Omid Safi

UNC Religion in Turkey

The Program

The Departments of Middle East & Religious Studies and the Study Abroad Office are delighted to offer you a summer program in Istanbul, Turkey, commencing in 2009.

This is a five-week long academic summer program in Turkey. The reading focuses on medieval and contemporary understandings of religion in Turkey, paying particularly close attention to the manifestations of Islam. The academic program will focus on the city of Istanbul (ancient Constantinople), considered among the most impressive and beautiful of ancient cities, and a meeting place of East and West.

Turkey stands at the crossroads of history. Situated at the meeting points of Asia and Europe, it has a rich multi-ethnic, multi-religious history that has a deep indigenous tradition of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. The city of Istanbul is one of the magnificent historic cities of the world which has been continuously populated for about 3000 years. It was a center of the Byzantine Empire for a thousand years, and then that of the Ottoman Empire for 500 years. Part of UNC’s mission consists of exposing our students to rich global cultures.

Program dates are generally as follows:
    Summer - mid May to third week in June

*All courses are taught in English. There is no option to take a Turkish language course.

The Academics

UNC graded credit for two UNC courses. These courses carry 6 credit hours to fulfill both General Education and Elective course requirements.
The following classes will be offered:

REL 581: Islamic Heritage of Turkey

This course focuses on medieval and contemporary understandings of Islam in Turkey, paying particularly close attention to the manifestations of Islamic Mysticism (Sufism) in Turkey. We will pay close attention to the focus on the city of Istanbul (ancient Constantinople), considered among the most impressive and beautiful of ancient cities, and a meeting place of East and West. While the focus of the course will be on Islamic sites, we will also visit the most crucial Christian sites in Istanbul, including the Geek Orthodox Patriach, as well as the 500 year old Synagogue of Istanbul. In Islamic sites, we will visit a range of mosques, shrines, meditation houses, libraries, and caravansarais.

Our course will feature a study of the important texts of the Islamic tradition in Turkey, including the writings of Rumi, and devotional literature from the Turkish context. We will have lectures from a number of leading Islamic scholars of Turkey, and lead discussions with the Muslim scholars who train the religious leadership of Turkish Islam. The leading Turkish calligraphers will give us workshops on their ancient art, and we will have three music concerts featuring classical Islamic music of Turkey.

REL 585: History of Turkey

In this course, we will look at some of the seminal phases of Turkish history. we will examine many of the Byzantine sites in Istanbul, including the magnificent Aya Sophia. We will explore the arrival of the Turkish peoples onto the Anataolia plateau by studying the Saljuq dynasty from the 12th to the 14th century, which was centered in the city of Konya. We will then cover the Ottoman Empire, a multi-ethnic confederation led by Islamic teachings. We will study the emergence of the Ottomans from a small tribe of warriors to the conquerors of Istanbul in 1453. We will cover the zenith of Ottoman realm, in which they proclaimed themselves the heirs of Islam and Rome. We will look at many of the magnificent Ottoman sites in Istanbul from the 16th to the 19th century. We will conclude by the emergence of modern Turkish history and the emergence of Ataturk in the 1920's and 1930's. The bulk of the emphasis, though, will be on the 13th to 19th century.

During the time in Istanbul, prominent Turkish scholars of Islam and Islamic history will give lectures to the class. The program will culminate in a visit to the sacred pilgrimage site of Konya, the burial place of the much-revered Rumi.

The Life

During the five week program, there will be site visits in Istanbul, Ankara, Cappadocia and Konya. Each site study will include a one-hour on site lecture, where we analyze the Arabic, Persian, and Turkish inscriptions to decipher the mystical, historical, or ideological message that the building was intended to convey.
Students will stay in hotels in Istanbul and during the field trips. Hotels in Istanbul are located in the heart of the historic part of downtown.

Please click here to apply.