Turkey & My Foreign Perspectives with Bea Vanni

NC Turkish Festival Begins Saturday at Fairgrounds

Get ready for the NC Turkish Festival sponsored by the Divan Cultural Center for the fifth consecutive year. Enjoy some family fun this weekend immersed in a multicultural and educational experience with attractions to please both the young and old. The celebration will be held at the NC State Fairgrounds in the Exposition Center in Raleigh on Saturday, April 17th from 11am to 9pm and Sunday, April 18th from 12pm to 7pm. Up to 10,000 visitors are expected.

 

The NC Turkish Festival garners many accolades each year from the community and this year will be no different because the venue tends to grow larger annually. No doubt, you'll find many people in attendance from a wide variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds which adds to the conversation and promotes understanding in the multicultural society of the American South.

 

Gather at the table for some delicious Turkish cuisine while watching Turkish Folk Dances, the One Man Circus and other entertainment known for provoking excitement in the crowds every year. Don't forget dessert accompanied by some hot Turkish tea to help you ponder how much cash you'll part with to put a smile on a loved one's face.

 

Check out the  Turkish Bazaar for some fine crochets and handicrafts and peruse the Gift Shops for a present to please. Don't miss learning about the ancient and colorful country of Turkey by visiting the displays, browsing the Turkish carpets or getting your name inscribed in calligraphy by an expert Turkish calligrapher. And, wiggle your hips and snap your fingers to the exotic sounds of Turkish music.

 

There's plenty of activities to keep the children's attention too! Bring them to the corner where they can dress up like a sultan and take their pictures or watch as they become mesmerized by an artist teaching them how to design their own Water Marbling creation. Of course, no event would be perfect without a children's face painter.

 

Come languish in the warmth of Turkish hospitality at the NC Turkish Festival, allow new tastes to pop in your mouth, and learn about the country of Turkey from the people whose ancestors hail from the Ottoman Empire.

 

Hos geldiniz and afiyet olsun (welcome and enjoy the food)!

Tweeting Dollars: Twestival 2010 and Istanbul Campaigns Produce Millions

Twestival 2010 echoes loudly with amazing tallies from Istanbul and over 300 cities with thousands of tweets on fundraising messages to support @Concern Worldwide. Thank you, Istanbul, and our many cohorts throughout the world for working up a flurry of excitement to change the shape of education.
 
Twestival 2010 proclaimed admirable results in their fundraising efforts that will benefit the education of thousands in the most poverty-stricken countries for many years to come. Istanbul participated for the second year under the fine direction of Ms. Duygu Saylam of Saylam Construction and set Istanbul on a new course in volunteer and fundraising efforts using technology to change the face of Turkey.

 

Without the diligent efforts of our Istanbul Twestival sponsors, the success of such an event could hardly be realized. From in-kind goods to monetary donations and staff to organize various events, Twestival sponsors added their celebrity to bring in the people and the dollars.

 

Special thanks go to Istanbul’s Indigo Pub for the venue, Indeks Iletisim, Anadolu Saglik Merkezi, ShowHow, Kurumsal Haberler, Imece, and photographer Yesim Mutlu along with music by Technobeyin. With their support, Istanbul raised $3200 with a packed house of around 300 people at Indigo Pub. Way to go, Istanbul!

 

To check out the fun and impact of Twestival 2010 and the fruits of labor by volunteers all over the world donating hundreds of hours to organize each city’s events, enjoy photo collages and videos of this worldwide event.

 

Check out the full efforts of the thousands of volunteers that helped Twestival 2010 amass over $450,000 worldwide.

For photos and comments from Twestival around the globe, click here and don’t forget to scroll down to find Istanbul supporters.

 

Here’s the Istanbul video and photo stream.

 

If you’re interested in a particular city’s results for Twestival 2010, search Google with the city + Twestival, or find the city’s Twitter page or look for Twestival fan pages on Facebook.

 

And finally, don’t you want to join the next Twestival event in your city?
 

