RCQ028 - Robert College

2000
yıldır
hayatta!
E
ven a taxi driver passing t h r o u g h is
given to waxing lyrical about this
s c h o o l . The wisteria in b l o o m outside
M a r b l e Hall, the c o m m a n d i n g n e o - C l a s s i c
a r c h i t e c t u r e , the P l a t e a u at dusk, all add up
to a slice of New E n g l a n d , i m p r o b a b l y
p e r c h e d atop the B o s p h o r u s .
For f o r m e r students, in addition to this
v e r y physical trail of m a r k e r s (sites of t h e
first d a n c e , first kiss, first words in English)
the C o l l e g e is also a repository for
m e m o r i e s of a world of its o w n ; a unigue
e d u c a t i o n fostered over the years by largerthan-life t e a c h e r s a n d v i s i o n a r y heads of
school.
It is little s u r p r i s e t h e n that in its 142-year
history, R o b e r t College has made its way
into c o u n t l e s s books; ranging f r o m m e m o i r s
to biographies to works of fiction. From the
early f o u n d e r s -who kept meticulous
records of their heroic endeavors-, t h r o u g h
two w o r l d wars, the swinging 6 0 s , the
n a t i o n a l i z a t i o n of the Bebek c a m p u s into a
university in the 7 0 s and s u b s e q u e n t co­
e d u c a t i o n at RC in A r n a v u t k o y , the school
has c h a r t e d a steady c o u r s e t h r o u g h
c h o p p y waters, all t h e while leaving its mark
on g e n e r a t i o n s of students.
We hope that our focus in this issue, " R C
in B o o k s " , will help to broaden y o u r sense
of the school's richness, both past and
present, a n d t h e m y r i a d ways in which this
institution c o n n e c t s our c o m m u n i t y .
Happy r e a d i n g !
RCQ Editorial Team
RC NEWS
4 Robert College S u m m e r C a m p "Istanbul M o d e r n " Project
6 Math Teacher Kapuya Receives J a n e Page Award
Student Author Writes Book on Immigrants
8 Semahat Arsel A C G 49 Addresses Class of 05
9 RC Hosts Teenagers for International Video Project
10 Descendants of RC's A m e r i c a n Founders Reunite in Istanbul
11 Scholarship Fund Honors Işık inselbağ RA 64
12 RC in the USA
GRADUATES IN THE NEWS
14 Istanbul Forges Ahead with 2010 European Cultural Capital Bid
15 A Monumental Birthday Present: the Pera M u s e u m
A l u m n i J o u r n a l published quarterly
by the RC A l u m n i & Development Office
for 7 0 0 0 members of the RC community:
graduates, students, faculty,
administration, parents and friends.
Robert Lisesi tarafından dört ayda
bir yayımlanır. Sayı 28
16 'Young Turk' Makes Stellar US Debut Following UK Success
18 Boyner's Photographs Merge African Vistas with Portraiture
20
A u t h o r Kozanoğlu Turns Autobiography Upside Down
New Book Offers Insight into Islamist Women's Activism
21 Erdoğan Breaks Seven Year Silence with Poetic New Novel
Growing Education Company Trains Youths for Hi-Tech Future
22
Keeping Tabs on Turkey's Women's Rights Progress
23 Metin Ar Receives Italy's Medal of Honor
Tijen Çıdam to Head Borusan Auto
24
Mardin Honored with Award for Lifetime Achievement
COVER STORY
26 Reading Robert College: A School in Books
ONES TO WATCH
32 Writer/Editor Karakuş Leads Time Out Istanbul Success
Record Company Taps Sounds of Istanbul
33
Editor-in Chief:
Leyla Aktay 7 2
Editors:
Serra Ciliv '92,
Pelin Turgut '92,
Çiğdem Yazıcıoğlu
Harvard Honors Paçalıoğlu for Teaching Excellence
Apple Turkey Recruits Mustafa içil as Marketing Director
RC REACHES OUT
34
R o b e r t College
P.O. Box 1 Arnavutköy-istanbui
Tel: (0212) 3 5 9 22 2 2 / 2 8 9
e-mail: [email protected]
www.robcol.k12.tr
Editorial Board:
Deniz A l p h a n '67, Nuri Çolakoğlu ' 6 2 ,
Nükhet Sirman '72, Elçin Yahşi '79
Betil Heads Foundation for Youths
VENUES WE RUN
36 Saklıköy: A Hidden Village in istanbul
Advertising Manager:
Çiğdem Yazıcıoğlu
Tel: (0212) 3 5 9 22 89
FUND RAISING
cyaziciogludirobcol.k12.tr
38 Hüsnü Özyeğin RA 63 speaks at the 2 0 0 5 / 0 6 Kick-off dinner
REUNIONS
40
Athens Host A C G and R C 4 9
41 Golden Reunion
42
R A 6 5 Celebrates 4 0 t h Reunion
43
Class of 1980 Celebrates 25th Year
44
R C 8 5 Celebrates 20th Reunion
45
And the Oscar goes to... Class of 1990!
46
Homecoming 2 0 0 5
Printing:
Ümit Matbaacılık
Gümüşsüyü Caddesi Litros Yolu
2.Matbaacılar Sitesi Z A - 6
Topkapı/istanbul
Tel: (212) 5 6 5 4 2 6 9
KOLEKTİF P r o d u c t i o n s
Şahkulu Mahallesi, Yörük Çıkmazı,
Güneş Apt. No.3/3 Beyoğlu
ALUMNI NEWS
48 What are RC alumni up to?
FROM OUR MAILBAG
Tel: (0212) 2 4 3 74 30
Basım y e r i v e t a r i h i :
istanbul, Aralık 2 0 0 5
50 Seguel to " K e s i n " Dönüş - being back in Turkey a year on
Yayın t ü r ü : Süreli
* * J L 5 2 OBITUARIES
Yayın p e r i y o d u : 4 Aylık
Robert College Summer Camp
"Istanbul Modern" Project
B
uilding on its mission to expose children to English in a creative, fun and
learning environment, the 2 0 0 5 Robert College S u m m e r C a m p was again a great success and offered an even
greater variety of fun and exciting activities for children ages 9-14. This year's t h e m e was, " E x p l o r i n g the
Elements: A Global A d v e n t u r e " . It introduced the c a m p e r s to five English speaking countries, India, Kenya, Fiji, Trinidad
and Tobago, and S c o t l a n d . Through friendly competitions, these countries then c o m p l e t e d tasks and challenges
throughout the c a m p s e s s i o n . Once the c a m p e r s became associated with their c o u n t r y they b e c a m e part of "W.A.F.E 5 " ,
a world within the walls of Robert College where English speaking and exploration took place and representing the four
elements: water, air, fire, and earth. The " 5 " s y m b o l i z e d a mysterious fifth e l e m e n t that took on different meanings, f r o m
teamwork to creativity. This s u m m e r a new challenge incorporated Istanbul M o d e r n , the new m o d e r n art m u s e u m , and
its collection into the p r o g r a m . C a m p e r s c a m e to the m u s e u m in their c o u n t r y groups and participated in a " t r e a s u r e
hunt" throughout the m u s e u m . Each c o u n t r y consisted of five s u b g r o u p s divided according to age. Working in
subgroups, the c a m p e r s plus a c o u n s e l o r were given clues which led t h e m to works of art in the m u s e u m that
represented the four natural e l e m e n t s and the fifth element. Two works of art were c h o s e n for e a c h element. When the
group had found the work that they felt represented that element, they would stand in front of it and wait for the " C l u e
M a s t e r " . " C l u e M a s t e r s " were both c a m p staff and m u s e u m staff w h o would t h e n ask about the work and share
information with the c a m p e r s . After completing that element the group would receive its next clue and a marker
showing that they had successfully c o m p l e t e d that element. For this challenge the fifth element represented teamwork.
This was s t r e s s e d , as the c a m p e r s had to work together and decide as a t e a m to find the paintings.
After completing the treasure hunt, counselors and c a m p e r s returned to the RC c a m p u s and met in the Rodney
Wagner M e m o r i a l M a z e . There they found five large canvases and boxes filled with various supplies that symbolized the
Şehrin doğasına uygun. Yeni M-Serisi.
elements. For example, the water box was filled with blue paint, shells, s p o n g e s , and glitter. Working in their subgroups,
c a m p e r s used materials in their boxes to create their own versions of the e l e m e n t s inspired by what they experienced in
the m u s e u m . A g a i n , the fifth element represented teamwork in this challenge, and it was e m p h a s i z e d , because after a
few minutes of working on a canvas, c a m p e r s were asked to stop what they were doing and rotate to the next canvas.
C a m p e r s had to be respectful of the other subgroups in their c o u n t r y and work with what the others had already
created. Everyone within a country had an opportunity to contribute to e a c h canvas and in the end the whole group
stepped back to see how they, as a t e a m , had represented the elements. These canvases were joined together as one
piece on the last day of c a m p and exhibited in a "W.A.F.E. 5 A r t G a l l e r y " . "Initially this project was designed in order to
expose c a m p e r s to the m u s e u m and its collections and to e n c o u r a g e their o w n creative and artistic processes," says J o e
Welch, Dean of Student Activities. " T h e project also introduced c a m p e r s to new Turkish artistic culture and its
Yeni M-Serisi'yle şehrin doğasını yaşamaya
ve dinamik t a s a r ı m ı n ı n farkını y a ş a r s ı n ı z . En
a highly successful c o m p o n e n t of this year's camp. Many c a m p e r s w h o were not that keen at first, later left the m u s e u m
hazır olun. Nefis manzaralı bir tırmanışa geçtiğinizde
zor yollan bile yeni süspansiyonuyla hissetmeden
excited and interested. It was a m a z i n g to listen to their interpretations and thoughts on different works of art. Not only
M-Serisi'nin
did it open our eyes to different ways of seeing things but they also learned f r o m one another,".
hissedersiniz.
c o n t e m p o r a r y art scene while enforcing appropriate m u s e u m behavior. What started out as an experiment soon b e c a m e
•
geliştirilmiş
Şehirde
motor p e r f o r m a n s ı n ı
a ş t ı ğ ı n ı z d a M-Serisi konfor tutkunuza cevap
bütün
verir. Yeni M-Serisi değişen ve gelişen gücüyle
gözler
size
çevrildiğindeyse M-Serisi'nin değişen hatlarının
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Mercedes-Benz
n u m r i M İ ü M
Türk
bayilerinde
sizi
bekliyor.
Mercedes-Benz
Otomobilin Geleceği
Math Teacher
Kapuya Receives
J a n e Page Award
T
he J a n e Page A w a r d for e x c e l l e n c e in t e a c h i n g was g i v e n to math t e a c h e r Rina
K a p u y a w h o this y e a r c e l e b r a t e s a d e c a d e at R o b e r t C o l l e g e . The award is g i v e n
every two y e a r s and c o m e s with f u n d s to be used for p r o f e s s i o n a l d e v e l o p m e n t .
K a p u y a b e g a n t e a c h i n g at RC after c o m p l e t i n g an i n t e r n s h i p at t h e Ulus J e w i s h L i s e .
" B e c a u s e this is my t e n t h y e a r here, I have t a u g h t e v e r y m a t h class we offer, with the
e x c e p t i o n of elective statistics," she says. " T h i s is a h u g e a d v a n t a g e , b e c a u s e it allows me
to see all of the m a t h e m a t i c a l skills that might be reguired of s t u d e n t s at R C . I am t h u s
able to better guide t h e m . "
K a p u y a says she is " v e r y h a p p y " with her s t u d e n t s at R C , and the r e l a t i o n s h i p she has
Kapuya with RC 02 graduate
Lora Koenhemsi
with t h e m . "I think, over all, ' t h e y get m e ' , " s h e says " A n d of c o u r s e I have great
r e l a t i o n s h i p s with my g r a d u a t e s , m a n y of w h o m I am still in t o u c h with."
The B o a r d of Trustees set up the J a n e N i c h o l s P a g e faculty c h a i r at RC in 1996, to h o n o r
the d e d i c a t e d s e r v i c e of J a n e P a g e , w h o s e r v e d as a t r u s t e e of R o b e r t C o l l e g e f r o m 1943
until she p a s s e d away in D e c e m b e r 1 9 9 8 . Past r e c i p i e n t s of the award include math
t e a c h e r Güler Hill and English t e a c h e r s B e l i n d a A t a y a n d Philip E s p o s i t o .
Student Author
Writes Book on Immigrants
E
ver since Lise 12 student Ezgi Akçınar found out as a child that her grandfather, Halit
Akçınar, had emigrated to izmir from the f o r m e r Y u g o s l a v i a , she has been intrigued by
the history of migration - the personal tales of upheaval, difficult journeys and having to
forge a new identity in a strange land.
She decided two years ago to take her interest to a n o t h e r level. She tracked down 24
families in izmir, istanbul and Manisa who -like hers- had migrated to Turkey from the f o r m e r
Yugoslavia, and c o n d u c t e d c o m p r e h e n s i v e interviews with t h e m . Her resulting book Göçmen
(Immigrant) c o m b i n e s the stories recounted to her with d o c u m e n t s and pictures from the
archives of the istanbul Rumeli Turks Culture and Solidarity A s s o c i a t i o n (Rumeli Türkleri
Kültür ve Dayanışma Derneği) and researcher Yıldırım Ağanoğlu's personal collection.
"After researching this book, I see immigrants in a different light," the 19-year-old author
says. " P r e v i o u s l y immigrants, w h o m we see everywhere, didn't really mean m u c h to me. Now
that I know what kind of stories lay beneath a migrant's identity, the idea of being an
Ezgi Akçınar RC06
immigrant means m u c h more. I think readers of the book will feel the s a m e way."
The book also includes historical photographs of many locations; the main sguare in Skopje,
the destroyed Mostar Bridge, Haydarpaşa Station - the arrival point for so many immigrantsand coastal ports, many of which have never been seen before.
RC
NEWS
Semahat Arsel ACG 49 Addresses Class of 05
RC 05 graduates studying abroad are at
the following institutions of higher learning.
R
obert College sent out 109 graduates of the Class of
0 5 t o c o n g u e r the world o n Sunday, J u n e 26, 2 0 0 5 .
The c o m m e n c e m e n t c e r e m o n y was held as per
Melike Abacıoğlu
Stanford
H.Tahsin Çaylak
Utrecht-Netherlands
Özüm Demirel
Wesleyan
honor of f o r m e r C h a i r m a n of the RC Board of Trustees who
Semihcan Döken
Middlebury Colege
passed away in M a r c h 2 0 0 5 .
Deniz Duru
School of Oriental&African Studies
Fırat Erel
Yale
M.Ali Köken
International U of Bremen
C e m Kurtuluş
Bates College
Selin K u y u m c i y a n
Politécnico Di Milano
to recount the following: "I too graduated from this school. As a
Ece Milli
Edinburgh U,
senior, in geography class one day our teacher Rauf Bey asked
Nazlı Oğuzsimsaroğlu
U Penn (Wharton)
us in turn what we would do after graduating, what we wanted
Berkay Öncel
Dickinson
to become. People replied lawyer, doctor, academic and so on.
Çetin Özbaş
U of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign
Öner Özden
Washington U -St Louis
Ezel Poslu
Trinity Colege
tradition in the Maze, r e n a m e d the Rodney B. Wagner M a z e in
The guest speaker this year was leading businesswoman and
philanthropist S e m a h a t Arsel A C G 49, who spoke in Turkish.
