Our sister organization HUTACA organized an intercultural-interfaith trip to Turkey. Group that traveled to Turkey comprised professors, clergy, a mayor, lawyers, a diplomat from the UN and several Turkish friends.
The trip started on May 27th from New York and ended on June 4th in New York. Two big cities, Izmir and Istanbul, that are important both historically and from Islamic and Christian point of view, were visited on the trip. Some of the places that our group visited were House of Virgin Mary, Ephesus, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Dolmabahche Palace. Group had also opportunity to visit religious leaders of faith communities in Turkey. Among them were Greek Orthodox Patriarch, Armenian Patriarch, Chief Rabbi, Chief Mufti of Istanbul. This trip helped to learn Turkish-Islamic culture from first hand.
Dr. David Bauman summarized his experience of the trip as “I came away from my trip with a deep respect for the people of Turkey and the Muslim religion. They have the same goals and same hopes and dreams that we have. I am amazed at their commitment to God and desire for a better world. And... probably the greatest impact of the trip was thinking of all of us having the same parents... Abraham and Sarah... and the same God. We all worship the same God. If we recognize this, and if we focus on our commonalities and not our differences, then we could do great things”.
Rossette Nyirinkindi Katungye, First Secretary of Uganda to the United Nations, says about the trip: “This spiritual journey was further accentuated by our visits to the Chief Rabbi, the Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church as well as the representatives of the Chief Mufti and the Armenian Patriarch. These holy men all spoke to us words of wisdom, emphasizing tolerance and underscoring the fact that we all share a common destiny through the Great Patriarch, Abraham, the father of Isaac and Ishmael. I came away spiritually nourished and armed with a new understanding of the meaning of inter-faith dialogue… the essence of interfaith dialogue is to forge mutual respect and tolerance based on an understanding of one another’s beliefs rather than attempting to proselytize each other. It is also based on the value of seeking out areas of common beliefs such as decency, mortality and humane behaviour”.
Some pictures of the trip
A Boat trip on the Bosphorus
Prof. Orlanda Saa on the boat trip
On Pier Loti Hill
Visit to Armenian Patriarchate
Visit to Greek Orthodox Patriarchate
Visit to Religious Directorate of Istanbul
All together with Chief Rabbi Ishak Haleva
Richard Mola, Mayor, Elmwood Park, shopping in bazaar in Izmir
Library in Ephesus
Inside Suleymaniye Mosque