(Though not necessarily about Turkey)

·         The Turks were from Central Asia – Yes, I remembered that much, Mezut

·         The Conquest of Constantinople

o   Time spent planning attack: Years (multiple generations)

o   Time spent building Rumeli Hisari, the fortress from which attack was launched: 4 months, 16 days

o   Actual attack: 3 days

o   Result: Fall of Byzantine Empire, rise of Ottoman Empire

·         The most powerful woman during the Ottoman period: the mother of the Sultan

o   The result? Vicious vying among the concubines to have her son selected as the next Sultan

·         19^th century: Ottoman Empire is subjected to cultural imperialism by Europe (as is everywhere else in the world)

·         The Rise of Ataturk:

o   Creation of the Republic of Turkey, a secular state

o   Complete revamping of the alphabet, language, law, rights, religion, education, government à you know, pretty much everything

o   Ataturk even created an opposing political party (though he later disbanded it when it got too powerful)

·         It is illegal to insult Ataturk or “Turkishness”

·         Secularism does not mean separation of church and state (or mosque and state)

o   The government not only appoints all the imams to the mosque, but dictates the sermons given at each prayer

·         Secular Turkey has a higher percentage of Muslims than the Muslim Ottoman Empire

·         Everyone is required to serve in the army for 15 to 18 months

·         Children take a test (similar to the SAT) that determines not only what career they pursue but also the rest of their life

o   Therefore, children spend hours a day throughout their entire childhood, studying for this test

·         School children are required to go on a field trip to see the tomb of Ataturk and to visit the museum dedicated to his greatness

·         Current political turmoil in Turkey is due to certain religious parties becoming too powerful

·         The most important thing I observed in Turkey: all internal conflict can be summed up in and symbolized by The Great Headscarf Debate

Hmmm I actually have quite a few thoughts about this great debate and its significance on a greater scale. Maybe I’ll write something about it later. Though probably not here.

·         Rumi: the great love poet

o   His shrine is sometimes used as a substitute for a pilgrimage to Mecca

·         In the Qur’an, Mary is mentioned by name 8 times more frequently than Muhammad

·         You can go inside the Kaaba. Mind blown.

·         The Qur’an does call for jihad. The question, though, is a jihad on what?

·         Most people don’t read the Qur’an cover to cover, but rather select passages that are applicable to the current setting.

·         One man has the duty of singing the call for prayer every day, five times a day. That is his job. There are no vacations. No sick days.

·         Prayer beads: 100 beads representing the 100 names of God

·         My opinion? I think it was a good thing that Muhammad didn’t have a son.

Well, I definitely learned a lot more on this trip. Some of it is recorded in this blog, other stuff is buried deep in my subconscious but will resurface with prompting. Still, it was a very informative trip =)

Next post: Tips for the Casual Tourist