LOCAL Archives - Page 4 of 6 - following the funks

HOLIDAY: Cinco de Mayo and Hıdırellez ?

May 5, 20172017, EVENTS, HOLIDAY, IZMIR, LOCAL, TURKEY Catie

Cinco de Mayo (the 5th of May) is an interesting holiday in the states. Technically, it is not an American holiday but it is now celebrated widely by eating at a Mexican restaurant while enjoying a margarita (which I am totally not opposed to!). In my high school Spanish class, we would celebrate by making food and celebrating the culture. Interestingly enough, it is not really celebrated in Spanish speaking countries!

Which brings me to the 5th of May here in Turkey…

At dinner the other night with some new Turkish friends, the husband shared a unique childhood memory he had of growing up in Izmir. His friends would all spend the evening of May 5th on the coast. They would light a fire in an old tire (where they got this, I have no idea…) and then take turn jumping over the fire making wishe. Interesting, huh?

Super intrigued, I started asking questions about it. Ultimately, I decided to research it more at home. Here is what I found.

What is Hıdırellez?

Hıdırellez celebrates the beginning of summer. Also called Ruz-ı Hızır (or ready day), it is said that on the day before summer starts, Khidr and Elijah meet on Earth and fulfill the wishes of others. In order to get your wishes fulfilled, it is traditional to jump over a fire.

So, who is Khidr? From what I read, Khidr literally means ‘The Green One’ and he symbolizes freshness of spirit. Some say he was a person or a prophet while others say he was an angel. He is popular in Islamic lore as the people who found the fountain of life and now lives to give wisdom and guidance to those who call on his name.
And who is Elijah? Elijah was a prophet of God who was sent to ancient Israel and told them to repent of their sins and return to God. Elijah did not experience death, but instead God took him up to heaven at the end of his life. Most of what I know about him is from the Bible, but as Muslims, Jews, and Christians all share the same history, it is no surprise that he is also found in the Quran.
Sidenote: (From my knowledge, Khidr is not found in the Judaism nor the Bible and from the forums I read, he is mentioned only in Quran and the Hadiths.)

Where did it come from? Who celebrates it?

Everything I read was very unclear as to the start of this tradition and the main cultures it applied too. The day seems to be celebrated even before Islam and into the early ages of the Balkan areas, Iran, Mesopotamia, and Anatolia. Now is it widely considered a Turkish-Islamic traditions with traditions stemming from different regions.

How is it celebrated?

Hıdırellez is usually celebrated in green, wooded areas, and possibly by tombs. Fresh spring veggies and lamb are the traditional choice of food. Prayers are generally traditional and are recited. Wishes are hung under a rose tree with slips of paper or ribbon. Some believe you must say the Hıdırellez prayer for the wishes to be accepted. However, the most common tradition is to light a fire and jump through it. Jumping through the fire on this day is a sign of goodness and will protect you from disease and injuries. From the prayers and jumping over the fire, it is believed that Khidr will bless you in the places he touches.

Prayers recited

Hıdırellez wishes are to be hung from to the branch of rose tree: “Allaah, Lord, the People of Allah, the Prophet Muhammad, the Prophet Muhammad, the Promise or the Rapture” prayer is to be read 39 times by May 5th, the remaining one prayer is read on May 6th.

Here are messages you can send to your Turkish friends for the day:

Hıdırellez bayramınız kutlu olsun! Happy Hıdırellez Holiday!
Havalar gibi yüreğinizde hep sıcacık olsun. Hıdırellez’de dilekleriniz kabul olsun. Always be warm in your heart like the air. May your wishes at Hıdırellez be accepted.
Aylardan Mayıs, günlerden Hıdırellez; gününüz hep güneşli talihiniz hep bol olsun. Hızır gününüz kutlu olsun. From May to May, from day to day; Always have plenty of sunshine for your day. Happy day!

So that’s it! Having lived in Istanbul for 2 years already, I was surprised to hear about this holiday! I mean, I know there is so much more to learn about the culture and holidays then I was able to learn in my short time of living there. However, jumping over a fire seems like one I would have heard about for sure!

