes. The first selam is the birth of truth by way of knowledge. The second selam expresses the rapture of witnessing the splendor of creation. The third selam is the transformation of rapture into love; the sacrifice of mind and self to love. It represents complete submission and communion with God. The fourth selam is the semazen’s coming to terms with his destiny and his return to his task in creation. In the fourth selam, the sheikh enters the circling dervishes, where he assumes the place of the sun in the center of the circling planets.

A Historical Tour of Istanbul

We spent one of our cultural days taking a nice long stroll down throughout the city streets with the help of a Rotarian who is an expert on the history of Istanbul. Highlights of our journey included touring two churches, a restaurant converted from a British jail, and a tour of some old apartments. Our journey through the city ended with yet another back-breaking journey up the stairs of Galatta Tower (Actually, we took the elevator, but ıf anyone asks, we climbed up the tower).

Walking through Takism with our guide. No, Lee is not the guy on the right side of the picture wearing the white shirt.

This is Lee. In front of Sent Antuan Kilisesi

Sarah chilling out.

An old apartment buıldıng ın Takısm.

Galatta TowerWe had chaı with these gentlemen.The Bosphorous on a sunny day.

Istanbul School Vısıts

On Monday, we had a day jam-packed with vocational visits to many different sites throughout Istanbul. These visits included a cooperative owned and managed by parents of students with intellectual disabilitıes, a preschool that focused on the education of students who were deaf or have hearing impairments, a public vocational school focused on teaching employability skills to students with intellectual disabilities, and a high school designed for advanced students.

Students working on their math skills at the cooperative.

Schedule of daily activities at the preschool.

Can you guess what the word at the top of this poster means?

Making wooden furniture at the vocational high school.

The Percussion Club in action!

Demet is groovin to the beat of the drums!

New Friends

Our favorite part about our Turkish adventure is the people! Turkish people are so hospitable! We are very thankful for the time and energy put into planning our stay. We are especially grateful for our tour guides and host families who take time out of their busy schedules to show us around the many schools, historical places, bazaars and other points of interest. The Turkish Rotary clubs have taken care of us and we look forward to their visits to Florida, where we can return the favor:) Below are some pictures of a cocktail & dinner party thrown in our honor.

Cocktails with our new friends!

Just another evening on the Bosphorous…

Trying not to spoil our dinner…

Dinner with Queen Elizabeth:)

360 Degrees of Galata Tower

The Galata Tower was built in 1348 and was the highest construction within the city walls of the Genoese colony, called Galata. It was first used by an elite branch of the Turkish Army and later by a renowned Turkish astronomer as an observatory. Fires and wind destroyed parts of the tower throughout the years, but it still stands and provides beautiful views of Istanbul’s Old City.

Playing Tourist in Istanbul

We spent Thursday the 21st playing tourist around the old city of Istanbul (on the European side) seeing the sights we have only read about and saw in Movies.  No amount of words can adaquately describe what it was like to be in those places.  All we can say that is it was an experience of a lifetime and hope the pics, descriptions and our stories upon our return will encourage more people to visit.  This country and city is definitely on the must see (and return to) list!

Hagia Sophia is a former basilica, later a mosque, now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture. It was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years. The current building was originally constructed as a church between 532 and 537 A.D. on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian.

Ornate professions of faith

Intricate glasswork

You can’t help but feel reverent here.

Even ancient labaryths lie within

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is the national mosque of Turkey, and is a historical mosque in Istanbul. The mosque is known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior.  It was built between 1609 and 1616, during the rule of Ahmed I.  We were honored to be allowed in while prayer services were taking place. The sense of reverence and peace was overwhelming.

 The Topkapi Palace is a palace in Istanbul which was the official and primary residence in the city of the Ottoman Sultans, from 1465 to 1853.

The Basilica Cistern is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul The cistern, located South West of the Hagia Sophia was built in the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I.  One of the mysteries of the cistern are the Madusa heads in one of corners of the cistern.  Where are they from and why are they there?