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The opening ceremony of the Sabahattin Zaim Youth and Culture Center, built in honor of Professor Sabahattin Zaim who was known as the teacher of teachers, took place in Ümraniye, İstanbul on Friday. When you practically live in box houses, where a garden of your own is simply a dream, your life revolves around your work and your studies and then it's back to the box house again.
You don't speak to strangers; you don't allow your kids to play outside your own box, since it is not safe to be out there. This is İstanbul, after all. And do we know our own neighbors? Usually not. So what is there that life in İstanbul can offer you except all work and no play? This society, where social solidarity as a whole was once taken for granted, is now being replaced by a society that is defined by only the surrounding of the immediate family or family friends and people we know at work or at school. I am sure our grandmothers and grandfathers would have gasped in shock over the present condition of our society. But such things are unavoidable. Where there is development, people flock. Overpopulation emerges and, along with it, the unavoidable change in living conditions.
Last Friday, my husband and I attended the Ümraniye Municipality's opening ceremony for the Sabahattin Zaim Youth and Culture Center in honor of my late father-in-law, Professor Sabahattin Zaim, also known as "Hocanın Hocası" (the teacher of teachers).
True, the Zaim family feels honored by such a gesture. However, what interests me most as an expat is the usefulness of such a center. It is not just a building. As you approach the center, you see beautiful stone steps going up toward the building. As you walk, the water feature accompanies your every step, alongside the newly planted baby pine trees. The youth can gather there. They can sit by the water feature and just hang around, chatting with their friends. There is a swing for the younger kids to play on. Your steps toward the white structure of the center itself can be made useful as your eyes feast on the beautiful scene.
The center consists of a library and a few rooms for activities and lessons, to be used by society and to cater to people's needs.
From what I saw of the center, which has been in use since Jan. 1, many people are benefiting from it. One room is equipped with computers and Internet so that the children in the area will have full access to the Internet, whether to surf the net for pleasure (games) or for academic purposes. Classes are conducted for those who don't know how to use a computer with friendly instructors to guide them through. Indirectly, this ensures that the society in the surrounding area is computer literate. But, most importantly, such a class will lead the young to utilize their time in a more beneficial way. Turkey, after all, has one of the youngest populations in the world, with about 20 million people under the age of 30. How do you protect them from experimenting with tobacco, alcohol, illicit drugs and sexual activity? This is where such centers play an important role. These centers can serve as protective factors against the risks of involvement in potentially problematic behaviors.
In another room, women were busy learning the arts of embroidery, cross-stitching and knitting. I think such classes are really vital to preserving the beauty of the Turkish people's embroidery culture. In terms of tourism, I think it is one of the best features of the people of this land. Such intricate handwork, such lively colors, such patience in the making of each embroidered work; this should be taught and promoted in order to ensure that such skills do not die out. It is also the best way of providing the women with skills that can be used for home-based businesses. And of course, such classes also provide a platform for social interaction that will lead to a more close-knit relationship between the people in society. Other types of classes, including English classes, are also on offer. These classes are selected based on the needs of society.
"I wish I could learn embroidery like these women," and, "I wish we had such a center near my home," were exactly my thoughts as I walked around the center. Because, you see, society will not be able to utilize these opportunities unless the path to them is made open for them. I truly think that centers such as this should be built throughout İstanbul. Every area needs a center where people can meet and do something together while getting to know each other. I find Turks a very caring and friendly lot, but what a pity that such caring and friendliness are generally contained within the family and not fostered in a more open way within the society. I truly believe such centers, backed by the local municipalities, can promote a more lively society. In Ümraniye alone, there are a total of 15 youth and culture centers that have been built in the past five years. But is that enough? What about other places? How many such places are there in total in İstanbul?
People need specific places and facilities to socialize as a society. The youth need programs that they consider "fun" to fill their time with. Centers like this may be the answer. But are there enough of them?
