Turkey
Paul visits the studio of Mehmed and Osman Özçay, possibly the greatest calligraphers in the world. The visit was made possible by Irvin Schick—calligraphy expert and friend of the Özçays. [L—R: Osman Özçay, Paul Reid, Irvin Schick, Mehmed Özçay, a student of Osman's]
Article
I arrived in Turkey on October 28, and stayed for about one and a half weeks. It’s taken me this long to write an article about the last destination of my Middle East tour. A lot has happened since.
Entering Turkey was like entering a completely different world. Crossing the border from Syria completely transformed the entire trip. Arid, hot landscape transformed into mountainous, lush greenery. Suddenly everything was new and clean. But the most difficult change was the language!
This article is part of a series of nine articles describing my Middle East trip during the fall of 2009. The journey lasted almost three months and included seven countries: Yemen, Oman, Sudan, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Turkey.
Turkish
The Turkish language is unique in that it was totally a modern creation in 1928 to suit the ideological bent of Ataturk. Originally comprised of a large portion of Arabic and Persian words, it was written using Arabic script. Virtually overnight, the language was recreated into a “purely” Turkish language written with Latin characters.
I had my first exposure to the language in the best way possible. Just before entering Turkey, I traveled with a friend I met at the monastery in Syria. He was born in Turkey, spoke Arabic quite well, and lived several years in the US. With my background in Arabic, it was great to learn from an English speaker how Turkish relates to Arabic and Farsi.
Still, I was completely unprepared when I arrived in Turkey. Almost no one spoke English or Arabic! I couldn’t believe that more people spoke English in Egypt than in Turkey, a country that is trying to woo it’s way into the European union. I’m not complaining, though. I love to visit countries where English is rarely spoken. It was just an unexpected shock to me. After a while I adapted. Now I want to learn Turkish.
Izmir
I made a last minute change to my itinerary, preferring to visit friends in Izmir before arriving in Istanbul. I was thankful for the chance to adapt to the Turkish culture and language while staying with friends. While in the area, I traveled to the picturesque coastal village of Foça (pronounced “Focha”) with a friend studying video at a university in Izmir. We had a great time gathering source material for his class.
Activism
Next I traveled to a tiny village between Izmir and Istanbul to visit a sailor friend I met in Yemen. He lives in community where the members are focused on sustainable living and caring for the environment. They live in a beautiful spot overlooking the Mediterranean. We had some amazing food together, including Pekmez and other Turkish foods. It was also here where I learned the importance of the two–kettle approach to making tea.
While there, I had the unique chance to meet a small group of Greenpeace activists who were climbers in the organization and had actually participated in “actions”…sometimes resulting in jail time. I was intrigued by these gentle people who felt so strongly about the environment that they were willing to literally scale entire buildings and risk so much to create awareness of the environment. With all of the atrocities going on in the world, there are many ways to get involved in creating positive change. I wanted to know why this cause deserved a higher risk than others. I believe a person should consider carefully how they spend their time. If someone is willing to risk so much for a cause, they should be able to articulate why in such a way as to convince me to join their cause. Unfortunately the group left before I had a chance to have my question answered.
Istanbul
Istanbul was my final and possibly my favorite destination of the whole trip. Every day I had a chance to do something enriching. I attended the 11th International Istanbul Biennale entited, “What Keeps Mankind Alive?” (Oddly enough, the content was actually mostly full of political statements.) I visited the Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts, hung out with artists and designers, and even saw some of the famous sights.
Özçay Visit
By far the highlight of the time in Istanbul was the chance to spend time with Mehmed and Osman Özçay. Mehmed is arguably the best calligrapher in the world, and the family is famous for it’s contribution to the arts for several generations. Upon entering the studio, I noticed the door, appearing normal from the outside, was a foot and a half thick! We were entering a “safe” containing his works, which can sell for $25k at high end auction houses. During my visit, the Minister of Culture from the United Arab Emirates called to chat. These men are known all over the world.
But it wasn’t always this way. Mehmed toiled away at the art of calligraphy during a time when it was considered old and dusty. Now that calligraphy is once again respected for the incredible art that it is, we can thank Mehmed for bridging the gap during a low point in the art.
The visit was made possible by Irvin Schick, the most knowledgeable person of Arabic calligraphy I have ever met. Initially he explained he was going to act as a translator for us, since Mehmed was unsure of my Arabic ability, and I spoke no Turkish. But I soon realized he was every bit as gifted an individual as the Özçays. A professor of applied mathematics along with a whole string of other “interests”, Irvin’s humility belied his giftedness. Yet he took it upon himself to inundate me with information about the art of calligraphy. His eyes lit up when explaining anything related to the art.
We spent much of the day together. Irvin met me on the European side of Istanbul, and we traveled together to the Asian side to meet the Özçays in their studio. We also spent the evening together at the studio of another Turkish artist gifted in both calligraphy and design. Just that one day together would have made the entire trip to Turkey worthwhile.
The most touching part of my visit was the way everyone treated me. Despite their business, each person was gracious to take time answering my questions. It was as if I were the dignitary blessing them with my visit. Yet I can say emphatically, “the honor was all mine.”
Thank you, Irvin, for all of your help and advice. Thank you, Mehmed and Osman, for your dedication to the art of calligraphy, and taking so much time to talk with me. Thank you, Istanbul, for such a captivating end to my tour around the Middle East.
