A Special Time in Turkey

Have you ever felt privileged to be in someone's or something's presence....well that's how we feel about Turkey. We've never in our lives been in a place so different than our home. Interestingly enough, this is not a scary feeling (though I, Lissa, have inhaled more pop than ever before to connect to a since of home). Culturally and spirituality our world is different. There are women walking around with head scarves and covered from to their toes on extremely hot days. The call to prayer happens 5 times a day on a communal speaker. The mosques here are large and majestic. The Turkish people are diverse in their religious practices, but labeled as a Islamic country. The country is constantly struggling with the thin line between state (secular) and reformist (religious) communities' ways of life which you notice through people's street demonstrations, how people chose to dress, conversations locals have, and the dialogue we had one night with locals at a hookah bar down the street. We have had more conversations around issues of racism, sexism, global issues, history, and politics than anywhere else. We have had the opportunity to engage in real ways, with real people in which we have been very blessed. It is interesting how kindness works. About 20 years ago, Matt's family (The Sams and friends) took care of a foreign exchange student from Turkey. Now many years later, that same family has taken care of us. We have had an unreal experience because it was personal and off the beaten path. We ate at amazing restaurants, tried Turkish food, learned about unspoken history and tradition, and engaged in a real exchange of cultures. We want to thank Elif for all her help in connecting us with her family and Emrah for showing us around and being more than generous with his time and energy.Thank you also to Ertugrul and Azade for an amazing dinner and great convesation. Turkey has been an remarkable place on our summer journey.. one in which we will never forgot!

So as we reflective over our time in Turkey, the question that keeps us up at night thinking and talking is "What does it really mean to be a global citizen?" When does it mean to tap in, connect, find meaning, establish common ground, build international relationships? Our journey of this question seems to be a long one, but one we have stated here in Turkey over a cup of Turkish tea, a view of the Bosphorus (a body of water that separates the Europe and Asian side of Turkey), and a open heart and mind...What about you..what do you think?

P.S We are having a hard time loading photos, so stay tuned for more to come