05 March 2009, Thursday
SIMAH ZAİM İSTANBUL
The opening ceremony of the Sabahattin Zaim Youth and Culture Center, built in honor of Professor Sabahattin Zaim who was known as the teacher of teachers, took place in Ümraniye, İstanbul on Friday. When you practically live in box houses, where a garden of your own is simply a dream, your life revolves around your work and your studies and then it's back to the box house again.
You don't speak to strangers; you don't allow your kids to play outside your own box, since it is not safe to be out there. This is İstanbul, after all. And do we know our own neighbors? Usually not. So what is there that life in İstanbul can offer you except all work and no play? This society, where social solidarity as a whole was once taken for granted, is now being replaced by a society that is defined by only the surrounding of the immediate family or family friends and people we know at work or at school. I am sure our grandmothers and grandfathers would have gasped in shock over the present condition of our society. But such things are unavoidable. Where there is development, people flock. Overpopulation emerges and, along with it, the unavoidable change in living conditions.
Last Friday, my husband and I attended the Ümraniye Municipality's opening ceremony for the Sabahattin Zaim Youth and Culture Center in honor of my late father-in-law, Professor Sabahattin Zaim, also known as "Hocanın Hocası" (the teacher of teachers).
True, the Zaim family feels honored by such a gesture. However, what interests me most as an expat is the usefulness of such a center. It is not just a building. As you approach the center, you see beautiful stone steps going up toward the building. As you walk, the water feature accompanies your every step, alongside the newly planted baby pine trees. The youth can gather there. They can sit by the water feature and just hang around, chatting with their friends. There is a swing for the younger kids to play on. Your steps toward the white structure of the center itself can be made useful as your eyes feast on the beautiful scene.
The center consists of a library and a few rooms for activities and lessons, to be used by society and to cater to people's needs.
From what I saw of the center, which has been in use since Jan. 1, many people are benefiting from it. One room is equipped with computers and Internet so that the children in the area will have full access to the Internet, whether to surf the net for pleasure (games) or for academic purposes. Classes are conducted for those who don't know how to use a computer with friendly instructors to guide them through. Indirectly, this ensures that the society in the surrounding area is computer literate. But, most importantly, such a class will lead the young to utilize their time in a more beneficial way. Turkey, after all, has one of the youngest populations in the world, with about 20 million people under the age of 30. How do you protect them from experimenting with tobacco, alcohol, illicit drugs and sexual activity? This is where such centers play an important role. These centers can serve as protective factors against the risks of involvement in potentially problematic behaviors.
In another room, women were busy learning the arts of embroidery, cross-stitching and knitting. I think such classes are really vital to preserving the beauty of the Turkish people's embroidery culture. In terms of tourism, I think it is one of the best features of the people of this land. Such intricate handwork, such lively colors, such patience in the making of each embroidered work; this should be taught and promoted in order to ensure that such skills do not die out. It is also the best way of providing the women with skills that can be used for home-based businesses. And of course, such classes also provide a platform for social interaction that will lead to a more close-knit relationship between the people in society. Other types of classes, including English classes, are also on offer. These classes are selected based on the needs of society.
"I wish I could learn embroidery like these women," and, "I wish we had such a center near my home," were exactly my thoughts as I walked around the center. Because, you see, society will not be able to utilize these opportunities unless the path to them is made open for them. I truly think that centers such as this should be built throughout İstanbul. Every area needs a center where people can meet and do something together while getting to know each other. I find Turks a very caring and friendly lot, but what a pity that such caring and friendliness are generally contained within the family and not fostered in a more open way within the society. I truly believe such centers, backed by the local municipalities, can promote a more lively society. In Ümraniye alone, there are a total of 15 youth and culture centers that have been built in the past five years. But is that enough? What about other places? How many such places are there in total in İstanbul?
People need specific places and facilities to socialize as a society. The youth need programs that they consider "fun" to fill their time with. Centers like this may be the answer. But are there enough of them?
05 March 2009, Thursday
SIMAH ZAİM İSTANBUL
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