Travels with a Laptop

On the Trail of Christianity in Turkey

2012-02-01T06:38:00.000-08:00

About aweek ago, I attended the Ottawa premiere of a documentary called “Journey ofFaith: On the Trail of Christianity.” Hosted by the Embassy of Turkey and theTurkish Canadian Cultural Association, the event drew an audience of 300 to theNational Library and Archives in Canada’s capital city.

Here ismy story of film maker Victoria Barrett’s travels through Christian Turkey.

DocumentaryHighlights Turkey’s Rich Christian History

BySusan Korah

Photoscourtesy of Shenandoah Films

Ifall the world’s a stage as Shakespeare said, certain countries have been thesetting for some of the most dramatic episodes in human history. With its rangeof ‘stage settings’- from thesnow-crowned peaks of Mount Ararat to the sapphire waters of the Mediterranean-the modern Republic of Turkey was thebackdrop of several epic dramas in the world’s history- classical, Byzantineand Ottoman.

Whatmight come as a surprise to many is that Turkey, known in ancient times as AsiaMinor, is also the land where several Old Testament Bible tales took place andthe story of Christianity unfolded from its earliest beginnings with theApostles, and continued to occupy centre-stage until the 15^thcentury.

Itcertainly was a happy surprise to Victoria Barrett, President of Shenandoah Filmsand Director-Producer of “Journey of Faith: On the Trail of Christianity”, adocumentary of stunning beauty that was recently screened in Ottawa by theEmbassy of Turkey.

Growingup in a small town in West Virginia where her production company is now based,Victoria was fascinated by the Bible stories she heard at her Episcopalianchurch and in her community. Little didshe dream that one day, she would actually see the places where some of thosemomentous events took place, and re-create the story for television audienceson both sides of the Atlantic and beyond.

Anaccomplished actress whose early career took her to Los Angeles, Victoria foundthat her own life changed dramatically when her husband Thomas Wheelock, President of an international joint venture went to Turkey to supervise the building of a natural gas power plant there. Joining him there for fiveyears, she fell in love with the country, its timeless beauty, hospitable andfriendly people and its immense wealth of sites of historical and culturalimportance.

“Turkeyis like one big open-air museum,” she said in a pre-screening interview. “AfterIsrael, it has the second highest number of Biblical sites in the world.”

Witha crew consisting of American, Turkish,English, German and Hungarian members, Victoria travelled by bus through 15 locations of incredible diversity, to make a one-hour documentary called “Journeyof Faith: On the Trail of Christianity.”

Lightningflashed, thunder rumbled, and appropriately enough, rain fell in torrents asfilming began on a sizzling summer day near Mount Ararat, the final restingplace of Noah’s Ark.

Fromthis beginning, Victoria, who co-wrote the script and narrates it, takes theviewer on a journey that is at once worldly and spiritual, historical andmodern, and conveys a palpable sense of excitement at walking the places thatonce seemed so far away and mysterious.

Setto haunting music by Fahir Atakoglu, “Journey of Faith” is partly a travelogueand partly a story of spiritual self-discovery and reconnecting with a faiththat had somehow lost its moorings in the frenetic pace of life in Los Angeles.

Exploringthis magical land with a Bible as guidebook, and animated maps to illuminatethe scenes for viewers, Victoria visits shepherds tending their flock in theshadow of Mount Ararat, walks ancient Roman roads in the footsteps of St. Paul,one of Christianity’s most intrepid missionaries, and sails like him from theMediterranean to the aquamarine waters of the Aegean Sea.

Shestrolls through the streets of Ephesus, once a thriving Roman City and later amagnet for Christian pilgrims because of its proximity to the modest butbeautiful stone house, believed to have been the last home after Jesus’ death,of his beloved mother Mary and her protector St. John.

Cappadocia,with its surreal, moon-like landscapes and labyrinthine caves where earlyChristians took refuge from their Roman persecutors, the Seven Churches describedin the Book of Revelations and the incredibly beautiful Church of St. Sophia inIstanbul are some of the other sites that are featured in this journey.

“Everyone who worked on this film said it changed their lives insome way - and we had a very diverse crew,” said Victoria. “Christiansreaffirmed their baptisms; Muslims pointed out similarities in the religionsand one woman, who was raised in a communist country asked for aBible. She married one of the Turkish crew members!”

“Journey of Faith”, which has been broadcast widely in the US onPBS TV, may or may not change your life, but it will certainly help you to seeTurkey in a very different light.

