Fatih Belediyesi

Yesterday on our way to the hotel from dinner we heard a prayer being played on loud speakers over the city. Apparently there was another prayer at 4am, but I slept without waking up once. Carla, my roommate for the week, and I got ready for the day before going to the roof for breakfast. The same patio with the beautiful view would be where we will have breakfast every morning for the week. I don't know what I enjoyed more, the breakfast, the view, or the 75 degree weather at 8am.

After breakfast we loaded the bus and headed to Yaz Spor Okulu, a youth and sports community center. There are six of these centers throughout Fatih that make up the Fatih Belediyesi and we would be visiting four of them today. Fatih Municipality is the gate between Asia and West, Europe and East. As the original Istanbul, Fatih served as the capital to the empires of Rome, Byzantine, and Ottoman. Today, Fatih combined with Eminönü district lies inside the City Walls and its history goes back 8500 years.

The Fatih Belediyesi centers are projects targeted for impoverished communities and disadvantaged youth ages 7 to 14 years old. It is completely free for the children, and our first stop at the sports center offers various activities including soccer, basketball, swimming, and many other sports. Approaching the field, we saw groups of boys playing soccer which we later learned was part of a summer school program. The summer program alone costs $200,000 and is funded by the municipality and private institutions. The six centers together require around $1 million in funding each year. In addition to the programming that is provided to the children, all the staff members are paid and buildings are maintained my the municipality.

As we were leaving the sports center, we got some swag as keepsake. They gave us tshirts, bags, and hats with their logo. Everyone was kind, generous, and willing to answer any questions we had.

Our next stop was the education center where children ages 8 to 18 could come and take various intellectual classes and participate in academic programs. They offered test preparation for standardized tests, focusing on self confidence and social skills. The first classroom we went to visit was a religion class; however, when we asked what it was, the teacher was reluctant to tell us. Schools in Turkey are secular, and although this is more of an optional after school program, there is still debate over whether these classes should even be offered. The second class we viewed was a chess class where student learned the strategies of the game chess. All classrooms had new smartboards and lots of money has been allocated towards maintaining the buildings. There was a computer lab and a library in the building that could be used as a resource. I was impressed by all the technology and expensive renovations; however, I was surprised when entering the library. Libraries in the United States, and the few I've seen in Denmark, are massive! There are several floors with thousands of books. When I first entered the library in the education center I thought we were going into the wrong place. It was one little room with desks in the middle and two walls lined with bookshelves. One wall had encyclopedias and the other had a few books here and there, but it wasn't anywhere close to being full. With $1 million in funding each year I would have thought more money would have gone into the library. I grew up surrounded by books, so I have internal biases when it comes to the importance of reading. My mom read to me every night before going to bed and to this day my nose is usually stuck in a book when I have a free moment in the day. Maybe I overemphasize the importance of reading, but I think one of the best ways to increase literacy throughout a nation is to encourage reading. I would hope that funds in next years budgeting are allocated towards making more books available to students. 

Each day 200 students come to the education center and benefit from the services. The building's capacity is 200 people, but more than 1,000 students are registered so they rotate who is able to attend. It is important to look at the big picture and the main objectives when allocating funding. It would be easy to build a beautiful library for the students to utilize, but without the space or the student involvement, it might not be an efficient use of money.

Before visiting the third Fatih Belediyesi center, we went to the Yavuz Sultan Selim mosque. Walking through the enormous pillars was incredible. Each tile had exquisite detail. Through the pillars and up along the railing was an expansive view of the city and the water. It seemed like everywhere we visited had a breathtaking view that you couldn't draw your eyes from. 

Before lunch, we went to the social service department which was also the center for people with disabilities or special needs. Just outside the office doors are wonderful parks with exercise machines, fountains, grassy areas, and jungle gyms. Families come to the park to enjoy the evening and access the services. The center knows of all the people with disabilities within the area, and by knowing the people they are able to identify their needs and help them. We were able to visit a classroom where people were doing arts and crafts. Everyone was very nice and one of them men offered a student the piece of art he was working on. All the artwork was surprisingly impressive for a beginners group. They made purses, paintings, tile work, sculptures, jewelry, and many more. 

It was already 1pm and the day seemed to fly by. We sat outside for lunch at Çatladıkapı Sosyal Tesisleri which was a beautiful restaurant that overlooked  a little park, the beach, and the water. For lunch we had beef and chicken of some sort and rice pudding. It isn't like chunky rice pudding in the states, instead it is creamy and sweet that tastes more like vanilla pudding. Other than practically having a heatstroke, it was a nice meal.

Flowing lunch we went to the fourth municipality center we would be visiting, Barisiçin Müzik. Barisiçin Müzik is a music school for children starting at age 7 for as many years as you would like. The main center of the foundation works in four other primary schools in addition to this music center. The main objective is the use of music for social change, or music for peace. Music creates an area to love together and show democracy, but most importantly it is a place for children to have fun. 

Children are at the music center before school or after school, often until 5pm, six days a week. The center is funded by the sponsor of the foundation, but they are actively searching for other sponsor that won't use the children as a means of advertisement. 

We could have found the building from a mile away because of all the noise leaking out of every window, door, and crevice in the buding.  When we first walked in there were dozens of shoes lined up along the wall and it was significantly hotter than outside which was already incredibly hot to begin with. We first went to watch the choir sing us four songs in a variety of languages, one in English. This particular choir has only been singing together for one month, and  for having such a range of ages, the children sang wonderfully. They were proud and confident while singing and it was a joy to be part of their musical experience. Next we went to listen to the orchestra which was also phenomenal. There were woodwinds, brass, percussion, and string, and they played us one song. They were expressive and obviously enjoying themselves as much as we were enjoying watching. It always amazes me how music brings people together regardless of their circumstances. Music really is the universal language.

