"The Other Side of the Night"

One of the best aspects of living and studying in another place for an extended period of time is that you're not only able to see the "tourist" side of that place, but the lesser-known, local side as well. So far this has meant that I've been able to do a lot of things (like going to one of my Turkish roommates' band's concerts in a music club in Taksim, for instance) that have definitely made my time here more special. Last week, a couple of friends and I went to a photography exhibit that we had read about in one of the English-language dailies (http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/). The photos were taken by a taxi driver in Istanbul who works the night shift and, over the course of three years, has used his access to the streets after the sun goes down to photograph the "darker" side of the city. The images of poverty-stricken, homeless, or otherwise vulnerable people were pretty intense and at times hard to look at, but they served as good reminders of the huge contradictions that exist within Istanbul between rich and poor, modern and developing.

Going to the photo exhibit was also interesting because it was in an area of the city where earlier in the day about 6,000 people had marched in protest of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank meetings being held in Istanbul. Although we were there after the streets had been cleared of the protesters themselves, we could definitely see the results of their actions - smashed windows on nearly every bank and many other businesses, angry red spray-painted messages on walls and doors, and lots of police in full riot gear. We felt safe, but there was a definite tension in the air; it was the first time I (and the friends I was with) had seen firsthand what violent protest can lead to - and it wasn't pretty. The issues surrounding the IMF and World Bank are definitely complex; though a lot of economists and other observers have recently written that some of the IMF's policies did more harm than good during the recent economic downturn, it's hard to deny that both organizations have done a lot of good over the past 60+ years. Turkey itself had to enlist the help of the IMF not all that long ago during its own economic crisis, so hosting the annual meetings is a huge symbol of how far the country has come since then.

This past weekend was pretty relaxed. On Friday evening a few of us went down to Sultanahmet to see the Hagia Sophia, which was absolutely incredible. The first Christian service was held there in 537 AD (after two previous churches built on the same site were destroyed by angry mobs) and the building went on to be the largest church in the world for over 1,000 years. When the Ottomans conquered the city in 1453, the church was converted to a mosque and was significantly remodeled to fit Islamic custom (mosaics were plastered and painted over, minarets were installed, etc). In 1934 Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (more on him later) converted the building into a museum. Fortunately, extensive restoration work has been done on the church/mosque/museum over the years to reveal many of the gorgeous mosaics depicting Jesus, the Virgin Mary, angels, and other important Christian figures. Seeing elements of both Muslim and Christian religious traditions in such a huge and ancient place is really amazing - I will definitely be back!

Classes are going well, and learning more Turkish has been VERY helpful. The language is so completely different from English, especially in its grammatical structure. Making sentences sort of feels like scrambling the words into an almost completely unrecognizable order; hopefully this process will become more natural over the next few weeks!

I hope all is well at home (MN) and wherever else you are when you're reading this. I can't believe that the Twin Cities got 4+ inches of snow, especially when it's been sunny and 25 degrees (Celsius, that is!) here :) It did start to rain this evening, if that's any consolation, and should continue to do so for the next few days. Make sure to check out the new pictures in my online photo album and to leave a comment if you want to...until next time, iyi geceler!