Istanbul Twestival 2010 Gears Up for Thursday's Charitable Event

Turkey comes together using Twitter tools to gather donors and supporters who want to forge new ground in Education and help to reduce and eliminate extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries. Why is this cause so important? Lack thereof breeds ignorance and want.

That’s why this Thursday, March 25th, Turkey will join over 300 cities in the world to support Twestival 2010 with Concern Worldwide.

Istanbul focuses efforts on education in this worldwide event while serving up great fun, good connections and a night filled with celebrity-sponsored activities.

Where: Indigo Pub, Tomtom Sokak, Istiklal Cad, Taksim/Beyoglu

Start Time: 7pm until 2am

Want more info? Check out our Facebook fan page. 

Want to come? Buy tickets online at our Istanbul Twestival page or buy tickets at the door for 15TL.

A great Istanbul program awaits you to help pull in fellow Tweeters, philanthropists, educators and anyone who wants to support a charitable cause toward Education and have fun doing so at the same time.

The line-up includes a Fashion Show, Stand-Up Comedy, Live Animation, great music all night long with popular Turkish DJs, and other super events. Don’t miss out! Watch the Istanbul Twestival video.

 

Go right now to buy your ticket to the 2010 Twestival event. Can’t come but want to support Twestival? Anyone can donate and invite all your friends to do the same on the Istanbul Twestival page.

See you there!

Istanbul Twitter Twestival Gains Sponsor Support

Turkey mobilizes for the 2010 Twitter Twestival to support education with @concern worldwide. For the second year, Turkey uses Twitter social media and other technology tools to forge new ground in charitable giving and volunteering.

 

While this is the third year for Twestival to raise funds for a world humanity cause, Istanbul, Turkey,  took an early seat for the first time in 2009, alongside a few other Turkish cities. Turks boarded the Twitter bus to show their support by volunteering to attract participants, donors and sponsors as one of the 300 cities to support this annual cause.

 

Last year, Duygu Saylam, company owner and board president of Saylam Construction, endeavored to gather a small team to put Istanbul on the Twitter Twestival map. This year, the momentum of last year's success has motivated Duygu once again to encourage several Turkish cities to work together for an even bigger showing from Turkey's landscape for the charitable event.

 

Indigo Pub on Tomtom Street in Istanbul's town center, Taksim, off Istiklal Caddesi, will be the focal point of the event's activities on Thursday, March 25, and supported by the gracious sponsorship of Turkish businesses.

 

Through Duygu's work and those of her organizing team, the Istanbul Twestival appreciates the Turkish companies lining up to sponsor the event and they plan special activities as their contribution. Without high profile companies offering their support, this worldwide event would only garner lackluster results.

 

Fortunately, sponsorship creates the momentum behind many successful events, and with our Turkish sponsors, this year's charitable event expects to increase Turkish and expat volunteerism and boost monetary donations over last year by at least 10 percent.

 

Will you help us make Turkey's contribution larger than last year's? Will you invite your friends for a fun night out in Taksim and at the same time give to this worthwhile event to support education?

 

Want more information? Stay abreast of Istanbul Twestival right here on my blog and subscribe for email details at the top right of this blog page. Also start a free account on Twitter and follow me (@beavanni) or Duygu (@istanbulTWSTVL) and the other Turkish Twestival cities of Ankara, Kas and Didim too, especially if you live in one of those cities.

 

In addition, we'd like to give a big thank you to our sponsors for without them the Istanbul Twestival could not be as successful. We'd also like to encourage you to do business with our wonderful sponsors: Indeks Iletisim, Anadolu Saglik Merkezi, ShowHow, Kurumsal Haberler, Photographer Yesim Mutlu, Imece and music by Technobeyin.

 

Don't forget to sign up for your Twitter account today to stay in touch with your friends and know about the latest Twestival happenings in your area. Check out the Istanbul Twestival site to buy your tickets now. Tweet, Meet, Give!!

Istanbul Twitter Festival Charitable Event on March 25th

Hey Istanbul and all Turkophiles, it's time for the second annual Istanbul Twitter Festival. On March 25th, Istanbul Twestival will come together with Twestivallers from all over the world to hold charitable events in their cities to promote the use of Twitter and raise funds for an educational cause.

