Turkish Info for Newcomers

Ev Arkadasi Bulmak Icin
Cuneyt G.
July 7, 2008

Roommate bulmak konusunda ise bizim Turk Ogrenci Dernegi gibi Graduate Student Organization catisi altinda kurulan ogrenci derneklerine (Public Affairs Students Association, Educational Psychology & Methodology RGSO, Chinese , Korean, Muslim vs.) roommate aradiginiza dair ilan verebilirsiniz. Mevcut kuluplere su linklerden erisebilirsiniz. http://www.albany.edu/~gso/RGSO.htm#CSSA http://www.albanyinternationaleducation.com/iss/node.php?nodeid=96

Gorusmek uzere, her sey gonlunuzce olsun.
Cuneyt

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SUNY ogrencileri icin Albany'de ev tutma bilgileri :)
Bahadir A.
May 19, 2005

Ev tutulabilecek yerler konusunda tarife baslamadan genel bir downtown albany bakisi yapalim:) 3-4 tane avenue paralel olarak downtown dan updown campus e dogru uzaniyor. Bunlarin en yukarisinda ki Central, ortadakiler Washington and Western, bir de Madison var ki bu Western Avenue ile birlesiyor. Birlestikleri yeri kuzey-guney istikametiden kesen sokak'in adi Allen. Guney de kalan sokak south allen, kuzeyde kalan north allen.

Downtown campus Washington ve Western Avenue larin kesistigi yerde yahoo map'de "state teacher's college" diye gosteriliyor. Updown campus buraya gore bati da kaliyor ve o da Washington ve Western Avenue'lar arasinda.

Ev tutma konusunda yurtta kalmadigim icin bir karsilastirma yapamayacagim, ancak disarida ev tutmanin daha ucuz oldugu bir gercek. Ev tutmak icin Washington ve Western Avenue arasindaki sokaklara bakabilirsiniz. Hem Washington hem de Western uzerinden okula ucretsiz otobus ve servis gidiyor. Arabaniz olmayacaksa kesinlikle bu sokaklarda ev tutamanizi oneririm. Buradaki otobus sistemi TR'dekine hic benzemiyor. Ozellikle kisin otobus duraklarina yakin ev tutmadiginiz icin cok uzulebilirsiniz.

Eger dersleriniz updown campus te ise North Allen'dan Updown campuse kadar olan sokaklar, downtown campuste ise North Allen'dan downtown campuse kadar olan sokaklarda ev tutmaya bakmalisiniz. Benim her iki kampuste de dersim oldugu ve arabam olmadigi icin north allen uzerinde yasamaktan mutlu olmustum:))

Simdi ev tutmanin iyi olmayacagi yerleri tarif ediyorum. Washington Avenue'nun kuzeyinde kalan yerler, manning blvd'in dogusunda ise kotu, batisinda ise iyidir. Ancak hic bir zaman central avenue'ya yaklasmamalisiniz. Clinton Avenue diye bir yer duyarsaniz tam ters istikamate dogru kacin:) Clinton avenue uzerinde bir ev bakmistim, hikayesini baska zaman anlatirim:)) Washington ile western arasinda olsa bile bence Main avenue'nun batisinda kalan yerler tercih edilmelidir. Dogusu da tehlikeli bolge statusune girebilir.

