Today is “Turkish Cultural Day” in the City of Rochester.
Both the Turkish Cultural Center and City Hall were turned into a Turkish festival, complete with music, food, and dancing. The entire local Turkish community, as well as other cultures, took part in the celebration. Organizers say it’s important to make sure everyone feels welcome.
“Our culture promotes mutual understanding and respect. Our culture promotes friendship love and peace, and we are here to promote peace, and dialogue from our own community, and to the community at large in the Rochester area,” said Peace Islands Institute Upstate NY Executive Director Bulent Ozdemir.
The first Turkish immigrants came to Rochester in the early 1960’s.
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Oklahoma City Thunder center Enes Kanter, who said he was detained in Romania on Saturday morning after his passport was seized by the Turkish government, has been allowed to leave the country and is in London, the NBA said.
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Dr. Sophia Pandya specializes in women, religion, and globalization. She received her BA from UC Berkeley in Near Eastern Studies/Arabic, and her MA and PhD from UCSB in Religious Studies, with a focus on women and Islam. She co-edited the book titled The GulenHizmet Movement and its Transnational Activities: Case Studies of Altruistic Activism in Contemporary Islam.
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