 

You can become part of this event by following our posts on Twitter about the Istanbul event. You can also become a volunteer to make this event successful or contribute funds for the cause. Soon more details will be ready to tell you how to buy a ticket to the event or donate funds.

 

Right now, we're seeking sponsors to help us fund the event and we want to connect with as many university students as possible. Tell your friends and colleagues about the event and connect to our Twitter pages to get the latest updates.

 

To learn of all the details for this event, you can check back here on my blog, follow me on Twitter, and for sure, follow our organizer Duygu Saylam's posts in Turkish.

 

We hope to see you in Istanbul at this worldwide Twitter event on March 25th. Stay tuned for more info.

See Headlines from Newspapers in Turkey or Around the World

Today, I found out about a great resource for anyone living inside or out of Turkey. Thanks to one of my gurus, Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound, you can now see the headlines of all your favorite Turkish newspapers or any others from around the world.

Do you have a particular interest in Turkey? All the major newspaper headlines can be accessed. Want to know what's going on in Russia? It's there. So now no matter what country you're most interested in, you can find at a glance what's talked about in any nation. One more way to easily surf the web and learn essential info in a few seconds.

Try it out now. It's free and all you do is move your mouse over the country or countries you're most fascinated with. Visit Newseum.

Kurban Bayram Kutlu Olsun

Greetings for the Kurban (Sacrifice) Bayram (holiday) to all my friends and readers in Turkey, America, India, Britain, Australia and other places around the world. This year is unique because as America celebrates the holiday of Thanksgiving on Thursday, we begin Kurban or Sacrifice holiday on Friday.

 

It's wonderful to have two such powerful holidays together because millions of people around the world take time to think about the less fortunate along with giving thanks for all the people and things in our lives. What are you thankful for?

 

I'm thankful for the people who enrich my life every day. You can see the recent tribute I gave my mother on my blog and so many friends from Turkey and America wrote their congratulations to her on my Facebook. Check out the video collage of photos I created about her award she received.

 

Then there are those friends whom I have been blessed with for many years or some for just a few months. Anna Meskhi, my brilliant scholar and best friend in the country of Georgia; Edna Marker, who routinely rescues me from boredom with her sense of humor; Kitty Kabat, the go-to gal for seniors who require legal help and always there to bail me out too, and there's a few of my new Turkish friends, whom you've seen on a couple of my videos--they're always there to help me stay connected with the Turkish way of life and warm friendship.

 

My wish for you is that your holidays are filled with rich family conversation and gatherings, celebration of the friends in our lives, and thankfulness for the homes we live in and the refrigerators full of food to nourish our day. Let's share some of it with those who may not be so fortunate.

Elderly Des Moines Woman Receives National Leadership Award

Looking for a hometown heroine? We’ve got one and her connection to our brave men and women in uniform isn’t so coincidental. Her daughter and author of this blog is a former military officer and first lived in Turkey while serving in the Air Force in Adana, Turkey.

 

At 85 years old, Clara Vanni, a lifelong resident of Des Moines, was one of three recipients to receive a national leadership award in August from the Department of Veterans Affairs Voluntary Services in New Orleans, Louisiana. Cited for her dedicated service to the veterans of our country, she was recognized for the caring and sharing of her time and energy on behalf of America’s hospitalized veterans.

 

Every year thousands of volunteers serve to aid and provide comfort to our American heroes around the country. Clara Vanni is one of those faithful volunteers who has dedicated over 31 years and more than 12,000 hours in voluntary service to military veterans at the Veterans Hospital.

 

Since 1974, Clara has been a member of AMVETS Ladies Auxiliary Post 2 in Des Moines, Iowa, and the AMVETS Ladies’ Auxiliaries of Iowa. She has served as the local President during the eighties; the State President in 1995-1996; Treasurer for 15 years, and the local Veterans Hospital representative to a Committee on Women Veterans Medical Needs.

