I took this photo in the Summer of 2002 just a short distance from my favorite Turkish mosque, the Fatih Cami. I passed these shops everyday heading to TEGV, where I volunteered as an English teacher for the summer. How often do you get to see brick roads and sidewalks in a major cosmopolitan city? I love Istanbul. … [Read more...] about Turkish Shops
Istanbul
Aya Sofia
When I first visited Istanbul, Turkey, in December, 1999, the first place I wanted to see was the Aya Sofia. My hotel was in the Fatih district but I was able to catch a taxi to this building. I saw it at night but it was so beautiful. I arrived just in time for the evening call to prayer which ended the Ramadan fast for the day. In the summer of 2002, I was able to spend … [Read more...] about Aya Sofia
Turkish Education Volunteers Foundation
I had a memorable summer volunteering with the Turkish Education Volunteers Foundation (TEGV) in the summer of 2002. I volunteered as an English teacher. I had a nice assistant but we spent most of the time, it seemed, on field trips. I got to see much of Istanbul through TEGV. The students had fun with me too. … [Read more...] about Turkish Education Volunteers Foundation
Swordsman in Istanbul
One of my most memorables times during graduate school. I spent the 2001 summer interning with TEGV in Istanbul, Turkey. During this time Turkey was in turmoil, the US was thinking about invading Iraq while the Turks, not happy about this invasion, was about to elect Tayyip Erdogan and the AK Party into government. To add to the excitement, Turkey had finished in the top 3 … [Read more...] about Swordsman in Istanbul