Turkey was a place Don and I had always wanted to visit. The history and beauty of the country fascinated us. I had gotten to know a number of Turks while I was teaching English as a foreign language at the Naval War College in Newport and one year we sponsored the Turkish officer and his family. They were all wonderful people who took such pride in their country and only increased our desire to see Turkey for ourselves. Consequently we felt very fortunate to be invited on this trip.
It’s hard to say what the most exciting part of the trip was. Certainly the evening on the Bosporus as we cruised between Europe and Asia, Istanbul with its exquisite mosques and palaces, Cappadocia, with its fantastic rock formations, and the ancient cities of Marden and Sanliurfa would be high on our list.
We were most affected by the gracious hospitality of our hosts. Everyone we met seemed to go out of his/her way to make us feel welcome and honored. We were also most impressed by the good work we heard that our hosts were doing in education and interreligious understanding. We had never heard of the Fethullah Gulen movement before the trip.
Before we left for Turkey, we read Snow by Orhan Pamuk. Since returning I have read some of Rumi’s poetry and Don has read several more books by Turkish authors. We both read more carefully articles on Turkey in the news, so you can say the trip definitely increased our interest in Turkish politics and culture.
We are grateful for the opportunity to visit your wonderful country. We treasure our experiences on the tour and the chance to make new friends both among Turks and tour members. We don’t see anyone nearly as often as we’d like but have enjoyed the opportunities the Rumi Forum provides to stay in touch with friends.