" L i f e is full of surprises," she told her audience, and proceeded
My r o o m m a t e -an idealist- Necla, wanted to become a 'village
teacher' and go from village to
reap the fruits of your labor.' The s u m m e r we graduated,
Necla, who wanted to b e c o m e a village teacher, got married
and moved to A m e r i c a with her husband. She still lives
there. S o m e of my other friends have spent their life doing
not the job they dreamed of, but what circumstances
delivered them. As for me; I neither studied at university, nor
immediately married. Due to a parasite in my blood, I spent
years fighting illness in the hospitals of various countries. I
got to know doctors and nurses very well. Seeing how
important nursing is to the patient, and how behind it was in
Turkey, I decided I would support this profession and have
since spent my time and money to do so. I believe fate gave
me this job. Life will deliver you opportunities on one hand
RC Hosts Teenagers
for International
Video Project
T
urkey's first-ever O n e M i n u t e J r w o r k s h o p , a
D u t c h - b a s e d i n t e r n a t i o n a l initiative which
Yale
village. When it was my turn, I said,
Esen Şefik
Yale
'Sir, I am going to get married and be
Aysu Şuben
Franklin & Marshall
a housewife.' Rauf Bey laughed. 'You
advantage of those opportunities and o v e r c o m e the
their o w n v i d e o s , was held in istanbul at R o b e r t
Elizabet Sucuyan
Princeton
have chosen the toughest job,' he
obstacles without losing your cool-headedness or your
C o l l e g e in A u g u s t . The w o r k s h o p was o r g a n i z e d by
Anıl Tanca
Clark
morale." Arsel suggested that when thinking of the future,
a r t s p r o d u c e r Kolektif, in c o o p e r a t i o n with the
Uğur Uraylı
Franklin & Marshall
said. 'You'll cook food, only for it to
Onur Yıldırım
New England Conservatory
be eaten, clean the house, only for it
and Turkey's role in a globalizing world, graduates plan to
E u r o p e a n C u l t u r a l F o u n d a t i o n , the S a n d b e r g Institute
Selen Yıldız
U of Hawaii
to get dirty, wash clothes, only for
contribute to society on two levels, for RC and for Turkey.
in A m s t e r d a m a n d t h e Unicef office in A n k a r a .
Gül Yüksel
Bard
them to get sullied. You will never
"Just like us, all graduates, you too must begin supporting
Bahadır Reisoğlu
and hurdles on the other. I hope you can take the best
t e a c h e s y o u n g people how to draft, s h o o t a n d edit
S i x t e e n y o u n g people betwee the ages of 12 and 17
this unigue school so it can continue to illuminate future
f r o m t h r e e o r p h a n a g e s in Istanbul w e r e c h o s e n for
generations," she said. " Y o u r second goal, should be
the w o r k s h o p . R o b e r t C o l l e g e allowed all the
educational development programs in Turkey's
p a r t i c i p a n t s a n d the o r g a n i z e r s stay on c a m p u s ,
underprivileged regions. There are at least 5-6 NGOs
using all their facilities, free of c h a r g e . The a i m of
Burak Abay
Trakya Üniv.
Duygu Ebcim
İstanbul Üniv.
Meliha Paksoy
Bilkent Univ.
Çağıl Akçurin
Yeditepe Üniv.
Merve Elveren
Sabancı Üniv.
Y. Can Parlar
Yeditepe Univ.
working in this area, which you can support. Don't forget
t h e w o r k s h o p was to give u n d e r p r i v i l e g e d
ihsan Ömür Akdağ
Boğaziçi Üniv.
Emrecan Emiroğlu
A n a d o l u Üniv.
Ezel Poslu
ODTÜ
that it takes years to raise a person. We do not have the
y o u n g s t e r s t h e c h a n c e to m a k e their voice heard by
Ş.Cansev A k d e m i r
Bilkent Üniv.
Doğan Eralap
Sabancı Üniv.
Duygu Saatçioğlu
Sabancı Üniv.
luxury of time to waste." Arsel cautioned her audience
a b r o a d e r a u d i e n c e by b r o a d c a s t i n g the 13 p r o d u c e d
A. Tuğçe Akyazıcı
Koç Üniv.
Fatih Erçil
Yıldız Teknik Üniv.
Ümit Sağlam
istanbul Bilgi Univ.
İTÜ
Canan Gürel
istanbul Bilgi Üniv.
Bilkent Univ.
one-minute-long videos.
Tülin Araz
Tardu Selim Sepin
against impatience, a trait she said she had observed in
today's youths. "Today's youths are braver, smarter, more
T h e resulting v i d e o s were a vibrant c o m b i n a t i o n of
flexible than we were, but I cannot say that they are more
c o m e d y , d r a m a and h o r r o r a n d c a n be viewed o n l i n e
Merve Arkunlar
Sabancı Üniv.
G. Zeynep Güvenel
Koç Üniv.
Melis Sıdal
İTU
Can Arslan
Yıldız Teknik Üniv.
Fatma Belkıs İşık
Sabancı Üniv.
Engin Şahin
Bilkent Univ.
Nazlı Atalay
istanbul Bilgi Üniv.
Merve Kaleağası
Koç Üniv.
Serdar Şengül
Boğaziçi Univ.
intelligent or more patient. Unfortunately, you are impatient.
at www.theoneminutesjr.org. All p r o d u c e d v i d e o s will
Arif Murat Atasoy
Boğaziçi Üniv.
Nergis Kara
Sabancı Üniv.
Tutku Okan Şentürk
ODTÜ
You want everything, now. S o m e t i m e s you are impatient on
e n t e r the c o m p e t i t i o n for t h e a n n u a l O n e M i n u t e J r .
Feyza Avcı
istanbul Üniv.
Hilmi Karagöz
İTÜ
Bekir Şirin
Boğaziçi Üniv.
Boğaziçi Üniv.
A. Can Katipoğlu
Yıldız Teknik Üniv.
Mimar Sinan
A w a r d s , held in A m s t e r d a m in N o v e m b e r .
Zeynep Başaran
Aysu Şuben
vital issues; you make sudden decisions, and can make
Arda Başıbüyük
Başkent Üniv.
Ayşe Senem Kaya
Marmara Univ.
Kutlu Tarıman
istanbul Bilgi Univ.
Meir Benezra
Yıldız Teknik Univ.
Onur Kınasakal
Sabancı Univ.
Ali Tartan
İTU
Zeynep Buharalı
İstanbul Bilgi Üniv.
Hülya Kıray
istanbul Üniv.
S. insu Tezkan
istanbul Üniv.
Ali Oğuz Bozkurt
Marmara Üniv.
Ozan Kirman
İTU
Dilan Timuçin
İTU
be successful or happy if your body and soul are not
Birce Bora
Galatasaray Üniv.
Nur Kızıltan
Koç Üniv.
Dilşah Timuçin
İTU
Boğaziçi Üniv.
Alper Kemal Koç
İTU
Abdullah Uygar Tuna
İTU
healthy.
Uluç Büyükbeşe
Canan Candan
Sabancı Üniv.
Hakkı Kadir Kol
Bilkent Üniv.
Onur Can Türkan
Yeditepe Univ.
K. Reşat Çakıroğlu
Sabancı Üniv.
Merve Kurt
Boğaziçi Univ.
Arzu Türkmen
İTU
live with high value standards and don't c o m p r o m i s e on
A h s e n Çelik
Kocaeli Üniv.
Uğur Kutlubay
Bilkent Univ.
Ukbe Uçmaklı
Bilkent Univ.
those.
M. Reşid Çizmeci
Boğaziçi Üniv.
Nora Mıldanoğlu
Boğaziçi Univ.
Gamze Ulucan
Sabancı Univ.
• It takes time to build trust, but a s e c o n d to lose it.
Orçun Dirilgen
İTÜ
Yasin Oğraş
Boğaziçi Univ.
Alper Utaş
istanbul Üniv.
Burcu Doğru
ODTÜ
Çetin Özbaş
ODTÜ
Merve Üçekiz
Boğaziçi Univ.
• Be disciplined at work, think long-term.
Hakan Duman
Sabancı Üniv.
Eda Özbek
ODTÜ
Yiğit Yaman
Kocaeli Univ.
Ziya Duru
Boğaziçi Üniv.
Çiğdem Özdemir
Yıldız Teknik Univ.
Pınar Yazıcı
istanbul Univ.
Serkan Düşmez
Yıldız Teknik Üniv.
Merve Özer
Boğaziçi Univ.
Furkan Yeğin
Koç Üniv.
mistakes." Lastly, Arsel delivered s o m e advice which she said
had been handed down to her from her own family.
• Look out for your health, look after yourself. You cannot
• A b o v e everyone, respect yourself. Make it a principle to
• Trust, self-sacrifice, tolerance and dialogue can undo
knots and open doors.
• Spend within your means, don't exceed your budget.
• Use what you earn in Turkey, to improve Turkey.
Scholarship Fund Honors Işık İnselbağ RA 64
G
iven to that student who by virtue of being himself
has done the most to uphold the best traditions of the
school: The language of the Mc Neal A w a r d , presented
to the late Prof. Işık İnselbağ at his g r a d u a t i o n in 1964 is a
doctorate from Columbia University. After serving
on the faculty of State University of New York at
loyal graduate. His u n e x p e c t e d loss in M a r c h
positions, including Director of the Executive MBA
in the n a m e of her h u s b a n d , t h e r e b y e n s u r i n g
that the m e m o r y of Işık inselbağ will live on at Robert College
in perpetuity. Thanks to this g e n e r o u s gesture, there will
Boğaziçi University owe their existence to a c h a n c e e n c o u n t e r between philanthropist
the smell and a p p e a r a n c e of delicious freshly baked bread on a boat c a r r y i n g relief for the C r i m e a n
War effort, Rhinelander tracked down the baker - H a m l i n . The two men b e c a m e good friends and
subsequently established the College in 1863, the first A m e r i c a n school in the Middle East.
In October, with the help of Boğaziçi University rector Ayşe Soysal A C G 67, Hamlin and Robert's
fourth generation descendants Ted W i d m e r and H e n r y Flood R o b e r t Jr. met up on the Boğaziçi
c a m p u s . Like his parents, grandparents and great-grandparents before him, Ted Widmer, 4 2 , is also
an educator; he is a history professor at Washington College. He was in Istanbul to attend an
a c a d e m i c conference on the O t t o m a n E m p i r e . "I am a big fan of Turkey," he told Boğaziçi m a g a z i n e ,
explaining this was his fourth visit. W i d m e r has maintained his family's Turkish ties in more ways
t h a n one; he also served as scriptwriter to f o r m e r US president Bill Clinton on Turkey-related issues.
Furthermore, Ted Widmer's father Eric Widmer, w h o is the h e a d m a s t e r of Deerfield Academy, is a
m e m b e r of the Robert College Board of Trustees. T h e tradition runs in the family, as is evidenced by
the fact that Eric serves as the head of the Trustees' e d u c a t i o n committee, working actively in
Cyrus Hamlin's footsteps striving for educational excellence for Robert College.
C h r i s t o p h e r Rhinelander Robert's fourth generation d e s c e n d a n t H e n r y Flood Robert Jr. was t h e
first m e m b e r of the Robert family to visit Turkey in 150 years. A retired m u s e u m director, Robert,
6 2 , has worked at institutions like the J a c k s o n M o d e r n A r t M u s e u m , the Whitney M u s e u m and
Chicago's M o d e r n A r t M u s e u m . He d e s c r i b e d the visit as " v e r y e m o t i o n a l " . " T h i s is a place that my
great grandfather f o u n d e d . When I was a kid my dad used to say that he would send me to istanbul
if I didn't get g o o d grades. Now I'm h e r e ! " he told Boğaziçi m a g a z i n e . Robert J r . found the old
buildings u n c h a n g e d from the photographs he has s e e n , but he was impressed to see new additions.
Robert Jr. is currently working on his family's history, no easy feat since the family tree goes as far
back as 1066. He said that although C h r i s t o p h e r Rhinelander Robert had also planned to build a
school in Tennessee, he was thwarted by the outbreak of the US Civil War. " S o the only school that
my great-grandfather was able to o p e n , which carries his name, is this one," he said.
W i d m e r and Robert Jr are already working on bringing their extended families to istanbul for a
grand reunion in two or three years time.
Wharton as a member of the finance faculty. He
stunned the entire s c h o o l community.
recently established a scholarship e n d o w m e n t
C h r i s t o p h e r Rhinelander Robert and e d u c a t o r C y r u s Hamlin on the B o s p h o r u s in 1856. Intrigued by
Students at Boğaziçi University. In 1982, he joined
served in several key administrative leadership
the participation of a close group of friends,
A
Binghamton and Columbia University, Dr. İnselbağ
returned to istanbul as a Professor and Dean of
2 0 0 4 , due to heart failure at the age of 5 8 ,
His wife Çağla O n a r inselbağ A C G 6 6 , with
lmost 150 years after the founding of Robert College, d e s c e n d a n t s of the school's two
bachelor's degree from Robert College and his
graduates Robert College has ever p r o d u c e d .
much-loved friend, d e v o t e d family m a n , and a
" f o u n d i n g f a t h e r s " reunited for the first-time ever in Istanbul in October. Robert College and
the University of Pennsylvania. He earned his
fitting tribute to o n e of the most e x e m p l a r y
Işık inselbağ was an e s t e e m e d a c a d e m i c ,
Descendants of RC's A m e r i c a n
Founders Reunite in Istanbul
Prof. Dr. İnselbağ was a long time faculty member
and administrator at the Wharton Business School of
always be one student at the school benefiting f r o m an RC
education, which both Işık a n d Çağla t r e a s u r e d so m u c h .
Robert College is grateful for this w o n d e r f u l gift. It will go a
Program (1987-91) and Vice Dean and Director of
the Graduate Division (1992-95). Since 1995, Dr.
inselbağ had returned to teaching and research as
a senior fellow of Wharton's Financial Institutions
Center and academic course director and student
advisor for the Finance Department.
Dr. inselbağ was an expert in corporate finance and
financial management and consulted in that capacity
to a number of corporations and institutions around
the world. He also served as a founding trustee of
Sabancı University in İstanbul, helping to guide the
long way to " u p h o l d i n g the best traditions of the s c h o o l " as
formation of one of the most prominent private
inspired by Işık inselbağ.
universities in Turkey.
RCAAA Hosts Spring Dinner
The Robert College A s s o c i a t i o n i n A m e r i c a ( R C A A A ) held its
annual S p r i n g Dinner at M a r m a r a Manhattan Rooftop L o u n g e in
New York City on April 21, 2 0 0 5 and featured guest speakers Dr.
Özgen D o g a n ' 8 0 and Dr. Yusuf Yazıcı ' 8 8 . R C A A A ' s officers were
there to w e l c o m e everyone: President Mehmet Özpay'79, Burcu
Üstüner'97, E n d e r Çetin'97, C e n g i z Hatiboglu'81, and A h m e t lnal'61.
Dr. Dogan's presentation was " Y o u r Heart is in Your H a n d s " and Dr.
Yazıcı offered his thoughts on "Arthritis - Myths, Misconceptions
and Outright Lies." Both discussions featured informative slide
presentations. The evening's fine speakers sent everyone h o m e
with t h o u g h t s of improving their life styles!
Young Alumni
Reunion in New York
N
ovember 5th marked the 16th Annual Young
A l u m n i Dinner and Reunion in New York.
S p o n s o r e d by R C A A A and the Board of Trustees, the
reunion drew over 90 RC alums, primarily
representing the classes of 1991 to 2 0 0 5 . As usual,
the fellowship and conversation was non-stop and
everyone feasted on doner and borek - a treat in New
York. Everyone was greeted by members of the Board
of R C A A A and President Mehmet Ozpay RC 79.
P a s t p r e s i d e n t s of the R C A A A at the Spring Dinner. L to R: A h m e t İnal
RA 61, Gündüz E r k a n RC 6 0 , Özlenen E s e r Kalav A C G 67, Akın Arıca RA 6 0 ,
c u r r e n t president M e h m e t Özpay RC 79 and C e n g i z Hatipoğlu RC 81.
Fall Reception at Yale Club to introduce John R. Chandler
O
ver 100 RC a l u m n i , t r u s t e e s , f o r m e r faculty, and friends a t t e n d e d a r e c e p t i o n at the Yale C l u b in New York on N o v e m b e r
1, to meet R C ' s new h e a d m a s t e r J o h n C h a n d l e r and his wife, Tanla. A w a r m w e l c o m e was offered to e v e r y o n e by RC
B o a r d C h a i r J i m M a g g a r t w h o Introduced the C h a n d l e r s . Mr. Chandler, w h o s p o k e a b o u t how i m p r e s s e d he was by the
s t u d e n t s a n d t h e s c h o o l in his first m o n t h s at R o b e r t College, was d e l u g e d with well w i s h e s .
From L to R: Erkut Küçükboyacı RC 2 0 0 0 , O s m a n Can Öngün RC
01, Emre Demirel RC 01, Melis Öngün RC 9 8 , Çiğdem Yazıcıoğlu,
A l u m n i & D e v e l o p m e n t Office and Ümran Üngün A C G 7 0 ,
Director of B u s i n e s s & Finance, at the Yale Club r e c e p t i o n .
Former
h e a d m a s t e r Harry Dawe (right) and
present head John ( h a n d l e r share more than an
R C H e a d m a s t e r t i t l e on their C V s - t h e y also
have the same taste in ties! RC ties, naturally!
