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Anatolian Voice WINTER & SPRING 2006 > VOL. 8 > ISSUE 25 inside $ SIZ TURKCEDE NASIL DERDINIZ $ WHO IS BETTER TURK $ TRAVELLING INDIA & NEPAL $ THE OTTOMAN WOMAN 2006-07 BOARD welcome TACAM !
Transcript

Anatolian Voicewinter & Spring 2006 > vol. 8 > iSSue 25

inside $ Siz turkcede naSil derdiniz $ who iS Better turk $ travelling india & nepal $ the ottoman woman

2006-07

Board

welcome

TaCaM !

winter & Spring 2006Contents

03 preSident’S letter04 Schedule of eventS05 open Book CommunityNews PartnershipbetweenKarmanos

&NightingaleInstitute Goknar’sOpenHouse

08 fromthe tacam archiveS

08 claSSiFiedS 15 BaSkandan meSaj22 the turkiSh kitchen23 editor’S letter23 Board memBerS

10

12

16

Siz Turkcede Nasil derdiniz 10

Who is Better Turk 12

Travelling India & Nepal 16

The ottoman Woman 20

FeaturearticleS

20

Anatolian Voice �

preSident’S letter

Dear FrienDs,

each year, we have a new group of volunteers step forward and take responsibility to help tacam move forward. they make contributions towards enlightening our community in turkish culture and heritage while ensuring close ties within the turkish-americans who live in michigan. this year, i am proud to be a part of the new board leading tacam. i pledge to our community that our goal will be to build upon the work of my predecessors by expanding the outreach of tacam to local communities as well as other organizations across the uSa. i am a believer in long-term goals. thus, my board and i will strive to build foundations for future success while addressing the immediate concerns of our dynamic community. Since its foundation, tacam has worked toward the goals of building a stronger and more unified Turkish American community and of maintaining a factual and positive representation of turkey. it goes without saying that this task can only be achieved with the full and focused participation of our members. there is a need for us to become more effectively organized in order to support each other, to promote a better image of turks and turkey and to represent the community’s interests. we should know that the best way to solidify relations between democracies is through increasing people-to-people contacts between turks and americans. our community is simply numerically too small to reach all segments of american society. therefore, we should involve everyone in our community to take part in our efforts. in the past, we had close ties with local universities and turkish student organizations. on many occasions, tacam collaborated with student groups and collectively organized cultural events together. as the new board, we will spend more time and effort understanding the current situation and taking actions to bring student organizations close to tacam, as once before. as we highlight some of the main goals for the year, you will see that most goals remain the same year after year. of course, the most important one is to increase membership. as it stands, we have around 90 members. We will have more information about our goals after our first meeting as a board. In a brief discussion after the election, the board has already established some preliminary goals and we will share them with you very soon. here a few issues that we have already discussed:

how can we, as tacam, promote turkey and turkish culture more effectively?how can we increase awareness and importance of tacam in the minds of our young generation?

how can we build stronger ties with ataa and other turkish american organizations within the united States?

how can we increase our membership?what can we do to increase event participation regardless of membership status?

i want to state that our experience is the fundamental upon which we will continue to build a strong organization. this knowledge will enable us to successfully promote our heritage, values and interests as turkish americans in michigan. we will continue to build bridges with our founding members, current members and student organizations in order to help each other and to build a strong, unified Turkish-American group in michigan. I would like to thank you again for your confidence and belief in our new board of directors.

with kind regards,

••

••

mehtap akSoy2006-2007 TACAM PRESIDENT

seetheTurkishversiononpage15

Schedule of Events�

Eventstobeannounced

11 Sunday | Father’sDayPicnic: 12:00 pm. join us for our annual day of fun at tacam’s Father’s day picnic. please meet the new Board as this is their first event of the year. There will be Turkish food, music, and exciting, fun games for the kids and adults. plus enjoy the glorious beauty of kensington park as you socialize with new and old friends. call 248.763.9544 or [email protected] to make your reservations. we have reserved a shelter for this event, the name of the picnic shelter is Baywoods, Site g. Send us your pictures!

Schedule of eventS 2006

June

July

august tBa | KirKahvesi/TeaParty: date and time to be announced.tBa | MembershipDriveattheDetroitZoo: enjoy the tacam atmosphere at the detroit zoo. remember it’s member support that keeps tacam sustainable.

September tBa | IftarDinnertBa | TravelPresentation: “around the world in 80 days” by mehpare/mete gencyuztBa | IstanbulOlgunlasmaInstituteFashionShow: organized by nurten ural13 - 16 wedneSday - Saturday | ChicagoTurkishFestival

october 21 Saturday | TurkishRepublicDayBall(actual event is 29 october)

November 3 Friday | YeniTurkuConcert10 Friday | AtatürkOratorio9 - 12 thurSday - Sunday| ATAAConvention: in washington

december 31 Sunday | NewYear’sPartyandKurbanBayramiCelebration

as always,check TaCaM.org

for the most up-do-date information and times.Please join us for our

monthly events

2007

Januaryall month & tBa | MembershipDriveandFundraisingNightfor2007CalenderYear

FebruarytBa | PresentationonotherTurkicGroups: by ahmetjan keyim

MarchtBa | TurkishNightwithDöner

recurring Events Educational / Cultural Events

turkish language classes

anatolian voice newsletter

children activities (play and learn)

career/networking event(s)

career Fair for kids

Family Financial planning

historic presentation “istanbul’un Fethi”

tBa

CUT ME OUT

Open Book �

cynthia and yuksel taskin announce the birth of their son Tarik Taskin. tarik was born at crittenton hospital in rochester, michigan, on april 4th at 8:35 pm. the baby is 21.5 inches long, 7.4 lbs. cindy and tarik are doing well.voula and jon Sonbay’s son Luke Iraklis was born on may 17th at 10:22 am and is 20 inches, 7.3 lbs.Alexander Emre was born on Friday, april 14, 2006, at 9:09 am. Both Elif and the child are doing fine after a dangerous delivery. elif would like to thank everyone for your good wishes and support during the pregnancy and after our son was born too.

