Islam in Modern Turkey

By Livianne Knierim

Vivianne Knierim is a junior at Boston College, majoring in Political Science and French with a minor in International Studies. The photographs for this essay were taken by Vivianne while studying on the Boston College summer program, “The Religious Worlds of Istanbul and Anatolia.”

Istanbul seamlessly blends the traditional and the contemporary movements of Turkish culture. Although the thud of Turkish rap has grown louder and threatens to drown out the call to prayer streaming from Istanbul’s hundreds of minarets, the ezan remains one of the few elements slowing this vibrant city’s pace. Amongst the thousands of boutiques, crammed between new buildings, majestically sprawled over main squares – Istanbul’s mosques are some of the world’s largest and finest. Turkey is a pulsating example of Islam adapting to modern life and Istanbul is the vivid, striking illustration of this integrated form of Islam.

Qat

By William Burke

William Burke is a senior at Boston College majoring in Political Science and Islamic Civilizations and Societies. He has traveled and studied extensively throughout the Middle East and spent two months studying Arabic in Sana’a, Yemen where he took the photos for this essay. He can be contacted at burkewb@bc.edu.

Yemen typically conjures up images of poverty, violence and—in recent years—Al Qaeda. It may come as a surprise that Yemen is a land whose society, economy and politics revolve around a substance that the United States government considers a Schedule I drug. Introduced to Yemen over 700 years ago, Catha edulis—or Qat—is a mildly narcotic leaf that is chewed by roughly 90% of Yemeni men daily. The substance’s effects are relatively mild, producing an effect of euphoria in the user followed by a temporary bout with insomnia. Yemen’s addiction to Qat is leading the country down a dangerous path, as its cultivation and usage will pose many social, economic and ecological problems in the near future. Despite the fact that it is terribly troublesome, Qat is an integral part of Yemeni society, and all signs indicate that this will not change any time soon.

Symbols of Jordanian Identity

By Isaiah Z. Sterrett

Like so many states throughout the world, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan seems, at times, to be in desperate pursuit of a nation. What is Jordan, and what does it mean to be Jordanian? Arguably the two most efficacious answers to these questions are rooted in Jordan’s Palestinian minority and in the Hashemite Kingdom’s particularly rich possession of antiquities. The Palestinian population endures as a symbol in Jordan of the nearby Arab-Israeli conflict, which has become central to the national mythology of Jordan, pitting—as it is largely seen in Jordan—the Zionist Goliath against the maltreated Palestinian people. Far more benign but no less important is the state’s extraordinary collection of ancient ruins. The ancient Nabataean city of Petra, as well as other such ancient sites, are instrumentalized by Jordan for the construction of
a national heritage.

The Forgotten Faces of Yemen

by Morgan Rood

Steeped in vibrant traditions, Yemen is a gem of cultural riches often overlooked by tourists and scholars of the Middle East; Yemen’s alleged ties with Al-Qaeda often dominate Western perception of the country.
Beneath the crushing poverty and struggle for development, however, lies a unique aspect
of Yemen’s society—its growing youth. Filled with optimism and potential, children under
the age of fifteen account for 46% of Yemen’s 23 million citizens. I spent two months studying Arabic in Sana’a, Yemen, and in my excitement to immerse myself into Arabic language and culture, I often took up wandering the city after class. As a young American woman, my options for people with whom I could talk in the streets were very limited—it was inappropriate for me to approach men in the city, and quite intimidating for me to speak with women, who were all covered from head to toe in black. It was during these wanderings that I first came to appreciate the children of Yemen. Not only was it culturally acceptable for me to speak to them—it was easy. My camera often served as a catalyst for conversation and through these children my eyes were opened to a Yemen that I could have not otherwise experienced. The following pictures are a sampling of the encounters I had with the children of Yemen during the summer of 2007.

Beyond the Pyramids of Cairo

by Ryan Littman-Quinn

This past august, i traveled to Egypt for two weeks to visit my girlfriend who was studying Arabic and interning at a newspaper in Cairo. The following collection of photos is a small sample of the hundreds
that we took during our unforgettable time in the beautiful and fascinating country.
In compiling my final selections for this contest, I realized that McDonald’s has a coincidental presence scattered throughout my photo-essay. In small but noticeable ways, globalization has left its print upon Egypt. As I examined the collection more closely, I realized that there were also distinct symbols of modernity and ancient culture in most of the photos. Old and modern-day Egypt differ in so many ways, and these photos express that juxtaposition visually.
The effects of globalization are evident in Egypt—from McDonald’s trash in centuries-old mosques, to satellite dishes sharing the skyline with ancient minarets, to locals learning other languages to attract tourist customers. It is up to the reader whether these photos evidence the defilement of a legendary ancient world or the harmonious coexistence of past and present. Either way, globalization is making our world much smaller.
*I would like to dedicate this photo-essay to my parents and Meghan Michael.