İSTANBUL
DEVLET
SENFONİ
ORKESTRASI
GRADUATES.
IN THE NEWS
Istanbul Forges Ahead with
2010 European Cultural Capital Bid
I
stanbul is on a roll. Host first to the E u r o p e a n C h a m p i o n s h i p
L e a g u e Final in May, t h e n its very own Formula One race on a
p u r p o s e built $150 million track in A u g u s t , the city has b e c o m e
a poster child for Turkey's bid to join the E u r o p e a n U n i o n . L e d by
the i n d o m i t a b l e Nuri C o l a k o g l u RA 6 2 , the city that f a m o u s l y
bridges East and West is now looking to c r o w n recent s u c c e s s e s
with a bid to be c h o s e n as a 2010 E u r o p e a n Cultural C a p i t a l . A
broad coalition of N G O s , municipal and g o v e r n m e n t a l a g e n c i e s
are w o r k i n g t o g e t h e r for the first t i m e ever to put the final
t o u c h e s on a project proposal that will be decided on next year.
T h e E u r o p e a n Cultural Capital project was l a u n c h e d in 1985, at
T
he first of a series of cultural c e n t e r s to be built by the Kıraç
family in i s t a n b u l , the P e r a M u s e u m , was o p e n e d on S u n a
Kıraç's A C G 6 0 , birthday, J u n e 3rd, 2 0 0 5 i n Taksim. The
M u s e u m , o w n e d by the S u n a inan Kıraç F o u n d a t i o n , is h o u s e d in what
the initiative of the f o r m e r Greek Minister of C u l t u r e M e l i n a
was known to many as the B r i s t o l Hotel in Tepebaşı. The building,
M e r c o u r i , as a way of building c l o s e r c o n t a c t s b e t w e e n different
originally d e s i g n e d by a r c h i t e c t A c h i l l e M a n o u s s o s in 1893, was
E u r o p e a n n a t i o n s . T h e first city to hold the title was A t h e n s .
bought by the Kıraç F o u n d a t i o n in 2 0 0 2 , and has been fully
Cities c h o s e n since t h e n include F l o r e n c e , A m s t e r d a m , B e r l i n ,
r e n o v a t e d . It now h o u s e s a g o o d part of the i m p r e s s i v e Kıraç family
P a r i s , Glasgow, Dublin, M a d r i d , A n t w e r p , L i s b o n , C o p e n h a g e n ,
c o l l e c t i o n , e s p e c i a l l y that of S u n a Kıraç, a f o r m e r RC Trustee.
Thessalonica and Stockholm.
The EU has d e c i d e d that for 2010, in addition to one city f r o m
H u n g a r y (most likely B u d a p e s t ) and G e r m a n y (most likely Essen)
a n o t h e r city f r o m a c a n d i d a t e c o u n t r y could also be c h o s e n a
Cultural C a p i t a l . " O u r goal is to e n s u r e that Istanbul is c h o s e n a
The new m u s e u m first m a d e h e a d l i n e s with news of the a c q u i s i t i o n
of O s m a n H a m d i ' s f a m o u s Turtle Trainer. B o u g h t by the Kıraç family
for $3.5 million at an a u c t i o n in D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 4 , the Turtle Trainer
set a record price for a painting by a Turkish artist. A m o n g its first
exhibitions, the m u s e u m p r e s e n t e d istanbul art lovers with Kütahya
E u r o p e a n C u l t u r a l Capital in 2010, a l o n g s i d e the two o t h e r
c e r a m i c s a n d tiles, as well as m o r e t h a n 1,000 pieces of A n a t o l i a n
cities," says C o l a k o g l u . The c h o s e n city needs to exemplify
weight m e a s u r e m e n t s . " P o r t r a i t s f r o m the E m p i r e " covers the last
E u r o p e ' s rich cultural h e r i t a g e and diversity.
2 0 0 years of the O t t o m a n s . The top t h r e e floors of the m u s e u m
A jury c o m p o s e d of different EU body r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s will
j u d g e Istanbul's project p r o p o s a l next year. In o r d e r to win, cities
must s h o w that t h e y c a n s t a g e a y e a r long p r o g r a m , c o v e r i n g all
f o r m s of c u l t u r e and involving both local people and visitors in
a r e a s like a r t s a n d culture, a r c h i t e c t u r e and r e s t o r a t i o n , s o c i a l
c h a n g e , w o m e n , y o u t h a n d the e n v i r o n m e n t .
Istanbul's bid c a m p a i g n b e g a n in 2 0 0 0 , led by 13 N G O s a n d
local g o v e r n m e n t r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s . The c a m p a i g n b e c a m e official
in 2 0 0 3 a n d picked up pace in M a r c h this y e a r w h e n Turkish
officials met with their EU c o u n t e r p a r t s to d i s c u s s the bid.
The c a m p a i g n is being led by Qolakoglu who is a m e m b e r of
Nuri Çolakoğlu RA 62
A Monumental
Birthday Present:
the Pera Museum
houses works by artists u n d e r the age of 3 5 .
" Y o u c a n n o t take y o u r p o s s e s s i o n s with y o u w h e n you die," inan
Kıraç said at an i n a u g u r a l press c o n f e r e n c e . " T u r k e y needs to have
many m o r e of t h e s e m u s e u m s in w h i c h wealthy families present
Turkish families with t h e i r c o l l e c t i o n s . "
The s e c o n d step in this a r t s a n d c u l t u r e initiative by the Kıraç
F o u n d a t i o n will be t h e istanbul R e s e a r c h Center, c u r r e n t l y being built
about 100 meters away f r o m the m u s e u m . In a d d i t i o n to B y z a n t i n e
c l a s s i c s , this c e n t e r will h o u s e Şevket Rado's c o l l e c t i o n of O t t o m a n
m a n u s c r i p t s and a wide a r c h i v e of books on A t a t ü r k . A m o n g the main
aims of this c e n t e r will be to s e r v e s t u d e n t s , a c a d e m i c s and
the b o a r d of the Istanbul F o u n d a t i o n for C u l t u r e and A r t s (IKSV),
r e s e a r c h e r s . The third v e n t u r e , for which the Kıraç F o u n d a t i o n has
u n d e r t h e a u s p i c e s of Turkey's foreign ministry. It e n c o m p a s s e s
a l r e a d y a l l o c a t e d s i g n i f i c a n t funds, will be a cultural center, o p e n i n g
a n u m b e r of different a c t o r s including the C u l t u r e and T o u r i s m
up a new s p a c e in istanbul for o p e r a and p h i l h a r m o n i c o r c h e s t r a s .
Ministry, t h e istanbul G o v e r n o r ' s Office, T h e istanbul M u n i c i p a l i t y
a n d n u m e r o u s N G O s . This is the first t i m e that public officials,
local m u n i c i p a l i t i e s a n d civil s o c i e t y have w o r k e d t o g e t h e r on a
large-scale campaign.
Well known for her work in the Koç H o l d i n g m a n a g e m e n t , S u n a Kıraç
is also k n o w n for her p h i l a n t h r o p i c v e n t u r e s in many different fields,
including f u n d i n g c o n s t r u c t i o n of the state-of-the-art S u n a Kıraç
T h e a t e r Hall at R o b e r t C o l l e g e .
GRADUATES.
IN THE NEWS
'Young Turk' Makes
Stellar US Debut
Following UK S u c c e s s
A
fter r e c e i v i n g excellent reviews in t h e U K , L o n d o n based
writer M o r i s Farhi's RC 54 latest novel Young Turk was
p u b l i s h e d in the US (Arcade) w h e r e it was n a m e d a New York
Times Book Review Editors' C h o i c e . The novel was also p u b l i s h e d in
Turkish by Ithaki Yayinevi a n d Farhi a t t e n d e d the l a u n c h in O c t o b e r at
t h e Istanbul B o o k Fair.
Young Turk is a m o v i n g c o m i n g of age s t o r y i n t e r w e a v i n g about a
d o z e n y o u t h f u l c h a r a c t e r s in Turkey on the eve of World War II. It Is
also about the c o m i n g of a g e of Turkey, m a t u r i n g as a republic In the
1940's and 5 0 ' s . In 13 i n t e r s e c t i n g vignettes, we e n c o u n t e r a g r o u p of
y o u t h s f r o m a v a r i e t y of faiths a n d walks of life, set a g a i n s t the
b a c k d r o p of a c o u n t r y w h o s e rich s o c i a l t a p e s t r y is fast u n r a v e l i n g .
" W h e n , in the past, p u b l i s h e r s f o u n d out that I was of Turkish origin,
they kept a s k i n g me why I wrote about o t h e r p e o p l e s a n d cultures
but not about my o w n , " said Farhi in a recent interview. He was
h o w e v e r d o g g e d by a m b i v a l e n t , e v e n hostile feelings towards t h e
c o u n t r y he fled o v e r n i g h t at 19 for L o n d o n , w h e r e he has since lived.
Yet as years p a s s e d , "I r e a l i z e d that my r e s e n t m e n t had lost its
v e n o m . [...] I saw that my r e s e n t m e n t about Turkey paled in
c o m p a r i s o n with Turkey's overall r i c h n e s s that had originally
n u r t u r e d me. M y y e a r n i n g for Turkey, p a r t i c u l a r l y for Istanbul, a n d f o r
its people b e c a m e a l m o s t u n b e a r a b l e , a d e s p e r a t e love which m a d e
me even d r e a m of the s m e l l s of i s t a n b u l , " he s a i d .
At a r o u n d that t i m e he was a s k e d to c o n t r i b u t e to an a n t h o l o g y of
m o d e r n J e w i s h w r i t i n g . He wrote Lentils in Paradise, w h i c h b e c a m e
t h e Turkish baths s t o r y in Young Turk. " A n d that proved the final
stage of my l i b e r a t i o n . It gave me the c o n f i d e n c e to write about
Turkey. A n d the m o r e I w r o t e t h e m o r e I r e a l i z e d that I was writing, as
h o n e s t l y as I c o u l d , an i m p r e s s i o n i s t i c a c c o u n t of my g e n e r a t i o n a n d
of t h e t i m e s In w h i c h we had lived. W h e n I f i n i s h e d I realized that,
i r r e s p e c t i v e of s o m e f e a r f u l dark h o u r s in Turkey, I, as a J e w , and my
friends M u s l i m s as well as a p o t p o u r r i of o t h e r races and c r e e d s ,
including A r m e n i a n s h a d , in t h e m a i n , lived in a haven of t o l e r a n c e . A
t o l e r a n c e that h a d s i n g l e d o u t t h e O t t o m a n E m p i r e i n its h e y d a y f r o m
m u c h of E u r o p e , " he says.
Politics and history m e r g e with the a s p i r a t i o n s of the book's
youthful h e r o e s , t o g e t h e r offering a p o w e r f u l m e d i t a t i o n on what it
m e a n s to be T u r k i s h .
GRADUATES.
IN THE NEWS
Boyner's Photographs
Merge African Vistas
with Portraiture
L
eading b u s i n e s s m a n a n d h e a d o f B o y n e r Holding C e m
B o y n e r RC 74, held his s e c o n d personal photography
exhibition, bringing t o g e t h e r pictures taken during his
travels in A f r i c a a n d a series of nude studio portraits, all taken
over the last six years. The exhibition of 126 pictures was called
Yakindaki Uzak / Uzaktaki Yakin (The Distant N e a r / T h e N e a r
Cem Boyner RC 74
Distant), a n d was o n s h o w a t D a r p h a n e - i A m i r e S e p t e m b e r
21- O c t o b e r 12, 2 0 0 5 .
B o y n e r o r g a n i z e d the s h o w into two different t h e m a t i c
c o n c e p t s . " T h e s e a r e t w o different exhibitions," B o y n e r s a i d a t
the o p e n i n g . " T h e s e two projects were finalized a r o u n d t h e s a m e
time, and I t r i e d to bring t o g e t h e r the diverging sides of b o t h ,
a n d make t h e m into o n e . O n e of t h e projects is c o m p r i s e d of
p h o t o g r a p h s of people in distant places In A f r i c a ; yet t h e s e are
p e o p l e w h o s e souls we c a n feel c l o s e to. The o t h e r o n e is a
c o m p i l a t i o n of p h o t o g r a p h s of beautiful p e o p l e in t h e studio, of
f o r m , light and s h a d o w s ; physically nearby, yet so distant."
Part of the p r o c e e d s f r o m sales of t h e c a t a l o g u e was d o n a t e d
to universities f o r t h e a c g u i s i t l o n of new p h o t o g r a p h y
eguipment.
Boyner, w h o s t a r t e d p h o t o g r a p h y as a student at R o b e r t
C o l l e g e w h e n his uncle gave him a L e i c a c a m e r a , held his first
exhibition of u n d e r w a t e r p h o t o g r a p h s in 1999.
GRADUATES
IN THE NEWS
Erdoğan Breaks Seven Year
Silence with Poetic New Novel
A
fter a s e v e n y e a r lull, w r i t e r Aslı Erdoğan RC 84 has p u b l i s h e d her f o u r t h n o v e l , Hayatın
Sessizliğinde (In the S i l e n c e of Life), by iş Bankası P u b l i s h i n g . The book, a blend of different styles
ranging f r o m v e r s e to fairy tales, takes its i n s p i r a t i o n f r o m a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n poetry, H i n d u s c r i p t u r e s
and holy books.
With this work, Erdoğan was s i n g l e d out by French. Lire m a g a z i n e as o n e of 50 p r o m i s i n g future
writers. B o r n in 1967, Erdoğan s t a r t e d writing at a v e r y y o u n g age. S h e was a b o u t ten y e a r s old, she
Aslı Erdoğan RC 84
Author A
Kozanoğlu
Turns
Autobiography
Upside Down
recalls. But as an a d o l e s c e n t , she s t o p p e d w r i t i n g . U p o n g r a d u a t i o n f r o m R o b e r t College, Erdoğan
went on to s t u d y C o m p u t e r E n g i n e e r i n g at Boğaziçi University. S h e t h e n b e c a m e an a s s i s t a n t in the
uthor C a n Kozanoğlu RC 81, well k n o w n for his n o n f i c t i o n a l e s s a y s on
P h y s i c s D e p a r t m e n t of the s a m e university. A p e r i o d of i n t e r n a t i o n a l posts b e g a n ; first at the G e n e v a
p o p u l a r Turkish culture, p u b l i s h e d his first n o v e l , Acemi Eğitimi (Novice
R e s e a r c h Institute of Q u a n t u m P h y s i c s for a year, a n d t h e n the Rio de J a n e i r o University for a n o t h e r
Training) by iletişim P u b l i s h i n g in M a r c h 2 0 0 5 . The book is a witty, inventive
two y e a r s . This p e r i o d was t h e m a k i n g of her as a writer; s h e wrote e v e r y night, after c o m i n g h o m e
r o l l e r c o a s t e r of a ride t h r o u g h what a p p e a r s to be an a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l a c c o u n t
f r o m work. The stories f r o m her s e c o n d book Mucizevi Mandarin date back to t h o s e days. "I had to
of Kozanoğlu's life. Or is it?
write; o t h e r w i s e I w o u l d have g o n e m a d . . . " Erdoğan said in a recent interview, "In fact, I wrote this
" T h e a t m o s p h e r e I live in is t h e a t m o s p h e r e of the book," he said in a recent
book for myself, not at all with the aim of getting it p u b l i s h e d . " On r e t u r n i n g to Turkey, she quit the
interview to R a d i k a l . " E v e n t s I a c t u a l l y lived, events with with w h i c h I am
s c i e n c e s to d e d i c a t e herself to her w r i t i n g .
familiar yet lived in a different way, a n d e v e n t s I never lived." Acemi Eğitimi
A w i d e l y t r a v e l e d writer, Erdoğan p u b l i s h e d her first novel Kabuk Adam (Crust Man) a book she
begins as a tale of Kozanoğlu's life, but takes s h a r p turns a l o n g t h e way. Fans of
w r o t e in istanbul in two m o n t h s in 1994. Mucizevi Mandarin ( M i r a c u l o u s M a n d a r i n / 1 9 9 6 ) is a series of
Kozanoğlu's h u m o r o u s style will love the c r e a t i v e d e t o u r s the writer takes,
i n t e r c o n n e c t e d s h o r t s t o r i e s . Set in Rio, Kırmızı Pelerinli Kent (City in a Red C a p e / 1 9 9 8 ) is her s e c o n d
linking his family's e s c a p a d e s - r e a l a n d i m a g i n e to e p i s o d e s in recent Turkish
n o v e l . H e r work has b e e n t r a n s l a t e d into several E u r o p e a n l a n g u a g e s .
history. In a d d i t i o n to w r i t i n g , Kozanoğlu is C o - h o s t this s e a s o n of an a l t e r n a t i v e
a r t s a n d culture TV s h o w Arka Sayfa (Back Page), w h i c h he p r e s e n t s w i t h
cultural c o m m e n t a t o r K a n a t A t k a y a o n NTV. B r o a d c a s t e v e r y Friday, t h e s h o w
involves the h u m o r o u s pair d i s s e c t i n g the week's cultural events candidly.
