Inter-cultural trip to Turkey
Un cadeau tombé du ciel : Inter-cultural trip to Turkey (2011)
Ok-Kyung Pak 2011-08-16, Montreal
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Introduction
Have you ever heard of the Intercultural Dialogue Institute (IDI) in Canada and intercultural trips to Turkey sponsored by it? No. It is not a travel agency. It is an NGO (www.interculturaldialog.ca), located in 9 cities of Canada with headquarters in Toronto. I heard about it in the spring of 2011 from a friend and I grabbed the opportunity for the trip, scheduled for July (1-11). I just completed the trip.
I know life is not fair, yet in everyone's life, some rare opportunities are presented. Knowingly or unknowingly, one has to recognize these opportunities presented to oneself, and make the best of them. My contact with IDI and the trip to Turkey is one of those opportunities, as I realize now when I am writing this essay. This contact was through a friend. You might say it was an accident, but I would say that my friend is one of many angels who have helped me throughout my life so far, since she brought me this unique opportunity for a new opening/direction, when I am starting a new phase of my life – retirement. Life has interesting twists, and there are many angels,when one cares to see them.
How could I have guessed that this trip was a preparation, mediated by a Catholic French woman, to allow a pilgrimage in an Islamic country for a Korean- Canadian Buddhist anthropologist in retirement, still looking for a spiritual Eldorado in this world? I have been preparing myself looking for a vocation to make the best use of the last segment of my life- search for a spiritual Eldorado, which is described in my short autobiography - a contribution to my mother's biography (published in Korea, 2010). Opinions are divided in different religious traditions on whether there is such a place as a spiritual Eldorado in this world. I would like to say that we have no choice but to construct one even if there is none, since we brought our children to this world .
A passage in the Bible justifies my search for Eldorado in this world as below: « And on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not
overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. And whatever you lose on earth will be lost in heaven » (Matthew 16:18-19).
Apparently, this passage inspired the construction of the first church carved in the rock of Antakya that spread Christianity in Cappadocia. (Cappadocia, by Jeoffrey Larmec, 2010) (see below for more on Cappadocia)
Trip in Turkey
The most fascinating aspect of Turkey for me was that it is the land of a meeting point of the West and the East. I heard about this characteristic of Turkey, but until I landed there, I did not exactly understand what it meant. I would strongly recommend that one should visit China to understand the civiliziation of the East, and visit Turkey to understand the meeting of the Eastern and Western civilizations, which was then called by the name of the Ottoman Empire.
The glory of the Ottoman Empire has declined after so many centuries and now modern Turkey is blooming with much complexities and challenges. As Rumi , a mystic Sufi 'master' wrote at his time (13th century):
Il est bon de franchir chaque jour une étape
Comme l'eau vive qui ne stagne pas
Hier s'est enfui, l'histoire d'hier elle aussi est passée
Il convient aujourd'hui de conter une histoire nouvelle
(Les Quatrains de Rumi)
We visited 5 cities (Istanbul – north west; Antalya – southwest coast; Izmir – west coast; Kayseri & Konya – central Turkey) (see a map of Turkey attached, with 5 cities marked). Our group consisted of 4 people. The group was led by a charming young man, the Executive Director of IDI. His ingenuity in finding solutions to all kinds of small problems encountered during the trip as in any group travel, his spontaniety, energy, sincerity, and a total confidence in what he was doing cannot be praised enough. Nobody can do such a job without a conviction. It was delightful to be led by him.
As for the organization of the trip, there is room for some improvement. No explanation was offered why these cities were chosen for our trip, nor the schedule of the trip, until half way through our trip. Different groups seem to have visited other cities, overlapping with some we visited. However, in retrospect our itinerary made sense, since each of these cities allowed us to see and taste , within a limited time, different geographical features , different cultures, religions and civilizations that inhabited this vast land. I have been always attracted to Turkey, but most of all Istanbul, since Turkey was for me synonymous with Istanbul., an ancient, cosmopolitan city from the period when it was called Constantinople. The rest of Turkey did not mean much to me. Now I became aware of my profound ignorance of this country, the region and its history. Since I came back from the trip, I
have been complementing my knowledge on Turkey, by reading history books, novels and tourism books. It is simply fascinating.
Some of the places and historical sites we visited
We arrived in Istanbul on Friday night. Immediately early next morning we flew to Antalay - a southern coastal city.
