The 2010 European Capital of Culture: Istanbul

Through this class, I quickly discovered the vibrant, rich and beautiful culture of Istanbul and became more and more enthralled with every aspect of Istanbul; from it's unique location between two the continents of Europe and Asia, to the politics surrounding the city to the overall civilization, I was engulfed with the beautiful city.
While doing research for my final paper, I found that Istanbul will be noted and celebrated as the 2010 European Capital of Culture (by Examiner.com, which is an online-travel guide that features different places of travel around the world) due to its' history, culture, and diversity.

This will be a year-long celebration, where the theme “A City of Four Elements,” focusing on Earth, Air, Water, and Fire, as the theme creatively categorizes Istanbul and it's sense of diversity. Earth represents the values of the past, in relation to the historical development throughout the years and the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Air represents the spiritual wealth of the religious city and a bridge between all cultures. Water is used as another connecting factor, as the people who live nearby and in Istanbul are connected by water, all of these events will take place off of the shores of Istanbul. Lastly, fire is meant to represent the future of Istanbul. This theme will be used as a cultural torch as it will continue to pass throughout generation to generation.

There is no doubt in my mind that Istanbul really is the Capital of culture, after reading some literature in regards to Turkey and doing personal research, Istanbul, Turkey seems like a global melting pot that connects an array of cultures from all around the world. Istanbul also incorporates different aspects from other cultures within their own, such as some European traditions, which is another cause that gives way to the detailed and vibrant city. The theme, “A City of Four Elements,” perfectly fits the personality of Istanbul and represents it's immense history within the city and country, the religious beliefs, and a sense of unity between all cultures.

Rick Steves in Iran

Rick Steves segment on Iran was informative, but the end of the segment left me wanting to know Iran on a deeper level, as it seemed Rick Steves just seemed to scratch the surface in this show. The information that was relayed to the audience was beneficial to me, at least because I started out only knowing minimal about Iran, but this show did not come across as deep or as intriguing as I would have liked it, especially since it was on Iran. Iran is such a different society and culture compared to the United States, and considering the events of the past, Iran would have been one of the main places that many Americans would like to know more about. Even if Americans do not plan to travel there, this show could have set Iran in a better light or them or have been more informative and detailed. I almost feel like Rick Steves was trying to prove a point to Americans that Iran is not a bad place and for us to realize how similar we are, instead of just touring and interviewing Iran naturally.

But like I said, I did find this segment interesting and beneficial, but it just left me wanting to know more about Iran once I watched this segment, it showed me how beautiful of a country it is and that Iran is such a unique culture!

Lipstick Jihad

My initial thought when reading "Lipstick Jihad" was Moaveni's identity struggle. The fact that while she was in America, she dreamt and longed for a life in Iran and to find a "niche" of some sort to fit in. She felt out of place in America, never confident with her Iranianness, almost second-guessing it when she had to tell people about herself. When she finally got to Iran, she discovered that she felt the same way and just as alone and out-of-place as she was in America. After reading only this far in the novel, all I could think was how she was simply not okay with who she was. She did not accept herself for being truly herself, which is why I believe she had such an identity struggle/crisis throughout the novel. All of the conflicts seem to come from within for her, which is why she had such a hard time "fitting in" in America and then again in Iran. No matter where she traveled or decided to live, she was not going to feel content and at peace, especially if she was struggling with her inner-self.

In end, I found this book interesting, but it just seemed as if Moaveni was dealing and centering on an identity struggle if nothing else in the end. I did not mind reading this book, while it was a bit hard to get into at the beginning, I found it interesting overall because it showed many aspects of the Iranian culture and daily lives that I became aware of, but I would not recommend it.

Current Event: Israel-Hamas prisoner swap deal near

I stumbled upon this article and found it semi-relevant and interesting to our class. The article was found on yahoo news and is about the Israel-Hamas prisoner swap. The deal is to exchange hundereds of jailed Palestinians for an Israeli soldier who is currently being held in the Gaza Strip.

Israel has agreed to exchange the soldier Gilad Shalit for about 160 prisoners whose release has been vetoed before. Gilad Shalit was captured by Hamas gunmen who tunneled and invaded Israel from Gaza in 2006.