B o r n in 1963, C a n Kozanoğlu s t u d i e d s o c i o l o g y at Boğaziçi University after
R o b e r t College. R e n o w n e d as a c o m m e n t a t o r on o u r t i m e s , Kozanoğlu has
w o r k e d in TV, j o u r n a l i s m a n d p u b l i s h i n g . A m o n g his p u b l i s h e d w o r k s are Bu
Maçı Alıcaz! (1996),
Cilâlı ima] Devri (1992),
Dolunay Cemaat (1997),
Pop Çağı Ateşi (1995),
Internet
Yeni Şehir Notları (2001).
Growing Education Company
Trains Youths for Hi-Tech Future
F
r o m h u m b l e b e g i n n i n g s in a s m a l l c l a s s r o o m in Fatih in 1997, the
c o m p u t e r and software t r a i n i n g institution " B i l g e A d a m " (meaning
New Book Offers Insight into
Islamist Women's Activism
T
Wise Man) has g r o w n in leaps a n d b o u n d s to b e c o m e Microsoft's largest
certified p a r t n e r in Turkey for l e a r n i n g s o l u t i o n s . F o u n d e d by Furkan
Fırat RC 87, H a l d u n Pak RC 87 a n d Hakan Çevik RC 87, it now has six
b r a n c h e s a c r o s s Istanbul, with o v e r 3 0 , 0 0 0 g r a d u a t e s f r o m its training
p r o g r a m s . The idea was to a c c e l e r a t e Turkey's rate of d e v e l o p m e n t by
he e x p e r i e n c e s of Islamist w o m e n a c t i v i s t s in Turkey are the f o c u s of a new book by
offering i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y training p r o g r a m s to the c o u n t r y ' s
Yeşim A r a t RC 74, an i n t e r n a t i o n a l relations p r o f e s s o r at Boğaziçi, c a l l e d Rethinking
y o u t h s , w h o m a k e u p s o m e 2 0 % o f the total p o p u l a t i o n , " T h e
Islam and Liberal Democracy: Islamist
Women in
Turkish Politics (Albany: State
U n i v e r s i t y of
i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g i e s s e c t o r is h u g e l y i m p o r t a n t for Turkey a n d its
New York). A r a t a r g u e s that no s e c u l a r party in Turkey has ever a c h i e v e d t h e high levels of
future, and there is a g r o w i n g s h o r t a g e of qualified labor in the f i e l d , "
m e m b e r s h i p a n d intense a c t i v i s m of w o m e n within the now b a n n e d Islamist Refah (Welfare)
said Furkan Fırat in a recent interview. " C u r r e n t l y , m o r e t h a n 1 0 % of
Party. Rethinking Islam and Liberal Democracy e x a m i n e s the e x p e r i e n c e s of t h e s e w o m e n ,
u n i v e r s i t y - b o u n d s t u d e n t s want to s t u d y i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g i e s . That
w h o r e p r e s e n t e d a n u n p r e c e d e n t e d p h e n o m e n o n within Turkish politics.
Using in d e p t h interviews, Yeşim Arat reveals how the w o m e n of t h e party b r o a d e n e d the p a r a m e t e r s of
d e m o c r a t i c participation and c h a l l e n g e d p r e c o n c e i v e d notions of what Islam can entail in a s e c u l a r d e m o c r a t i c polity.
The Refah w o m e n c a m p a i g n e r s s u c c e s s f u l l y mobilized large g r o u p s of allegedly apolitical w o m e n by crossing the
b o u n d a r i e s b e t w e e n the social and the political, reaching t h e m t h r o u g h personal networks cultivated in private
s p a c e s . The e x p e r i e n c e s of t h e s e w o m e n s h o w the c o n t e n t i o u s relationship between liberal d e m o c r a c y and Islam,
where liberalism that prioritizes the individual can t r a n s f o r m , coexist, or r e m a i n in t e n s i o n with Islam that prioritizes
a c o m m u n a l identity legitimized by a s a c r e d G o d . Critics have w e l c o m e d the book's balanced a r g u m e n t and attempts
to go b e y o n d the d i c h o t o m i e s of secular and religious women's a c t i v i s m to see how t h e s e c u r r e n t s crossfertilize e a c h
o t h e r in multiple ways. Arat is also the a u t h o r of The Patriarchal Paradox: Women Politicians in Turkey and the
co-editor (with B a r b a r a Laslett and J o h a n n a Brenner) of Rethinking the Political: Gender, Resistance, and the State.
makes 1 5 0 , 0 0 0 people e a c h year. T h e r e is however, at m o s t 3 , 0 0 0 places
in o u r university for t h e s e y o u n g people."
Microsoft has c h o s e n Bilge A d a m " T h e best t r a i n i n g institution in
T u r k e y " . Last year, Bilge A d a m was s e l e c t e d f o u r t h a m o n g 8 0 0
M i c r o s o f t C e r t i f i e d P a r t n e r s in a region w h i c h i n c l u d e s E u r o p e , the
Middle East a n d A f r i c a . Turkey's largest a n d E u r o p e ' s s e c o n d largest
Microsoft C e r t i f i e d P a r t n e r for learning s o l u t i o n s , Bilge A d a m was also
active at the recently held A d v i s o r y B o a r d M e e t i n g of C e r t i f i e d P a r t n e r s
for L e a r n i n g S o l u t i o n s , a l o n g s i d e s e c t o r a l giants s u c h as HP, New
H o r i z o n s and the G l o b a l K n o w l e d g e Network.
F u r k a n
F i r a t
R C
8 7
'
H a l d u n
P a k
R C
8 7
H a k a n
C
e v i k
R C
8 7
GRADUATES
IN THE NEWS
Keeping
Tabs on
Turkey's
Women's
Rights
Progress
In
Turkey's Engagement
with
Global
Women's
Human
Rights
( L o n d o n : A s h g a t e P u b l i s h e r s , 2 0 0 5 ) , US based a c a d e m i c
Nüket K a r d a m A C G 71 c h a r t s Turkey's response to
international and regional m a n d a t e s on women's rights, including
the E u r o p e a n C o m m i s s i o n m e c h a n i s m s and various bodies of the
U N . An International Relations professor at California's M o n t e r e y
Institute of International Studies since 1993, K a r d a m integrates a
m a c r o f o c u s on d é m o c r a t i s a t i o n in developing countries with an
Metin Ar Receives Italy's Medal of Honor
L
eading investment banker Metin Ar RA 69, Garanti
S e c u r i t i e s C E O a n d d e p u t y c h a i r m a n o f the
i s t a n b u l S t o c k E x c h a n g e , was a w a r d e d Italy's M e d a l of
interest in g e n d e r issues and h u m a n rights.
Honor, f o r his c o n t r i b u t i o n s to the d e v e l o p m e n t of
A l t h o u g h based in the US, s h e r e g u l a r l y works with Turkish
e c o n o m i c r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n Italy a n d Turkey. The
w o m e n ' s g r o u p s as a c o n s u l t a n t , a n d has travelled to many
a w a r d is g i v e n to i n d i v i d u a l s w h o c o n t r i b u t e to t h e
A n a t o l i a n cities as a result. S h e has w o r k e d with W o m e n for
g r o w t h of r e l a t i o n s with Italy in e c o n o m i c , c o m m e r c i a l ,
W o m e n ' s H u m a n Rights - New Ways, e v a l u a t i n g their h u m a n
s o c i a l a n d c u l t u r a l fields.
rights e d u c a t i o n p r o g r a m , as well as Uçan Süpürge, c o n t r i b u t i n g
At a c e r e m o n y at t h e Italian C o n s u l a t e in Istanbul,
t o their activities, a n d with the U N D P o n w o m e n and g o v e r n a n c e
A m b a s s a d o r C a r l o M a r s i l i c o m m e n d e d M e t i n A r for
and civil s o c i e t y building as i m p l e m e n t e d under the A g e n d a 21 in
f a c i l i t a t i n g Italian c o m p a n i e s ' i n v e s t m e n t s in Turkey.
s e v e r a l c i t i e s . ' T h e most o p p r e s s i v e thing for w o m e n here is that
" W i t h his e x t e n s i v e k n o w l e d g e , Mr. M e t i n Ar is a
f e m a l e sexuality is e g u a t e d with a man's h o n o r (namus) a n d t h u s
v a l u a b l e r e f e r e n c e for Italian b u s i n e s s m e n w h o are
b e c o m e s a man's province," she says. "It is i m p o r t a n t in t e r m s of
p l a n n i n g to e n t e r the Turkish m a r k e t , " he s a i d . T h e r e
w o m e n ' s rights that w o m e n are e m p o w e r e d to earn their o w n
are c u r r e n t l y 3 0 0 Italian c o m p a n i e s investing i n
i n c o m e , but until we get o v e r the t a b o o s on sexuality, w o m e n will
Turkey.
c o n t i n u e to be o p p r e s s e d . "
A c c e p t i n g t h e a w a r d , A r e m p h a s i z e d his lifelong
A f t e r g r a d u a t i n g f r o m A C G in 1971, K a r d a m studied p h i l o s o p h y
Metin A r R A 6 9
at istanbul University. A book p a s s e d on by a friend called
commitment to international collaboration among
c o m p a n i e s . "At G a r a n t i S e c u r i t i e s , w e have always
European History, w h i c h e x a m i n e s O t t o m a n and Turkish history
supported international cooperation and placed much
f r o m a Marxist p e r s p e c t i v e , inspired her to begin a m a s t e r s
importance on crossborder mergers", he said.
p r o g r a m in political s c i e n c e at Boğaziçi. S h e left BU halfway
" I n v e s t m e n t s by t h e Italian private s e c t o r in Turkey
t h r o u g h to finish her m a s t e r s at the University of British
o c c u p y a s p e c i a l place in t h e s e e f f o r t s . "
C o l u m b i a and s u b s e g u e n t l y c o m p l e t e d a d o c t o r a t e in political
s c i e n c e at M i c h i g a n State University.
Nüket K a r d a m A C G 71 Sr. (right).
With c l a s s m a t e Ferda Tarzi A C G 71 J r .
Her interest in W o m e n ' s S t u d i e s b e g a n as a d o c t o r a l s t u d e n t at
M i c h i g a n State University, w h e r e she d i s c o v e r e d a " W o m e n a n d
D e v e l o p m e n t C e n t e r " and b e g a n to work there as a g r a d u a t e
assistant, o r g a n i z i n g s e m i n a r s . " A s a w o m a n myself, I tried to
u n d e r s t a n d what being a w o m a n m e a n t to me," she told
c l a s s m a t e Ferda Tarzı in an interview for the Quarterly. " G r o w i n g
up in Turkey, I e x p e r i e n c e d t r e m e n d o u s c o n t r a d i c t i o n s b e t w e e n
h o m e and s c h o o l , identity t e n s i o n s . At A C G I was e x p o s e d to
m e s s a g e s about finding myself, o p e n i n g up to the world but
w h e n I went h o m e I'd be told to get m a r r i e d , have c h i l d r e n , 'a
Tijen Çıdam to
Head Borusan Auto
T
ijen Çıdam RC 78 was a p p o i n t e d G e n e r a l
M a n a g e r of B o r u s a n A u t o in F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 5 ,
b e c o m i n g one of the " 3 0 Most P o w e r f u l W o m e n in
w o m a n ' s most i m p o r t a n t role is as a wife and so o n . It s e e m e d
Turkey", a c c o r d i n g to an influential s u r v e y by
like I had to have different identities and was e x p e c t e d to b e h a v e
Capital b u s i n e s s m a g a z i n e . Çıdam, w h o was
differently at h o m e , on the street, or at s c h o o l . T h e s e
p r e v i o u s l y heralded by the Dünya n e w s p a p e r as the
c o n t r a d i c t i o n s led me to g u e s t i o n g e n d e r roles and identities
most s u c c e s s f u l f e m a l e m a n a g e r in the c o n s t r u c t i o n
a n d study w o m e n ' s rights globally a n d in the context of Turkey."
industry, j o i n e d the B o r u s a n c o m p a n y in 1983. P r i o r
K a r d a m has c o m b i n e d r e s e a r c h a n d c o n s u l t i n g in Turkey as
to being a p p o i n t e d g e n e r a l manager, she was
well as E a s t e r n E u r o p e a n d C e n t r a l A s i a , with t e a c h i n g in
Assistant General Manager at Borusan Mannesman
C a l i f o r n i a , a n d hopes to c o n t i n u e and e x p a n d the t i m e she
for 13 years.
s p e n d s in Turkey. In 2 0 0 6 , she hopes to spend six m o n t h s in
B o r u s a n said in a s t a t e m e n t that rotations a m o n g
Turkey, f o c u s i n g in m o r e detail on the c o n n e c t i o n b e t w e e n
its top e x e c u t i v e s had b e c o m e c o m m o n practice
sexuality a n d w o m e n ' s h u m a n rights, as well as the f o r m a t i o n of
within the c o m p a n y in o r d e r to e n c o u r a g e different
g e n d e r identities in diverse ethnic a n d religious c o m m u n i t i e s .
p e r s p e c t i v e s for h i g h e r efficiency.
Tijen Çıdam RC 78
79
GRADUATES.
IN THE NEWS
Mardin
Honored
with
Award for
Lifetime
Achievement
S
he is Turkey's undisputed PR q u e e n , its publicity g u r u
and an internationally r e n o w n e d expert in the field of
public relations. T h e list of a c c o l a d e s for Betül Mardin
A C G 46 is seemingly untoppable. But at 77, she has d o n e it
again, b e c o m i n g the first ever M o s l e m w o m a n to be awarded
the Atlas Award for Lifetime A c h i e v e m e n t by the Public
Relations Society of A m e r i c a ( P R S A ) . The award is given
annually to an individual w h o has m a d e extraordinary
contributions to the field of public relations on a global scale.
Mardin, president of I.M.A.G.E. Public Relations a n d head of
the public relations d e p a r t m e n t at Istanbul Bilgi University,
graduate of the College, it was m u c h more t h a n a high s c h o o l ,
was first made aware that she had been n o m i n a t e d for the
the level of e d u c a t i o n we received was that of a junior college.
award in April last year, w h e n she was asked to supply letters
Imagine, we studied a r c h e o l o g y ! A n d philosophy! A n d we were
of reference and a biography to the P R S A . S h e did so, but gave
taught first-class English,".
the matter little f u r t h e r thought. This summer, she was woken
The quality of the education was first-rate, despite wartime
by the phone. "I thought s o m e t h i n g bad had h a p p e n e d , " she
difficulties in getting basic supplies. "There was no food. The
recalls. The voice on the o t h e r e n d told her she had b e e n
staff had invented something called 'bread and sauce', which
awarded the A t l a s ; " T h e y said 'We n e e d to hear y o u r v o i c e ' " .
was basically bread with vinegar and olive oil. That was what we
It turns out that fate - and Mardin's extraordinary publicity
ate. There was no soap, no tea. But we had excellent teachers,
skills - had conspired to help her hand. Mardin later learnt that
Faruk Nafiz Camlibel was our Literature teacher for instance."
she had a fervent lobbyist on the deciding jury. "It turns out that
There was a vibrant extra-curricular scene on c a m p u s , says
this man had actually met me some 20 years ago, at the opening
M a r d i n . " W e published top notch student m a g a z i n e s . We held
of a factory down in Torbalı," she says. Mardin, Turkey's first ever
debates on Important issues, which we would really prepare
public relations specialist, was doing PR for the factory. She
for. A n o t h e r popular activity was the theater, which is how I
rounded up a management team and got them to visit
met my h u s b a n d Haldun D o r m e n . "
surrounding factories, households and farms to introduce
In her s o p h o m o r e year, Mardin w o n a s c h o o l slogan
themselves and explain what they were doing. The practice was
c o m p e t i t i o n . Her winning entry, 'Civilization is based on
then unheard of in Turkey. "I was just doing my job, doing PR,"
c o n s t r u c t i o n , not destruction', is still a motto she lives by.