Antalay:
This is a resort area for the Turks as well as people from the region. This visit allowed us to start our trip in a real holiday mood. We spent the entire weekend there. The hotel was very comfortable, the sea beautiful. Our charming guide - executive director of the IDI contacted his uncle who has a small family run tourist business on the beach. Luckily, he did not have any reservation of his boat by tourists, and offered us a motor boat excursion along the coast. It was an imemorable afternoon. The boat was equipped with a mongolfare, and when the motor speeded up, the mongolfare attached to the boat flew high in the blue sky. Some of us adventured to fly on it. We even swam for 10 minutes in the beautiful, immense blue Meditarenean sea. We were small dots in the immense space of the blue sea simmlessly connected by the blue sky.
Ephesus in the City of Izmir:
From Antaly we flew to Izmir, which is in the western part of Anatolia, to see the
ruins of Ephesus from Roman era. Ephesus is near the historical town of Seljuk, between the cities of Aydin and Izmir.
As one enters the ruins, it is not difficult to imagine the historical past of the city- that of the Roman era, when Ephesus was the capital of five hundred Anatolian towns. This was after the period in which Homer wrote his immortal works, but coincides with the time in which St. John lived and died. Two important figures in Christian religion – St. Paul and St. John lived in Ephesus, attracting the interest of Christians all over the world even now.
The glory of Ephesus at its height is described by Naci Keskin (Ephesus, 2011) as below:
« At that time you could see the stairs of the colossal theatre from the sea far away, and the huge gleaming columns of the temple of Artemis, which once used to blind people with their beauty. About 250,000 people used to live in this famous city where the most skilful artisans and rich merchants gathered together. ....Sportmen, musicians and theatre players used to attract people from the surrounding area, and apectators from as far away as Jerusalem and Athens as well....The ruins of Ephesus are magnificent. Though hundreds of years have passed, and in spite of the ravages of time, they have survived to the present day, and they still preserve their grace and elegance. (p.3).
The Cappadocia region-another planet:
From Izmir, we flew to Kayseri in central Turkey. Göreme is situated between the cities of Kayseri and Nevsehir. This area is the Cappadocia region. The alttitude of Nevsehir is between 500-1000m, and most of the geologial and historical wonders that we saw in this area, such as unique valleys, elongated mushroom shape fairy chimneys, rock dwelling churches, underground cities, and open air museums are near this city. The region looks more as though it belongs to a different planet other than Earth.
Jeffrey Lamec's description of the pre-historic state of this region helps to evoke the geological formation and scenery of Kayseri and its surroundings with volcanic layers, rock canyons and underground cities, which are completely different from other cities we saw earlier. Lamec writes (Cappadoccia, 2010: 3-5):
« Millions of years ago, during the 3rd geological period, Mid-Anatolian Plateau was an inner sea surrounded by forests and plains, which were not higher than 500 meters. In the south, between Lycaonai (northeast of Konya) and the Taurus
Mountains range, a series of volcanoes appeared as a result of the movement of the Taurus Mountains. The continuous eruptions of the mountains in this area have structured Mid-Anatolian Plateau with masses of lava and ash that are 200 meters in height. In the 4th geological era (two million years ago), the earth went through climatic changes that included four different ice ages. It is believed that the long- lasting presence of glaciers from the ice age in Asia Minor is the reason why civilizations did not inhabit this region. With the end of the ice ages climate
became milder and in Cappadocia, especially around Konya and Aksaray, several
lakes appeared. Ash, sandstone, clay, basalt and ignimbrite, soft tufa and other
minerals that make up the volcanic layers eroded by natural forces and formed the unique rock formations that are only seen in Cappadocia. Soft tufa stones and
layers were affected differently by the erosion process. .....
During the times of the Roman Empire, the people of Cappadocia chiseled rocks in order to create hiding places from the Roman tax collectors. During the reign of Emperor Septimus Severus (born in Kayseri today) economical revival occurred. Christians of Anatolia built monasteries and churches out of sight in Ihlara and
Gôreme in 4th Century by making use of the soft tufa rocks. During this time,
Aksaray and Kayseri turned into important religious centers. »
Göreme valley and the rock churches, now called Open Air Museum of Göreme,
was one of the significant centres in early Byzantine times. Towards the 11th century, a total aristocratic period began in church art. The paintings in this period, done by accompolished artists working for the emperor, are very different from the early Byzantine era. The fresco paintings on walls and ceilings of rock churches we saw were most interesting. We visited one of these rock churches – St. Barbara Church.
basalt
Underground cities of Cappadocia
These underground cities were most fascinating. Some places were so low and narrow that one has to bend 90 degrees to pass through the tunnel. It reminded me of tunnels I saw in Vietnam, built by the Vietcongs near Saigon, during the Vietnam war in order to resist the American soldiers.