Please feel free to view this article at :

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091123/ts_nm/us_palestinians_israel_prisoners_7

Persepolis

The graphic novel, "Persepolis," holds many cases of symbolism within it. To me, the most interesting aspect of sympolism was "the veil." The Veil is in the first section of the book and Marjane is forced to wear a veil at school. She is seperated from her friends and doesn't know how to take the apperance of the veil overall. It seems that all of these situations are forced upon her at once, from the wearing of the veil, to the revolution. The veil has become a part of religious ideology to Marjane and also something that is a part of her everyday life. On Page 131 of the text, Marjane dresses more modern, in a t-shirt, jacket, and nike shoes...and "of course" wearing the veil. While she is so modernized, the wearing of the veil is constant. She is expressing her self-indentity, yet at the same time expressing the identity of being Iranian. It is like Marjane is caught somewhere inbetween it all. By wearing the veil, Marjane ultimately conforms to a sort of repression of the Iranian society even though she frequently tries to rebel.

Current Events Article: "Corrupt Countries"

I found a current events article that has some relevance to our Post Colonial class. This article (link is below), states the worlds "most-corrupt countries." Afghanistan is apparently the 2nd most-corrupt country. Some examples of why Afghanistan is considered to be one of the most corrupt countries is because of the range of government positions to daily bribes for basic services.


A few countries that were considered to be some of the least corrupt countries were Singapore, Denmark, and New Zealand. Also, on another positive note, Iraq was considered to have some improvement...being 176 out of 180 most-corrupt countries. The U.S. was ranked 19th.

Personally, I found this article to be a bit ridiculous. How do these businesses and "experts" rank these countries? What factors or qualities are considered to be a "corrupt" country and how is the ranking process done overall? There are so many different situations, reasons, qualities, characteristics that deal with how a country is overall...and most importantly, WHY a country is the way they are. Just because a particular country has a more negative view to it, does not necessarily mean it is corrupt. There are reasons behind everything, especially when dealing with the situations going on in the world today. This is not just for Afghanistan, but for every part of the world.

The link for this article is:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091117/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_corruption_index_2

Armenian Choreg

For tomorrows class (11/4), I will be bringing in Choreg (Armenian Sweet Rolls). While I did not make these, I bought them from an Armenian market back home. Below I have attached the recipe if anyone is interested.

Ingredients:

5 lb bag King Arthur all purpose flour
2 1/3 c sugar
2 T salt
2 t baking powder
3 T ground mahleb (Middle Eastern bakery/store or online via Penzey's, etc.)
black sesame seeds
2 pkgs dry yeast
2 1/2 c butter
1/2 c Crisco
1 c water
2 T vanilla
7 eggs, beaten (additional for brushing tops)
3 c milk
white sesame seeds

Directions:

Line baking sheets with parchment.

While mixing dough, heat oven to lowest setting to aid in rising, then turn off.

Mix the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, mahleb and about 2T black seeds in a very large pot or bowl (I usually use a HUGE Tupperware), then sprinkle the yeast on top.

Make a well in the center.

Melt the butter and Crisco, then remove from heat and add the water, vanilla, eggs and milk. You don't want the butter mix hot enough to kill the yeast, but you do want it warm to activate it.

Pour butter mixture into well and, using your hands, mix everything together.

Cover with waxed paper and a dish towel and place in oven to raise for about 2 hours.

Punch down the dough and allow to raise for another 10-15 min.

Scoop out a handful onto a lightly-floured surface and roll/pat out to about 1/4" thickness.

Form into desired shapes - sometimes I'll use a large diamond cookie cutter, sometimes I'll use a pastry cutter to form diamonds. I'll make small braids or spirals out of some. Just be consistent size-wise per tray so they cook evenly.

Cover trays with dish towel and allow to raise again for about 45 min. By the time you get to the last tray, the first tray will have already risen for some time. If you don't have enough trays, stage on parchment and slide onto trays as they come out of the oven.

When you are ready to put a tray in the oven, brush tops with egg and sprinkle with white sesame seeds and a few random black seeds.

Bake at 350 for about 25 min until golden.

Once they are out of the oven and cooled, we usually freeze what we won't be eating right away in batches of 10-12 per plastic twist-tie bag.

Enjoy!