••

open BookCommunity News

Tarik Taskin

Luke SonbayAlexander Emre

For immediate releaSe

LocalrealestateappraiseraddressedinternationalvaluationstandardsinTurkey

dearborn, mi | may 3, 2006, local businesswoman and real estate appraiser jumana judeh returned this week from a trip to istanbul, turkey, where she made a presentation on the importance of real property valuation standards worldwide. as the market for real estate investing becomes more global, real estate investors do not have time to analyze vari-ous financial reports based on local reporting requirements. They are demanding consistency in financial statements. judeh was invited by the appraisers association of turkey to address an audience of lenders, lawyers, accountants, government officials, and other market participants on the subject of standardizing real property valuation and reporting. The government of Turkey recently adopted consistent financial reporting practices for commercial real estate. judeh, on behalf of the appraisal institute, said, “the emerging market of turkey (continuedonnextpage)

Jumana Judeh Speaks on Importance of Property Valuation Methods

I have been questioning the value of Turkish hospitality for a month. A few weeks ago, one of my American friends told me, “no more gifts, i don’t feel comfortable.” then i went to the book signing of “tales from the expat harem”. i asked three americans who live in turkey whether they were uncomfortable with turkish hospitality. they all said “yes”. they all needed their private space… on jun 3rd, jeanette and volkan adsay had a beautiful baby shower in the townsend hotel for family and friends. tuna teyze, mine, tijen, yesim, mehtap and muge did a wonderful job at organizing the shower. the facility

and the luncheon were very sophisticated and elegant. jeanette was very pretty in her dress. after the luncheon, jeanette thanked everybody for coming. She also thanked for the turkish hospitality she had received over the years. She said turkish hospitality is not limited to the turkish food and good conversation but extended to turkish friendship. it is also seeing each other’s family’s grow over the years. it struck me then! i knew it. People with a wider worldview and self-confidence wouldn’t be offended with turkish hospitality. She is very much loved by her turkish friends, that’s why she is getting so much attention. and jeanette, thanks for embracing us and our culture! mine did a great job with music and we all danced. mine, do you

really think we need great music to dance? we would dance anyway. Beyza’s mom sang, “cile bulbulum cile” for us. thanks Berrin teyzecigim! volkan, baba to be, danced with a bunch of women. of course we documented the moment to embarrass him, later! the time was up to wrap it up but nobody wanted to leave the dance, even little eren. everybody was saying, “one more song to dance”. i bet the townsend hotel has never experienced such a baby shower! Finally, mine got smart and put, “Bir Baskadir Benim memleketim”. i cried. did you?

TEXT by MEhPARE GENCyuz

a “Conforming” baby shower

Open Book�

drs. meral & kemal göknar moved to Florida after more than 42 years in the detroit area. they have played a very important part in tacam’s history, and we will miss their presence in michigan very much. on march 25th, the entire turkish american community was invited to wish them a fond farewell and the best of luck in their new adventures. in addition, tacam had a special visitor from turkey, mehmet tomanbay, ph.d., chp ankara milletvekili, the night of the open house. he was in michigan and wanted

to meet the turkish american community.

TEXT by CIhANGIR TASDEMIR

TaCaM Says goodbye to the Göknars

with its concerted effort to join the european union has resulted in landmark discussions of valuation issues. tur-key’s efforts to improve transparency in lending and financial reporting are critical to attracting new business and investors. She, and joseph vella, mai, cre, FricS, chairman, international valuation Standards committee (ivSc), con-gratulated the appraisers association of turkey on their country’s recent adoption of the ivSc. “this is a milestone for this market because adoption of ivSc brings turkey in line with approximately 53 other countries that utilize the same standards for valuation purpose,” said vella. Jumana Judeh is president of Judeh & Associates, a property appraisal firm established in 1997. She is a certified real estate appraiser and a member of the appraisal institute. Because of her knowledge and understanding of arab culture and business customers, the Appraisal Institute named her its first Ambassador to the Middle East. Judeh was born in jerusalem and lived in ramallah, west Bank, palestine, until she moved to the u.S. in 1970. She holds a BS degree in management from purdue university, west lafayette, indiana, and an ma degree in industrial rela-tions from wayne State university, detroit.

contact judeh & associates: [email protected] [email protected]; call office 313.277.1986; fax 313.277.8634; 22952, outer drive dearborn, michigan 48124;

Open Book �

For immediate releaSe

International Collaboration to Benefit Cancer Patients in TurkeyThe Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and Metropolitan FlorenceNightingaleHospitalandCancerCenter in IstanbulEnterOne-of-a-KindAgreement

detroit, mi | today, the Barbara ann karmanos cancer institute and the metropolitan Florence nightingale hospital and cancer center in istanbul, Turkey signed a historic affiliation agreement. John C. Ruckdeschel (pictured at right), MD, president and chief executive officer, Karmanos Cancer institute, met with Bilger duruman, president and ceo, metropolitan Florence nightingale hospital and cancer center, and cemsid demiroglu, md, president and ceo, group Florence nightingale hospitals, to formally announce an international collaboration to further medical education and benefit cancer patients. The affiliation agreement will allow the Institute to provide clinical services to the physicians, staff and patients of the Center in Turkey. This unique relationship will advance the cancer-related scientific, clinical research and treatment activities for the Turkish Cancer Center. In addition, the affiliation will create an international referral system for cancer patients in Turkey, and in some cases, offer a second opinion through the institute in detroit. “Through our affiliation with the Metropolitan Florence Nightingale Hospital and Cancer Center, we plan to offer our colleagues in turkey access to advanced clinical trials and a multidisciplinary approach to cancer patient care,” said dr. ruckdeschel. he continued, “a major factor in the success of this agreement, and many international referral systems, is the degree of interaction and respect between the medical staffs. not only is it important for us, here at Karmanos and at the Center in Turkey, to have frequent and constant interaction and information exchange with one another, but we all need to be cognizant and supportive of cultural expectations and differences.”

the institute and the center in turkey will also collaborate on cancer research. patients in turkey will have access to phase ii and phase iii clinical trials offered by the institute. in the future, karmanos researchers may utilize turkish patient data for inclusion in important cancer research studies. the karmanos cancer institute and the metropolitan