The Cappadocia region was occupied by different cultures in the course of its history. People who normally dwell in houses would move into these underground caves with their domestic animals for security purposes. There are apparently a total of 200 dwellings that are known in the area. Common characteristics of the underground cities are long stables on the first floor, where all the animals were kept; long carved chimneys for air conditioning and communication between dwellings; dining room, bedrooms, kitchen with stone stoves, chapels and wineries; as well as toilets and septic wells. We visited one of these underground cities.
The Silk Road and carawanserais:
We drove from Kayseri towards Konya on what used to be called the 'Silk Road'. On the way we stopped at a carasanserai and attended a Whirling Dervish Dance Ceremony. It was most fascinating to see an elaborately decorated, imposing stone building in the middle of nowhere.
All of us heard and read about the silk road in our history book. The transportation of silk and spice, as well as other products of the east, in caravans to the west created the famous silk Road trade ways that extended from China to Europe. The Silk Road crossed Anatolia from one side to the other. It not only provided a means to transport commercial goods and people, but also the opportunity for the exchange of culture between the east and the west. During the Seljuks' rule, there were three key elements of trade: roads, caravans, and caravanserais. They symbolyzed the guarantee of the state over the commercial transportation with their castle-like appearances, decorated with rich stone ornaments and well- planned interior designs. There were rooms around the courtyard that were used as bedrooms, kitchens, baths, storage rooms, and toilets. Aside from securing the transporation of goods and travelers, they also created a channel of communication between cultures. Research shows that there were nearly 200 caravanserais in Anatolia. They were built 30-40 km from each other. We visited one of these caravanserais – Saruhan and attended a solumn Semâ ceremony.
The Semâ (whirlying Dervish dance) ceremony at Saruhan
I have always dreamed of seeing « whirling dervish dance », of which I have read about in Rumi's writing. This dream came along. It was a solemn, elegant ceremony, full of symboilism and meaning. It is said that « The Semâ ceremony
represents a mystical journey of man's spiritual ascent through love, deserts his ego, finds the truth and arrives to the ' perfect' ». In addition to the whirlying dance we saw, our visit to Saruhan presented to me another quite unexpected reflection. When we bought our tickets for the dance ceremony, we were given a leaflet. On it were a brief explanation of the dance, photos of the Dervish dancers and Rumi's seven counsels, which are:
1.In generosity and helping others, be like a river.... 2.In compassion and grace, be like the sun...
3.In concealing others' faults, be like night....
4.In anger and fury, be like the dead....
5.In modesty and humility, be like the earth... 6.In tolerance, be like a sea...
7.Either exist as you are or be as you look.
Every member of our group was very much moved by Rumi's seven counsels. Particularly the first one – be like a river in generosity and helping others- penetrated into my heart. When I read the word « river », instantly my pen name 'cloud-river' came to my mind, and I felt like I was struck by Rumi. I gave myself this name as an orientation of my life -detachment from all and everything, like cloud and river which flows without attachment. I am realizing now that the word 'river' in my name symbolizing 'detachment' reflects my profound disappointment with humanity. By detaching myself from the weakness and ugliness of humanity, I would have less disappointment and judgement of the others. On the other hand, the word 'river' in Rumi's counsel symbolizes abundance of generosity and giving to the others. The focus here is 'the other', while the river in my name focuses on myself – my disappointment with the others. The largeness of Rumi's spirit filled my heart.
Konya
Mawlana Museum (where Rumi's tomb is located) was the rose garden of the Seljuk Palace in Konya. The rose garden was still there. Apparently it was presented as a gift to Rumi's father by the Seljuk Sultan. Rumi's father was a famous scholar from what is now known as Afghanistan. He migrated to Kony escaping the invasion of Mongols in Afghanistan. Rumi's father, Rumi himself (died in 1273) and his son are buried there. The museum, displaying religious relics, was very beautiful. I was very much moved, realizing that here finally I meet Rumi, quite unexpectedly.
Istanbul
Finally we came back to Istanbul, flying from Konya. It was the last stage of our trip and we spent four days there. We visited Saint Sofia Basilique, one of the majestic remains of the Constantinople period (now called Istanbul), which was the capital of the oriental Roman Empire for almost 1000 years. Constantinople then was the richest city of Christianity. We also visited the famous blue mosque, Dolmabahçe Palace, Topkapi Palace, some of the 9 hills of the city, Spice Bazar, and crossed the famous Bosphorus by a ferry.