Eger derslerinizin hepsi bir kampuste ise o kampuse en yakin, hatta mumkunse yurume mesafesindeki evleri tercih etmelisiniz. Ama downtown kampus icin daha once soyledigim washington avenue'nun kuzeyi tehlikeli bolge kurali gecerlidir. Ayrica downtown campusun batisindan Main Avenue a kadar olan yerler de pek uygun degil. Downtown campus icin hemen washington park kenarinda eski (yada tarihi diyelim) ancak sirin evler ve apartmanlar bulunmaktadir. Bunun disinda hemen downtown campus'un guneyinde Lake Avenue uzerinde de ilginc yerler var. Updown campus icin ise; hemen updown campus'un batisinda ve guney batisinda washington ve western avenue'lar arasinda kalan sokaklari goreceksiniz. Bence cok guzel yerler ancak cok az ev bulunmakta buralarda. Sahsen ucu ucuna orada bir oda tutma olayini kacirdim. Isin kotu yani buralarda oturdugunuzda kisin (yaklasik 5 ay) yuruyerek okula gidip geleceksiniz. Ozellikle karlarin yagdigi zamanlarda bu durum sizi uzebilir. Okul zamani 1-2 ay suresince bisiklet ile yolculuk yapabilirsiniz. Ancak benim gibi washington avenue uzerinde pedal cevirmeye calisirsaniz, trafigi iyi takip edin, heyecanli olabilir bazen:))

Arabaniz yoksa oturdugunuz yere yurume mesafesinde market (genelde price chopper yada hannaford) onemlidir. Yukaridaki tarifim albany'de oturup arabasi olmayacaklar icin daha cok gecerlidir. Arabaniz varsa alternatifleriniz cogaliyor, hayat kolaylasiyor.

Ev kiralarken dikkat edilecek hususlar:- Location (yukarida bahsettik:)- Kiraya dahil diger masraflar (utility: isitma, sicaksu, elektrik...) . Bence en cok dikkat etmeniz gereken hususlardan biri de isitmanin kiraya dahil oldugu yerleri bulmak. Eger isitma iyiyse kisin bu kararinizdan cok memnun olacaksiniz. - Roommate (bu sans isi, az kalsin nijeryalilarla roommate oluyordum, yabancilarla kalmak cok istedim ama sonunda bir turk arkadasla paylastim evi. Cok da iyi oldu. Ama her ikimizinde "keske soyle eli yuzu duzgun bir amerikali bulsaydik da hem ingilizcemizde daha guzel gelisseydi" dedik) Eli yuzu duzgun derken yanlis anlasilmasin iyi huylu demek istedim:))- Arabaniz varsa park yerinin olmasi onemli, yol uzerine park etmek kisin sorun, ayrica belli gunlerde temizlik nedeniyle park yasak, zahmetli is anlayacaginiz. - Lease yaparken yanlizca okul donemi icin (9 aylik) yapmaya calisin. Yazin TR'e donmek isterseniz bosu bosuna 3 ay kira odememis yada yaz icin sublease yapmamis olursunuz.
Universite'nin web sayfasi uzerinden roommate bulabilirsiniz. Ayrica hali hazirda ev kiralamis ve yanlizca bir odasini kiralamaya calisanlarin ilanlari da var.
http://www.albany.edu/housing/living/rl_offcampushousing.html

Simdilik aklima gelenler bunlar, kolay gelsin,

Bahadir

About Turkey

Information About Turkey

• Go Turkey
• Let's Go Turkey
• Ministry of Culture and Tourism
• Turkish Culture and Tourism Office
• Turkish Culture Portal
• Turkish Embassy in US

EURO 2008

After the dramatic win against Crotia in the quarter-final match today in Vienna, Turkey ascends to be one of the top four European national football teams. Turkish Student Association invites you once more to come and join Turkish students to watch and cheer the semi-final match between Turkey and Germany for the EURO 2008 Football Championship.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008
2:30 – 4:00pm
Campus Center First Floor
(GSO Office Level)
UAlbany Uptown Campus

Turksa Gives Back

"Gifts in Kind" to Libraries

Turkish Student Association donated eight items to the University at Albany Libraries in order to enhance resources for the campus community to learn about Turkey and the Turkish culture.

In his meeting with Dr. Mary Casserly, Assistant Director for Collections and User Services, on May 9, 2008, Turksa treasurer Cüneyt Gözü handed over two illusrated books and DVDs of six Turkish movies to be catalouged for circulation. Turksa purchased the DVDs through RGSO funds and the books were donated by Zeynep Özkan from The College of Saint Rose.

To learn more about gifts in kind and to donate to the University Libraries, please visit their Web site.

