Spending Christmas in an Iranian Church

One may ask how in a year I went from spending Christmas in a rural Lutheran church in Marysville, OH to an Iranian Protestant church in Denizli, Turkey.


A few days before Christmas I asked my host  family about possible churches in Denizli. They told me the location of the only one in the whole city which was located in Yenişehir neighborhood. Only a 10 minute walk from my school, so the next day after school I went out looking for the church to inquire about the Christmas service. I arrived to a large house with a cross on the side and knocked on the door. It was completely enclosed in a fence and the windows were tinted.  I knew something was weird when I began talking to the man who opened the door, it seemed that he didn’t understand me at all. He never even replied and I didn’t think my Turkish could be so bad that this man couldn’t understand a word of it. He called back to another man in the back of the church who came over and greeted me in Turkish. He then invited me in for coffee where he explained to me that this is an Iranian Protestant Church and everyone here speaks mostly Farsi. 

One of the Iranian friends I made that evening

Many of the Iranians in this church came to Turkey to escape religious persecution and some of the families live in the 3rd story of the building. Iran has a very old and rich Christian history. However it has always been a minority religion in the region. Zoroastrianism being the majority religion before the Islamic conquest. Many of the Christian communities in Iran today are made up of old minority ethnic groups such as Armenians and Assyrians. These churches conduct they're liturgy in their ethnic languages and not Farsi. This church I was at however was made up of ethnic Farsi speaking Persians. In the 18th and 19th centuries there were a few attempts from Protestant missionaries to evangelize Iran. These efforts left a few convert churches to battle persecution for the rest of their existence in Iran. And when I say "a few" I'm not far off considering that Christians make up .155% of the population. So it is the descendants of these converts who make up this church.

The Christmas service would be packed with all of the Iranian Christian families in Denizli and the whole service would be in Farsi. This of course is something I would never turn down. When I arrived Christmas day I was greeted by many smiling and welcoming Iranians who spoke very little Turkish let alone any English. I was ushered into the crowded basement and while dodging running screaming Iranian children  I met and attempted to talk with many of the families. When the service began with Farsi songs that were read off the projector screen in the Farsi alphabet, I knew I was a long way from home. But as the service progressed with scripture readings, the sermon, and children sermon time I began to realize how close to home I really was. At the end of the service Santa Clause came bursting through the church doors and everyone erupted in the Farsi version of Jingle bells. I couldn't stop laughing at how incredible this whole situation was and I realized that finding situations that can be so different from my home but yet intimately related is what makes this cultural immersion so life changing.

The Rich and Varied History of my Current Home

Sometimes I just have to stop and think about where I really am in the world. Am I really living in the cradle of the civilized world, the breadbasket of civilization? It is one of the oldest inhabited regions on earth with  structures dating back to 10,000 BC (only a few hundred miles from me).
It really is incredible to think of the cultures and civilizations that have traveled through and lived in this land that I now call home. Some of these groups include the Hattians, Hittites, Assyrians, Romans, Greeks, Turks and myself. The sheer amount of history and historical landmarks in this country is astounding. It has just become a daily part of life. When driving with my host family across the country side we will pass ancient pillars and homes carved into the mountainside. They don’t even think twice about it while I am sitting in the back of the car having a melt down because every where I look I see an ancient structure. 

My friend told me a few weeks ago after discussing the amount history in this region that he never thought he would meet a foreigner with such an interest in the history of his country. I was kind of taken back by this.Honestly, all people should have a common interest in this region because from the dawn of mankind so many cultures and groups of people have called this land home. I think that the diversity of Anatolia should unite and connect the civilizations that have claimed this land instead of create rifts.  

Pamukkale and Hierapolis

I came to Turkey with the desire to explore many of the ruins and sites of antiquity in this country. I had the great opportunity of exploring the ruins of Hierapolis and the natural wonders of Pamukkale with my host brother. Hierapolis-Pamukkale was made a world heritage site in 1988. Pamukkale's terraces are made of travertine, a sedimentary rock deposited by water from the hot springs. It has an incredible white cotton looking surface with warm water running down it. (Hence the Turkish translation of Pamukkale: cotton castle) As we worked our way up these white rock formations I was in absolute wonderment of the natural beauty I was experiencing. When we reached the top of the white rock formations I was expecting this to be the extent of this UNESCO World Heritage site. However I was very wrong. At the top the cotton castle there lay an entire ancient city. The city of Hieropolis has been inhabitated by the Phrygians, the Greeks, The Romans, The Byzantines and the Seljuk Turks. Seeing the different influences in the city that each culture left was really eye opening because it served as a tangible example of the cultural diversity of this land.

October Photo Journal

This first month has been an incredible experience. I left everything I had known for 17 years and came to this country to immerse myself into the culture. I have made great friends and learned more than I ever thought I would. The best part about all of this is that it has just begun. I have selected some pictures from this month to show some of my early adventures and experiences for this year.

October Highlights

İyi Bayramlar! Happy Bayram, as they say in Turkey.