The time immemorial Spice Bazar was more fascinating for me than anything else, since this was and still is one of the places, where common people (not sultans) conducted their trade and wove their daily life. We visited one of the spice stores, whose owner is a member of the IDI. We were invited to come up to the upper floor of the store. This upper floor of a tiny store had a dome like ceiling painted with flowers and plants, which looked much more spacious than the actual space with its dome. With a much cooler temperature than the street, this space was like an oasis, offering a refuge from the noise and business of downstairs. After having visited majestic palaces and mosques displaying an overwhelming wealth and power of the rulers of different periods, I was relived to see and admired the ingenuity and simple aesthetics of the common people, not so wealthy as sultans. It was a breath of fresh air.
I will always remember the most delicious Turkish coffee and 'turkish delights' along with dried apricots covered with nuts offered to us at this oasis. Our mouth and eyes were filled with pleasure. Each of us was also offered with a gift of turkish delights, which delighted our hearts.
People we met and institutions visited:
We also visited a number of institutions in Istanbul, such as a TV station, a university, several high schools, an association of journalists, and a hospital. We were also invited by families in their houses for supper. These meetings at individual homes and institutions allowed us to have a glimpse of the family life in Turkey, their very strong family oriented values, their social ethos and the outlook to life of the professionals at their workplaces. Every single person we met was very clear about their life objectives and had a strong commitment to them. Their objective in life , we were told, is to bring a peace to the world and live together with others of different cultures, faiths, ethnic origins and nationalities. No wonder. It is a difficult but a noble objective in this country and region, which cradled so many different civilizations and conflicts\conquests. We were meeting members or volunteers of the IDI. These objectives are also those of IDI.
In addition to the organized meetings with people, I also met people on the street. What is most fascinating was the warm current overflowing from people on the street, when our eyes met. Some women and young girls even asked my permission to take photos of myself and also together with them. This never
happened to me (not even in my country of origin - Korea), with one exception (in Chili with an indigenous man who looked like a Korean), in all those numerous countries where I visited. I did not need Rumi's poem (see below) to feel that I came from the same origin as they.
Le coeur est un jardin secret ou se cachent des arbres
Il manifeste cent formes, mais il n'a qu'une seule forme C'est un océan immense sans limites et sans rives
Cent vagues s'y brisent, les vagues de chaque âme.
(Les Quatrins de Rumi)
Place of Gifts and food-offering in Turkey
Whenever we visited – homes or organizations- we were always offered gifts, after a meal or coffee\tea. From this pattern, we gradually learned that gifts and offers of food are very important in Turkey, and an essential part of social life. We were told to bring small gifts when we left Canada, but we were embarassed sometimes to offer such small gifts. Gifts and offers of food (meal) are an essential part of social life in Asia in general, but Turkish gifts and meals were overwhelming. We were hoping to receive a suitecase to put all of the gifts we received, but it did not happen.
Rumi's Teaching & followers: F. Gullen & IDI
Gradually, I realized that all these families we met and institutions visited are supporters\partners and volunteers of the contemporary Gullen Movement in Turkey and \or volunteers of the IDI in Canada. The core principle of the Gullen Movement is « respect for humankind ». Gullen wrote:
« Loving and respecting humanity merely because they are human is an expression of respect for the Almighty Creator. The other side of the coin, loving and showing respect to only those who think the same as one thinks, is nothing but egotism and selfworship. More than this, it is irreverent and self-conceited
behavior to hurt the feelings of others who may not think exactly as we think, but who still are on the same main road with us in their toughts and visions (more on Gullen, see James C. Harrington, Wrestling with Free Speech, Religious Freedom, and Democracy in Turkey: The Political Trials and Times of Fethullah Güllen, 2011
As I understand it, Gullen's vision arises from teachings of Jalaludin Rumi, who taught and spread a message of love transcening the boundaries of time and space. In Rumi's own words, he expressed the one origin of the humanity in his poems as below:
Je viens de cette âme qui est à l'origine de toutes les âmes
Je suis de cette ville qui est la ville de ceux qui sont sans ville
Le chemin de cette ville n'a pas de fin, Va, perds tout ce que tu as
C'est cela qui est le tout. (Les Quatrins de Rumi)
The relevance of Rumi's teaching to everybody (even non-Muslims) is pointed out by a contemporary US educated psychocologist as follows (Michaela M. Ozelsel, Rumi resonates through the Ages, pp.34-42, in Rumi & his Sufi path of love, ed. By M. Fatih Çitlak – Hüseyin Bingül, 2011):
