Turkish Cultural Day at UPenn Museum
Posted by TAFSUS Board | May 10, 2008
TAFSUS co-sponsored and hosted 'Turkish Delight! A celebration of Republic of Turkey' on Saturday May 3, 2008 at the UPenn Museum (press release).
It was a day-long celebration of the rich culture of Turkey with many activities. Many pictures from the day are available at our photo album section.
Also, below is the program of the day:
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11:00am-11:30am "Where
Did Turkish Pastoralists Come From?" Rainey Auditorium
Dr. Ayse Salzmann, Penn Museum
11:00am-3:00pm Chinese Rotunda
>Turkish Bazaar featuring tiles, rugs, jewelry and various Turkish wears
>Crafts: Turkish Tiles, Beading and Rug Weaving, Felt Making Demonstration
by Mehmet Girgic of Konya, Turkey
>Backgammon
11:30am-12:15pm Turkey at a Glance Lower Egyptian Gallery
11:30am-1:30pm Dondurman Gaymak (Ice Cream, I Scream) Turkish Movie Classroom 1
11:30am-12:15pm Turkish Music Demonstration Harrison Auditorium
11:45pm-12:30pm Food Demonstration Upper Egyptian Gallery
12:00pm-12:45pm "An American Archaeologist in Turkey" Rainey Auditorium
Dr. Naomi Miller, Penn Museum
12:00pm-2:00pm Mosaic Tile Workshop Mosaic Gallery
with Halil Demirdelen,
Museum of Anatolian Civilization in Ankara
1:00pm-1:30pm Turkish Belly Dance Demonstration and Workshop Lower Egyptian Gallery
1:00pm-1:45pm "Studies on Istanbul and Beyond and Rainey Auditorium Master Builders of Byzantium" Dr. Robert Ousterhout, History of Art, UPenn
1:30pm-2:00pm Turkish Poetry Reading Upper Egyptian Gallery
1:45pm-2:15pm Kardelen Harrison Auditorium Traditional Turkish Folk Dance
2:00pm-2:30pm Turkey at Glance Lower Egyptian Gallery
2:30pm-3:30pm "The Archaeology of Troy and the Trojan War" Rainey Auditorium
Dr. Thomas Tartaron,
Department of Classical Studies, UPenn
3:15pm-4:00pm Finale Harrison Auditorium
Kardelen: Traditional Turkish Folk Dance
TAFSUS OPEN MIKE NIGHT AT KONAK TURKISH RESTAURANT
Posted by TAFSUS Board | May 3, 2008
TAFSUS will host an open mike night at Konak Turkish Restaurant on May 8, 2008. Happy hour will start at 5:30pm and dinner will start at 6:30pm.
All are invited to participate in the evening's festivities by sharing their talent be it singing, playing an instrument, telling a story, or reciting a poem at the open mike.
Please send your email to wallisu@msn.com to let us know how you would like to participate without delay. Thank you very much.
Please make your reservations by sending your email to info@konakturkishrestaurant.com
Please include the names of your guests and your phone number. Konak will call you back to confirm your reservation. SEATING IS LIMITED AND RESERVATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS.
For directions and free parking (after 5 pm) please check Konak's webpage: konakturkishrestaurant.com. For more information and the detailed menu please write to wallisu@msn.com
Konak Authentic Turkish Cuisine
228 Vine Street, Philadelphia PA 19106
215-592-1212
LOGO DESIGN CONTEST WINNER
Posted by TAFSUS Board | March 10, 2008
The TAFSUS logo was designed by Serdar Turkarslan, as part of a design contest organized by TAFSUS. Serdar, who is a graduate student in cell and molecular biology at University of Pennsylvania, describes his design concept as follows:
"My design concept is based on the three aspects of the traditional Turkish Folk dance; Friendship, Energy and Unity. Turkish Folk Dance was originated from Anatolia and brought people of all kinds together for the celebration of the good times. Here, it symbolizes role of the TAFSUS in uniting Turkish and American communities by promoting friendship through cultural, educational and social activities. The live tempo and the synchrony of the dance also symbolize the never ending energy and ambition of the TAFSUS for pursuing its mission."
Serdar Turkarslan
March 2008
10th Annual Okumus/TAFSUS Fellowships for Turkey Study Tour
Posted by TAFSUS Board | January 30, 2008
The World Affairs Council of Philadelphia has announced the 10th annual Okumus/TAFSUS Fellowships for a 2 week study of Turkey July 13-28, 2008 and has sent a message to all Greater Philadelphia educators and school administrators. The necessary information and documents for educators to apply for these fellowships will also be posted at www.wacphila.org and a shorter version to TAFSUS website, www.tafsus.net.
If you like your children's or grandchildren's teachers and school administrators to get a first hand taste of Turkish culture, this is a golden opportunity for them to do so. Please note that the deadline for applications is March 7, 2008.
Please e-mail the names of qualified teachers and school principals to Margaret Lonzetta, VP and Director of Education of the World Affairs Council, who is administrating this fellowships program. Her e-mail is mlonzetta@wacphila.org or call 215-561-4700 ext. 208. She will e-mail the necessary information to them. Alternatively, you can ask the teachers to contact Margaret directly.