Every year Kurban Bayramı (as it is called in Turkish) is celebrated throughout the Muslim world. During this holiday an animal is sacrificed to commemorate the Prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his oldest son Ismail.  Families all over Turkey gather together for this big feast and sacrifice. It was truly unlike anything I had ever experienced before, throughout this experience I had to keep asking myself if I was really here. In Turkey it is customary for families to visit their lost ones at cemeteries the day before the feast and sacrifice. I had never been to a Muslim cemetery before and the first difference that you notice is that all of the graves are above ground. It was such an awe inspiring moment as I observed the elders sitting next to the graves from the Ottoman Empire clutching their prayer beads and mouthing Arabic prayers as the ezan (call to prayer) sounded throughout the cemetery.  

 

First time witnessing a sacrifice

 The next morning my father, my brother and I woke up early for the morning Kurban Nemaz (the prayer). I excitedly walked through the crisp morning air toward the mosque down the street as this was my first time experiencing prayer in a mosque. The simplistic, peaceful and spiritually moving nature of this ceremony is something that I wish all young Americans could experience.   

 

Picking corn with my Grandfather just as the ancient Hittites would have done

When I arrived at my grandparent’s farm outside of Denizli only a few miles from the ancient Greek city Hierapolis. When we first arrived I witnessed the butcher quickly sacrificing a lamb while invoking the name of Allah. As the food was being prepared my grandfather took my brother and I out into orchards. As I walked among the pomegranate trees set in this expansive Anatolian valley, I thought of all the many civilizations that have travelled through these valleys and the many groups of people that have called this land their home. Understanding the vast amounts of nuanced history that this region has really helps one better experience and appreciate the people and their culture.  

Enjoying some traditional sheep parts

 The meal was served early in the afternoon and it was eaten on a huge carpet filled with 20 family members. After eating many unknown sheep parts and other delicious traditional foods we all lounged around drinking tea as we listened to one of my uncles play the saz (traditional Turkish string instrument.) Being surrounded with all these incredibly different cultural aspects it would be understandable for one to become overwhelmed. However, as I looked around at all the smiling and laughing faces of my new family members and the love and joy pervading throughout the room, I felt strangely at home.

The Pre-Departure Orientation

It was exciting to go back to Washington DC for the PDO. After making some great friends at the IPSE in March it was great to see them again. Many people I talk to at home have trouble understanding why I am able to give up my senior year and leave all of my friends for a year in a country that many people would never want to go to. Therefore, it is very refreshing to be around kids with similar view points and who understand and agree with the reasons for the program.

The PDO took place June 26-28. It is designed to help prepare us for the changes that we encounter next year and answer any questions we have regarding the program. All of the 66 participants split up into groups specific by country. This year YES Abroad is sending kids to Oman, Malaysia, Thailand, Morocco, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Indonesia, Ghana, and South Africa. There are nine male candidates. We had eight kids in our Turkey group and four of them were guys. Each country group had a group leader who had previously lived in that country through YES or NSLI-Y. Turkey had the only male group leader and he lived in Samsun two years ago. It was great to have the opportunity to ask him as many questions about Turkish life and living in Turkey as we could. I learned the most during this weekend from the experiences and stories my group leader had relayed to us.  Also getting the male perspective on life in Turkey was very beneficial for me as the male perspectives are quite scarce around there.

Turkey Group at the United States State Department

Much of the PDO was spent in a conference room sitting through cultural workshops. Even though it was long and somewhat tedious this was helpful in many ways. I learned what is expected of me as a YES Abroad scholar and the importance of the scholarship I have been provided. While visiting the State Department I realized what a special privilege I have to participate on this program. Considered by the State Department as a "hallmark of public diplomacy" this program grants me the responsibility to try to bridge the gap between the barriers of Turkish and American cultures. However I am not overwhelmed by the State Department's long term ambitious goals, because I know that putting myself in new and different situations and learning about different people and connecting our cultures is something that I find myself naturally doing.     

The Republic of Türkiye

For over three thousand years Turkey has been a meeting place of cultures. Over time this has created a unique and beautifully complex land described as the crossroads of cultures. In the sixteenth century, Turkey was the center of one of the world's greatest empires. The Ottoman sultans controlled and brought Islam to lands that extended into southeast Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa. However, over time the Empire shrank and weakened and during the 1800's it was referred to as the "sick man of Europe." By the 20th century European powers were ready to control and divide Turkey. Led by the great visionary, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Turkey demanded its place in the modern world. It made a dramatic shift from its previous Islamic authoritarian government to a Western secular democracy. It is incredible to think that within a decade this country had made a complete 180 degree turn. 

In October of 1923, Ankara became the new capital of the Turkish Republic. The Assembly elected Mustafa Kemal as their first president. Once the Republic established its power throughout the Anatolian peninsula and Thrace, Kemal's government immediately began reforming the country and established the democratic, nationalistic, and secular ideals of Kemalism. The country underwent massive Westernization and Modernization under this new government. For example, Arabic script and numbers were replaced by the Latin alphabet and modern Western numbers. This seemingly small change had large effects for the future of the country. It tightened the relationship with Western nations and made it easier for people to read and write, catapulting the young nation into the modern world.

On September 4, 2013, I will be departing for nine and a half months to study and live in this country. Turkey is a land imbued with such rich and diverse history and I am extremely excited to immerse myself and delve into its unique and varied culture.