BMCC Visits The Republic of Turkey

Source : http://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/news/news.jsp?id=518

August 23, 2007

A delegation of BMCC faculty and students and other CUNY faculty visited Turkey over the summer, sponsored by the Turkish Cultural Center of New York and organized by BMCC’s Turkish American Student Association.

The Turkish Cultural Center is a non-profit organization devoted to the promotion of the Turkish culture and language in New York, and the United States. The center strengthens the cultural and educational ties between peoples from U.S. and Turkey.

Recep Ozkan, President of Turkish Cultural Center, said: “We took a group of Columbia University professors to our country a year ago, and this year we chose BMCC to be part of this program. Ferahat Engi, president of BMCC’s Turkish Student Association suggested her college, and we were very happy to have representatives of the BMCC community in our country.”

According to members of the BMCC delegation, Ms. Ferahat Engi and Aysenur Tabaru, another member of the college’s Turkish Student Association, were the most integral members of the delegation. Both students served as guides and interpreters as well as all-around cultural diplomats.

The group met faculty members and administrators of Fatih University in Istanbul, visited Sifa Hospital in Izmir, exchanged ideas with professors of Pamukkale University in Denizli, among other activities.

In Istanbul, with a population of 14 million, BMCC’s delegation visited tourist attractions, such as the Blue Mosque, built in the name of the Ottoman Sultan, Ahmet I (1609-1616) and Hagia Sophia, one of the marvels of Byzantine and Muslim architecture. Originally constructed as a basilica in the 6th century by Byzantine Emperor Justinian, it was converted to a great mosque by Sultan Mehmet II in 1453.

Alister Ramirez Marquez, Associate professor of Spanish of the Department of Modern Languages, said that: “besides the Greek ruins of Ephesus, the underground cities of Cappadocia, the house of the Virgin Mary, the Whirling Dervishes, I was very impressed with the graciousness of our Turkish hosts who were willing to welcome us and make us feel at home. It was a true example of cultural globalization.”

Ramirez Marquez added, “We met people from different cultural and economic backgrounds. We had the chance to share a meal with Muslim families. We had an opportunity to converse with the Editor in Chief of the Zaman (Time), one of the most important newspapers in Turkey, and to drink chai (tea) with sales people in the Bazaar.”

Ramirez Marquez had some advice for BMCC Business majors. “They should spend some time in a Turkish bazaar and learn how to sell goods. Besides, they speak different languages. It was quite an educational experience.”

Professor Percy Lambert of the Department of Business and Management commented that this trip was a great way for BMCC faculty, administrators and students to know each other much better.

Ena Jordan from the office of Academic Affairs, summed up the trip by saying "For me, Turkey was an unforgettable travel experience. The people, culture, food, sights, and sounds heightened my senses to and awareness of a country that is filled with history and natural beauty, and people who are extremely hospitable and generous." 

Other BMCC faculty, administrators, and students as well as CUNY members who participated in this trip were: Alicia Bralove, Yolanda Brito, Berat Cakan, Vincent Cheng, Margatira Fazzolari, Dwight Pierre, Amy Garner, Ena Jordan, Kevin Lawrence, Dwight Pierre, Nyle Salley, Sondra Salley, Shirley Starks, Yani Tournas, Gary Smoke, and Mayumi Yamamoto.

Source :

 http://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/news/news.jsp?id=518