For more information on the documentary, visit http://www.shenandoahfilm.com/

Victoria at Mount Ararat

With H. E. Rafet Akgunay, Ambassador of Turkey to Canada

Film crew at Rumeli Hisar

Filming in Iznik (ancient Nicea)

It's a small world

2011-11-12T15:59:00.000-08:00

The picture below is one I took of Imam Muhammed Ashafa, one of the two celebrated Nigerian militia leaders turned peacemakers featured in a documentary by Alan Channer and Imad Karam of FLT Films, UK. Last summer, my travels took me to Caux, a picturesque mountain village near Montreux in Switzerland, where I attended an international forum on human security. On a day off, I went on a day trip to Geneva and spent a pleasant afternoon strolling around Lake Geneva and the older, historical part of the city. Accompanying me in a little group,were the Imam and a former American diplomat John Graham.

A year later, I met the Imam and his colleague Pastor James Wuye in Ottawa, my home city. They were here to share their peacemaking expertise with us Canadians on our own home ground.

Below is my published account of one of their engagements in our nation's capital.

10/11/2011

By Susan Korah

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
Prayer of St. Francis

Theirs is not a rags-to-riches saga or even a tale of a steep ascent from obscurity to power and glory. Yet when Imam Mohammed Ashafa and Pastor James Wuye speak, Heads of State, Heads of Mission and other world leaders listen in respectful silence. Sometimes they even sign peace accords after hearing their words of wisdom.

Ashafa and Wuye, two remarkable Nigerians who were once locked in mortal combat as militia leaders on opposite sides of the Muslim-Christian divide in their own country are now firm friends committed to sowing seeds of love and peace in places where hatred and violence once reigned supreme.

Canadians of many diverse backgrounds had a rare opportunity to meet them and hear them in person at a panel discussion on 1 November at St Paul University, Ottawa. The audience included diplomats and parliamentarians as well as other Canadians of various cultural backgrounds.

With the two Nigerian visitors were two other men who also played important roles in their peace mission. One was Alan Channer, the British director of The Imam and the Pastor and An African Answer, two award-winning documentaries that captured their riveting story and facilitated their transformation from local village heroes in Nigeria to unofficial international ambassadors of peace. The other was Joseph Karanaja, a Kenyan lawyer, whose peace activism in his own troubled land led him to appeal to Ashafa and Wuye to bring their healing hands to his country.

Moderated by Vern Redekop, Associate Professor of Conflict Studies at St Paul University, the panel discussion was preceded by excerpts from The Imam and the Pastor and An African Answer, with updating footage that had not been shown before.

'My peace be on all of you,' said Pastor Wuye as he began his presentation, setting the tone for the whole evening. He went on to summarize the amazing story of his own personal journey from feelings of hatred towards Ashafa’s co-religionists who had killed his people and caused him to lose a hand in battle, to a gradual build-up of mutual trust and respect and a desire for peaceful co-existence. Emphasizing that it was a slow and difficult process, he gave full credit to his Muslim colleague for taking the initiative and offering support and sympathy when his mother took ill and died.

Wuye also acknowledged the role of FLT Films, Channer’s documentary production company, and of Initiatives of Change in making their story known to the entire world. 'When the Imam and I started our Peace Centre in Kaduna, Nigeria, we never thought it would go global,' he said.

His thoughts were echoed by His Excellency, Professor Iyorwuese Hagher, High Commissioner of Nigeria to Canada who acknowledged the duo as Nigeria’s peace ambassadors to the world.

'Today, humanity is in danger and though religion is part of the problem, it can be part of the solution too,' affirmed Imam Ashafa. 'Our story is from the heartbeat of the African continent,' he continued. 'This is a civil society initiative of Nigeria. It’s a human story, a story of our nation and our continent, and our desire to get it right.'

Commenting on the role of the mainstream media Ashafa noted that it is more interested in 'breaking' than 'breakthrough' news. Thus stories like this often go unnoticed in the world.

Speaking of the duo’s role in Kenya, he said: 'Cultural sensitivity is important in peacemaking. I came as a brother, not with sympathy but with empathy.'

Karanja said that this kind of initiative starts with an individual. He promised that he would put his own legal career on hold during Kenya’s next election in 2012 to devote himself to peacemaking activities and to preventing a repetition of the shocking violence that occurred in 2009.

Channer stated that it took a big team, with input from the people of Nigeria and Kenya to produce the films. In response to a question on how he chose to tell this particular story, he said that he had been looking to make a film about reconciliation between Christians and Muslims. A rabbi had prophetically told him that such a story might come from a totally unexpected part of the world.

