Dear Readers,
Today our group splits into two as we journey to very different places: one group left early this morning, around 4:30, to catch a flight to Sanliurfa (pronounced by Turks as “Shan-lurfa” and usually just referred to as “Urfa”) in southeastern Turkey. The world of Urfa, we’ve been told, will be nothing like what we’ve seen in Istanbul.
The other group will be leaving for Nicosia, the capital city of the island of Cyprus, which is divided between Northern and Southern Cyprus. The North, known as the Turkish Republic of Cyprus (TRNC), is only recognized as a legitimate state by Turkey and weighs heavily on Turkey’s attempts to enter the European Union. Questions of nationality and issues of state identity surround this tiny, beautiful island.
We’ll be blogging from both sites, and reconvening in Istanbul again on the 24th. Look forward to double the blog content and reading about two very different parts of Turkey. Jessie and Raisa, our trip planners, have done an incredible job putting together this itinerary and we can’t wait to see how this informs our research from two distinct perspectives.
Thanks for your loyal readership thus far,
Sanjena Sathian
Editor in Chief