BRINGING TURKEY INTO THE CLASSROOM: IMAGES OF TURKEY

PAST AND PRESENT

DR. LINDA MILLER

SPOTLIGHT ON TURKEY

Images of the Past and the Present

• There are historical remnants of the past from prehistoric times, Romans, Byzantines, and Ottomans up to modern day Turkey.

Turkey and the World

Ancient Ruins of Past Civilizations

• Ephesus: one of the Seven Wonders of Antiquity, the Temple of Artemis is here. Cleopatra spent the winter of 188 here.The first church dedicated to the Virgin Mary was built here.

• The Hippodrome of Constantinople was a circus that was the sporting and social center of the Byzantine Empire. Today it is a square named Sultan Ahmet Square. Today only a few fragments remain which include the Walled Obelisk and Thutmosis’ Obelisk pictured here.

• Roman arena at Aspendos.

Caravan Station

• Cappadocia served as an important trading post and bridge between the various lands of the Silk Road.

LANDMARKS

• View of ancient walls with Golden Horn and Sea of Marmara with the Bosphorus in sight from the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul which was the official and primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans from 1465-1853.

This was the view that Justinian had as he pondered whether to flee during the Nika Revolt.

Landmarks

• Spice Bazaar is one of the oldest bazaars in the city. Spices were imported via Egypt in the Ottoman period and thus the name “Egyptian Bazaar”. It is still the center for spice trade in Istanbul. The building is “L” shaped with 88 vaulted rooms divided into upper and lower stories.

Landmarks: Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia

One of the greatest monuments of Byzantine civilization, it was built in the 6th century. Since it was used as a mosque for almost 500 years after 1453, Islamic structures such as minarets built on the corners of the main edifice have given the Hagia Sophia a mosque like appearance. The bronze candelabras in front of the altar were brought from Hungary by Suleyman the Magnificent. The library was built during the Ottoman period in the reign of Sultan Mahmud I in 1739. In 1935 it was converted into a museum and is one of the two most popular museums today.

Culture

• Women entering mosque must cover heads and remove shoes/ put on slippers.

Whirling Dervishes

• The whirling dance or Sufi whirling is the practice of the Mevlevi Order in Turkey and is part of a formal ceremony known as the Sema. It is performed to try to reach religious ecstasy. This practice though not intended as entertainment has become a tourist attraction in Turkey.

GeographyIzmir (the ancient and medieval city of Smyrna) was established at least 5,000 years ago. Parchment paper was first invented in the district of Izmir. The earliest temple dedicated to the goddess Athena was constructed here.

Today it is the 3rd most populous city of Turkey and the country’s largest port after Istanbul. It is located on the Aegean Sea near the Gulf of Izmir

Cappadocia:World Heritage Site by UNESCOMeans land of Beautiful horse in the Persian language. Millions of years ago volcanoes erupted and covered Cappadocia with a layer of tuff. Over the millennia the tuff was eroded and produced formations that inspired cave art. The earliest human settlements date to the Palaeolithic Period and written history goes to the Hittites. Wind and rain flowed down the side of the valley and eroded and sculpted the “fairy chimneys” (conical rock topped with a cone or mushroom cap).

Following the arrival of Islam in Anatolia, Cappadocia became home for several famous Muslim scholars. In the 13th Cen the Turkish Islam Sufi Haci Bektuil Veli settled and today there is a museum dedicated to him.

Economy/Arts: weaving of rugs

• Seljuk patterns are dominant in ancient carpets woven with root dyes. Patterns from surrounding regions are also woven.

• Local handicraft rag dolls reflect the warmth of the region with colorful designs and costume.

Tourism: Balooning

• Balloon trips have become more popular since the Ballooning championship that was organized in 1997. They leave in the early hours of the morning and can soar upwards of 3000 feet.

Ballooning: from a Balloon(photo by Ken)

Wine Country

• Local wines are produced either in the old method or by new modern technology. Here we are enjoying a local wine sampling with lunch.

Relevant World History Standards

• ERA 4 Standard 2C (5-12)The student understands the consolidation of the Byzantine state in the context of expanding Islamic civilization.

• (9-12) Compare Byzantine imperial policy with that of the Abbasid State.

• Evaluate the Byzantine role in preserving and transmitting ancient Greek legacy.

• ERA 5 Standard 1C The student understands how pastoral migrations and religious reform movements between 11-13th centuries contributed to the rise of new states and the expansion of Islam.

• Assess sufiism as an important dimension of Islamic faith and practice and how it enriched Muslim life and contributed to Islamic expansion.

• Evaluate scientific, artistic and literary achievements of Islamic culture.

• Standard 5 C Analyze the origins of early expansion of the Ottoman state up to the capture of Constantinople

Resources

• These pictures were taken during my trip to Turkey in May 2010 with People to People International. Another one of our travelers posted his pictures on :

• http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=175625&id=49333154670&1=d13cd991e9

• More information on the Byzantine Empire can be found in my teaching unit: “The Byzantine Empire in the Age of Justinian” by NCHS at UCLA.

Relevant World History Standards Continued

• ERA 6 Standard 1 B The student understands the encounters between Europeans and peoples of sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Americas in the late 15 th-early 16th century (success of Ottomans).

• Standard 3 B The student understands how European and SW Asia became unified under the Ottoman empire.

• ERA 7 Standard 3 A The student understands how the Ottoman Empire attempted to meet the challenge of western military, political and economic power.

• ERA 8 Standard 1 B The student understands the causes and consequences of important resistance and revolutionary movements in the early 20th century.

• Analyze the efforts of the revolutionary government of the Young Turks to reform Ottoman government and society.

• Standard 3 A The student understands post war efforts to achieve lasting peace and social and economic recovery. (explain the collapse of the Ottoman empire and the creation of new states that affected relations in the Middle East and Europe.

• ERA 9 Major global trends since World War II.