Please forward this information to Turkish American parents who may not be on the TAFSUS e-mail list and to teachers and educators in your community.
DESIGN OUR LOGO
Posted by TAFSUS Board | January 28, 2008
We are looking for a logo that will reflect both the mission and spirit of the TAFSUS (Turkish American Friendship Society of US). A good fit for us would include the following:
- The logo should be able to be understood globally and inoffensive to all cultures.
- The logo may include the acronym TAFSUS or the 'Turkish American Friendship Society of US'
What do you win?
The winning design will receive $100 and the first runner up will receive $50. The top designs will be announced and celebrated at a TAFSUS dinner reception in Philadelphia.
Submission Criteria
- Logos should be submitted in vector format when possible; otherwise two different files (a high-resolution and a web version) of JPEG or PNG formats are also acceptable.
- Entrants are also required to submit JPEG web version of the logo no larger than 250px x 250px and a high-resolution version.
- Submit your entry via email attachment to info@tafsus.net
- All entries have to be emailed no later than midnight (EST) of February 18, 2008. You may submit up to three logos but to be considered for this competition you have to submit to at least one. (no typed suggestions of what it should look like)
- Entries should include: Your Name Email Address Phone number Physical Address Two to three sentences on your design inspiration and process. (Optional)
- Competition is open to legal residents of at least 10 years old and is void where prohibited. Entrants under the age of 18 must have permission from their parents or legal guardians to participate. Winners will be notified by the provided email within 10 business days of the prize drawing. The rights of the submissions will be held by TAFSUS.
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Posted by TAFSUS Board | January 21, 2008
We are pleased to announce the 2008 TAFSUS Board:
|
Lale Iskarpatyoti, President and ATA School Liaison Hasan Ayaz, VP Student Affairs and Website Development Suzan Aydin, VP Community Outreach Canan Bilgutay, VP Second Generation Affairs Nihat Bilgutay, Vice President At-Large Birtan Collier, VP Education Hasan Karatas, Secretary and VP Public Relations Serap Menda, Treasurer and VP Information Ibrahim Onaral, VP Membership, Social Affairs and Grassroots Activities Wallis Urmenyhazi, VP Cultural Affairs |
Looking back, 2007 was another successful and productive year for TAFSUS . We organized and sponsored over a dozen social and cultural events, including many dinners at local Turkish restaurants, a Republic Day cruise on the Spirit of Philadelphia, a Turkish day at the Harriton High School, a Turkish Night at the Philadelphia Art Museum and a Whirling Dervish performance at the Annenberg Center. Through funding provided by the Okumus family and our partnership with the World Affairs Council (WAC), we were able to send six more teachers to study in Turkey (for a total of 49 teachers since the program inception) and provide an intensive program of study, called the Portrait of Turkey, to 20 select high school students in the Greater Philadelphia area. We helped promote special artists and musicians in our community and shared relevant information with our members on a wide variety of topics and programs. We also co-sponsored a WAC luncheon program at the Union League for the Turkish Ambassador Nabi Sensoy to speak on Turkish American relations. A more detailed summary of the 2007 year programs can be found on our website www.tafsus.com by clicking on News.
January 6, 2008 marked the opening day of our new ATA School where 22 students between the ages of 6 and 14 started to learn Turkish language, history and culture. While major funding for the School is being provided by TAFSUS, we are very grateful for the generous contributions from the Turkish Cultural Foundation and Prime Labels, Inc. to make this dream a reality. We also extend special thanks to our Board members Lale Iskarpatyoti and Serap Menda, and particularly to our amazing School Director, Dilek Arig, whose hard work got us off to a great start. Classes will take place every Sunday from 1:00 to 3:00 pm at the Montgomery Community County College at Blue Bell. Based on the positive response from parents, our goal is to extend classes to pre-school children (ages 3 - 5) as well as older age groups (15 and over) in the near future. Additional information about the ATA School is available on our TAFSUS website.
As we look forward to the rest of 2008, there are many more cultural, social and educational activities we are planning to provide. In addition to our usual activities, there will be several new networking events for young professionals and second generation of Turkish Americans in our community, a grassroots seminar on March 8 to increase the awareness and involvement of Turkish Americans in political affairs, and a Turkish Day at the UPenn Museum on May 3, to celebrate Turkish culture and people. By mid-February, you will be also able to find a full schedule of events as well as a wide variety of useful information on our TAFSUS web-site which is currently being upgraded.
As a non-profit, volunteer organization, all TAFSUS events and activities are made possible through your membership support and contributions. We invite you to be actively involved in all our events, both as volunteers as well as participants, whenever you can. However, even if you can't give us your time, we ask that you support TAFSUS as your local community organization, through your membership fees and other financial contributions. Please find our 2008 TAFSUS Membership Form from the membership section. Kindly take a few moments to complete and return this information to us, along with your membership check. As TAFSUS takes on more ambitious projects, we will need your help more than ever!
We thank you in advance for your support and look forward to seeing you at the next TAFSUS event!
TAFSUS Board