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An energizing and emotional finale

Approaching the final day of this historic and productive weeklong trip to Turkey, it was difficult to imagine how we might top the previous days’ activities. Moving at a mostly breakneck pace—first to Istanbul, then to Ankara and then back to Istanbul and its breathtaking Bosphorus waterway—members of the IU delegation barely had a chance […] Read more »

A memorable and inspiring experience

The following guest post was written by Rahaf Safi, who served as IU’s presidential intern in 2013-14 and accompanied members of the IU delegation on the trip to Turkey. Additional biographical information on Safi is included below. Since graduating from Indiana University in the spring, I moved to Jordan to provide support for organizations aiding […] Read more »

Ankara: A uniquely intellectual city

The more you drive around Ankara, the more you begin to fully appreciate the vastness and vibrancy of Turkey’s capital and second-largest city. Although Ankara, with its barren hills, bright lights and modern-style skyscrapers, offers a dramatically different cityscape architecturally and geographically from Istanbul’s historic peninsula, it possesses its own distinctive energy that is equally […] Read more »

Finding new partners, reconnecting with old friends in Ankara

One of the first things you notice as you motor up the hills leading to the sprawling 11,000-acre campus of Middle East Technical University is the forest alongside the main road, which wouldn’t be quite so noticeable if you hadn’t previously discovered that the landscape of Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, is largely brown […] Read more »

The marvel of modern Turkey

Admittedly, it’s a strange sensation to marvel each morning at the stunning Istanbul skyline and glistening Bosphorus waterway, while simultaneously reading the daily newspaper, which, in recent days, has chronicled the launching of airstrikes by a U.S.-led coalition in neighboring Syria against the Islamic State, the mixed international reaction to the new military campaign and […] Read more »

History, heritage and culture in Istanbul

To look out at the beautiful and busy Bosphorus strait here in the transcontinental city of Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, is to be simply awestruck by the convergence of centuries upon centuries of history, heritage and culture. For nearly 16 centuries in fact, this city, which straddles Europe and Asia, served as the epicenter of […] Read more »

From crossroads to crossroads

Beginning Sunday, an Indiana University delegation, led by IU President Michael A. McRobbie, will leave Indiana for a week-long trip to Turkey, one of the largest and most prominent nations in the Middle East and a country commonly referred to as the “crossroads” between Europe and Asia. Turkey is also a country in which IU’s […] Read more »