Mardin says. That small act would return back to her hundred
It was one of her A m e r i c a n teachers w h o e n c o u r a g e d Mardin
fold, years later - the jury m e m b e r was at the time manager of
to work, against t h e wishes of her family. " M y teacher said
the Opel factory in Torbalı, and had been so impressed by
'There's s o m e t h i n g different about y o u . Why don't you at least
Mardin's visit, that he never forgot her. "It seems he kept saying
consider w o r k i n g for a c h a r i t y ? ' " . J u s t 19 years old, Mardin
'I have met this lady, she is going to get this award!" says Mardin.
Mardin has dedicated m u c h of her career to facilitating
proved to be an excellent fund-raiser, quickly b e c o m i n g sought
after by institutions like o r p h a n a g e s and the Red Crescent.
intercultural c o m m u n i c a t i o n , vital in these globalized times.
" O n c e I started working, I b l o s s o m e d , " recalls M a r d i n . J u s t as
" T h e Ottomans really knew what this meant," she told t h e
her t e a c h e r predicted, she thrived, b e c o m i n g a journalist, then
RCO, and recounted the following story: W h e n a foreign
involved in the theater a n d films. " B e i n g an independent
a m b a s s a d o r was appointed to the O t t o m a n Empire, before
working w o m a n fit me like a glove," she says, smiling.
taking up his position, he would be brought to Istanbul and
At 4 0 , with two children to look after, Mardin reinvented
hosted at an official g u e s t h o u s e . In seclusion for o n e week, he
herself a g a i n , b e c o m i n g Turkey's first public relations
would be trained by P a l a c e officials on O t t o m a n c o d e s of
specialist, persuading A k b a n k to hire her. The rest, as they say,
c o n d u c t -- how to ask questions, what to wear, how to deal
is history. Mardin has w o r k e d with many leading Turkish and
with w o m e n . Only after this c o a c h i n g would he be presented
international c o m p a n i e s and charities. S h e was elected
to the S u l t a n . " T h i s illustrates the m e s s a g e I try to give
treasurer a n d t h e n president (in 1995) of the International
multinationals. Don't send y o u r people out into a n o t h e r
Public Relations A s s o c i a t i o n (IPRA). In 1996, Mardin was
culture without first training t h e m . I have general m a n a g e r s
founding president of t h e A s s o c i a t i o n of Public Relations
for instance w h o s c h e d u l e staff meetings for Friday n o o n , they
C o n s u l t a n c i e s in Turkey, a n d in 1998, she was m a d e a M e m b e r
don't realize that is prayer time. Culture shock is s o m e t h i n g
Emeritus by IPRA in recognition of services contributed to the
that needs to be a d d r e s s e d . "
a d v a n c e m e n t of t h e profession. At 77, Mardin shows no signs of
slowing down. She has taken to teaching, and is enthused by her
"ACG Was Like a University"
Mardin credits A C G with having given her a flying start. "I
didn't attend university," she says. " B u t w h e n I say I am a
students at Bilgi University. "When I look at my life, I feel blessed,
like God's hand has been with me. Now I love passing on my
experiences to new generations,".
two s c h o o l s , aware even t h e n of history In the m a k i n g . As
n u m b e r of w h o m went on to b e c o m e h e a d m a s t e r s
C h r i s t o p h e r R. R o b e r t wrote C y r u s H a m l i n in 1861, two years
themselves, such as J o h n Schereschewsky, Calvin Atwood,
before the f o u n d i n g of R C : " P r e s e r v e my letters and all other
Frank B r o g a , P e t e r Shiras, R i c h a r d Reid and J o h n Chalfant.
in relation to the College...keep c o p i e s of all y o u r letters
His staff included men w h o went on to b e c o m e well-known
relative to the enterprise...the two will f o r m a history of
writers, s u c h as Geoffrey Wolf, David L e e m l n g , A s a Baber,
efforts, which if o u r lives are s p a r e d , it will be interesting for
T i m o t h y R o b i n s o n and R o b e r t Miner Jr, as well as the
us to look over a few years hence, a n d still m o r e to t h o s e w h o
c o m p o s e r R o b e r t Ceeley, the a r c h e o l o g i s t P e t e r K u n i h o l m
c o m e after us 50 or 100 years later." '
a n d the historians William H i c k m a n and B r u c e K u n i h o l m . "
This t h e n is t h e first c h a p t e r of RC in books; m e m o i r s
h o u s e m a s t e r at R o b e r t C o l l e g e f r o m 1958 to 1967 was one of
P a t r i c k . S u b s e q u e n t a d m i n i s t r a t o r s in the early years upheld
t h e s e l u m i n a r i e s . A c h a n c e e n c o u n t e r with Istanbul in 1952
2
3
the tradition; G e o r g e W a s h b u r n " , C a l e b Frank Gates (RC
led to G o o d w i n ' s lifelong love affair with Turkey, the fruit of
P r e s i d e n t f r o m 1903-32) a n d Lynn S c i p i o (head of the RC
w h i c h were many studies including his classic work A History
5
E n g i n e e r i n g S c h o o l , 1912-1942) all published their m e m o i r s of
of Ottoman Architecture. First published in 1971, it Is still in
life at RC.
print and r e m a i n s the s t a n d a r d work of reference. In addition
6
Reading Robert College
A School in Books
H
istory c a n be s e e n as a series of j u n c t u r e s where
The f i c t i o n a l , s u r r e a l quality that s u r r o u n d s the f o u n d i n g
G o d f r e y G o o d w i n , professor of art and a r c h i t e c t u r e and
written by the f o u n d e r s C y r u s H a m l i n and M a r y Mills
to his s c h o l a r l y work, G o o d w i n also published his m e m o i r s
The Next Generations of College Teachers
Life's
From the 1920s o n , the C o l l e g e was h o m e to a breed of well-
he devotes several c h a p t e r s to RC and his students there. Of
Episodes;
Discovering
Ottoman
Architecture,
in
which
e d u c a t e d foreigners, Britons and A m e r i c a n s in particular, in
his r e s i d e n c e at H a m l i n Hall, G o o d w i n s a y s : " W h a t I enjoyed
w h o m a sense of religious duty was r e p l a c e d by a love of
was the unreliability of electricity in my first years. I kept a
travel, a passion for a d v e n t u r e a n d a desire to e s c a p e war-
supply of 1,000 candles and w h e n the lights failed issued one
t o r n E u r o p e . Of these, Betty Tank, an A m e r i c a n pacifist and
c a n d l e to e a c h student, while the railings r o u n d the galleries
intrepid hiker, a r r i v e d in Istanbul as the S e c o n d World War
o v e r l o o k i n g t h e halls c a r r i e d sets of six. The effect was as
raged In Europe. For three years, she kept a d i a r y as
r o m a n t i c as a n y o n e could hope for, most of all w h e n it was
7
d o r m i t o r y surveillant a n d t h e n t e a c h e r at the A m e r i c a n
raining b e c a u s e of the lively reflection of the f l a m e s in the
College for Girls, w h e r e her r o o m o v e r l o o k e d a little f a r m
glass roof o v e r the c o u r t y a r d . O n e w o n d e r e d if hell were
h u m a n stories meet a n d mingle with h u m a n s p a c e s .
y e a r s is no less evident in t h e h e r o i c efforts it took to build
next to c a m p u s walls. T h e s c h o o l m a n a g e d to f u n c t i o n
equally attractive." G o o d w i n relished his O t t o m a n
R o b e r t C o l l e g e , as a s p a c e on w h i c h m a n y
the s c h o o l . H a m l i n , R C ' s first headmaster, was also m a s t e r
despite gas cuts and food rationing, and a m i d c o n s t a n t
A r c h i t e c t u r e c o u r s e b e c a u s e , as he s a i d , it meant " h e had a
g e n e r a t i o n s ' s t o r i e s have b e e n e n c r y p t e d , a n d as an
builder a n d m e c h a n i c , using his hands, a t r o o p of laborers
r u m o r s of invasion a n d m a s s e v a c u a t i o n . O n e day, a m i n e was
whole city to e x p l o r e " with his s t u d e n t s . At first his students
institution w h i c h has t o u c h e d t h o u s a n d s of lives, lends itself
a n d oxen to d o m e s t i c a t e what was t h e n wild c o u n t r y s i d e in
f o u n d floating near Bebek. Tank's all female c o l l e a g u e s were
were terrified of v e n t u r i n g into m o s q u e s and historic
buildings (which in t h o s e days were r u n d o w n and poorly
to c o n t i n u o u s r e r e a d i n g . C h a n g e is the o n e constant for this
B e b e k on a plot of land s e c u r e d f r o m t h e S u l t a n . A g a i n s t the
a mixture of A m e r i c a n s , E n g l i s h , F r e n c h , Swiss and Turkish
147-year-old institution. O v e r the years, t h o s e c h a n g e s have
o d d s , he r e c r e a t e d a New E n g l a n d c a m p u s , so foreign a m i d s t
citizens. S h e briefly d e s c r i b e s life at A C G : " T h e M a r b l e Hall
been r e c o r d e d , d o c u m e n t e d a n d even f i c t i o n a l i z e d by
its s u r r o u n d i n g s . M u c h the s a m e H e r c u l e a n d e d i c a t i o n was
was used for d a n c i n g at least one e v e n i n g a week. The girls
g e n e r a t i o n s of a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , s t u d e n t s a n d staff, resulting in
true of M a r y Mills Patrick, a 2 5 - y e a r - o l d m i s s i o n a r y f r o m New
d a n c e d with e a c h other. S o m e parents had expressly stated
a body of work loosely linked. Together, t h e y a d d up to a
H a m p s h i r e w h o w o u l d ultimately raise funds for t h e p u r c h a s e
that their d a u g h t e r was not even to see a boy. In M a r b l e Hall
bigger picture a n d - h o p e f u l l y - a m o r e e n r i c h e d u n d e r s t a n d i n g
of t h e p r o p e r t y of the A m e r i c a n C o l l e g e for Girls, on w h i c h
there was a large bust of K e m a l Ataturk and it was here that
R o b e r t C o l l e g e now stands, a n d preside o v e r A C G until 1924.
c o m m e m o r a t i v e exercises were held at which we had to
At a t i m e w h e n w o m e n ' s e d u c a t i o n was frowned u p o n even in
guard against excessive e m o t i o n , which in the past had led to
The Founders Wrote History
t h e W e s t e r n w o r l d , Mills Patrick was d e d i c a t e d to raising
m a s s hysterics over the loss of the beloved f o u n d e r of
Truth can indeed be stranger than fiction. Visiting Istanbul in
s t r o n g , i n d e p e n d e n t y o u n g w o m e n . In their lifetimes, t h e s e
m o d e r n Turkey".
1856 during the Crimean War, Christopher R. Robert, a New York
v i s i o n a r y e d u c a t o r s would c o n t e n d with the Balkan Wars, a
philanthropist, is intrigued by a boat on the Bosphorus laden
w o r l d war, the birth of the Turkish nation a n d its t u m u l t u o u s
professors a r r i v e on c a m p u s , m o s t l y thanks to Neil Bull,
with first-class fresh bread loaves. Curious, he tracks down the
c o m i n g - o f - a g e . Gas cuts, f o o d rationing, lack of water a n d
h e a d m a s t e r f r o m 1 9 6 0 - 6 6 . Of Bull, Freely says " m u c h of his
baker, Cyrus Hamlin, a missionary of many talents who had set
heating w e r e a f r e q u e n t feature of their lives; not that they
s u c c e s s s t e m m e d f r o m his flair for hiring (or keeping t h o s e
up a makeshift bakery in Bebek as part of the war relief effort.
complained.
a l r e a d y on the scene) brilliant and creative y o u n g t e a c h e r s , a
of our u n i q u e c o m m u n i t y .
That chance meeting would lead to their friendship, and the
founding of Robert College several years later in 1863.
F o r t u n a t e l y for s u b s e q u e n t g e n e r a t i o n s , the f o u n d e r s w e r e
diligent c h r o n i c l e r s of t h e i r day-to-day lives as t h e y built the
The 1950s a n d 6 0 s saw a c r o p of brilliant, h i g h l y - e d u c a t e d
RC History Books
Acclaimed historian John Freely has written a definitive
history of the schools, from the founders through to the
present in the two-volume A History of Robert College,
published by Yapı Kredi Yayınları in English. The book
includes many previously unpublished photographs and
documents about the school, a selection of which can be
seen in the RC Museum, above the Library.
Another valuable resource The Story of Robert College
Old and New was compiled by librarian and archivist May
Fincancı in 2001. In addition to a historical overview, the book
provides detailed information on the school's newer buildings,
as well as campus life today.
#1 Rated Ethnic Shopping Site in the World -Alexa.com
maintained), but by the end of the first year, w h e n G o o d w i n
As s o o n as I set foot in the house, I went straight for the
took t h e m to E d i r n e t h e y had b e c o m e , " a s heroic as
p a n t r y (in t h o s e d a y s t h e r e were no refrigerators) and ate
J a n i s s a r i e s " . (Sadly, G o o d w i n p a s s e d away recently. P l e a s e
w h a t e v e r I c o u l d get my hands on with great gusto. That
see his o b i t u a r y at t h e back of the magazine.)
appetite c o n t i n u e s to this day."
B o t h A C G and RC were f a m o u s not just for strong
Graduates Look Back - the College in Memoirs
a c a d e m i c s , but also a vibrant e x t r a - c u r r i c u l a r t r a d i t i o n ,
Given the College's m a n y illustrious graduates, it is not
p a r t i c u l a r l y in d r a m a . In fact for s o m e students, like t h e
s u r p r i s i n g that the s c h o o l features in m a n y m e m o i r s , the
f a m o u s a c t o r H a l d u n D o r m e n RC 4 9 , the t h e a t e r b e c a m e a
earliest of w h i c h was written by A C G ' s first M o s l e m f e m a l e
d r i v i n g p a s s i o n . " D e s p i t e all my talents, my grades w e r e
graduate, Halide Edip A d i v a r A C G 0 1 . " T h e effect o f m y life
terrible," he r e c a l l s ' " , d e s c r i b i n g s c r a p i n g by e a c h y e a r
at the C o l l e g e was so s t r o n g , that I feel I must dwell briefly on
a c a d e m i c a l l y , but excelling on the s c h o o l stage. " T h e r e was
the g e n e r a l and specific effects it had on me. As a whole, the
an activity of interest for e v e r y o n e at s c h o o l . In t h o s e days,
College had a liberating effect on my life; it would bring
t h e C o l l e g e t h e a t e r activities were often s p o k e n about in
balance to my life, the o p p o r t u n i t y for a p e r s o n a l life in w h i c h
c u l t u r e d circles. Antigone, d i r e c t e d by municipal t h e a t e r a c t o r
I f o u n d m a n y different interests. S o m e of my intellectual
A v n i Dilligil (now d e c e a s e d ) , was v e r y s u c c e s s f u l . T h e
t e n d e n c i e s , w h i c h were a l r e a d y s t r o n g , f o u n d new h o r i z o n s
n e w s p a p e r s went on at s o m e length about the y o u n g talents
here," she writes. S h e was just 15 w h e n she t r a n s l a t e d The
in lead roles, Tunç Y a l m a n a n d S a r a Korle."
8
Mother in the Home f r o m English to Turkish at A C G , w h i c h
In her a u t o b i o g r a p h y Şirin, l e g e n d a r y a c t r e s s Şirin D e v r i m
e a r n e d her t h e Sultan's praise. Until the College, Edip was
A C G 4 6 says " T h e love o f t h e a t e r w h i c h would give d i r e c t i o n
c o n f i n e d to a life at h o m e , at A C G , as Edip's b i o g r a p h e r
to my life b e g a n at the A m e r i c a n College for G i r l s , " . S h e
Frances K a z a n s a y s " T h e influence of M a r y Mills Patrick, w h o
m a d e her s t a g e debut in a Turkish play called İnsanlar Niye
had received p s y c h o l o g y training at Berlin University, on
Yazar written by A l t e m u r Kılıç RC 4 4 . " E v e r y o n e was in it,"
Edip's innovative t h o u g h t was v e r y a p p a r e n t , " . '
she writes of a cast w h i c h included A h m e t İsvan RA 4 4 ,
A C G would c o n t i n u e t o raise many p i o n e e r i n g w o m e n after
Adivar. In her m e m o i r s Bir Dinazorun Anilan (A Dinosaur's
Memoirs), Turkish intellectual, t r a n s l a t o r and professor M i n a
M e h m e t isvan R A 4 6 and Bülent Ecevit R C 4 4 , w h o w o u l d
meet his wife Rahşan A r a l A C G 44 in r e h e a r s a l .
