Turkey is a fascinating part of the world, known as a “bridge between East and West”. Modern Turkey with all its richness and complexities, as well as Turkey’s centuries old history and cultural traditions, are often unknown to Americans. A generous grant from The Turkish Cultural Center in Washington DC has enabled the World Affairs Council to bring Turkish culture to Oregon teachers, students and the community. It supported the Portrait of Turkey at last April’s Teach the Middle East Conference for K–12 Educators and enabled six Oregon teachers to participate in a Teachers Study Tour of Turkey this past summer. Now Portrait of Turkey comes to the community in a three part series.
The screening of an award winning Turkish film Crossing the Bridge will be followed by a panel discussion on the relationship of the film to contemporary life in Turkey today. The panel will include Dr. Birol Yesilada of the PSU Center for Turkish Studies, Dr. Pelin Basci, Professor of Turkish Language and Culture, and Dr. Tugrul Keskin of the Department of International Studies.
Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul is a 2005 film/documentary directed by Fatih Akın. The film is a journey through the music scene in modern Istanbul, Turkey as well as portraying its cultural life. It features German musician Alexander Hacke (member of Einstürzende Neubauten) as the narrator. Hacke and Akın travelled around Istanbul with a mobile recording studio and a microphone, assembling an inspired portrait of Turkish music — from arabesque to indie rock and rap (wikipedia).
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