A question and answer session followed the panellists’ presentations, with many in the audience offering their own insights and posing thoughtful questions. The audience was also introduced to a 'Peace and Reconciliation' multi-media package for the use of those engaged in conflict resolution. It consists of DVD of the two films and a resource guide for grass root practitioners.

Summer in Geneva 2010

2011-11-12T15:38:00.000-08:00

Istanbul Day One

2011-08-09T08:06:00.000-07:00

June 2011

...it would be lovely to sleep in a wild cherry-tree all white with bloom in the moonshine, don't you think? You could imagine you were dwelling in marble halls, couldn't you?

Lucy Maud Montgomery in Anne of Green Gables

Sleeping in a deep cave of a room that had been hollowed out of an eighth century stone wall in Istanbul, Turkey, I could easily imagine myself transported to the world of the Byzantine emperors, fiercely defending their territory, first against the Seljuk and then the Ottoman Turks who finally vanquished them in 1453 AD and changed the name of the city from Constantinople to Istanbul.

The Naz Wooden House Inn, a restored Ottoman style private home is now a quaint, seven-room hotel, in the heart of Sultahahmet, the imperial city centre of both the Byzantine and Ottoman empires. Lending it even more "atmosphere" ( at least in terms of stimulating a writer's imagination) is the fact that it is located near the route of the fabled, but now defunct Paris to Istanbul Orient Express, synonmous with luxury travel and international intrigue.

A fine example of a traditional wooden house that was favoured by the wealthy class in Ottoman times, the Naz is 130 years old, with its exterior restored as the exact replica of the original. Some of the Byzantine arches and columns- including the fragment of the stone wall that formed the entrace to my room- have been preserved intact. Thus the house represents two major strands of Turkish history.

Arriving late one evening by the hotel- run transfer service from Attaturk airport, I was immediately struck by the old world charm of the hotel and its friendly, courteous staff. Then, tired and weary after a long flight from Montreal via London’s Heathrow airport, I was soon lulled to sleep by the call of the muezzin that floated over the whole cityscape like a soothing benediction.

The breakfast buffet the next morning did not disappoint. Served in the fourth floor dining room, I sipped my coffee while enjoying the spectacular view of the Sea of Marmara and the fabled buildings in the neighbourhood including the Ayasofya and the Blue Mosque. Freshly baked bread dipped in olive oil, some local cheeses, butter- runny, but delicious -Turkish jams, honey, yoghurt, slices of tomato and cucumber, plump black olives, cold meats and fresh fruit including refreshing water melon slices and apricots: I was told that these are the staples of a Turkish breakfast. Different, but delightful.

Then off to a day of exploring the city. The front doors of the hotel open directly onto a narrow, winding cobbled street, filled with scenes of day to day Turkish life- part of its charm from my perspective. Street vendors plied their wares- everything from glittering necklaces and bracelets to toothpaste- while calling friendly greetings to their neighbours. Bright, shiny cars and sleek motorbikes squeeze and squeal their way past one another negotiating bends, curves and slopes in the street where horse-drawn carriages once clattered their way to their destinations.

As a teacher, I like to assign grades to essays and other projects. Here is my evaluation of Naz Wooden House Inn.

A+ for "character", atmosphere, friendly, courteous and helpful staff, excellent location close to both historical attractions, as well as cafes, bars, restaurants, etc., great view from the terrace, delicious breakfasts,year- round airconditioning, excellent transfer service from and to the airport provided by the hotel for a small additional charge.

Could be Better: Some of the rooms are noisy due to their proximity to street noises, no elevators ( but the staff were unfailingly kind and helpful in hauling my one suitcase up and downstairs.)

All in all, it was a pleasant stay and I would recommend it to friends as an affordable base from which to explore the wonders of Istanbul. I would add that Mr. Ozay Meydan, who handled my reservation was exceptionally courteous and professsional.
Naz Wooden House Inn
Address:
Akbiyik Degirmeni sok, no 7
34400 Sultanahmet, Istanbul, Turkey
For more information : www.nazwoodenhouseinn.com

A Room of My Own in Sultanahmet, Istanbul

2011-08-02T10:49:00.000-07:00

Turquoise Dreams: The Mediterranean Coast of Turkey

2011-08-02T09:48:00.000-07:00

Journalism Nostalgia: Looking Back After Ten Years

2011-05-31T06:21:00.000-07:00

Before I clear the decks and shred the last remnants of the notes and materials I used for my Master of Journalism thesis, I would like to record parts of an interview I had with Patricia Graham, then Managing Editor, and currently Editor-in-Chief of the Vancouver Sun.