Turkey readers:

Have you heard about this holiday?
Do you celebrate or know someone who still celebrates this holiday?

Non-Turkey readers:

What do you think of this holiday? Have you heard of it before?
Do you have any friends who celebrate this day?

Read more about it:

This would be the most interesting post: Posta News (Open in Google Chrome for English translations)

Sabah News (Open in Google Chrome for English translations)

Hurriyet (Open in Google Chrome for English translations)

Wikipedia – Hıdırellez –https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hıdırellez (Can’t be used in Turkey right now)

Wikipedia – Khidr – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khidr (Can’t be used in Turkey right now)

WRITING: 5 Tips For Overcoming Culture Shock

May 2, 2017May 2, 2017HOME, IZMIR, LOCAL, MOVING, PLACES, TURKEY, WRITING Catie

Culture shock can happen and will happen to everyone. And yes, I will argue against well-seasoned travelers and long time expats that it can happened to them as well! Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it below.

Culture shock affects everyone differently: some people withdraw from others, other may become sad or depressed (homesickness can hit hard during this time- even if you don’t have a home!), some become angry at all the little differences, and others struggle to find meaning in their world and the relationships around them.

I recently wrote a little article for a website, Expat Women in Turkey, titled 5 Tips For Overcoming Culture Shock: When The Excitement Of Moving Wears Off. After 2 summers volunteering abroad, 3 countries of residence (both singled and now married) and numerous university study abroad students to prep and debrief on this topic, I shared five ways I have found helpful to process/shake off the culture shock and get back into ‘normalcy’.

Here is the start of the article:

Spring is gorgeous here in Izmir, Turkey. The sun shines and the weather is just the right temperature. Recently, I went out for a few errands and just basked in the rays of sunlight peeking through as I weaved in and out of the shadows made from my neighborhood buildings and trees. In a split second, I went from gloriously praising MY lovely city to cursing the stinky rules of THEIR culture. Because, for the almost 1 millionth time, I barely missed stepping on fresh dog poop in the middle of the sidewalk….

Click over here to read the rest of it!

I would love to hear what helps you when culture shock hits.

EVENTS: INFLOW Travel Summit 2017 in Istanbul, Turkey

April 28, 2017May 19, 20172017, EVENTS, IZMIR, LOCAL, PODCAST, TRAVELS, TURKEY, WRITING Catie

Have you seen those Instagrammers with like 4.9 million followers… or even 50k followers? Shoot, I’m impressed with 1k folks out there! Or maybe you follow a popular YouTube channel or website like this. They are travel bloggers, luxury lifestyle writers, or even just someone that records their life riding around on a motorcycle.

For a long time, Facebook was ‘my jam’! That was how I connected with others and I loved it! (I also admit that moving overseas for 4 years at a critical social media boom period was terrible for my tech savviness…) But now-a-days people have found ways to share their story through almost every kind of media out there! And their growing popularity has given them the ability to work as online influencers with brands, hotels, and other companies seeking this type of promotion.

Last week Turkey held its first ever INFLOW Travel Summit. The INFLOW team created this Brand-2-Influencers (B2I) summit to bring brands together with leading influencers on an international scale! This 2 day event started with sessions by leading influencers from YouTube, Instagram, and Travel Bloggers with presentations from Turkish Airlines and Switzerland Tourism. The 2nd day was full of B2I meetings.

While most of the speakers and popular influencers were flown in (courtesy of Turkish Airlines) as part of a FAM trip, paid tickets were available for different levels of the conference. Tickets started with the 1st day of speaker sessions, and then you could choose up towards to a full 3 day regular ticket.

A few extra perks of the full 3-day ticket was 3 nights accommodations at the Swissotel in Besiktas, opening welcome dinner sponsored by Swiss Tourism, after party at the 360 Istanbul night club, closing dinner at the Divine Hotel, and more intimate time with other influencers after a busy day!

Welcome dinner sponsored by Switzerland Tourism

Amazing menu – The lamb just melted in your mouth!