Florence nightingale hospital and cancer center in turkey both have strong clinical research programs that are internationally attractive. in addition, physicians from the institute have been visiting and lecturing turkey for several years. metro detroit’s diverse population and strong middle eastern presence makes the institute a comfortable environment for patients from predominantly muslin countries. the Barbara ann karmanos cancer institute, based in midtown detroit, is committed to a future free of cancer. researchers at the karmanos cancer institute are bridging the gap between basic science and clinical studies. translational research being conducted at the institute is looking at classifying cancer based on the “molecular fingerprint” of the disease, treating each patient with a regimen specifically tailored to their form of cancer. The karmanos cancer institute, is one of 39 national cancer institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the united States. caring for more than 7,000 new patients this year at michigan’s only independent cancer hospital and conducting more than 500 scientific investigation programs and clinical trials, the Institute is among the nation’s best cancer centers. the karmanos cancer institute operates the only phase i clinical trial program in michigan, which recently received a $2.3 million grant from the national cancer institute. through the phase i program, the institute tests ground-breaking cancer drugs that become tomorrow’s standard treatments. the karmanos cancer Institute’s Phase I Program has been directly involved in the development of several revolutionary cancer-fighting drugs, including: zometa, Xeloda, iressa and oxaliplatin the institute was named in 1995 in memory of Barbara ann karmanos, wife of compuware cofounder peter karmanos, jr. john c. ruckdeschel, m.d. is the institute’s president and ceo.

Contact: Jacqueline Trost, Public Relations Specialist, Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute; call 313.576.8629; fax 313.576.8630; www.karmanoS.org.

TEXT SouRCED by ozlEM TuluNAy

International Collaboration to Benefit Cancer Patients in Turkey

theKARMANOSCANCERINSTITuTEiscommittedtoafuture

freeofcancer

Open Book�

NECC Telecom Inc. is in search for friendly full time or part time sales and customer service representatives who speaks Turkish fluently to join our team in Troy, Michigan. Experience is not required. Contact Recruiting Manager izabela: [email protected]; call 248.680.8882 ext. 274; www.neccwireless.com.

Roommate(s) Needed: 2400 ft2 located in Canton, 4 bdrms, 2.5 baths; located in a safe, upscale, quiet subdivision. closed garage parking, backyard w/patio, wireless internet in/around home, entertainment center w/ 57” tv. 17 miles to ann arbor, 13 miles to novi, 30 miles to detroit, 10 miles to metro airport. great for student or working professional. Very central location. RENT: $600/month, utilities included. No lease required! Leave anytime you want. Contact Evren: call 248.797.6256.

Luxury Condominium for Rent – Excellent Location: 2964 Signature Blvd, ann arbor, mi 48103. Built october 03, 1469 ft2, 2 bdrms, 3rd bdrm/office, 2 full bathrooms, carpet, cathedral ceilings, large kitchen w/pantry, stainless steel appliances, finished basement (3rd bdrm/office), large storage room, attached 1.5 car garage, washer/dryer, lighting fixtures, window treatments, water/sewage free. Easy on/off I-94 next to Briarwood Mall, 7 mins. downtown Ann Arbor and u-m, 22 mins. to metro airport, restaurants/shopping close by. rent: $1700/month + security deposit: 1.5 month’s rent. contact elif persinger: [email protected]; call 734.262.5366.

House for Rent – Farmington Hills: close to all freeways. located on 11 mile road near orchard lake road. Beautiful extra large lot, newly landscaped. Newly renovated, 2 bdrms, living room, family room with natural fireplace, large kichen, dining area, one bathroom, laundry room and two car garage. rent: $1150/month + security deposit; furnished, add an extra $220. contact nurten: call 248.626.8239.

2002 Dodge Neon SXT: $13,500, 93K miles. Never been in a traffic accident, clean. Driver air bag; anti-lock brakes; air conditioning; alloy wheels; am/Fm radio; cruise control; compact disc changer; compact disc player; passenger air bag; rear window defroster; am/Fm stereo cassette; power door locks; power mirrors; power windows; power steering; sunroof/moonroof. contact pinar: [email protected]; call 586.823.0978;

For photographs of the above classifieds, flyers and further information visit ‘Classifieds’ at www.TACAM.org.

claSSiFiedS

An early example of the generosity of our members, here we have a vintage score of the Turkish National Anthem donatedbyMeralandKemalGöknarin1984.

from the tacam ARCHIvES

thearticles forwinter&spring

Mustafa KeMal atatürK

o write history is as important as to make history. It is an unchanging truth that if the writer

does not remain true to the maker,then it takes on a quality that will confuse

humanity.

T

Anatolian Voice

Feature Articles10 Feature Articles 11

10

siz TurkceDe nasil DerDinizTEXT by zEyNEl AkSoy

Feature Articles10 Feature Articles 11

yillar once idi yani ben amerikaya gelmeden once 1985 oncesi gibi yillar-dan soz ediyorum, yazlikda surda burda karsilastigim yurt disindan gelen insan-lari hatirliyorum. onlara ilk sorularimdan biri hep su olurdu “orda baska turklerde varmi? nasil beraber kaynasabiliyormusunuz?.” o an insanlarin cevabindan pek bir sey cikaramazdim ama henuz kisiligi oturmamis olanlarin boburlenerek soyledigi birsey vardi (birde aksan-li konusarak)“-Benim orda turklerle pek alakam yok ki, arkadaslarim hep amerikalilar, Fransizlar, vs.. bir arada “siz turkcede nasil derdiniz duyulurdu”. o zaman bana da aslinda soracak birsey kalmiyor ve o insanla bir daha gorusemeyecegimizi cikariyordum. kabul etmek gerekir ki yabanci bir ulkede bizim daha cok o ulkenin insanlarindan arkadasimizin olmasi hem bizim yabanci dilimizin gelis-masi acisindan hemde ulkemizi tanitma acisindan cok iyi. Bu demek degildir ki turklerle bir alakamiz olmasin. iste onu benim anlamam cok zor. turklugunden ahkam kesenleri bilirim, cesitli bah-anelerle tacam a ayaklarini bile atmazlar. iste yillardir duydugum bazi tacam dan ayri kalma ba-haneleri:

onlar kendi aralarinda bir dernek kurmuslar ne yap-tiklarini bilmiyorlar

onlar sadece belli bir kesime hitap ediyorlar tacam zaten belli bir zumrenin yonetimi altinda, banane