This was the last Fatih municipity center we would be visiting, and I was consistently amazed and intrigued at each stop. People at every center we visited offered us tea, water, or both. The employees were welcoming and excited to have us there and wanted to take pictures with us. It is a large part of the Turkish culture to be hospitable, and even though it is a small gesture, it makes all the difference. 

A short walk from the music center was a ceramic store where we went for a cultural visit. The building had tiles, vases, bowls, pitchers, and plates in vibrant colors covering every surface. We immediately went downstairs to watch a presentation from a woman at the pottery wheel. She was using a wheel that you kicked with your foot to make it spin. With slow and steady movement of her hands, an elegant bowl was beginning to take form. After the bowl is formed with wet clay it sits to harden before being painted. The paints used on the ceramics are made from minerals and natural elements. The final step in the process is baking in the kiln. In the Islamic tradition, people are not supposed to paint portraits or create sculptures of people. Creating people through art would be disrespectful to God because it is providing a false idol when God should be the only one who is worshiped. This is why popular artwork from this region includes textiles, ceramics, tapestries, and rugs rather than portraits and sculptures.

After the presentation, we had the opportunity to explore the shop and see some of the pieces made by professionals and apprentices. One of the vases is circular with a big hole in the center. Servers used to put their arm through the hole to carry it around and pour from their shoulder. Everything was so colorful and beautiful and I debated buying a souvenir for 15 minutes. I finally gave in and bought two bowls that were the perfect size for cereal or yogurt in the morning. Once I decided to get a bowl, it was another challenge deciding exactly which ones. Each bowl had a different design, different colors, and they were all so unique. I got one bowl for my mom and one for myself. I'm always so indecisive when it comes to souvenirs and usually leave empty handed, so it was a exciting to find something I really love. We both have matching mugs for tea and coffee and now we would have breakfast bowls that were somewhat similar. Although I'm 3,000 miles away from her, little things like bowls and coffee mugs make me feel like I'm across from her at the breakfast table.

For the rest of the night we had some free time to explore the area around the hotel. Carla and I met up with Adrienne, Brandon, Celine, and Andrew to have drinks on the roof of our hotel. I've been spending a lot of time on the roof and it is turning into my go to place. The roof was our own little paradise away from the protests and any unrest that may be below us. 

We decided to walk down to the waterfront to get dinner. There was rumor of incredible fish sandwiches, but we didn't quite make it that far. Under the bridge and above the water are restaurants with pushy waiters and a strong smell of fish. You couldn't make it ten feet without stopping twice to be asked to eat at a restaurant. Employees stood along the rail to stop people as they were walking. They would stop right in front of you blocking the path and practically beg you to eat at their restaurant. They would offer deals, student discounts, group discounts, and when all else fails they would flatter and flirt until you were convinced this was the only possible place to eat dinner. It was bartering, but with food. We made it past a few restaurants before giving in and stopping at a place that offered a meal and a glass of wine for 20 lira, about $10.

If you looked above your head you could see dozens of fishing poles with their lines stretches out into the water. You had to be careful when walking under the bridge to avoid fishing hooks when someone was casting their line. Sometimes the hooks would swing under the bridge, barley missing our heads, and out into the water. The best part was when someone made a catch and reeled the fish up over our heads to the top of the bridge. This didn't happen often, but it was quite a sight when it did. 

For dinner I ordered a glass of wine and the bass praying that it wouldn't come with fins, tail, head, and all. When our food came out of course it came with fins, tail, head, and all. I had no idea how to eat it. I've had fish before, but not a whole fish plopped onto my plate looking like it was caught 5 minutes before. Luckily I wasn't the only one that ordered bass or the only one that hasn't eaten a fish this way before, so I got a little help and direction.

We were having a nice conversation and approaching the end of our meal. I don't know how this came up in the conversation, but one way or another I made a bet with Brandon. Brandon would pay for my dinner if I ate one of the fish eyes. I was nervous and grossed out by having an entire fish on my plate throughout dinner, so he must have thought I wouldn't take him seriously. I forgot to mention that as a kid I wanted to be on Fear Factor. This was back when I thought I was indestructible and ate worms on the playground. Since then I have come to my senses and am disgusted by the idea of eating a fish eye, but I did it anyway. In retrospect, I have no idea why I did it. It wasn't necessarily the free meal, that was an added bonus. It was part of the mentality that I'm in a foreign country, when am I going to have this opportunity again, and why not? I hyped myself up and went for it. Fish eyes are the most disgusting thing I've ever eaten in my entire life. It wasn't so much of the taste, but the texture. The eye was the size of a marble and I expected to chew it for 3 seconds, swallow it, and be done, but when I bit down I felt something hard within the ball of slime. I couldn't chew the rest until I got rid of the hard part, so the eye sat in my mouth for what seemed like minutes. It's still disgusting thinking about it now, but it was absolutely worth a free meal. Apparently fish eyes are healthy and really good for your skin, who would have thought. At least there was some health benefit to eating the eye.

We took our time getting back to the hotel by walking past street vendors and colorful shops. Carla finally got the Turkish delight and baklava she has been craving since arriving in Turkey. Now I know why she has been craving these treats, they were mouthwatering.