In response to my questions, Ms. Graham sent me an e-mail dated Thursday, 22 March 2001, in which she wrote:

* And by the way, Shirely Sharzer ( first female deputy Managing Editor of the Globe and Mail, and at the time Ms. Graham was referring to, in charge of training and development for Southam News Group) was a real pioneer and an incredible mentor and role model to many of us. Were she a man, she'd be much better recognized.

* I started in journalism at The Globe and Mail in Toronto in 1989. I had practiced law in Toronto for four years and didn't particularly like it. I'd always been a news junkie and decided to pusue that interest instead. I thought of journalism as dynamic and intellecuturally stimulating, something that would put me in touch with the great issues of the day. And I have to say it's been a very exctiging and mostly rewarding profession in which to work.

* I had certainly been affected by my family- related responsibilities. In fact, I took a six-year break from full-time work to have my two children. I did this by choice, but at the time I believed that my journalism career, which really had only just got underway, was over. I did not qualify for maternity benefits. When my children were very young, journalism gave me the opportunity to work part-time as a copy editor on a temporary basis only, but it worked out very well.

* For me, it was a gift to be able to get back into journalism after having my children.

* The hours in journalism make it hard for people who want time with their families, especially mothers of young children. Management requires certain choices and sacrifices that not everyone is prepared to make and that women in particular may be less inclinclined or less able to make. It involves very long hours away from your family. Your time is now your own.You can't just go home and make dinner when a big story is breaking. You have to take your work home with you, and you have to be involved in the community, something that often entails evning or weekend commitments. There is a constant tension betwen work and family needs and responsibbilities.

Measured against these comments by Ms. Graham, and factoring in my own particular circumstances- immigrant mother, small- town location, lack of mobility opportunities, I'd like to think I did reasonably well.

Women in Journalism

2011-05-14T05:45:00.000-07:00

Today, Carleton University is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the graduating class of 2001, but I can't go to the event because I am busy with a Canadian Association of Journalists' conference downtown.

But it's a good time to remember my Master of Journalism thesis on women in journalism. Here is a quote from Susan Crean, author of "Newsworthy: The Lives of Media Women", one of the countless books I read during my time at Carleton.

"Women journalists are still rebels and adventurers; they are still motivated by intense curiosity and the desire to find things out, to see the world and how other people live. They are still fascinated by power and the people who wield it and are drawn by the action and the thrill of being there as the great events of our times unfold."

I love this, because it describes me and the women ( and men) journalists I meet everywhere. This is what drives us, motivates and inspires us to stay in the insecure world of journalism, particularly freelance journalism, although we sometimes have to do other jobs to maintain a semblance of stability in our lives.

2011-02-19T17:52:00.001-08:00

2011-02-19T17:50:00.001-08:00

Tagore

2011-02-19T17:43:00.000-08:00

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;

Where knowledge is free;

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;

Where words come out from the depths of truth;

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;

Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever widening thought and action-

Into that haven of freedom my Father let my country awake

Rabindranath Tagore, Nobel Prize for literature

Sunset over Boston

2011-01-05T17:32:00.000-08:00

Jan. 4, 2011
I flew back from Boston last night. As the plane took off from Logan aiport, the setting sun painted the horizon in arcs of brilliant colours, deepest crimson, vermillion, molten amber and translucent gold shading off into an iridiscent sapphire blue. With the lights of Boston blinking and twinkling behind us, it was one of the most spectacular sunsets I have ever seen.

A talcum powder sprinkle of snow lay on the ground as the plane touched down at Ottawa, and that was the end of a pleasant ride- no delays, hassles or frustrations. Dileep arrived a few minutes after I got out of customs and immigration and even brought me some supper. It was a good New Year after all.

A Hidden Gem

2010-09-06T08:36:00.000-07:00

A Village Home within a Global Village

By Susan Korah

Imagine living in a charming little village within downtown Toronto, the mother of all global villages. That’s the kind of “slice-of Toronto life” experience that hosts Roger and Tess offer if you choose to stay at their B and B rather than opt for more high-profile “touristy” accommodations. Tucked away at the corner of Baldwin and Elm Streets, BALDWIN VILLAGE INN, a 6-bedroom establishment exudes a home-like ambiance with comfortably furnished rooms and pleasant common areas -an upstairs living room and downstairs breakfast area leading through sliding glass doors to an outdoor patio and flower garden. Roger and Tess are warmly welcoming hosts who make you feel like family from out of town rather than hotel guests who found them on the Internet. Their home-cooked breakfasts are a great start to a day of exploring a vibrant, eclectic neighbourhood and city.

