An important mission of our
Cross-Cultural trip to Turkey is for us as students to expand our view of the
world through learning of different cultures and to step out of our comfort
zones. A key step in this process is our home-stays that were built into the
schedule. We stayed with several families, most keeping two of us at a time, in
the city of Izmir. We were spread throughout the city with some of us in the
center of Izmir, while others were placed with families that were further out.
I belonged to the latter group, staying with a family in the district of
Karshyaka, with AJ Steinmetz as my roommate.
My
host-family consisted of Ercan (the Turkish ‘c’ is pronounced like a ‘j’) and
his wife, Pinar, who was pregnant with twin girls. They were incredibly hospitable
to AJ and I, preparing wonderful meals for us, sharing very interesting facts
and opinions about Turkey, and even buying us special treats like Baklava and
pistachio roles. Pinar’s brother, Emre, also spent a lot of time with us. Emre
was very nice and told us a lot about Izmir and various tidbits about the
locations we plan to visit on our itinerary. Unlike Ercan, Emre was a Muslim.
Although he was very secular, he believed in the Islamic faith and took his
beliefs seriously.
On the
night of the 25th of May, it was the anniversary of Muhammad’s trip
from Mecca to Jerusalem then Heaven and back to Mecca. This day is one of the
most significant days of the year in the Muslim tradition. To have us
experience the religious side of Turkey on a significant day for the religion,
Emre took us to his mosque in Karshyaka. Earlier, we heard the echoing of the
Imam’s, or leader of the prayers, voice from across the district. As we pulled
up to the mosque, the voice was being blasted out of the loudspeakers outside
the building for everyone to hear. As we walked down the sidewalk to reach the
mosque, we saw that there were people outside the mosque giving out free snacks
and treats, possibly in order to help attract people to the mosque. As we reached
the building, we also saw people outside the entrance on praying carpets,
facing the church and inventively listening. Soon we realized the reason for
their outside seating was because it was packed with people inside the mosque.
After we took off our shoes at the entrance, Emre found us a place to sit in
the back corner of the building. This is where I laid my eyes on the inside of
a mosque for the first time.
 |
| An example of a mosque that is so full that people are worshiping outside the building. |
The
interior of Emre’s mosque, which was the largest and most famous of Karshyaka,
was stunning. The floor was covered with a bright, ruby red carpet. The walls
were lavishly decorated with jewels and brightly colored ceramic designs.
Additionally, there was a chandelier that was very large in size and incredibly
bright that filled the entire room with light to the point that everything
shined with color. This included the “Gate to Paradise”, which shows the
direction to pray to by showing the direction of Mecca.
In front of
the Gate of Paradise were too men, the Imam and the Koran reader. The Imam sang
praises to Muhammad for a while and then let the reader read the Koran, which
he did by singing the text. The reader that night happened to be the best in
Turkey and had been scheduled to read that night at Emre’s mosque, which he
repeatedly told us how lucky we were for being able to hear him. He read one of
the stories of David and his voice sounded very nice and pleasing.
 |
| An example of a worshiper facing the "Gate to Paradise" that points to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, the holiest place in Islam. |
In the
mosque was mostly filled with men, while women were cornered off into a small
section in a corner because in most mosques and women and men are not allowed
to pray with each other. The men that we had sat in front of were incredibly
friendly. Aj and I, especially me with my red hair and pale skin, stood out as
foreigners in the mosque. However, instead of getting angry or concerned looks,
we were met with friendly gestures and behaviors and very hospitable attitudes.
For example, one man patted me on the shoulder for me to turn around and
repeatedly put his hand on his chest and nodded his head in a bowing motion. I
did the same to him. Later I found out from Emre that he went out of his way to
show me his respect. Additionally, another man asked Emre where I was from and
started talking about how he went to America and was interested to see what
part of the country I lived in, meanwhile giving me a friendly pat on the
shoulder while he was talking about me to Emre in Turkish. While we were
leaving the mosque, many of the men we passed gave the same gestures of
respect. Even when we were driving back to the apartment, Emre received a text
from a man he knew at the mosque, asking how we liked our experience there.
This hospitality was a pleasant surprise that reassured the general human
kindness that overlaps all different people.
This
experience of going to a mosque was quite an interesting one. I must admit I
was somewhat nervous when the idea was proposed to AJ and I and the feeling
lasted until we walked up to the building. However, the trip allowed me to have
a true, authentic experience at a Muslim mosque in a Muslim country. I feel
that this is valuable because of the fact that Islam’s role in the world in a
key part of the global stage, both politically and religiously. Getting to
actually experience what this religion is like for myself gives me additional
knowledge that is important in expanding my understanding of the realities of
this world that lie beyond my own national borders.
--Taylor
--Taylor
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