Ben onunla takistim, bununla takistim, onlar geliyor ben gelmem

cok dedikodu oluyor ben gelmem gelince ac kaldik o kadar para aliyorsunuz ki geldik kimse ilgilenmedi bile Size bir sey soyledik (bir toplantida) kimse nin um-urunda bile olmadi

Biz zamaninda yaptik, sira baskalarinda

Sevgili dostlarim ben bunlarin hic birini uretmedim, bunlar benim duyduklarim ve bana soylenenlerden hat-irlayabildiklerim sadece. Sizce bunlar ve bunun gibi ba-hanelerle gelmemek olurmu? Boyle sebeplerden guclu bir organizasyon un buyumesini engellemek dogrumu?. aslin-da ben senelerce bu dernegin icinde hepsini yasadim ve gordum, gun oldu kizdim, gun oldu kizdirdim belki, ama herkes bilirki bunlar orda olur gecer. Bunlar dan hic biride benim sogumama sebep olmadi. konustugum bir cogu da benimle bu gorusu paylasiyor. aslinda bu grubu tekrar canlandirarak uye sayisinin artmasina yardimci olabiliriz. uye sayisinin vede olaylara katilimin artmasiyla hem tur-kiyenin hemde turklerin adini daha iyi tanitma imkani bulacagiz. Bunu ilerletmek her birimize bagli. Sonucta ne olacakda demeyin, kendi ozunu kaybeden bir insanin kendinden baska kimseyede faydasi olmaz zaten.

••

•••••

tacam a lutfen soyle bir bakin, ve herseyden once bu dernegi kuranlara icten icten bir tesekkur edin. kuruculardan birini gordugunuz zaman birde onlarin yuzlerine karsi hosnutlugunuzu belli edin

lutfen. Bakin bugun 150 kisi den 1000 dolar para toplay-amiyoruz ve onlarin sayesinde 1 milyon dolar degerinde bir yerin sahibiyiz. Bunu en iyi sekilde degerlendirmek de uyelerin yani hepimizin sayesinde gerceklesecek. Birde su konuya deginmek istiyorum. Bana kalsa tum uyelerin sira ile secimsiz tacam in board unda yer alma-larini isterdim. Sonucta cok fedakarlik isteyen bir is bu ve boylece herkes hem hizmet etmis olur hemde hizmet eden-leri daha iyi anlamis olurlar. Burda gorev alanlar her uye gibi yillik odeyip ve her faaliyetin de parasini veriyorlar. yani bir kisim insan bu is icin nice fedakarliklar yapiyor ve bu bile tacam birilerinin eli altinda diye goruluyorsa cok yanlis. ayrica toplantilara gelip, secimlere gelip propa-ganda yapmakla, secilen insanlari elestirmekle kimse bir sey kazanamaz aksine basta kendisine olan saygi olmak uzere cok sey kaybeder. Sonucta gorev alanlara guven ver-mek gerekirken baltalamak hos birsey degil. unutmay-alimki herkes ozel yasantisindan fedakarlik yaparak bu calismalar icine giriyor. gorus ayriliginin olmasi kadar dogal bir sey olamaz. tacam in gidisatiyla ilgili kuskulariniz ve sorulariniz olabilir. Bunlari tacam a gelmeden, etkinliklerine ka-tilmadan, disarda konusarak halledemeyiz. yapici ele-stiriden her zaman iyi sonuclar cikar. Bunu akilda tut-arak (basta kendime hatirlatarak) elestiriler yapmamiz lazim. tacam bir ailedir ve aile icindeki bireylerde farkli goruslerde olabilir. Bir aile icinde anne sanat muzigini seviyor, baba halk muzigi dinliyor, cocuk ise rap muzik dunyasinda olabilir. gene ayni sekilde, anne ileri goruslu, baba tutucu ve cocuklar ise tamamen modern goruslu ola-bilir, ama sonucta bir ailedir ve bir arada saygi ve sevgi cerceveleri icinde yasarlar. Boyle olmadigi takdirde ise yikim olur, ayrilik olur. Farkliliklara ragmen bir arada ol-mayi da ogrenmeliyiz degilmi?

“Sevgide güneş gibi ol, dostluk ve kardeşlikte akarsu gibi ol, hataları örtmede gece gibi ol, tevazuda toprak gibi ol, öfkede ölü gibi ol, her ne olursan ol, ya olduğun gibi görün, ya göründügün gibi ol.”

mevlâna celaleddin-i rumi

Saygi ve sevgilerimle,ZeynelAksoy

SEVgIDE güNEş gIBI oL, dostluk ve kardeşlikte akarsu gibi ol, hataları örtmede gece gibi ol, tevazuda toprak gibi ol, öfkedeölü

gibi ol, herneolursanol, ya olduğun gibi görün, ya göründügün giBi ol.

Feature Articles1� Feature Articles 1�

1�

Who is BeTTer TurkTEXT by M. kEMAl GökNAR, M.D.