The street outside is lined with a multicultural buffet of restaurants ranging from Italian caffes to vegetarian and Asian eateries where you can have a hearty meal or sip a drink and watch the world go by. Within walking distance of the Art Gallery of Ontario, Kensington Market, China Town and other popular attractions, the location is perfect for travellers of all tastes from the bohemian to the upscale.

The only drawback- if you can call it that, given the very affordable price range- is the shared bathrooms. But then again the bathrooms are spic and span, filled with all kinds of shower and grooming needs and add to the “staying with family” experience.

Contact information

Address: 9 Baldwin St. Toronto, Ontario M5T 1L1, Canada

Phone: 416-591-5359. Ask for Roger or Tess.

http://www.baldwininn.com

E-mail: information@baldwin.com

Global Communications Group Meeting Caux July 2010

2010-08-31T10:32:00.000-07:00

Reflections of a First Timer in Caux

2010-08-27T05:13:00.001-07:00

Caux is a world unto itself. And what a world! A mountain village of breathtaking beauty where one can actually experience in a very real way, the ideal world one dreams about. A world where young and old, Black and White, Christian, Jew, Hindu and Buddhist, believers and non-believers, liberals and conservatives live and work together, share experiences, hopes and dreams in peace and an atmosphere of incredible trust for a week or a whole summer. Where the rising sun’s rays filtering in through one’s bedroom window, invite even the weariest traveller through life to refresh and renew himself/ herself through quiet reflection. Where the magnificent setting sun brings a quiet close to hectic days of panel discussions, workshops and meetings charged with the energy and dynamism of idealists and optimists – people of thought and action - determined to change a world that is mired in conflict and scarred by poverty, injustice and environmental degradation.

I had, of course, heard much about Caux before this summer, but nothing prepared me for the actual experience. Arriving in this picturesque Swiss village from Montreux with three new friends from IofC France, I got caught up in the spirit of this unique international centre that actually does build bridges of trust and understanding in a deeply divided world.

With spectacular views of Lake Geneva against a backdrop of mountains, Mountain House welcomed me graciously like a gentle Queen mother. As I settled in and began to fulfill my responsibilities as a member of the organizing team of the “Learning to live in a Multicultural World”, the opening conference of summer 2010, my days and evenings were a hectic whirl of action balanced by quiet reflection and lively conversations with people from around the world.

The organizing team of international volunteers quickly bonded together in a spirit of cooperation and incredible support of one another. The caring and support I receive every day from other members of this team will remain a special part of my memories of this summer.

Initiative of Change has a wonderful tradition of peacemaking and building trust across the world’s divides by facilitating personal change and the healing of painful memories caused by war and other forms of human conflict. Miracles do happen in this very conference centre that graciously welcomes and hosts people from around the world. Former foes become friends, strangers get to know one another and care for one another. Bonds of trust and understanding are formed and the world becomes a better place as a result.

I am so blessed to be part of it all. When these weeks are over, I will return to my home in Ottawa, Canada, enriched by new friendships, strengthened by a renewed determination to bring positive changes to my community and armed with concrete plans to achieve my goals. Who could possibly ask for more?

.

words

2010-08-26T16:47:00.000-07:00

"Words are things...and a small drop of ink...falling like dew upon a thought...produces that which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think."

Aung San Suu Kyi

2010-08-25T05:48:00.000-07:00

Courage comes from cultivating the habit of refusing to let fear dictate one's actions.
Aung San Suu Kyi

2010-08-24T16:21:00.000-07:00

Add caption With Keith and Ruth Neil at the Caux Forum on Human Security

My reincarnation as a writer

2010-08-24T14:57:00.000-07:00

I finally got round to it- setting up a blog. I should celebrate tonight, but instead I will make a resolution to write something every two or three days.

I've just come back from my first "Caux experience". Caux is a serenely beautiful mountain village, just a 20-minute "toy" train ride from Montreux, a jewel of a little city on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland.

Caux Palace Hotel, once a luxury hotel and gathering place for the international jet set- until their world came crashing down in the tumult of World War II- is now a meeting place each summer for the world's idealists, dreamers, movers, shakers and change-makers.

Living, eating, exchanging thoughts and ideas and relaxing with hundreds of people representing a virtual microcosm of the whole world while attending two conferences, "Learning to Live in a Multicultural World" and the "Caux Forum on Human Security" have made the summer of 2010 a uniquely memorable one for me.