Articles

Reflections on Rumi Forum Trip to Turkey

It is with great gratitude to the Rumi Forum that I put down some reflections on my wonderful trip to Turkey several weeks ago. I have been fortunate enough to have visited Istanbul several times in the past, but never in this fashion, and never with the added pleasure of side trips through the beautiful Turkish countryside. The group itself was a delight – the structure of the events helped us to coalesce quickly so that simply being together was in itself a special treat. While I have been acquainted with the Gulen community in general through students at Hartford Seminary I have never before had the opportunity to learn about their goals, projects and philanthropy.

Turkey Trip

From the moment Lubna and I stepped into our taxi on arrival in Istanbul, we knew that our trip would be the beginning of a memorable adventure. A couple of minutes into our drive to the hotel, Lubna whispered to me that I should ask the driver politely to change the radio station to Turkish music – something all three of us could appreciate. The driver seemed genuinely pleased to oblige and we rocked gently all the way to The Holiday Inn, Istanbul City, while taking in the sights along the way, including the Great Wall, families relaxing by the quay, in parks and community cats and dogs strolling among them. In a blink of any eye we had been transported from Fairfax County, Virginia to another world.