Feature Articles1� Feature Articles 1�

long time ago, during our 1962-64 stay in montreal, i had honor to know personally an exceptional turkish intellectual niyazi Berkes, the distinguished professor of Sociology who was then teaching at mc. gill university. At that time, I had just finished my psychiatric training in New York City and took a position at a Mc. gill affiliated psychiatric hospital. those who know niyazi Berkes will remember the politically turbulent time he went through right after the Second world war in ankara, where he was a professor of sociology. After studying scientifically the operations, curriculums and results of KöyEnstitüleri “village institutes,” he came out with praise for them, as being exceptional educational institutions for turkey. he was immediately labeled as communist and was forced to change his opinion. instead he insisted on his positive findings, positive for the future of Turkey. I sometimes wonder if Köy Enstitüleri were not closed, and if they were allowed to flourish in every corner in Anatolia, whether the multiple social problems we are facing today in turkey — especially in big cities — would have been avoided? that may be another topic for a debate. here, for our purposes i will stick on what i learned from niyazi bey. it may help to know that niyazi Berkes graduated from university right after the turkish revolution witnessed in his youth the miraculous phenomenon of the independence war and reforms that followed the war. His first job was in Ankara to organize the central library where Atatürk frequently held his Türk Dil ve Tarih Kurumu meetings. niyazi bey having a very curious mind described how enthusiastically and admiringly he wanted to hear everything that went on in those close sessions late in the evenings. He wrote highly scientific books about turkish modernization starting from the ottoman empire, tanzimat and through to the contemporary period. after his relation with ankara university was severed on a political ground, colombia university gave him a professorship position in social science. From there he moved to montreal, canada, where we met. when he retired in later years he returned back to turkey. he is now deceased. in 1964 we decided to return back to the uSa, this time to michigan. i will never forget the farewell visit with niyazi bey, as if he left the most important lesson he learned in life to the last minute. he said “kemal bey, in every ethnicity and nationality i understand individuals, who i can trust or can’t trust i can tell. But i don’t understand turks; i can’t tell who is better turk until he dies.” he based his conclusion on his bitter life experiences and observations. people he trusted and

esteemed disappointed him most, and those he didn’t expect anything surprised him with their individual good wills and generosities! Since then “who is better turk?” haunted me. especially during my active involvement in early 80s tacam affairs which was followed by my position at assembly of turkish american associations in washington d.c. (which is now a path, i can relate with enjoyment, repeating itself for nurten ural, another michigan turkish-american). on the surface the question had double-edged meanings; good and bad, active and passive, style or content, conscious or unconscious, etc. am i better than others or are others better than i? at the local and national arena i found out to my pleasant surprise that no matter how involved or uninvolved turkish-americans are in their association’s affairs, they have a burning unconscious desire to be recognized as a distinct ethnicity with their remarkable inheritance, history, culture, professionalism and future oriented dynamism. From a political point of view the challenge for leadership was and is to turn the bad to good, or the passive resistive side to active ones. how could that be done? in america, we are individually

well educated, well versed group of people excellent in many ways with personal loyalties, friendships, family responsibilities and individual cultural manners that we willingly sacrifice for significant others and expect returns from them. But we have a hard time figuring out the greater community, and fall behind on

volunteerism for larger society. we short exchange social loyalties with loyalties in friendship, so we close our eyes to others we don’t know well. we are outstanding in our national fervor but have hard time with the concept of societal obligations. in a sense we are ready to die for friendship, for our country but act unknowingly against our social interest. For social scientists like niyazi Berkes, these are perplexing reactions produce unpredictable or unexpected results at individual levels and raise question on how we could identify who is better turk? yet psychologically looking, the picture becomes slightly different. the problem is not the lack of abilities, interests, feelings, knowledge or ideas: it is how to convert personal and family loyalties into social responsibilities, how to overcome the superficial resistance, personal hang-ups or indifference in those spheres. within every one of us we dream of better things for our society. in that, i am not any better than others, others are not any worse

Sowecloseoureyestootherswedon’tknowwell...Wearereadytodie for friendship, for our countrybutactunknowinglyAGAINSTour

socialinterest.

Feature Articles1� Feature Articles 1�

than i. once we look from that angle we leave the door open to anyone, eliminate any prejudgment and lift all inhibitions or group conflicts; we all become extensions of each other: the better Turks. It is that universal quality that made me to feel humble, and an admirer of tolerant turkish character, which was best described many years ago in a famous poem: “come again, come again, our door is not the door of hopelessness even if you break your promises thousand times, come again!” then channeling our energy in a common interest or direction becomes a real fun, a kind of rejuvenation. to the point we can turn the personal negativism or passivity into a social productivity with sharing and great humors. i witnessed those qualities during the building campaign which created a lot of energy and participation at every level of our community, which now put tacam into a million dollar class category (if we focus for a moment on today’s market value of our property). that phenomenon continued in many successive Boards with back and forth see-saw processes. what we needed was a little more continuity. that is a topic we shall explore further in open forums with exchange among various era experiences if

nothing else, for the refreshment of our being. let’s not forget our community’s demographic character is quickly changing. TACAM’s main principle that it belongs to everyone — old and new, turks and friends of turks — are well applied. no one group, no one figure politically or personally owns TACAM. It is open to anyone who wants to contribute to its purposes. we have seen many talents according to their abilities and interests come and go and come back again and leave their imprints on its operation at every level, like unknown soldiers of being better turks

TEXT by M. kEMAl GökNAR, M.D.

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BaSkandan mesaj

her sene yeni bir gönüllü grubu ortaya çikmakta, tacami daha ileriye götürmeye, türk kültürünü ve mirasini üyelerimize aktarirken ayni zamanda michiganda yasayan üyelerimiz arasinda ki kaynasmayi arttirmaya çalismaktadir. Bu senede ben tacam i devir alan grubun bir uyesi olmaktan gurur duymaktayim. amacimiz bizden öncekilerin gerçeklestirdigi katkilar dogrultusunda hem kendi yöremizde hemde ülke çapinda tacam in adinin duyulmasini saglamak oldugunu bilmenizi isteriz.Bu dogrultuda uzun dönemli stratejik planlarin yapilmasi gerektigine inaniyorum. Bunun icin bir yandan ilerisi için saglam temeller kurmak la ugrasirken bir yandan da degismekte olan toplumunuzun mevcut isteklerine cevap vermeye çalisacagiz. kuruldugundan beri tacam gerçekler dogrultusunda ve pozitif bir türkiye imajini koruyarak daha güçlü ve daha birbirine bagli bir türk amerikan toplumu yaratmak için çalismaktadir. hiç süphesizki, bu ancak tüm üyelerimizin katilimlari sayesinde gerçeklesecektir. türkiye nin türk insaninin ve burdaki toplumun tanitiminda, birbirmize destekle, daha iyi ve etkili bir sekilde örgütlenmemize ihtiyaç vardir. turk insaninin ve kulturunun tanitiminda, iliskileri pekistirmenin en iyi yolu türklerle amerikalilar arasinda birebir yapilan iletisimdir. Bizim toplulugumuz amerikan toplumunun tüm kesimlerine ulasabilmesi için sayica çok düsüktür. Bu yüzden, toplum içindeki herkesin bu çalismalar icerisinde yer almasi gerekmektedir. geçmiste, üniversiteler ile aramizda çok daha yakin iliskiler mevcuttu. Birçok kez tacam ögrenci organizasyonlariyla yakin olarak çalismis ortak kültürel faaliyetleri beraber gerçeklestirmislerdir. yeni yönetim olarak, ögrenci derneklerinin su an icinde bulunduklari durumu daha iyi anlamaya calisarak onlari tacama yaklastirmak için daha çok zaman harcayacagiz. Biz yeni yonetim uyeleri olarak goruyoruz ki bazi amaclar seneler boyunca ayni kalmaktadir. tabii ki en önemlisi mevcut üye sayisinin arttirilmasidir. Su anda uye sayimiz 95 civarindadir. uye sayisinin arttirilmasi hepimizin ortak calsimasi ile mumkun olacaktir. yeni yönetim olarak ilk toplantimizdan sonra amaçlarimiz hakkinda daha detayli bilgi sahibi olacagiz. Seçimler sonrasi on görüsmemizde belirledigimiz bazi amclari sizlerle paylasmak istiyorum:

tacam olarak türkiye yi ve türk kültürünü daha iyi bir þekilde nasil tanitabiliriz?

yeni yetisen neslin düsüncelerinde tacam in yerini ve önemini nasil arttirabiliriz?

tacam in ataa ve amerikadaki diger türk amerikan dernekleri arasindaki bagini nasil güçlendirebiliriz?

üye sayimizi nasil yukseltebiliriz?Faaliyetlere katilimi nasil arttirabiliriz?

Sonuç olarak, söylemek isterimki yonetim kurulundaki herbirimizin geçmisteki deneyimine dayanarak daha güçlü bir organizasyon yaratmaya calisacagiz. Bu deneyim bizim kültürümüzü tanitmamizda ve degerlerimizi korumamizda bize yardimci olacaktir. daha güçlu ve birbirine bagli bir grup kurmak için kurucu üyelerimiz, yeni üyelerimiz vede ögrenci organizasyonlarimiz arasinda köprüler kurmaya devam edecegiz. Bize gösterdiginiz güven ve inançdan dolayi hepinize tesekkür ederiz.

Saygilar ve Sevgiler,

••

mehtap akSoy2006-2007 TACAM bASkAN

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1�

p h o t o : b r i t i s h l i b r a r y

Traveling inDia & nepalTEXT by MEhPARE GENCyuz

khujaraho

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udaipurhindus pray to different gods every day. Stay tight, tuesdays are hamuna’s day, monkey god. they give a bath to their idols 6 times a day but the temple is full of pigeon feathers and droppings. people are offered this holy bath water. they take a few drops and the gods can be with them all day long. every morning people sell trucks of green grass to religious people who want to feed holy cows. don’t misunderstand, the cows are owned by some people (probably by some smart non-hindus). they are let free during the whole day and at night they are taken home. if you hit and kill a cow, you are sentenced to 12 years. yet, it’s a secular country. we visited a jain temple. you are supposed to take off your shoes, socks and any leather items you may have. tourists with shorts are given long pants. But the outside of the temple is full of “rated r” sculptures and the pictures of their prophets (they have 24), which are naked. this temple has 1444 pillars and each is carved and decorated differently and the whole temple is made of marble. there are many portable temples along the way, perhaps one idol per tent. also next to the boarding gate, there is a ganish (elephant) idol. there are barbers along the road. one old chair, one old mirror, a small canvas to make shade... under the front bumper of a car, there is a fresh lemon, coal and some chili peppers hanging to keep you and your car from obstacles. there is a ladder to go up and ride on the roof of buses. i saw several with 20 people on top. these are not like British double deckers but ordinary buses. people can slide down and die. the best thing you can do for the public is to open a well because there is no running water at some houses.

February 3-17, 2006

p h o t o : e s a

mumbai

udaipur

p h o t o : b r i t i s h l i b r a r y

mumBai (BomBay)

mumbai is the it and business capital of india. they even have a minister of it and communication. zoroastrians, who belong to an old persian religion, leave their dead in a designated area in the middle of the city so vultures can eat them. everything goes back to nature. the guide literally insisted in showing the site and told us that feeding the hungry is the most beautiful thing. there are signs: “peacocks on the road, drive slowly.” peacocks are the national birds of the country. we went to an open air washing place. there are 1000 male washers in this place. they wash 4 shirts and 4 pants for one dollar. handkerchiefs are complimentary. it was a huge place. there are a number of small pools in which they wash clothes all day long. the caste system is still effective. if you fall in love with someone from another casts, the father prefers to kill his kid instead of letting them marry. they hang both at the entrance of the village and refuse to take the bodies down, and they let them dry so young people get a lesson. the caste system is still legal, but the killing is not.

agraat the train station to agra, we had a porter for our

luggages. he put 2 of the luggages on his head. we said the luggages had wheels, but he didn’t think that it was the easy way. each was 40 lbs. during the train ride, a

guy stood up and started to sing. then we learned that he was the winner of the “indian idol” competition and we

got his autograph. there are people who iron your shirts or pants on

the streets with their portable charcoal irons. do you remember these kinds of irons from the henry Ford

museum? they clean the streets with brooms which are made of dry twigs and branches. people love drinking tea and there are many tea houses. they sell tea in a small saucer, which is made of clay, and they are disposable: you just throw them on the ground when you are done. they add some herbs to your tea for stomach aches, etc.

the lights of all stores including the ones in luxury hotels are turned off until you approach them. they save energy

this way.

nepalnepal is trapped in time. Since kathmandu is a valley, the last time it snowed was 20 years ago. 25% of the poorest countries include nepal. climbers pay $65,000 for a permit to climb mt. everest. By the way only 50% can survive the climb! “Been there, done that!” unfortunately we couldn’t see mt. everest at all. Because of the election, the airport was shut down and there was no way to see everest from the kathmandu valley. like the greek gods who lived in mt. olympus, the hindu gods live in mt. everest. nepal is proud to be the only country to have a living goddess. So we went to see her house. this little girl (around 5) was sleeping and we couldn’t see her. But the previous tourist group was able to see her with her Barbie doll. She can only be a goddess until puberty. we saw many ongoing cremations by the river temples. it was very disturbing and smelly. monkeys were everywhere.