 

Clara has garnered other awards through her years of service including a 2006 presidential award from former President George W. Bush; the Silver Bowl award in the same year for 10,000 hours of service, and a 1991 Certificate of Devotion to Duty from the Des Moines Veterans Administration Hospital.

 

While her voluntary services has spanned holding offices in the Ladies Auxiliary, fundraising, and preparing monthly and annual financial reports, her capacity as a volunteer at the regional Veteran’s Hospital has had the most impact for which she was recently given this prestigious award.

 

In her expression of thanks to the audience of 600, Clara Vanni remembered her fellow local and state volunteers, the Department of Veterans Affairs Voluntary Services and the National AMVETS Headquarters that give continuous support to the myriad of activities. She echoed that it is her privilege to be a recipient of this award and to be part of this esteemed organization in service to our American military heroes. Watch the video I created of the event.

Ramadan 2009: Fasting Begins for Muslims Around the World

Tomorrow begins the holy month of Ramadan (Ramazan) in Turkey and on Saturday for Muslims in America. Practicing Muslims make sacrifices during Ramadan by fasting from all food, smoking and sex from sun up to sundown every day during the month. Although the fasting practice is the same everywhere, how one celebrates this holy season may differ from culture to culture or country to country.

 

This coming Ramadan bears repeating an anecdote I heard last year:

 

"We speak different languages; We come from different cultures;
We keep different traditions. No matter who you are or where you are,
You are not responsible for the past, But you are responsible for the future."

 

In The Trouble with Islam Today, Irshad Manji notes that Muslim families bring up their children to believe Islam is the most beautiful way of life—morally, socially and spiritually. While living in Turkey, I also learned many of these principles and found many cherished times spent with my Turkish friends. I was immersed in Muslim society and learned the practices associated with Ramadan and Islam.

 

It was a rare occasion that I did not have an invitation to break bread (iftar) during Ramadan evenings with my Turkish family or friends and colleagues. Employers also respected this observance. I wonder how many employers in America allow their Muslim employees to leave early to share dinner with their family and friends.

 

It was so adhered to in Turkey that employers even had special dinners prepared nightly for their employees and many times they invited dignitaries to come and share the meal. Food tents are set up all over every town in Turkey, where anyone can share dinner at no cost; although, it is more for the poor without food.

 

Did you know that this year is the first time in thirty years that the beginning of Ramadan has fallen in August? This year fasting can be particularly difficult for our Muslim friends because the sun rises very early around 5 a.m. and it doesn’t set until around 8 p.m., so observant Muslims will get really hungry by the time the figs are passed to break their fast.

 

Many non-Muslims don’t know that the Koran demands respect of all religions and prophets which mean that the majority of Muslims never speak against other religions or their sacred prophets. Further, in Turkey, it was more common than not for people of other religions to be invited to the Ramadan evening meal. Unfortunately, right now in North Carolina, there is a case going on which may lead non-Muslims to believe otherwise.

 

Religion has always wreaked havoc on the world; but it is a person’s narrow mind and closed heart that support most of this negative consciousness. Conversely, all religions have their sacred times when people become more patient, share their worth, find some peace and celebrate forgiveness and unity.

 

I hope everyone will share the holy Ramadan season by remembering that our neighbors or friends may be fasting this month and give them respect by wishing them a happy and holy Ramadan season.

Goodbye Google Alert: Hello More Bans for Turkey

While my Turkey blog is less frequent these days, I still track the latest and this one deserves attention. Now Google sites are banned inTurkey; this time the lawsuit hails from Denizli, home of a dear friend of mine.

 

The International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) reports that the Second Criminal Court of Peace in Denizli on June 24th banned Google and did not give a reason to add to the lame excuses of bans across Turkish Courts. When will Turkey learn that they cannot patrol the internet to any advantage of their state?

 

Since November 2007, over 2600 websites have been banned and right now YouTube is still banned. To read more in Turkish, go to Bianet which is a Communications Foundation tracking these bans and other injustices to the people of Turkey.

 

Do these silly courts not understand how they impair their people from becoming more educated and doing better business by blocking the very resources needed to build a better society?