Here are a few reasons you might consider going to the next INFLOW Travel Summit:

You are an influencer.
You want to learn more about become an influencer.
You are a brand or company looking for online promotion through influencers.

Why did I go?

We have a podcast about our journey as an expat in Turkey and our travels. Make sure to check it out here.
I have enjoyed travel writing and I would love to do more with it.
Great opportunity to network with others.

BONUS: It was my birthday! Who doesn’t want to spend their birthday with a bunch of fun people! (Actually, I know Jason would not choose this for his birthday! Love you honey!)

Representing our home state of Iowa and our current country of residence, Turkey!

Little excited to meet the Turkish YouTube Food star, Idil Tatari

Great start to a birthday morning with the view of the bosphorus from the Swiss Otel

Birthday tradition! Cake #1 for breakfast! My love is so thoughtful!

Celebrating my birthday at lunch – Cake #2 😉

Dinner Party at the Divan Hotel – Land of Legends Theme Park characters

My thoughts:

Overall, I really enjoyed the INFLOW summit. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the presentation, videography, and graphics were very well done. They had a translation system as well for both Turkish and English speakers. I only saw a couple of areas that could be improved; such as having the summit schedule sooner, and knowing more information about how to prepare for the B2I meetings.

This summit gave me a great motivation for moving forward with my website and encouraged me to continue pursuing my dreams. Since I live in Izmir, it was helpful to have a meeting in Turkey. I loved representing other expats at the B2I meeting, and it was helpful to start conversations about future representation with them!

Update! Enjoy a short video of this conference here!

Questions for you:

Would you attend something like this near you?

Have you attended a summit like this before?

Resources and Articles about the event:

Official website – INFLOW Travel Summit
Event location/accommodations – Swiss Otel – The Bosphorus
Summit on new travel trends set to open in Istanbul
Older post about the event in November for just influencers – Meet me in Istanbul! Inflow Travel Summit
Post from GoatsontheRoad about coming to the April Summit
Linkedin
Twitter
The phenomenal bloggers met at the Inflow Travel Summit with giant brands – In Turkish but Google Chrome browser will translate for you
HaberTurk – Inflow Travel Summit’17

HOLIDAY: Children’s Day “Çocuk Bayramı” in Turkey

April 22, 2017April 22, 20172017, EVENTS, FAMILY, HOLIDAY, IZMIR, LOCAL, TURKEY Catie

National Cupcake Day, National Pancake Day, National Caramel Day, National Be Kind to a Stranger Day…

Jason and I recently listened to a podcast episode about holidays in America. It seems like all of these “National Holidays” came out of nowhere and we have no idea how they got there. But this episode explained how they all came to be. The short story is that Congress passed a lot of commemorative days back in the ’80s, but now a holidays are submitted to a calendar company for unofficial approval for just about any holiday you can think of.

But moving on…

because, you know, we now live in Turkey…

and there are a couple things you should know…

1. There are a few unique national holidays here that we don’t usually celebrate in the states. (or at least, I didn’t)
2. Turkey is serious about their National holidays.

Which leads us to Turkey’s national holiday in April known as Çocuk Bayramı.

Çocuk Bayramı, also know as “Children’s Day”, is a BIG HUGE deal. There is also a “Gençler Bayramı”, Youth Holiday, here in May, and all the school shut down for it… (P.s. – you just learned like 3 new Turkish words there! Çocuk – child, Genç – youth/young person, and Bayram – holiday)

Children Day Celebrations. Picture credit to TRT.

So what is Çocuk Bayramı?

The official name of this holiday is “National Sovereignty and Children’s Day“. In Turkey, it is held on the anniversary of the founding of the parliament in 1920, the holiday is viewed by Turks as a gift from Ataturk not just to Turkish children, but to children of the world (Told you, MAJOR bigtime).

So what happens?