qutab minar i

n dehli

p h o t o : m a t t w e l s h

mumbai

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khujarahothe most beautiful hindu temples in khujaraho were built to thank their gods after the victory against the turks.

varanaSivaranasi is the holy city of the hindus, through which the ganges river flows. At 6 am, we left the hotel for a boat ride in the ganges. the steps going to the boat ride were full of disabled beggars. the smell of air was putrid due to sewage going into the ganges. hindus are dipping into the water to be purified from their sins. I have no idea how many e-coli they are getting instead. they cremate their dead, and themselves wash their clothes and bathe along the shore. later we walked along the narrow streets next to holy cows. Some carried their dead relatives next to us. there was a muslim festival in varanasi that day and the dalai lama was also in varanasi. the guide took us to the muslim silk-weaving town dating back to the Silk road era. there are 150,000 silk-weavers living here. it was after dawn. our guide, the store owner, mete and i were walking in

these narrow streets where 2 persons can’t walk side by side, and there were no lights coming out of the houses. i was very scared.

agra

varanasi

delhicows and elephants were walking on highways. male and female workers carry dirt on their head with a sack from one place to another instead of using heavy machinery. those who are lucky live in tents on streets.there are open-air public restrooms (!) where you can chat with someone while they are busy. personnnals in the papers read: “coming to india on Feb. 22nd from chicago, looking for a Sunni bride” or “caste is no requirement,” “looking for a working bride for our son.” one of the main streets is named “mustafa kemal” (the founder of turkish republic) since he won the independence war against the British empire and gandhi was inspired by him. we had a lecture about it by the guide. guess what the symbol of delhi is? Qutab minar, the highest tower in the world in the 12th century, was a mosque which was built by Turks in the 12th century. the turks governed the city between 900 and 1100 ce.

$

i liked both india and nepal despite the disadvantages and the negative images that i have talked about. it was a life-time experience. Stay tuned for our india presentation as a part of “around the world in 80 days” series!

p h o t o : m a t t w e l s h

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The oTToman WomanTEXT by ERol AhMED

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the ottoman woman: perhaps naked, sitting amongst deep blue-hued tiles in a grand chamber besides a pool. her long, plumb body seductively peels a lush orange amidst the smoke of a narghile and the sound of quixotic music. or perhaps this woman is fully covered and invisibly floats from house to market — unseen, unheard. and yet these images, conjured up mostly by europeans are decidedly false. practical, ambitious and altogether diverse, the women of ottomans times — namely in the period from the seventeenth to eighteenth centuries — exhibit traits found peculiar back them but at home with us today. the information we have about ottoman women primarily originates from the writings of two figures. lady mary wortley montagu’s writings from 1716-1718 provide intimate accounts of affairs in the upper classes. Second, the traveler evliya celebi (1600s) offers insights into the relationships of women and men. the accounts given below deal mainly with the upper class as we have few records for the masses of women. unlike in europe or china, the status of women — at least legally — gave them more freedom in decisions. at puberty, the woman became a full “citizen” of the ottoman realms and could therefore petition the government for a variety of issues. Kadi documents list legal action pursued by women. under religious law, women, unlike elsewhere, were entitled to their property, could divorce and receive alimony. looking again at tax registers, it becomes clear that female pursuits in business and merchant activities were not rare. after paying a fee, the female member of a household could become the head of the land. in the cities, “Silent partners” allowed a woman to invest in all sorts of business, anonymously. textiles or jewelry shops were generally the most common businesseses for women. these shops became important social gathering points to discuss more than just fabric. when in the latter times of the empire the Sultan wished to curtail female authority, these shops were the first to go. Legally and economically, the ottoman documents show a range of choices for women. the rights of the upper-class woman and her treatment appear to be well secured, according to our sources. yet it is difficult to say whether these circumstances can be the same for less wealthy people. evliya celebi states, when melek pasha’s wife died, he refused to remarry, as the love between them was irreplaceable. celebi also notes, in contrast, the anger and disgust between another grand vizier and his wife: both hoped never to set eyes on one another. Clearly a woman was an active and influential member of the relationship, not a silent spouse. the islamic practice of polygamy was frowned upon. Below the elites, there are few, if any, recorded of

polygamous marriages. the sources mention an instance where an elite man acquires a second wife. Suddenly, the first wife prohibits him from the bedroom and her friends break all connections with him. again, this successful active participation attests to the influence exerted by these women, albeit in the upper classes. and within all of this—the restraints and freedoms—the ottoman woman proved very creative. lady wortley montagu mentions women discussing two fundamental goals: marriage and pregnancy. the Bursa birth registries show, however, this practice was practice both desired and fatal. women met mostly in the baths and parks. oddly enough, the englishwoman, lady montagu, felt that the covered woman was a good thing. She believed it allowed one to do whatever she pleased without anyone having a clue to who she was. what were these womens’ passions revolving around? religion was the major pusuit of this time-period, and even

the pastimes of art and music were less common. thus, legally women could rise far up into the religious society like in the case of piri hanim and more importantly asiye hatun. it

was difficult for women to reach Asiye’s level: she studied amongst the greatest religious leaders of her time and she was highly respected. in poetry, women also excelled. gift registers from Beyazid ii show presents sent to miri hatun. her defense of female intellect and prowess demonstrates that even in her time, she believed there was need for change. talent, therefore, needed to be coupled with a strong will to succeed against an established patriarchy. women rose high up and challenged the male leaders of their fields. yet, these cases are exceptions. until more evidence surfaces, the role of women during the ottoman empire is still an emerging subject that offers much to be studied. evliya celebi and lady montagu show a wide range of financial and social opportunities; kadi records show legal opportunities; artifacts from textiles demonstrate skill and access to luxury; poetry and religious skill attest to the talent expressed; and pious foundations built by sultanas like Hurrem (Roxelena) help define the care and concern of women in fitting a role equal yet unique to men.