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- Osman Saklica, Alabama
A d m i s s i o n to the prestigious t h e a t e r g r o u p was not always
U r g a n A C G 3 5 c r e d i t s A C G with having c u r e d her o f m a n y
easy. In his a u t o b i o g r a p h y Patches of My Life from 1910-1944,
" p e c u l i a r i t i e s " . In a p a r t i c u l a r l y revealing e p i s o d e , s h e
A r i f Saltuk RC E n g 3 3 , recalls: "I r e c e i v e d a letter f r o m the
r e c o u n t s how t h e s c h o o l rid her of her anorexic t e n d e n c i e s .
R o b e r t C o l l e g e P l a y e r s , a rather exclusive group, the
" T h e first week at s c h o o l , I didn't eat a n y t h i n g but bread and
m e m b e r s of w h i c h were s e l e c t e d f r o m a m o n g the whole
water. We would be s e v e n s t u d e n t s a n d a t e a c h e r at a table.
student body. I had b e e n n o m i n a t e d as a c a n d i d a t e for
In t h o s e days we were s e r v e d by White R u s s i a n waiters in
m e m b e r s h i p . However, t h e letter also i n f o r m e d me that I was
white gloves a n d suits. I said 'I'm not g o i n g to eat'. T h e
to take a written e x a m i n a t i o n a n d if I p a s s e d it s u c c e s s f u l
t e a c h e r did not object, 'As y o u w i s h ' s h e s a i d . But I was used
t h e n had to go t h r o u g h an oral e x a m . Only after p a s s i n g all
to being b e g g e d 'please eat, just a little', cajoled with
t h o s e c o u l d I attain the h o n o r of m e m b e r s h i p in the R o b e r t
p r o m i s e s of being taken places, even having little shows put
C o l l e g e P l a y e r s , " . For the written part, Saltuk - a t a l e n t e d
on in my h o n o r so that I would eat. T h e first w e e k e n d they
artist- was a s k e d to d e s i g n a stage set for one of
picked me up, I didn't say a word d u r i n g t h e taxi ride h o m e .
S h a k e s p e a r e ' s plays, w h i c h he d i d . He was t h e n o r d e r e d " t o
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acquire the spirit of happiness f r o m Mr Ratiani, our
republic. She b e c o m e s one of the founders of the Turkish
g y m n a s t i c s t e a c h e r " , blindfolded and f r o g - m a r c h e d before a
Literature Society on c a m p u s . "Of course we couldn't have
mock c o u r t before being a c c e p t e d .
given it a name like the M o s l e m Society, the Christian Society.
That was forbidden under the Republican administration.
"In t e r m s of the theater, the C o l l e g e was a s c h o o l unto its
A Comprehensive List of RC in Books
Author
Name
Author
Last Name
Title
Alma Mater and the Story of Robert College
o w n , " writes Ülkü Tamer RC 5 8 " . Even O r t a 3 students would
Religious distinctions had been abolished, instead there were
Ali
Neyzi
put on a S h a k e s p e a r e play e a c h year, in E n g l i s h . In the Lise,
nations. So we called ourselves the Turkish Literature Society
Aptullah
Kuran
Bir Kurucu Rektörün Anıları: Robert Kolej
Yüksek Okulundan Boğaziçi Üniversitesine
s e v e n or eight plays would be put on a year, he recalls. A
and almost all the Turkish girls belonged to this society." The
g r o u p of Lise s t u d e n t s including him would also take one or
group makes College history when it puts on the first ever
Arif
Saltuk
Patches of My Life from 1910 to 1994
two plays on a t o u r of A n a t o l i a in the s e m e s t e r break, often
Turkish language play, Sırat Köprüsü.
Asya
Orhon
Kolejlerin Koleji, Robert Kolej
Ayşe
Yüksel
I. Okul Kütüphaneciliği Konferansı
J o u r n a l i s t A r d a U s k a n o p e n s his biography of c e l e b r a t e d
a c c o m p a n i e d b y English t e a c h e r Hillary S u m n e r - B o y d . " B o y d
was m o r e of our f r i e n d t h a n our teacher. We would meet in
Turkish journalist a n d m a g a z i n e p u b l i s h e r E r c a n Arıklı RC 59,
Ayten
Sezer
Atatürk döneminde Yabancı Okullar
his r o o m , s m o k e and discuss d r a m a and literature. We learnt
Güle Güle Bebeğim (Bye Bye Baby), with a s c e n e at R o b e r t
Betty
Tank
Pushing My Shadow
a lot f r o m h i m . Most Importantly we learnt to a p p r e c i a t e art,".
College. He recounts how as e a r l y as the 1956 O r t a y e a r b o o k ,
Caleb Frank
Gates
Not To Me Only
Arıklı was " p l a n n i n g to b e c o m e a j o u r n a l i s t " , a n d d e s c r i b e s
Cyrus
Hamlin
My Life and Times
who helped shape the course of their lives. It was one such
how many of A n k l i ' s closest lifelong f r i e n d s h i p s were f o r m e d
Cyrus
Hamlin
Among the Turks
teacher's Intervention which helped acclaimed writer and
at s c h o o l . P e r h a p s his closest f r i e n d , c l a s s m a t e a n d fellow
Eren
Yanık
Akvaryum
Intellectual Talat S. Halman RC 51' evade his mother's plans
journalist Ismail C e m , RC 59 for instance, would go on to
Erol
Haker
istanbul'dan Kudüs'e Bir Kimlik Arayışı
for him to become an engineer. " O n e of the A m e r i c a n teachers
b e c o m e foreign minister in the 1 9 9 0 s . Tragically, Arıklı was
Frances
Kazan
Halide Edip ve Amerika
in the Engineering department said 'If you want, you can
s p r i n g , a " P l a t e a u " f r o m w h i c h to watch the B o s p h o r u s ,
killed by a bus two years ago.
George
Washburn
Fifty Years in Constantinople
become an engineer. Your exam was good e n o u g h . But you
flower g a r d e n s with ponds, and a big hill behind the buildings.
Godfrey
Goodwin
Life's episodes: discovering Ottoman architecture
Like Tamer, many College graduates recall particular teachers
2
B e c a u s e there was a tradition that graduating classes leave
RC in Literature
Gündüz
Vassaf
Annem Belkıs
[...] So I convinced my mother, and I didn't enter [the
behind a gift to the s c h o o l , our class of 1935 class planted 31
A great many s c e n e s at the C o l l e g e s e e m well-suited to
Haldun
Dormen
Sürç-ü Lisan Ettikse - Anılar
d e p a r t m e n t ] " . Fortunately for Turkey, Halman studied arts and
pine trees on that bare hill. Now those trees have grown and
b e c o m e b a c k d r o p s to a n o v e l ; the P l a t e a u at dusk, the
Halide Edip
Adıvar
Mor Salkımlı Ev
literature instead, and went on to become the country's first
multiplied," says U r g a n .
wisteria b l o s s o m s in s p r i n g a n d the i m p o s i n g e n t r a n c e to
Hester Donaldson
Jenkins
An Educational Ambassador to the Middle East
M a r b l e Hall are just s o m e of t h e r o m a n t i c , evocative details
ihsan
Tombuş
Ankara Cinayeti
published books o n the s c h o o l alone; t h e s e include A s y a
of c a m p u s living. It is p e r h a p s s u r p r i s i n g t h e n that the s c h o o l
Jak
Deleon
The White Russians in istanbul
O r h o n ' R A 6 4 and Uğur E r s o y
hasn't m a d e it into m o r e novels.
John
Freely
History of Robert College
Lynn
Scipio
My Thirty Years in Turkey
should know that you will never be a very successful engineer.
minister of culture.
S u c h is the impact of College years, s o m e writers have
In his m o v i n g a c c o u n t of growing up a Turkish J e w in the
1940s, Erol H a k e r
13
RC 50 also dwells on his years at RC, of
which he says "[It] is unparalleled even on a global s c a l e ; I do
6
17
R C Eng 5 5 , a s well a s R C
Trustee Ali H. Neyzi RC 46 w h o s e a c c o u n t of his C o l l e g e
Possibly the most i n f a m o u s f i c t i o n a l a c c o u n t of the s c h o o l
years, Alma Mater, was printed both in Turkish and E n g l i s h .
is M a u r e e n Freely's A C G 71 Life of the Party, set on what is
Mary Mills
Patrick
A Bosphorus Adventure
unique,". Replete with colorful details of boarding s c h o o l life,
Neyzi's a c c o u n t is of his years as a boarding student at t h e
t o d a y ' s Boğaziçi c a m p u s . It c e n t e r s on H e c t o r C a b o t , a
Mary Mills
Patrick
Under Five Sultans
invented b o y h o o d l a n g u a g e s and off-campus e s c a p a d e s ,
s c h o o l f r o m 1 9 3 9 - 4 6 , where " t h e r e are more t h a n 2 0 0 boys.
t e a c h e r with wild ways at W o o d r o w College, and his
Maureen
Freely
Life of the Party
Haker also d e s c r i b e s the s t u d e n t s ' i n t r o d u c t i o n to what he
Imagine the noise and the r u m p u s " . The boys got up to
expatriate circle, in the last days before the s c h o o l b e c o m e s
May
Fincancı
The Story of Robert College Old and New
calls " t h e w o r l d of New E n g l a n d " , which was " a k i n to visiting
c o u n t l e s s a d v e n t u r e s , including illicit s m o k i n g , regaling e a c h
n a t i o n a l i z e d a n d against the b a c k d r o p of a harsh era in
Mina
Urgan
o t h e r with sexual tales after lights out and d i s c o v e r i n g
Turkish history.
not think t h e r e are m a n y s c h o o l s in the world which are so
Mars, not b e c a u s e it was luxurious, but b e c a u s e it was so
S c a n d a l is also at t h e heart of Ankara Cinayeti, a
cultured a n d c o m f o r t a b l e " . He cites The English S p e a k e r s
t u n n e l s u n d e r n e a t h the s p o r t s field that help t h e m play
C l u b presided over by Mrs. M c N e a l , w h o s e h u s b a n d , the
hooky. (Sadly, N e y z i passed away recently. P l e a s e see his
d o c u m e n t a r y n o v e l ' b y f o r m e r M P ihsan Tombuş R C 4 2 E x
o b i t u a r y at the back of the magazine.)
about the 1945 s o - c a l l e d A n k a r a Murder, a high-profile
literature professor C h a r l e s M c N e a l , would weep at a
Morgenthau
Moris
Farhi
NormanSNancy
Beecher
Romanımla Sana Bir Ses
Orhan
Pamuk
istanbul
Orhan
Tiirker
Mega Revma'dan Arnavutkoy'e
Yanık's RC 04 Akvaryum (Aquarium), written while he was a
were i m p l i c a t e d . In o t h e r books, R o b e r t C o l l e g e is not
says: " T h e only c l a s s I would attend with pleasure was the
high s c h o o l senior, in which he d e s c r i b e s the growing pains of
n a m e d , but invoked in great detail. In his only f i c t i o n a l work,
literature class given by an A m e r i c a n , Prof. M c N e a l . I would
a post-1980 g e n e r a t i o n . Yanık is c u r r e n t l y at P r i n c e t o n .
g a t h e r i n g s in the r o o m s of David G a r w o o d . A c t o r D o r m e n
hang o n t o his e v e r y w o r d . He tried to t e a c h his students
Fortunate Journey:our lives, our family,
Madra
Ömer
A m o r e recent addition to this c r o p of m e m o i r s is E r e n
Young Turk
and our forebears
m u r d e r c a s e in w h i c h two of his R o b e r t C o l l e g e c l a s s m a t e s
particularly m o v i n g S c h u b e r t piece, as well as i m p r o m p t u
Bir Dinazorun Anıları
All in a Lifetime
Romanımla Sana Bir Ses, c o u n t e r c u l t u r e icon Ömer M a d r a RA
Princess Musbah
Haidar
Arabesque
64 creates a y o u t h f u l protagonist on the c u s p of g r a d u a t i n g
Şirin
Devrim
Şirin
about e v e r y a s p e c t of art; music, theater, c i n e m a a n d even
The College in Biographies
f r o m a C o l l e g e strikingly similar to R C . Likewise, in several
Stevens
Marcia&Malcolm
Against the Devil's Current: Life S Times of C.H.
classical Turkish m u s i c . May he rest in peace, M c N e a l was a
The school also found its way into biographies written about
c h a p t e r s of his novel Young Turk, L o n d o n - b a s e d writer Moris
Talat
Halman
Aklın Yolu Bindir
Anılarım
truly w o n d e r f u l teacher. He greatly r e s p e c t e d my d e c i s i o n to
other people. Celebrated essayist Gündüz Vassaf RA 64
Farhi RA 54 refers to an idyllic boys' boarding s c h o o l in
Teoman
Onat
b e c o m e an actor, a n d even told me he was very happy about
devotes a chapter to the College in his biography about his
Bebek, on a hill, w h e r e t e e n a g e r s of many nationalities,
Uğur
Ersoy
Erguvan Renkli Yıllar
it,". For o t h e r C o l l e g e students, it was the places on c a m p u s
mother, Belkıs Halım Vassaf (Annem Belkıs), a courageous
ethnicities a n d religions coexist peacefully.
Tamer
Yaşamak Hatırlamaktır
that m a d e it unique. C e l e b r a t e d a u t h o r O r h a n P a m u k RA 70
w o m a n who e m b o d i e d the go-hither spirit of the early
writes of the library: "I enjoyed losing myself amidst the
Republic. Born at the turn of the century, most likely in 1904, in
labyrinths on t h e s c h o o l library, with its low ceilings a n d
the Balkans - t h e n part of the Ottoman Empire- this remarkable
[6] Scipio, Lynn A. My Thirty Years in Turkey. Ringde, New Hampshire, 1955. [7] Betty Tank. Pushing My Shadow, New York 1995. [8] Halide Edip Adıvar, Mor Salkımlı Ev, istanbul. [9]
pleasant s m e l l of aging paper, and s p e n d i n g hours going
w o m a n studied at Robert College, istanbul University and
Franes Kazan, Halide Edip ve Amerika, istanbul 1995. [10] Haldun Dormen, Sûrç-ü Lisan Ettikse - Anılar, istanbul, 1993. [11] Ülkü Tamer. Yaşamak Hatırlamaktır, istanbul 2005. [12] Talat
t h r o u g h b o o k s , " . O t h e r s were e n t r a n c e d by its sprawling
eventually Harvard. Her time at Robert College is one of
S. Halman. Aklın Yolu Bindir, istanbul 2003. [13] Erol Haker. Kudüs'ten istanbul'a Bir Kimlik Arayışı, Kitap Yayınevi, 2 0 0 4 [14] Orhan Pamuk, istanbul, istanbul 2005. [15] Mina Urgan,
natural beauty. " T h e r e were w o o d s w h e r e lilacs b l o o m e d in
m o m e n t o u s transformation for Turkey, in its first years as a
p. 148. [16] Asya Orhon. Kolejlerin Koleji Robert Kolej. 2005, istanbul. [17] uğur Ersoy. 1950-55 Erguvan Renkli Yıllar, istanbul 2 0 0 4 .
Ülkü
[1] As quoted in John Freely, A History of Robert College, YKY, 2000, p. 9. [2] Cyrus Hamlin. My Life and Times, Boston, 1893. [3] Mary Mills Patrick. A Bosphorus Adventure. London,
1934. [4] George Washburn, Fifty Years in Constantinople and Recollections of Robert College. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1909. [51 Caleb Frank Gates. Not To Me Only. Princeton 1940.
