Elon Honors in Turkiye January 2025

  For the last full day of our travels in Türkiye, the class and I ended up going to visit the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art. In order to first reach our destination, we made use of the public transportation available in Istanbul and rode a funicular. For those unaware, a funicular is a railway transport that relies on a cable, sort of like a cable car. The difference between a funicular and a cable car is that for a funicular, it travels diagonally up and down, on a slope. Due to how we started at the top of a hill, we used the funicular to go down, meaning we were able to lean backwards in the car and not fall. (Image from the inside of a funicular car, as you can see the car is slanted going downwards compared to the outside). To get to the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, the class traveled through an area called Galata port, which is right beside the Bosporus strait. Galata Port actually resembled more of an upscale shopping center than a port, but my class was surprised to le...

  Exploring Istanbul      Istanbul is a city unlike any other that I have seen. It's hailed as a meeting point of continents, cultures, and histories. Walking through its streets makes me feel like every building and cobblestone has a story to tell. Today we explored several places that represent the nature of this city. In my opinion this seems to highlight its layered identity and the resilience of its people. From ancient watchtowers to vibrant religious communities, each site offered a unique perspective on Istanbul’s past and present.   Galata Tower Our first stop this morning was the Galata Tower. Galata Tower      The tower is one of Istanbul’s most iconic landmarks, towering above the city like a silent guardian. Originally built in 1358 during the Latin occupation, it has seen many centuries of change, from Byzantine rule to Ottoman dominance and the rise of modern Turkey.        The tower was initially const...

Omar always knows where the camera is. These are camels Mike wouldn't let us ride. Here we are at the Troglodyte houses. Oh, Sam was late (what?!) It's time for carved churches: let's go Goreme! Can we PLEASE go look inside the carved churches? ...not til Lauren is done taking some notes. This church required a steep ascent. So did this one. Why am I following THIS group around all morning? There's Clare and Julia Oof, not you guys again! We were apparently hike-deprived. Ari and Lauren catch a sweet view. Julia "anything for the shot" Chan will have a lot of images to sort through. "Dear Mr and Mrs Tricker, today Sam took off and..." Looking back at Dolmabahce Splendid view of the Bosporus  Amelia is like "Where even IS the Bosporus?" Galata Tower makes for merriment. Saba and Sandy repose in Galata Square Sasha secretly hopes Saba will start whirling...  

 Hey everyone!!! Today we visited the the Refugee and Asylum Seeker Assistance and Solidarity Association in Sultanbeyli. Here, we learned a bit about what the organization does before then moving to the Women's Cooperative to eat lunch made by both refugee and Turkish women alike.  However, before getting into all that, we should know a bit about refugees and their significance in the country of Türkiye. A refugee is someone who is forced from their own country to seek refuge in another. They could be fleeing persecution, war, natural disasters, or other events. Because Türkiye straddles the border between Europe and Asia, it has an interesting position regarding refugees. For those fleeing their country, it is often used as a way of transit from one continent to the other. However, it also takes in a large number of refugees itself.  Currently, Türkiye is host to about 4 million refugees. Of that number, over 3 million of those people are from Syria. That is over half o...

Welcome to day 10!  We started the day by going back to the Yedikule Fortress which we had tried to visit the first day but were kicked out of.  However, we were able to successfully enter the fortress today and learn about the infamous Golden Gate.  Here, kings and emperors were welcomed into the city of Constantinople. We also visited the Rumeli Fortress later in the day, showing how both forts were crucial in the conquest of Constantinople in 1454 considering it landlocked the Byzantines. Between these two fortress visits we also spent a lot of our time looking around the Dolmabahce Palace, whilst is what we will be exploring for most of today's blog! Originally, Topkapi Palace was the home of the Sultans. In 1843, construction on a new residence would begin near the Bosphorus and would last for another 13 years. This new build was able to be modernized, providing the facade that the empire was growing with their times. Even though the royal family had to stop constr...