first entry

Amandahanim and I got here on June 29th, 5 days before the start of the program. We stayed the first few nights in a hostel with an incredible view of the Bosporus, and now that the program has started, KU has put us up in a nice hotel a few blocks from Bacesiher University (i know i misspelled that but am too lazy to look it up). The university is in the banks of the Bosporus.

Our first few days here were spent hanging out and seeing some of the major sights. The most interesting of which was the Aya Sophia. It was built in 536 AD by the Emperor Justinian - just after Constantinople (that’s Istanbul’s previous name, for my friends from Missouri) became the capital of the Roman Empire. It’s the largest open structure i've ever been in, made up almost entirely of marble. It boggles my fragile little mind to conceive of how such a thing was built almost 1500 years ago. It definitely outranks the cathedrals I’ve seen in Paris and Rome in my opinion. Istanbul is rife with history: it served as the eastern capital of the Roman Empire, and after the sack of Rome as the only capital of the empire. The Aegean and Mediterranean coast of Turkey was also home to some of the most important cities in the ancient world, such as Troy and Ephesus. This place really is a meeting place of world cultures - i won't drone on any more about it, but it’s been influenced extensively by both eastern and western culture.

I had heard that Istanbul was a city comparable in modernity to the capitols of Western Europe, but I was still surprised at how cosmopolitan it is. Though it is a modern city comparable to western European cities, the distinctive eastern cultural influence makes its different from any place I’ve been. I was also struck by its aesthetic beauty. KU also had a program in Ireland this summer, and I initially planned on going there, but after experiencing a little of Instanbul, I’m extremely glad I chose to venture outside of Anglo-western world.

When a person likes a place, they always claim the people are very friendly, but in this case it REALLY is true. People go well out of their way to help you and the Turkish culture places a high premium on hospitality and generosity towards guests. The Turks you come across in everyday life all seem genuinely interested in getting to know you. In just the few days we stayed at the hostel, we made several new friends among those who worked at the hostel or café.

Class started last week, and since then we haven’t had much time to wander the city, though we did take an organized trip to the Aegean cost, Troy, and Ephesus last weekend. I’ll recount that trip in my next entry, as well as talking about having Scalia as a teacher - i will tell you that I’m enjoying the hell out of it and am still not adjusted to viewing him as my professor. I also have a few observations on Turkish history, politics, culture, government, etc., but I’ll warn you all by clearly labeling that entry so you don’t waste your time reading it if you’re just interested in updates, or you (wisely) have a policy of avoiding my personal commentary on such subjects.

Dirka dirka later dirka dirka.

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