ONES
TO WATCH
Writer/Editor Karakuş
Leads Time Out
Istanbul Success
I
stanbul has b e c o m e hip of late, hosting big league international
events and recently making the cover of Newsweek as the
e p i t o m e of c o o l . But the first sign that the city was headed for
E
S t u d e n t Teaching as a g r a d u a t e student at the K e n n e d y S c h o o l of G o v e r n m e n t . The
award is based on student n o m i n a t i o n s and was given in r e c o g n i t i o n of her work as a
T e a c h i n g Fellow for " Q u a n t i t a t i v e A n a l y s i s and E m p i r i c a l M e t h o d s " , a m a n d a t o r y c o u r s e for
c o m p a n y Ajans M e d y a took a c h a n c e and launched Time Out
m a n y s t u d e n t s at t h e K e n n e d y S c h o o l of G o v e r n m e n t . S h e t a u g h t while c o m p l e t i n g a
Istanbul, in English and Turkish. Time Out\s the definitive weekly
M a s t e r s in P u b l i c A d m i n i s t r a t i o n a n d International D e v e l o p m e n t .
tone and packed with information on every imaginable urban
activity for e v e r y o n e from tots to transvestites. The Istanbul edition
has seen sales grow exponentially since its launch. M u c h of its
success is due to the able leadership of editor Özlem A l k a n Karakuş
RC 87, w h o has e n s u r e d that the m a g a z i n e retains the irreverent
but informative tone that makes it so popular elsewhere, despite a
media climate in Turkey which is less than friendly to independent
publications. A marketing executive with a degree in E c o n o m i c s
f r o m Boğaziçi, Karakuş guit her position in charge of products at
Benkar, parent c o m p a n y of the successful A d v a n t a g e sales c a r d , to
try and make a living doing s o m e t h i n g she enjoyed. " F o u r m o n t h s
later, I was at 77me Out Istanbul, doing what I love best -writing- and
making m o n e y from it," she told the R C O . "Time Out\s different
f r o m m a i n s t r e a m m a g a z i n e s , " Karakuş says. "It is made to be read,
m o r e than to be looked. It has attitude, and it's not afraid to show
it." In addition to her position at Time Out, Karakuş also o v e r s e e s
Evren Paçalıoğlu RC 93
v r e n Paçalıoğlu RC 93 was a w a r d e d H a r v a r d University's Dean's A w a r d for E x c e l l e n c e in
global hipdom c a m e back in M a r c h 2 0 0 3 , when fledgling media
city guide for big cities across the globe, youthful and cheeky in
Ö z l e m Alkan Karakuş RC 87
Harvard Honors
Pagalioglu for
Teachina Excellence
T h e a w a r d is p a r t i c u l a r l y s p e c i a l b e c a u s e it is based on student r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s .
Paçalıoğlu says the e x p e r i e n c e has f u e l e d a p a s s i o n for t e a c h i n g . " L o o k i n g back, t e a c h i n g to
a c l a s s of e x t r e m e l y bright individuals was not an easy task. It was s t r e s s f u l and required a
big t i m e c o m m i t m e n t , " she says. " H o w e v e r , I c a n say u n e q u i v o c a l l y that I truly enjoyed every
bit of the p r o c e s s a n d believe that my passion for t e a c h i n g will g r o w even g r e a t e r in time."
Paçalıoğlu says that the t e a c h i n g and r e s e a r c h e x p e r i e n c e s at the K e n n e d y S c h o o l
m o t i v a t e d her to m a k e t h e c a r e e r switch f r o m w o r k i n g in the private s e c t o r to b e c o m i n g an
a c a d e m i c a n ? . "I find the a c a d e m i c e n v i r o n m e n t s t i m u l a t i n g b e c a u s e I like the innovative
t h i n k i n g that the r e s e a r c h p r o c e s s requires. I am excited about the p r o s p e c t of g e n e r a t i n g
new d e v e l o p m e n t s by fusing the existing body of work with new ideas a n d i n n o v a t i o n s " she
s a i d . S h e is c u r r e n t l y a PhD c a n d i d a t e at Oxford University.
After graduating from RC in 1993, Paçalıoğlu received a B.A. in Business Administration from
Boğaziçi University in 1997 and an M.B.A from Cornell University in 1999. She resigned f r o m her
position as Vice President at the Global Foreign Exchange Division of Credit Suisse First Boston
in New York when she was offered a merit-based fellowship to attend Harvard. At present she
lives in the UK with her husband, Ömer Töre, who works for G o l d m a n S a c h s in L o n d o n .
several other m a g a z i n e s produced by parent c o m p a n y Ajans M e d y a .
These include Chat, the A d v a n t a g e Card magazine, and global travel
magazine
Travel and Leisure.
Record Company Taps Sounds of Istanbul
F
o r m e r j o u r n a l i s t and c o p y w r i t e r Çiğdem A l k a n g R C 9 2 has j o i n e d f o r c e s
with m u s i c i a n Oğuz Kaplangı of Rebel M o v e s fame - a l s o her h u s b a n d - to
f o r m Elec-Trip R e c o r d s , a n i n d e p e n d e n t m u s i c p r o d u c t i o n c o m p a n y
e m b r a c i n g what the pair call a n "Istanbul Fusion S o u n d " . The c o m p a n y m a d e
headlines e a r l i e r this y e a r with t h e c o m p i l a t i o n a l b u m Istanbul Calling Vol. I,
w h o s e r e g g a e - p o p infused track B a n d a r e was an instant n a t i o n a l hit. T h e
Apple Turkey Recruits
Mustafa İçil as
Marketing Director
M
ustafa içil R C 9 0 has b e e n a p p o i n t e d m a r k e t i n g d i r e c t o r for A p p l e
IMC In Turkey. " T h i s is an exciting period of c h a n g e for A p p l e , " içil
said of his new post. " T h e r e is a lot of Innovation in t e r m s of c o m p a n y
s t r u c t u r i n g " . As part of the c h a n g e s led by içil, in October, A p p l e Turkey
a l b u m s t a y e d in t h e Top 20 for 36 weeks. In the pipeline this y e a r for E l e c -
held the first ever " A p p l e D a y s " fair in Istanbul, d e s i g n e d to Introduce
Trip is hip-hop artist S u l t a n a ' s s e c o n d a l b u m Şöhret Yolu and a s e c o n d
A p p l e p r o d u c t s to n o n - u s e r s , as well as highlight the c o m p a n y ' s vast
v o l u m e of Istanbul Calling. At present t h e y are w o r k i n g on the r e l e a s e of
range of hi-tech p r o d u c t s , f r o m the p o p u l a r i P o d to the M a c mini.
Carnaval del Amor, an a l b u m by new g r o u p L a v a which blends M e d i t e r r a n e a n
içil was a t r a n s f e r f r o m the M i c r o s o f t Turkey Office w h e r e his last post
g r o o v e s , acid-jazz and w o r l d music with E n g l i s h , S p a n i s h a n d Turkish lyrics.
was as senior d i r e c t o r of sales and m a r k e t i n g for W i n d o w s O p e r a t i n g
Elec-Trip R e c o r d s a l b u m s a n d its 4 0 0 - s o n g a r c h i v e are available o n l i n e via
S y s t e m s . A f t e r g r a d u a t i n g f r o m R o b e r t College, içil c o m p l e t e d both his
iTunes or Napster. The c o m p a n y has a l r e a d y m a d e a n a m e a b r o a d , licensing
u n d e r g r a d u a t e and m a s t e r s d e g r e e in C o m p u t e r E n g i n e e r i n g at Boğaziçi
its a r t i s t s ' s o n g s t o m o r e t h a n 7 0 c o m p i l a t i o n a l b u m s . From J a n u a r y , E l e c -
University.
Trip R e c o r d s will be d i s t r i b u t e d o u t s i d e Turkey as well.
For m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n , visit www.elec-trip.com.
33
RC
REACHES
OUT
f r i e n d s h i p s f r o m all o v e r t h e country. A T O G V e x p e r i e n c e for a
y o u n g university s t u d e n t is a v e r y rich and d e e p e x p e r i e n c e , "
says B e t i l .
T O G V raises m o n e y t h r o u g h individual d o n o r s a n d c o r p o r a t e
s p o n s o r s h i p . M u c h of its work is based on c r e a t i n g s u s t a i n a b l e ,
long-lasting s o l u t i o n s . For e a c h fully e q u i p p e d e d u c a t i o n a l
Betil Heads Foundation for Youths
A
c r e a t e s a c o m p l e x coalition of local b u s i n e s s m e n , o p i n i o n leaders
a n d v o l u n t e e r s to e n s u r e that the c e n t e r c a n keep g o i n g .
In a d d i t i o n , T O G V helps university s t u d e n t s to find internship
s Turkey begins the long, uphill p r o c e s s of a c c e s s i o n to the E u r o p e a n U n i o n , o n e of
p l a c e m e n t s in c o m p a n i e s . It offers s c h o l a r s h i p s to n e e d y
its biggest c h a l l e n g e s will be r e d u c i n g vast regional disparities. Ibrahim Betil RA
s t u d e n t s , and r e q u i r e s t h e m t o p e r f o r m w e e k l y c o m m u n i t y
6 4 , a f o r m e r b a n k e r w h o has d e d i c a t e d the past 11 y e a r s to d e v e l o p i n g Turkish civil
s e r v i c e in e x c h a n g e . It also offers a m e n t o r i n g p r o g r a m u n d e r
s o c i e t y in various ways, believes that to do this Turks will have to s h e d their belief in an
w h i c h v o l u n t e e r i n g adults are paired with s t u d e n t s for a year or
all-providing state and take m o r e initiative. "Turkey is a highly c e n t r a l l y - g o v e r n e d state,"
more, s h a r i n g e x p e r i e n c e s and ideas.
says Betil. " C i v i l initiative has b e e n s u p p r e s s e d for d e c a d e s . Turkey c a n only b e c o m e an
EU m e m b e r if civil s o c i e t y gains f u r t h e r r e s p e c t and takes on m o r e initiative."
Betil is betting on y o u t h s , w h o m a k e up s o m e 2 0 % of the 70 million p o p u l a t i o n , to lead
To find out more about
s e r v i c e center it sets up (there are c u r r e n t l y 5) for e x a m p l e , it
Betil says he finds his work in t h e non-profit s e c t o r has been
life t r a n s f o r m i n g , "civil s o c i e t y work is not n e c e s s a r i l y ' n o n
profit'. On the contrary, it c a n be v e r y profitable work for t h o s e
the way. He f o u n d e d a n d h e a d s the S o c i a l V o l u n t e e r s F o u n d a t i o n ( T O G V ) , a p i o n e e r i n g
w h o find s a t i s f a c t i o n in t r y i n g to m a k e c h a n g e s in t h e w o r l d , " he
non-profit v o l u n t e e r i s m p r o g r a m a i m e d at y o u t h s b e t w e e n the ages of 17-25. In just t h r e e
says. "It is highly s a t i s f a c t o r y a n d 'profitable' if y o u are not
volunteering or donating
years, T O G V has a m a s s e d a network of 8 , 5 0 0 y o u t h s a c r o s s 70 universities in Turkey,
looking for financial gains. E s p e c i a l l y w h e n y o u live in a s o c i e t y
to TOGV, please visit:
w h o have u n d e r t a k e n h u n d r e d s of local v o l u n t e e r projects in their o w n r e g i o n s . The
that has a lot of c o n t r a d i c t i o n s a n d that requires a lot of
http://www.togv.org.tr
projects range f r o m the small a n d i m m e d i a t e , like e n v i r o n m e n t a l c l e a n u p , to t h e longer-
c h a n g e s . S i n c e 1994, I have limited my i n v o l v e m e n t in t h e
t e r m , like r e n o v a t i n g , outfitting and e n s u r i n g the
p r o f e s s i o n a l b u s i n e s s life, and apart f r o m my c o n s u l t a n c y work
s u s t a i n a b i l i t y of p r i m a r y s c h o o l s in i m p o v e r i s h e d r e g i o n s .
to sustain my living, I have not b e e n a c t i v e in the b u s i n e s s w o r l d .
The key to T O G V ' s success is that projects are developed,
In my c o n d e n s e d a n d f o c u s e d i n v o l v e m e n t in civil s o c i e t y for t h e
planned and carried out by local student volunteers; a
last 11 years, I have, of c o u r s e , not g a i n e d any money. But I think I
project to build a c o m p u t e r lab for a school in Diyarbakır for
have g a i n e d a life's w o r t h e x p e r i e n c e , e x p a n d e d my k n o w l e d g e
instance, was initiated and m a n a g e d by the T O G V team at
a n d d e e p e n e d my v a l u e s , " he says. S m a l l w o n d e r t h e n that in
Dicle University there. " T h e aim is to have the youngsters
m a n y places he visits, c o m p l e t e s t r a n g e r s greet Betil as " H o c a m "
take responsibility in a project that will find a solution to a
( " M y T e a c h e r " ) ; in a way he has b e c o m e e d u c a t o r to a n a t i o n .
local need," says Betil. " T h e y learn about project
" M o n e y is only an ' i n s t r u m e n t ' to buy g o o d s a n d s e r v i c e s that
development, local fund raising, team building, effective
may m a k e people happy," Betil says, c o n c l u d i n g : "In all t h e s e
c o m m u n i c a t i o n , project realization and evaluation." Youths
years, I have learned that, apart f r o m s u b s i d i z i n g one's basic
w h o join T O G V are trained in these skills by a team of
n e e d s , o n e does not n e e d t o o m u c h m o n e y for h a p p i n e s s .
educators before going out into the field.
S o m e t i m e s in life t h e r e are 'short c u t s ' to h a p p i n e s s a n d
Twice a year, v o l u n t e e r s f r o m a r o u n d Turkey m e e t up to
s a t i s f a c t i o n w i t h o u t dealing with money. A n d for t h o s e w h o have
s h a r e e x p e r i e n c e s and best practices. " A s our v o l u n t e e r s
not e x p e r i e n c e d this, I s t r o n g l y r e c o m m e n d that t h e y s h o u l d try,
do the c o m m u n i t y service, t h e y develop long lasting
a n d see the huge 'profits' in t h e non profit w o r l d . "
From left to right, Oktan Erdikmen (Mentee, Bilgi University),
Mehmet Betil RA 61 (Mentor) Flsun Cengiz (Mentee-Bilgi
University) at Cem Boyner's photography exhibition.
34
35
t was my m o t h e r ' s i d e a , " s a y s H a k a n Kök RC 77, of
Saklıköy, a s p r a w l i n g n a t u r a l resort of g r e e n fields
a n d rolling hills a s h o r t d i s t a n c e f r o m i s t a n b u l .
" W h e n I was 3 5 , s h e t o l d me that s h e knew for a fact t h a t I
w o u l d only b e h a p p y i n n a t u r e . " H e r w o r d s w e r e w e l l - t i m e d .
Kök had just r e c e i v e d f u n d i n g to e x p a n d his p r i n t i n g p r e s s ; a
c a r e e r for w h i c h he had s t u d i e d p r i n t i n g in G e r m a n y . He'd
e v e n b e g u n c o n s t r u c t i o n . N o n e t h e l e s s , h e sold his p r i n t i n g
p r e s s , f o u n d Saklıköy, a place w h e r e he w a n t e d to s p e n d t h e
rest of his life, a n d c h a n g e d his life.
L o c a t e d a b o u t s e v e n k i l o m e t e r s past Polonezköy, Saklıköy is
c l o s e to t h e ishakh village. It is a w e l l - h i d d e n p a r a d i s e in
w h i c h v i s i t o r s c a n ride h o r s e s , play t e n n i s , v o l l e y b a l l , p a i n t b a l l
a n d b a d m i n t o n , take long walks, use t h e s t a t e - o f - t h e - a r t
f i t n e s s center, or s w i m in a lovely p o o l .
T h e r e s o r t has g r o w n o r g a n i c a l l y o v e r t h e y e a r s . Built in
1993, u s i n g s u n d r i e d m u d bricks, s t o n e s a n d n a t u r a l w o o d ,
t h e Saklıköy m a n a g e m e n t m a d e a point of not c u t t i n g d o w n
a n y t r e e s d u r i n g c o n s t r u c t i o n . Instead, t h e y p l a n t e d o v e r
4 , 0 0 0 s a p l i n g s . O r i g i n a l l y t h e Kök f a m i l y h o s t e d just t h e i r
f r i e n d s . But o v e r t h e y e a r s , a s d e m a n d i n c r e a s e d , Saklıköy
b e c a m e a f u l l - f l e d g e d e g u e s t r i a n center, a hotel a n d e v e n has
its o w n m e e t i n g r o o m s .