« ...there will always be things in life that we cannot alter no matter how hard we try.... If we are Muslims, then we know: If the ego urges us to complain, do not complain; rather give thanks instead. »
But how can we convey this insight to non-Muslims? According to Ozelsel, Rumi guides the way as follows:
« This is the way of dervishes. When the mind wants to complain, do the opposite
– give thanks. Exaggerate the matter to such a degree that you find within yourself a love of what repels you. Pretending thankfulness is a way of seeking the love of God »
Epilogue:
All I saw and heard during our trip in Turkey are very familiar words and notions that I have been struggling with in my life. I never expected to meet Rumi in Turkey, since my limited knowledge of Rumi was that he was born in what is called now Afghanistan.My 10 day trip was an intense lesson on history of Turkey and the region, a re-encounter with Rumi in a completely unexpected way in a modern setting of Turkey and a re-capitulation of my life outlook/philosophy, and an opening of a new direction for the future. It turns out that my trip to Turkey was a pilgrimage to Rumi's land. I am so filled with awe and blessings I received from people I met and places I visited during my trip that I did not have to keep the carpet I bought, although I had long hoped to find such a carpet. I hope my daughter who received it as a gift receives the same blessing through the carpet coming from Turkey.
END
Intercultural Dialogue Institute (IDI) is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to advance social cohesion via(through) personal interaction by promoting respect and mutual understanding among people of all cultures and faiths through dialogue and partnership.
Intercultural Dialogue Institute aims to promote enduring interfaith and intercultural cooperation, tolerance and dialogue by sharing our differences and similarities in an effort to enhance civil society, to promote the development of human values, and to advance diversity and multiculturalism in the society.
The Institute aims to eliminate or reduce false stereotypes, prejudices and unjustified fears through direct human communication. By this mission IDI aims to contribute to improvement of diversity, pluralism and multiculturalism throughout Canada.
In this regard, IDI organizes social, educational and cultural activities such as lectures, seminars, conferences, discussion forums, luncheons, informative dinners, programs for students and youth, intercultural exchange trips, courses, outreach programs.
IDI was formed in 2010 as a joint effort of several organizations and currently have 11 chapters* and regional office in major cities of five Canadian province.
* GTA branch of IDI was established with the name Canadian Interfaith Dialogue Centre in 2005. It has then changed its name to Canadian Intercultural Dialogue Centre. Until July 2013 it was known as IDI Toronto. In July 2013 it was re-branded as IDI GTA to represent the whole Greater Toronto Area.
IDI Introduction Video
History
Intercultural Dialogue Institute (IDI) grew out of the need to address the question, “How can citizens of the world live in peace and harmony?” From this question a conversation took root and began to grow. The founding members of the IDI knew from personal experience that a discussion on cultural differences did not have to digress into confusion, fighting, and anarchy. On the contrary the founding members understood that peace could be achieved by sharing different perspectives by listening to each other from the space of love, respect, tolerance, mercy, and compassion.
Headquartered in Toronto, Intercultural Dialogue Institute currently has branch offices and sister organizations in nine cities throughout Canada. The people who initially thought about the necessity founded Intercultural Dialogue Institute were Turkish Canadians; however, our members increasingly come from diverse cultures, faiths and nations. Intercultural Dialogue Institute welcomes especially members and volunteers from diverse traditions, faiths, races and nations.
Principles
- We seek and welcome the gift of diversity.
- We respect the differences among religions and cultures.
- We maintain the highest standards of integrity, ethical conduct, as well as accurate disclosure of information.
- We honor the richness and diversity of all languages, religions and cultures.
- We value constant positive action based on universal values such as love, respect, tolerance, mercy, and compassion which are crucial for healthy dialogue in a diverse university environment.
- We respect the uniqueness of each religion, and differences of practice or belief.
- We have no one particular agenda and no inherent ideology, other than a genuine concern for the spiritual quality and welfare of life on Earth.
- We make efforts to be absolutely inclusive, and to deny participation to no one.
- Our members are entirely free to disagree on matters of belief, but join together to act in a common spirit of friendship and mutual respect.
- We are committed to universal values of democracy and human rights.
- We act from sound ecological practices to preserve our world for future generations.
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