Schools have special ceremonies to celebrate the day. Children all over Turkey dress up in special outfits or the national costume for Çocuk Bayrami. Boys who dress in the national costume typically wear baggy silk pants, a colorful vest, a white shirt and a sequined hat, called a tepelik. Girls wear a long colorful gown called a kaftan and an ornate veil. Many children perform in plays or musicals. We actually saw a large group of about 500 kids practicing for a ceremony.

Since 1979 the centrepiece of the holiday, TRT (Turkish Radio and Television Cooperation) and the state TV company sponsors a worldwide children’s festival in Ankara. Children from many nations are invited to Turkey to take part in the creative and beautiful events. You can read more about it here.

In the past, over 150 different countries have participated with about 30,000 children. While it is usually celebrated in Ankara, in 2000 other big cities of Turkey such as İstanbul, Antalya, İzmir, Bursa, Konya, Gaziantep, started their own celebrations. This year, Children Festival will be held April 18-26 in a city called Nevşehir which is in the central region of Turkey . About 30 countries are expected to participate to this festival. I encourage you to check out more pictures here.

The celebrations do not stop there. Hotels, shopping malls, restaurants, and practically everyone else celebrates by having festivals or shopping sales! It is a huge celebration for families here which is a central part to the culture.

So if you are in Turkey, be on the lookout for children’s events near you! A few events I found in Izmir:
List of events via sehrincocukhali.com
Folk Art Towers
Mavi Bahçe
Swiss Otel

Questions for the readers:

Turkish readers:
How did you celebrate Cocuk Bayramı this year?

Non-Turkish readers:
Do you have a National Children’s Day in your country?
What is a cool holiday you celebrate near you?

EVENTS: Izmir Chocolate Festival

April 6, 2017October 12, 20172017, EVENTS, FOOD, IZMIR, LOCAL, PLACES, TURKEY Catie

In the past, Turkey hasn’t been known for having the most decadent desserts outside of their amazing baklava and ‘Sorbet/Syrup’ desserts(basically sweet treats soaked in a simple syrup). And to continue that, chocolate in any form isn’t high on anyone’s priority list. In fact, I read that the average Turk consumes less than a kilo of chocolate a year whereas the average German can consume up to 7 kilos per year. But, similar to the rising popularity of specialized coffee, the chocolate scene is slowly starting to make waves. The times are changing folks.

So, needless to say, when Izmir held it’s first annual (and long anticipated) local Chocolate Festival at the La Vie Nouvelle venue on March 31 – April 2… I had to go! The same organizers, Next Organization and Ateş Prodüksiyon, of private festivals such as the Izmir Coffee Festival back in October 2016 also organized the Izmir Chocolate Festival.

The festival was well planned with many booths representing mostly chocolate or dessert companies, but there were several other small businesses stands as well to give the guests some diversity. We found coffee, chocolate crepes, truffles, ice cream, and a beautiful chocolate fountain that you could dip your fruit into. Along with purchasing items from the businesses (or free sampling at some of the more generous booths), the festival offered workshops for both adults and kids and held seminars on different topics related to chocolate like ‘Health and Chocolate’.

If you got tired from all the sugar you enjoyed, you could sit and enjoy the view of the bay since the venue was right on the water. And there was always a DJ providing music in the background. We happened to be there while they were teaching the crowd how to do some type of line dancing and then some salsa dancing.

If the adults weren’t enjoying the music, the kids would. The kids were allowed up on the stage to dance and play at different times. Even though the venue was too crowded, the event was super family friendly.

Overall, I think the festival was worth going to! I will leave you with 3 thoughts. Firstly, while it was a fun time, I am not sure it was worth 2 full price tickets. Fortunately for us, the festival offered a buy one, get one free promotion back in February. Secondly, although the time we went was super lively and hopping, I wish we would have gone on the first day early in the morning because well… less crowded… more food to sample/try… and just easier to have a conversation with people. Lastly, I so wish I would have signed up for a workshop! I would have loved learning alongside others how to make truffles or a Nutella praline, just to name a couple!

Questions for the readers:

Would you go to a Chocolate Festival near you? Have you been to one before?

What is your favorite chocolate treat?