Womenrosehighupandchallengedthemale

leaders of their fields

Anatolian Voice��

limonlu pogaca Malzemeleri125 gr. margarinBir kahve fincani sivi yag¼ Su bardagi yogurtBir yemek kasigi limon suyuyarim paket kabartma tozutuz2.5 Su Bardagi

IciicinMalzemeleri1.5 cay bardagi rendelenmis beyaz peynir1 kucuk patates2 yemek kasigi kiyilmis maydonoz1 yumurtaSusleme corek otu hamur icin verilen malzemeyi ¼ su bardagi. Suyla yogurduktan sonra bir saat dinlendirin. patatesleri rendeleyip suyunu suzun iyice sikarak beyaz peynir, maydonoz ve yumurta ile karistirip pogaca icini hazirlayin. hamuru ceviz buyuklugunde bezelere ayirin. her bir bezeyi elinizle 3 mm kalinliginda acarak ortasina hazirladiginiz ici koyarak kapatin. pogacalari yagli kagit serdiginiz tepsiye dizin. Uzerine fircayla yumurta sarisi surup corek otuyla.Susleyin. daha sonra onceden isitilmis 200 derecelik firinda 25 dakika pisirin.

ayvali rulo Malzemeleri250 gr. margarin1 cay bardagi sivi yag1 cay bardagi yogurt1 Su bardagi pudra sekeri1 paket kabartma tozu6 Su bardagi un

IciicinMalzemeleri2 adet iri ayva1 cay bardagi dovulmus ceviz1 cay kasigi tarcin6 yemek kasigi toz seker

ic malzemesini hazirlamak icin ayvalari soyup iri rendeleyin. seker ile birlikte kisik ateste suyunu cekinceye kadar pisirin. tarcin ve cevizi ekleyip sogumaya birakin. diger yanda hamur malzemelerini yogurma kabina alin. icine iki yemek kasigi pudra sekeri katarak hamuru yogurun. hamuru 4 esit parcaya bolun. her parcayi yarim cm kalinliginda acin ve 8 esit parcaya bolun. genis kismina hazirladiginiz icten 1 tatli kasigi yerlestirin. rulo seklinde sarin. Yaglanmis firin tepsisine dizin. 325 °F derecede isitilmis firinda acik pembe renkte kizartin. Sicakken pudra sekerine bulayin. Servis tabagina alip uzerine kalan pudra sekerini eledikten sonra servise sunun.

Cookbookcommitteewouldlikeyourrecipesfortheupcomingcookbook. Contact Verda Gurol: 248.514.7835, [email protected]

the turkiSh kitchen

Afiyet olsun!

TEXT by lEylA AhMED

Anatolian Voice ��

i’d like to draw attention to a special page on the tacam.org website: “get involved.” It’s difficult staying active in TACAM and participating in activities around or outside our community. But go here and read about ways you can enrich the communities and world. like our article by dr. göknar Who Is Better Turk, the goal of any group — whether ethic-, cultural- or interest-based — is to avoid the ease of entering seclusion and instead branch out to anyone. it helps show our group of turks in a positive role in the community.

in this seasons issue, the underlying theme was the history and ethnic peculiarities of both turks and others. as we change boards and a “new volume” in tacam’s history is written, it is helpful to look back. yet looking back on history can be the most difficult thing; marred by manipulative intents and cultural prejudice, history becomes a battleground for projecting today’s problems, issues, events and ideas on the past. are the peculiarities, which are very likely the norm for indians and nepalese, of our travelers’ experience in india and nepal just peculiar to us? did women in the ottoman empire actively seek women’s rights as “women’s rights”? as things remain in constant flux, and history is always being created, objectivity and truthfulness must form the core of any serious or meaningful look at our past as a means of gauging the future. and as turks, the benefactors of the world’s history and culture, the role of creating a positive history — one of balance — is of the utmost importance.

tacam governing Board 2006-2007

eXecutive Board oF directorSpresident>mehtap aksoy

vice-president>Beyza Sarioglusecretary>didem Seyhoglu

treasurer>mine ozalppast-president>leyla ahmed

Board oF directorS 2006-2007Burak akyalcin

ozlem Falkiewiczahmetjan keyimBirsel kusefogluSerkan ozdemir

alternate Board oF directorSilhan Berberoglu

Board oF truSteeSemre Bulbul 2007

rengin usmen 2007hulya cakan 2007

evelyn Sonbay 2008cihangir tasdemir 2008

ali kayaalp 2008

audit committeevoula Sonbay 2007asli yashin 2007

halide kocak 2008yesim kayaalp 2008

anatolian voice winter & Spring 2006

editor-in-chieFerol ahmed

contriButorSozlem tulunay, cihangir tasdemir, zeynal aksoy, m. kemal goeknar, mehpare gencyuz, erol ahmed, leyla

ahmed

puBliShed Quarterly Bythe turkish american cultural association of michigan

p.o. Box 3552Farmington hills, mi 48333

phone: 248.348.4176fax: 248.626.8279

[email protected]

advertiSing rateS per iSSueFull page 125 USDhalf page 50 USD

Quarter page 25 USD contactTACAMforadvertisingdetails

WWW.tacam.org

a noTe fromthe editor

tacam Board

erol ahmedEDIToR-IN-ChIEf

members of our tacam were in a book signing for the newly re-leased TalesfromtheExpatHa-rem. mehpare gencyuz, turknur hamsici, tuba Suzer-gurtekin, Yuksel and Cindy Taskın along with their infant tarik, muge okuyucu, tayfun and neeki ozdemir, Sue and osman, and diana krajewski all enjoyed

the tales of foreign womens’ experiences in modern Turkey. And the authors were equally pleased to chat with our turkish community. the book is out for sale and is certainly an enjoyable read. also recommended is SuCilginTurklerabout the magnificent struggle for the creation of the turkish republic.

the anatolian voice is a quarTerly puBlicaTion of the turkiSh american cultural aSSociation of michigan

the voice oF the turkiSh american community

onthecover: colorful lime and turquoise hues infuse

this playful plate with sprays of tree branches and

plant ornament. ottoman, iznik,16th cent.

atacamrecommendedBooks: TalesfromtheExpatHarem&SuCilginTurkler

Anatolian Voice / W

inter & Spring 2006 / v

olu

me 8 / issu

e 25


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