Today was our first full day in Istanbul. We started off the morning meeting our tour guide, Yucel Atik, at our hotel and taking a walking tour of the old town. This included a history lesson in front of the Hagia Sophia museum, also known as the Cathedral of Saint Sophia, which was later turned into a Mosque. Istanbul started out as a Greek colony and eventually became the capital of both the Roman Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. The Hagia Sophia was built in the 6th century and was originally built as Roman Catholic Cathedral. When the Ottomans conquered Turkey in 1453, they converted the cathedral into a mosque. They painted and plastered over some of the religious symbols and mosaics to comply with Islamic traditions of not displaying human figures in a mosque. They believe displays of human figures lead to adultery. They made several other cosmetic and structural changes including the addition of minarets. It is now a museum and is the only cathedral in the world that maintains artifacts from both Christian and Muslim religions. It was the largest cathedral in the world for over 1000 years.
Next we walked to the Blue Mosque. We removed our shoes in respect for the Islamic tradition, and walked through the Blue Mosque, which was built by Sultan Ahmed I from 1609-1616. This was and incredible feat that surpassed even the Sultans most ambitious expectations. The mosque derives its name from the 21,073 ceramic tiles within the dome. It is the only mosque in the world that has 6 minarets and is an architectural masterpiece. Its architect was also part of designing the Taj Mahal in India. The original design and construction included dormitories’, kitchen, and a hospital for the poor. There was also a Bazaar for shopping and is still a working mosque.
After the Blue Mosque we walked to downtown and met with the World Wildlife Fund of Turkey. The main object of the WWF in Turkey is to conserve the natural resources including habitat and species. Only 8% of Turkey’s farmland is irrigated by newer methods of sprinkler and drip irrigation. The remaining 92% practices surface irrigation that is traditional but highly inefficient. The WWF is trying to provide education and monetary subsidies to small, local farmers. Their intent is to introduce the benefits of modern irrigation systems to the farmers not only to conserve water but also to increase the efficiency of land use. The WWF predicts that when global warming occurs, Turkish farmers will need to have reduced their water consumption with modern technological practices and alternative crop choices. The WWF also uses financial resources to provide funding for the Turkish Universities to fund agricultural resource projects. The WWF is aimed at providing policies for sustainable agriculture while protecting their natural resources.
Our next stop was the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul for an embassy briefing. The meeting was organized by the Senior Agricultural Specialist, Ibriham, who greeted us. Ben Hood, an economic advisor for the Department of State, presented a historical perspective to the issues Turkey faces today. The Commercial Services Department of the U.S. Department of Commerce, explained their role in expanding U.S. exports into Turkey. The American Consulate General Review of the Agricultural Sector was presented by Rachel Nelson, an Agricultural Attaché. She traveled from the U.S. Embassy in the capitol city of Ankara, with the sole purpose of meeting with our group. Thank you Rachel! American exports to Turkey reached a record high in 2010 of $2.2 billion. Some key facts regarding Turkey’s agriculture are; the average size of a farm is less then 15 acres, landowners are forbidden from selling land units of less then 20 acres, and agriculture employs 29% of the work force in Turkey.
Our evening was spent at the Grande Bazaar. This is the oldest and largest bazaarin the world, with more then 4,600 shops. This allowed us to get in a little shopping for family gifts.
Tomorrow we are off to Urfa to learn about the GAP project. Each marker on the map below represents a dam project that is either under construction or planned.
Melissa Duflock, Jim Peterson, and Chris Amble
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