List of Donated Items
1- İstanbul [Book] by İlhan Akşit (1981)
2- Marketplaces… Bazaars… [Book] by Eczacıbaşı (2005)
3- İklimler “Climates” [DVD] Directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan (2006)
4- Hacivat Karagöz Neden Öldürüldü? “Who Killed the Shadows?” [DVD] Directed by Ezel Akay (2006)
5- Dondurmam Gaymak “Ice Cream, I Scream” [DVD] Directed by Yüksel Aksu (2006)
6- Selvi Boylum, Al Yazmalım “The Girl with the Red Scarf” [DVD] Directed by Atıf Yılmaz (1977)
7- Hokkabaz “The Trickster” [DVD] Directed by Ali Taner Baltacı & Cem Yılmaz (2006)
8- Babam ve Oğlum “My Father and My Son” [DVD] Directed by Çağan Irmak (2005)

GSO Awards Turksa

Graduate Student Organization (GSO) of the University at Albany awarded Turkish Student Association with the

2008 GSO Most Culturally Enriching RGSO Award

for "organizing various multi-cultural events with engaging in alternative ways of fundraising, collaborating with various GSO committees and university offices to improve programming capacity and quality, and utilizing creative ways of outreach and advertising."

Turksa vice president Çağrı Özköse-Bıyık received the award from Dr. Ray Bromley, Director of the Office of International Education, at the GSO End-of-Year Gala and Award Ceremony held at a cruise on Hudson River on Sunday afternoon of May 4th, 2008. After receiving the award on the behalf of Turksa, Çağrı sang an Azeri-Turkish song for the event attendees.

Turksa thanks GSO and the award committee for their decision and looks forward to organizing more activities to contribute to UAlbany community.

Board Materials Available

Turkey on Your Board

In the observation of the celebration of May as the "Turkish Month" in US by some cultural organizations, Turkish Student Association composed a set of promotional materials for cultural boards to advertise Turkey and the Turkish culture.

Materials include information about location of Turkey, quick facts about Turkey, celebration of May as the Turkish month in US, Turkish history timeline, examples from Turkish cuisine, places to visit in Turkey, cultural figures, Turkish holidays, and some trivia information.

Although the initial motivation was specifically for the month of May, board materials can be displayed any time of the year with the exclusion of "Why May" document. All of the materials were retrieved from the specified Internet resources and available free of charge.

If you would like to use our visuals in your school or workplace boards designated for cultural purposes, you can download the materials to print from our Web site.

Turkish National Day Reception

88th National Sovereignty and Children's Day of Turkey

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008
6:00 – 8:00 PM
Patroon Room, Campus Center
Uptown Campus, University at Albany
1400 Washington Ave, Albany, NY 12222

Event Program
6:00 – 6:15 Welcome and initial remarks
6:15 – 6:50 Dinner
6:50 – 7:00 Speaker introductions

7:00 – 7:15
Prof. Ümit Cizre
Levin Distinguished Scholar in Turkish Affairs at State University of New York, Binghamton
& Professor of Politics in Department of Political Science, Bilkent University, Ankara
“Perspectives on Turkey's Achievements and Challenges of Political Maturity”

7:15 – 7:30
Dr. Ş. İlgü Özler
Assistant Professor in Department of Political Science, State University of New York, New Paltz
“Turkey’s Role and Importance in the Region and the World”

7:30 – 7:40
Ambassador Robert R. Gosende
Associate Vice Chancellor for International Programs in Office of International Programs, State University of New York System Administration
“YÖK-SUNY Relations as a Proxy to Turkey-US Relations”

7:40 – 7:55 Turkish folk music performance
7:55 – 8:00 Closure and thanks

Leadership Award to Turksa

Asil Özdoğru awarded International Student Leadership Award for 2008

Congratulations to Asil Özdoğru [Turksa president] for winning the International Student Leadership Award for 2008. Asil is a doctoral student in Educational Psychology who has given a large amount time and energy to improving the lives of students here at the University at Albany.

