To Turkey and Back!

Sen. Loretta Weinberg
Sen. Loretta Weinberg


Date posted: August 15, 2011

Senator Loretta Weinberg*

After a couple of hiatus weeks, I’m back for a quick “let’s catch up” diary.

Spent 11 exhilarating, exhausting and exciting days in Turkey with a group led by Levent Koc from the Interfaith Dialogue Center in Newark which name describes their mission. Levent is a man of infinite patience and intelligence who knows his country of origin very well. Our travel companions were my colleague Assemblyman Gordon Johnson and his wife, Jackie along with a small contingent of young college professors from Rutgers which included a woman from India; another from Greece; a third Muslim woman from Morocco, and a young couple from the midwest. Eclectic to say the least. But we got to know one another quickly and bonded over the marvelous Turkish food.

Turkey is a grand country with a great respect for its antiquities while forward looking to the future. There’s building going on all over with a growing economy. We went from Istanbul to Ankara to meet with representatives of the new government, which had just taken office some six weeks before. The highlight meeting for me was with the new Minister of Social Policy and Families. We discussed common problems and solutions for domestic violence; women and their families’ access to health care; education of children among others. We toured a new university run by the Gulen Movement, visited a television news station, which broadcasts throughout the country, and of course made a stop for a little shopping at the Spice Bazaar and the Grand Bazaar.

We cruised on the Bosphorus Sea; stayed in a primitive (by my standards) cave hotel in Cappadocia and viewed its amazing rock formations and underground cities; walked the ruins of a great Roman city in Ephesus; visited mosques great and small; saw the Jewish museum in Istanbul; and were entertained for dinner by 4 different families who treated us to exquisite cuisine and warm welcomes. We saw Rumi’s Tomb and met his 22nd generation granddaughter. Stopped at a cafe on the Mediterranean and traveled between the two continents touched through Istanbul. (Yes, one part of the city is in Asia and the other in Europe.)

It was quite a wonderful adventure with a great group of people. Thank you to Levent and his assistant, Mevlut, along with the IDC for the invitation and for the whole experience. If only the understanding we reached as just one tiny group could really grow and multiply! Just a fervent wish.

* Sen. Loretta Weinberg is a state senator from New Jersey

Source: Blue Jersey , Monday Aug 01, 2011


Related News

New York Times interviews Mr. Gulen

John L. Esposito, a Georgetown University professor who has studied Mr. Gulen, said that if he were to compare Mr. Gulen to another public figure it would be the Dalai Lama.

Turkish ambassador leads an unrealistic mission: bringing a reclusive Muslim cleric before Turkish courts

Although Turkey immediately blamed Gulen for the coup attempt, it took Ankara nearly six weeks to make a formal request for his extradition — and that was based on earlier alleged crimes, not for his supposed role in the coup.

Would you buy me a pair of eyes on Valentine’s Day?

Kimse Yok Mu has launched four different donation campaigns along with alternative featured gift options for those looking for a meaningful gift on Valentine’s Day. According to Kimse Yok Mu press release, the charity foundation, which has a bright record of life-saving campaigns, expanded its scope including couples admirably wishing to give a unique and […]

Indonesian Sultan at Meliksah University in Kayseri

The Indonesian Sultan Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono was granted an honorary doctorate by Meliksah University in Kayseri. In attendance of the ceremony were the chairman of Boydak Group Board Haci Boydak, the president of Kayseri Young Industrialists and Businessmen Association Hamdi Kinas and numerous academics and businessmen. The deputy-rector Prof. Tankut Yalcinoz delivered the opening […]

Gülen’s latest book launch celebrated at İstanbul forum

Journalists, politicians and writers gathered together for a forum in İstanbul on Tuesday to mark the launch of renowned Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen’s latest book, “Yaşatma İdeali,” (The Ideal to Let Others Live). The event, organized by the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV), was held at the Ceylan Intercontinental Hotel. Among the participants of the […]

Canberra followers of Fethullah Gulen afraid to return to Turkey

Despite having recently become an Australian citizen, Mr Erdogan fears if he returned to Turkey at the moment he would be arrested as soon as he stepped off the plane. He has friends in Turkey who have been stripped of their livelihoods and forced to go into hiding as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cracks down on “enemies of the state”.

Latest News

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

Education Ministry sought to profile students, teachers through surveys

Conference on Gülen’s thoughts on ideal society being held in Pakistan

Predictability in Erdoğan’s Turkey

Dismissed policeman detained while applying to post-coup rights commission

American students volunteer for Kimse Yok Mu aid campaign

Turkish gov’t jails yet another woman with 25-day-old baby

Education minister in Jamaica joins Kimse Yok Mu to feed needy

Copyright 2023 Hizmet News