Justine Gruen
Goss Scholarship Recipient
Bulleted Video Guide – Turkey
-The movie opens with the arrival of my flight into Istanbul. This is the European side that you’re seeing.
-As you see me walking, these are short clips of many places I traveled in Turkey. These places include: Cappadocia, Ephesus, Antalya, Bursa and various sights around Istanbul.
-The shot of the first mosque you see is called the Blue Mosque which is located in Sultanahmet, Istanbul. The mosque is layered with all different kinds of blue tiles and is one of the most famous mosques in Turkey.
-The scene of the crowds of people under a tent is in a local bazaar, this is simply an open market. There are women wearing all-white making a dish called gozleme which is a thin pancake with spinach inside. You can find gozleme in any bazaar.
-There is one scene of a protest going on. This happens almost every week in Turkey. This particular protest is taking place in Taksim Square, the busiest street in Turkey.
-You’ll see several shots of buildings alongside water, this is called the Bosphorus. Some of these shots are from Bebek, Ortakoy, Besiktas, and Kabatas which are all located around where I lived in RumeliHisar.
-There are a few shots of an underground city I went to. This city was located outside of Cappadocia. Persecuted Christians lived here from the 12-15th centuries. In these cities they had their houses, churches, wineries, and they even kept their livestock down there! They have excavated over 40 underground cities in Turkey.
-The men spinning around are called whirling dervishes. This is a religious practice and the men are actually praying while they are whirling. One hand is lifted to the sky, signifying a receiving posture from Allah, and one hand is stretched out to the people, signifying a giving of Allah’s message to the people. The dervishes are seen as a medium from Allah to the people.
-There is a scene of a woman looking inside of a coffee cup. Traditionally, every time Turks finish their coffee, they let the slush at the bottom harden. Afterwards, someone dumps the slush out and reads their fortune by looking at the pattern on the inside of the cup.
-The women leaning over and dancing are doing a traditional Kurdish dance. The largest population of Kurds are found in Turkey. I saw them dancing at my university and the dance was put on by the traditional folk club at my university.
-There are a few scenes inside of a coffee shop. My friend owned this shop and I spent a lot of time there. A few friends and I put on an English club for university students to come and practice their English with native speakers.
-The amphitheater is the same amphitheater found in Acts chapter 19 in the Bible. The apostle Paul stood there and preached to the people who lived in Ephesus in his day.
-The shot of the long bridge is called the Galata Bridge. You can find men fishing there at all times of the day. Under the bridge is a chain of restaurants where you can get fresh fish.
-There is a scene of people dancing in a circle holding hands around a man playing the violin. This is a traditional Turkish dance and is done on special occasions. On this occasion, it was a few nights before a wedding.
-There is kind of a funny shot of a dog laying on his back. There are tons of dogs that run wild in Turkey. They are all friendly, but they take naps during the day and just lay around everywhere!
-The clip of the man in the big gold/green hat is also in a mosque. He is an imam, which is like a ‘pastor’ of the mosque. He is a leader of Sufi Islam and was a part of the whirling dervish prayer.
-There is a shot of a statue of a man on a horse. This is Ataturk, the man who won independence for Turkey. There are statues of him and pictures of his face everywhere! In fact, in Turkey there is a law that no one can speak against Ataturk. A few years ago, someone made a YouTube video making fun of him, and Turkey banned YouTube from the country for 3 years!
-The men in red clothing holding flags were dressed to be Ottoman Soldiers. I went to a Muslim celebration of the conquering of Istanbul. Sultan MehmentFetih conquered Istanbul at the age of 21.
-There are a few scenes of us walking in the wilderness with backpacks. For my spring break trip I went on a hike with the two other K-State students in Turkey, Tommy Lawler and Brennan Vasquez. We were hiking in the Antalyanmountains of southern Turkey and actually got lost. We got home safely although injured, it was an incredible time!
-The scene of men sitting on a bench washing themselves is outside of a mosque in Bursa. Bursa is the capital of the old Ottoman Empire. Before Muslims can enter a mosque to pray, they must wash themselves.
-Most of the shots toward the end of the video are of all the friends I made in Turkey. I had friends from over 20 countries around the world. It was amazing to meet other exchange students as well as become friends with Turkish students. I had to try really hard to get of the ‘exchange circle’ to make Turkish friends but it was totally worth it!
-The video ends with a bunch of women singing with candles held in the palms of their hands. This night is called henagececiwhich means henna night. One or two days before a bride gets married, she has a special party with only women where they put henna on the palms of her hands. The bride wears all red and even wears a red veil over her head.