In 2004, he served as an Orientation Assistant in the International Student & Scholar Services program for new international students. He and a group of friends, then, started the Turkish Student Association in the Spring of 2006. They have organized various cultural events open to the entire University, including movie screenings, a painting exhibition, a cooking class and a graduation party, in collaboration with the Graduate Student Organization.

Asil volunteers his time to assist international students in many ways, such as transporting them to and from airports in Albany and New York City, helping to move furniture, and helping them find apartments or roommates. He also advises them on writing papers and introduces them to new friends from different cultures. He has started two email groups, one for people interested in playing pick-up soccer at UAlbany and the other for Turkish people within the University and the local community, both quite successful with 74 and 84 members respectively.

Asil has taken the initiative to develop ways to help people connect here at the University. Although his main concern has been international students, helping to ease their cultural transition to living in Albany, his activities have benefited the larger community by introducing them to Turkish culture and providing an outlet for physical activity.

By International Student & Scholar Services

Doctoral Alumni

List of UAlbany Turkish Doctoral Alumni*

2010 Asil Özdoğru, Educational Psychology
2010 Sedef Uzuner, Educational Theory and Practice
2010 Burak Dindaroğlu, Economics
2010 Çağrı Özköse-Bıyık, Educational Theory and Practice
2009 Ahmet Güler, Public Administration
2009 Ersan Özkan, Political Science
2009 Bahadır Kazım Akçam, Informatics
2008 Ayhan Bingölbalı, Physics
2008 Sezgin Seymen Çebi, Political Science
2007 Rahmi Bula, Physics
2006 Şehnaz Baltacı-Göktalay, Educational Theory and Practice
2006 Mehmet Akif Ocak, Educational Theory and Practice
2005 Gültekin Işıklar, Economics
2004 Osman Nuri Kureş, Mathematics
2004 Emrah Arbak, Economics
2003 Özlem Çeziktürk, Educational Theory and Practice
2003 Vedat G. Diker, Information Studies
1994 Selçuk Caner, Economics
1988 Candan Karlıtekin, Economics
1982 Ali Mehmet Celal Şengör, Geological Sciences
1978 Mehmet A. Odekon, Economics

* The list is not official and all inclusive. For corrections and additions please contact us.

Did You Know?

Interesting Facts about Turkey

1. The only city in the world located on two continents is İstanbul which had been the capital of three great empires; Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman for more than 2000 years
2. Legend has it that St. John brought Virgin Mary to Ephesus where she spent her last days in a small house on Mt. Koressos (Bülbül dağı) near Ephesus
3. Early Christians escaping from Roman persecution nearly 2000 years ago sheltered in Cappodocia in Central Anatolia
4. Part of Turkey’s southwestern shore was a wedding gift that Mark Antony gave to Cleopatra
5. The famous Trojan wars took place in western Turkey
6. Turkey introduced coffee to Europe
7. St. Nicholas, also known as Santa Claus, was born and lived in Demre, Turkey
8. Turkey is the birthplace of the many historical figures and legends such as the Poet Homer, King Midas, Historian Herodotus and St. Paul
9. Long before the discovery of America, English merchants discovered the Çulluk, a kind of bird in the Turkish countryside, and began exporting it back to England, where it became very popular, and was known as a 'Turkey bird' or simply a 'turkey.'
10. "Turkiya" means "season's beginnings" or "beautiful" in Swahili
11. How was the name of country Turks & Caicos Islands derived? The popular story is the name Turks being derived after the indigenous Turk's Head "fez" cactus, and the name Caicos, a Lucayan term "caya hico," meaning string of islands. A more romantic, origin of the name is a reflection of the Islands' pirate history, when 17th and 18th century pirates used the islands as hideouts and preyed upon the passing Spanish treasure ships bound for Europe. The term "Turk" for a pirate stemmed two centuries earlier when the Ottoman Empire dominated the Mediterranean and Turkish corsaries harried European Atlantic shipping, thus translated "Turks" Islands becomes "Pirate" Islands!