PSC 201 Field Study Trip

Hi from Ankra capital of Turkey,

Due to Internet connections issues, I was not able to post yesterday. I will therefore give you the highlights of yesterday and today. Yesterday the day started with a breakfast meeting for our group with the Mayor of  Faith, one of the most important districts in Istanbul.  To give you a better picture, imagin having breakfast with the mayor of Chicago. We were treated like royalty  in a beautiful setting over looking the Bosphours. The mayor and two other members of his cabinet were gracious and down to earth, making all of us feel at ease and comfortable even when asking questions. Not only were they generous in that regard, when it came ttime to say our good byes they even had  a wonderful parting gift for each one of us, and  I being the leader of my group was given a beautiful  and special gift ( a ceramic plate with the picture of sultan Mehmet the II, known in Turkish history as Faith).

 The day continued on with a  visit to the second largest newspaper in Turkey " Zaman" where we met with one of its reporters/journalist who gave us a briefing on the newspaper and its English publication, followed by a Q & A. Once we were done, the reporter escorted us to the paper's cafeteria where we all sat together with her and had lunch. The next thing we know it was time to move on to our next destination, a meeting/ lecture at the writer's foundation ( an NGO) that does charity work in a number of countries in the world.  It was a great lecture! Next we visited a  famous park that sits on top of  a hill with an exquisite view. We walked around , took in the beautiful view, had something to drink, and were off to a resturant famous for fish; for dinner. Finally it was time to go back to our hotel. Some members of the group decided to do some more exploring on their own, while others preferred to stay at the hotel and get a head start on packing as we were getting ready to leave fon our road trip to Ankara the next day.

It was an unbelievable day.  At this point I would like to invite everyone  who is interested in learning more about our trip to check out the group member's own reflections that I will be posting on our department website ( including pictures and video) when I come back.

As for today, our road trip to Ankara was smooth sailing and wonderful. The landscape on the road was so beautiful and inviting, the weather was warm and breezy, and the atmospher on the  our priviate  and cozy bus ..... Priceless. We stopped a couple of times for snaks and use of restrooms, and once for lunch; and before we knew it, we were in Ankara. Tonight we will be visiting one of
Ankara's biggest  private universities while meeting with students , followed by dinner.

Everyone is having a great time, and are all  in awe of how hospitable and welcoming the Turkish people towards visters of their country. I  really do hope everyone will consider visiting Turkey. They will not be dissapointed!

Until next time.
Dr. Sherbini