Kök a t t r i b u t e s his love of n a t u r e to a c h i l d h o o d spent in
Çınarcık. He a n d his p a r e n t s lived t h e r e in a tent for m a n y
y e a r s . T h e y s l o w l y built t h e i r way up to a hut. T h e a d d i t i o n of
a n o t h e r hut, a n d t h e n a n o t h e r o n e , m a d e t h e m t h e o w n e r s o f
t h e g u e s t h o u s e " U g R e l s " (Three C h i e f s ) - t h e f a m i l y
members.
S a k l i k o y is d e s i g n e d to a c c o m m o d a t e a m a x i m u m of 150
f a m i l i e s with 5 3 r o o m s i n t w o h o t e l s , m a d e o f s t o n e a n d s u n d r i e d brick. K o k has no plans to e x p a n d further. It o p e r a t e s on
a m e m b e r s h i p b a s i s . G u e s t s c a n c h o o s e to stay at t h e h o t e l ,
or b e c o m e a y e a r - l o n g m e m b e r of this n a t u r a l p a r a d i s e . Daily
v i s i t o r s are not a l l o w e d .
T h e r e is a c h i l d r e n ' s c a m p to p l e a s e b o t h t h e p a r e n t s a n d
t h e i r c h i l d r e n . For y o u t h s , or t h e y o u n g at heart, t h e r e are
t w o d o r m i t o r i e s w h i c h s l e e p t e n p e o p l e e a c h . For t h o s e w h o
believe in a p l e a s u r a b l e w o r k i n g e n v i r o n m e n t , S a k l i k o y offers
s t a t e of t h e art m e e t i n g facilities as w e l l . Top c o m p a n i e s
o f t e n hold large s c a l e m e e t i n g s o r r e t r e a t s here.
T h e S a k l i k o y e t h o s is to live as c l o s e as p o s s i b l e to n a t u r e .
T h i s o v e r a r c h i n g c o n c e p t r e c e n t l y led Kok t o b u y a n o t h e r
piece of land c l o s e by for o r g a n i c f a r m i n g . R u n by t h e
e c o l o g i c a l B u g d a y F o u n d a t i o n , this o r g a n i c f a r m p r o d u c e s
o v e r 35 different kinds of v e g e t a b l e s a n d f r u i t s . A t h i r d of
t h e p r o d u c e g o e s s t r a i g h t to S a k l i k o y , to be s e r v e d to its
customers.
FUND
RAISING
Ozyegin Announces Gift at
Annual Giving Dinner
C
lass R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s , High H o n o r D o n o r s , and N a m e d S c h o l a r s h i p D o n o r s
g a t h e r e d at a d i n n e r to c e l e b r a t e the past c a m p a i g n year, and to officially
" K i c k - Off" the 2 0 0 5 - 0 6 RC A n n u a l Giving C a m p a i g n . The event was held at
B i z i m Tepe on O c t o b e r 17. Guest of honor, Hüsnü O z y e g i n RA 63 gave a m e m o r a b l e
s p e e c h w h i c h he e n d e d with the a n n o u n c e m e n t of a s u r p r i s e gift: the e s t a b l i s h m e n t
of two new full s c h o l a r s h i p s in p e r p e t u i t y at R o b e r t College.
O z y e g i n , w h o has b e e n a g e n e r o u s c o n t r i b u t o r to the RC S c h o l a r s h i p Fund in
previous years - s t u d e n t s walk by a plague every day which h o n o r s his n a m e in the
library balcony- c h o s e to talk a b o u t t h e i m p a c t of RC in his life. He c a p t i v a t e d the
a u d i e n c e with a m u s i n g a n e c d o t e s a n d m i l e s t o n e s of his student days and of the
beginning of his career, c r e d i t i n g his A l m a M a t e r for providing the skills that helped
him o v e r c o m e s u b s t a n t i a l c h a l l e n g e s . Self e s t e e m , being a t e a m player, a healthy
s e n s e of c o m p e t i t i o n , s o c i a l responsibility, a s h a r e d s e n s e of destiny, getting
Some of the newest class agents to join the
From L to R:
rewarded for hard work a n d being p u n i s h e d for the lack of it, were all qualities
team, from L to R: Can Arslan RC 0 5 , Rana
ACG 71 Jr., Nuri Özgür RA 7 0 , Ahmet Merey RA 70 and Serpil Yazoğlu RC 7 3 .
f o s t e r e d by R C . O z y e g i n cited all of this and m o r e as giving him the c o u r a g e to head
Behçet Demircan RA 6 8 , Mrs. Demircan, Rona Özgür, ipek Merey
Babaç RC 04 and Ayşegül Kurşun RC 0 3 .
for the U S A after g r a d u a t i n g f r o m RC in 1963 with only 1 0 0 0 U S D in his pocket.
The rest is history. Hüsnü O z y e g i n , f o u n d e r and h e a d of the Fiba g r o u p of
c o m p a n i e s , has b e c o m e one of Turkey's most p r o m i n e n t b u s i n e s s m e n .
F u r t h e r m o r e , he and his wife Ayşe d e v o t e a s u b s t a n t i a l a m o u n t of time, e n e r g y and
r e s o u r c e s to a wide a r r a y of p h i l a n t h r o p i c e n d e a v o r s . E d u c a t i o n is one major a r e a
Özyeğin points out as a n a t i o n a l c o n c e r n . His p e r s o n a l e x p e r i e n c e and h a r d s h i p s
e n c o u n t e r e d as a s t u d e n t was o n e r e a s o n he f o u n d e d the Hüsnü M. O z y e g i n
F o u n d a t i o n in 1989 to s u p p o r t n e e d y s t u d e n t s a c r o s s Turkey. In the c o n c l u s i o n of his
s p e e c h , O z y e g i n s i n g l e d out R o b e r t C o l l e g e a s a n e x e m p l a r y institution, a n d
e x p r e s s e d his s e n t i m e n t s by s a y i n g , " W e c a n n o t do e n o u g h for this school!... W h e n I
was a s k e d to m a k e a s p e e c h , I was r e a s s u r e d that the p u r p o s e of the e v e n i n g was
not to collect m o n e y " he a d d e d , l a u g h i n g . " H o w e v e r , I w o u l d still like to a n n o u n c e
Guest speaker Hüsnü Özyeğin RA 63
that I am hereby c o n t r i b u t i n g two e n d o w e d s c h o l a r s h i p s to R o b e r t C o l l e g e . "
From L to R: Class agent Candan Fetvaci ACG 7 0 , RC Trustee Erkut Yucaoglu
RC Eng 6 9 , RC Headmaster John Chandler, RC Trustee Halis Komili RA 65
RC 85 class agents Ali Yılmaz & Bilge Rızvani received their
outstanding class award from Hüsnü Ozyegin RA 6 3 .
From L to R: Guest speaker of the evening Hüsnü Ozyegin RA 6 3 ,
One of the RC 90 Class Agents Okan Atilla
From L to R: Class agent Sevil Taviloğlu ACG 5 8 , class agent Nimet Erenli ACG 4 3 ,
Award winning RC 80 class agents İsmet Müstecaplıoğlu
receiving his award from Hüsnü Ozyegin.
Oya Sezer ACG 6 9 , class agent Necla Kavala ACG 45 and class agent Nur Edil ACG 69
and Hilmi Güvenal with Hüsnü Ozyegin RA 6 3 .
RC trustee
Sukey Wagner, trustee and co-chairman of the Annual Giving Commitee Mehmet
Betil RC Yük 6 4 , Candan Fetvacı ACG 7 0 , and RC Headmaster John Chandler.
Ill
REUNIONS
The host Athenian
RC S ACG
qraduates from
various years.
Class of 55:
Golden
Girls
C G a n d R C 4 9 g r a d u a t e s c e l e b r a t e d their 5 6 t h reunion i n A t h e n s o n S e p t e m b e r 2 5 ,
F
2 0 0 5 . O u r s c h o o l f r i e n d s living in A t h e n s gave a w e l c o m e d i n n e r d u r i n g which people
d u r i n g all t h e s e years and never s e p a r a t e d . Friendships grew and r i p e n e d , we b e c a m e a big family of
Athens Host ACG and RC 49
w h o hadn't s e e n e a c h o t h e r for years joyfully m i n g l e d t o g e t h e r a n d spent a few h o u r s
e x c h a n g i n g s e n t i m e n t a l m e m o r i e s . It s h o w e d that in spite of politics, p e o p l e c o u l d live t o g e t h e r
ifty y e a r s ! Fifty g o l d e n y e a r s ! Has it really been fifty years since we g r a d u a t e d f r o m A C G one sunny
J u n e d a y ? T h e r e was joy and jubilation in the air. We all had d r e a m s and hopes, e x p e c t i n g a great
deal f r o m the future, s o m e of which were fulfilled, s o m e never r e a l i z e d . We were all full of self
d e t e r m i n a t i o n and self a s s u r a n c e . A C G 55 was and still is a v e r y special class. We all stuck t o g e t h e r
devoted sisters. In J u n e 2 0 0 5 we celebrated the 5 0 t h y e a r of our g r a d u a t i o n , with m u c h joy. A l o n g with
o u r brothers of RC 5 5 , RC Eng 5 5 , RC Eng 57, c l a s s m a t e s f r o m all over the w o r l d c a m e t o g e t h e r in
in h a r m o n y a n d f r i e n d s h i p . We d e c i d e d to have m o r e of t h e s e g a t h e r i n g s . Next y e a r we h o p e to
Istanbul to share the excitement a n d to renew friendships. The reunion c e l e b r a t i o n s were planned and
be t o g e t h e r in izmir. Contributed by Giiner Fansa ACG 49
o r g a n i z e d way a h e a d of t i m e . The e n t e r t a i n m e n t s t a r t e d with a fantastic dinner at B i z i m Tepe, a
w o n d e r f u l evening of fun and c a m a r a d e r i e . The s e c o n d day we were c r u i s i n g a l o n g the two s h o r e s of the
e n c h a n t i n g B o s p h o r u s , on a most c o m f o r t a b l e and luxurious boat, sipping our drinks and enjoying the
sunset and the breathtaking skyline of Istanbul. The evening e n d e d with a delicious d i n n e r at C a f e C r e m e
in Ortaköy, filled with m u s i c and d a n c i n g , as well as the pleasure of being t o g e t h e r with old friends. The
next w e e k e n d we enjoyed the beautiful g r e e n e r y and serenity of Polonezköy. We met at Saklıköy Hotel for
an overnight stay. It was like paradise on e a r t h and it was as if we were the y o u n g a n d giggling schoolgirls
of 50 years ago. T h e r e were also graduates of a n o t h e r s c h o o l celebrating their 2 5 t h year. We were having
so m u c h fun that they were envious of us and wanted
to join our party. In fact, so did the o t h e r hotel guests.
To cut a long story short, we had an unforgettable
time, renewing old friendships and enjoying the
p r e c i o u s c o m p a n y of dear friends. The whole p r o g r a m
was so s u c c e s s f u l that we d e c i d e d to repeat it every
other y e a r or m a y b e every year, w h o knows?
A n unforgettable s c h o o l , unforgettable friends and
t e a c h e r s and a n unforgettable 5 0 golden years. What
m o r e can one ask f o r ?
We owe our lifestyle and vision, our deeply rooted
a s s u r a n c e a n d k n o w l e d g e and our s t a m i n a to meet
the g o o d days and c h a l l e n g e the b a d , to y o u , A l m a
Mater. Thank you for the w a r m e m b r a c e that you
s u r r o u n d e d us with during our school days a n d after
g r a d u a t i o n , t h r o u g h o u t life. Thank you R o b e r t College.
To many m o r e happy returns, Class of 55...
Contributed by Göksel Kortay ACG 55
REUNIONS
RA 65
Celebrates
40th
Reunion
1
9 6 5 was just a n o t h e r c a l e n d a r y e a r for t h e w o r l d . But it was v e r y
s p e c i a l for a g r o u p o f 9 3 Y O U N G B O Y S w h o g r a d u a t e d f r o m
R o b e r t A c a d e m y t h e s a m e year, s o m e o f t h e m having spent eight
w o n d e r f u l y e a r s with a g r o u p of f r i e n d s . A b o u t 40 of t h e s e g r a d u a t e s
w e r e t h e last " P r e p 1" s t u d e n t s of the R o b e r t A c a d e m y w h o s t a r t e d
RA in 1957. The f r i e n d s h i p s s t a r t e d at s u c h e a r l y a g e s are m o r e
sincere, longer a n d s t r o n g e r t h a n all t h e o t h e r s , that's for s u r e .
T h e r e w e r e 6 0 o f t h e s e 9 3 " y o u n g " g r a d u a t e s present for t h e
r e u n i o n a r r a n g e d on t h e 2 4 t h J u n e in B i z i m Tepe. A bit g r o w n up, but
all w e r e y o u n g a g a i n that night, m a y b e feeling even y o u n g e r t h a n
1965 (with s o m e white hairs left on the top). Five of o u r t e a c h e r s
were a l s o able to join us a n d t h u s we had the c h a n c e to c o n f e s s s o m e
of t h e t h i n g s we had d o n e in t h e c l a s s e s a n d e s p e c i a l l y in the e x a m s !
We all w e r e v e r y happy, talking a b o u t t h e c l a s s e s , t e a c h e r s , e x a m s ,
Class of 1980 Celebrates 25th Year
parties a n d the girls! But s o m e m e n a n d w o m e n were talking a n d
d i s c u s s i n g their g r a n d - c h i l d r e n , w h o had how many, how old t h e y
were, etc etc... T h e y were old a n d v e r y kind people but most of us
R
couldn't r e c o g n i z e w h o t h e y were a n d didn't u n d e r s t a n d what they
were talking about... But, we also did not do a thing to d i s t u r b t h o s e
O L D G E N T L E S ! We all were v e r y polite that night. Anyway, t h e r e were
t o o m a n y p e o p l e i n B i z i m Tepe o n J u n e 2 4 t h .
in the old d a y s ! The group t h e n p r o c e e d e d to the M a z e at
a n n i v e r s a r y on J u l y 3 0 3 1st on the A r n a v u t k ö y
2:30 a m , and c o n t i n u e d the festivities there. S o m e t i m e before
c a m p u s with spirited and wellat t e n d e d festivities. RC
dawn, the surviving m e m b e r s of the group retired to the
80 has always been a very close group of friends, as was
d o r m i t o r y beds p r e p a r e d for t h e m at B i n g h a m Hall. However,
T h e night in B i z i m Tepe was t o g e t h e r with o u r g i r l f r i e n d s (wives),
e v i d e n c e d by the a t t e n d a n c e of 92 c l a s s m a t e s , out of 150.
this special night was not meant for s l e e p i n g , as a "water
but t h e next day on the 2 5 t h we w e r e by o u r s e l v e s in S a k l i t e p e . Half
The graduates c a m e to the c e l e b r a t i o n f r o m as far away as
p i s t o l " fight broke out and the g r o u p of 43 y e a r old boys .mil
of t h e boys were able to get t h e p e r m i s s i o n f r o m their p a r t n e r s to go
San Diego and C h i c a g o , and as nearby as A r n a v u t k ö y a n d
girls got e a c h o t h e r s o a k i n g wet running and s c r e a m i n g .ill
out a l o n e for a full 24 h o u r s a n d so t h e r e were 30 of us. We all felt
Bebek. The c e l e b r a t i o n s p a n n e d a 24 hour period, which was
over the hallways at B i n g h a m Hall until the sun c a m e up.
s o r r y for t h o s e w h o w e r e not able to get p e r m i s s i o n a n d be with us.
l a u n c h e d with the taking of a group picture at 7 pm Saturday,
T h e d i s c u s s i o n s were g e n e r a l l y about the w o r l d , t h e Middle East, E U ,
J u l y 3 0 , on the steps of Gould Hall. This was followed by
At about 10 am S u n d a y m o r n i n g , s o m e of the sleepless .md
rather intoxicated boys played a s o c c e r g a m e at B i z i m t e p e
cocktails and dinner in S u n a Kıraç Hall. The graduates t h e n
while o t h e r s tried to rest and recover. The weekend's
a g a i n ! A n y w a y , t h e y have t h e right t o travel a n d d i s c u s s s u c h t h i n g s
stepped into the a m p h i t h e a t e r to dance to the music of
activities c o n t i n u e d with b r u n c h at B i z i m t e p e starting at
as well. T h e r e was a g e n t l e m a n a m o n g t h e m , w h o was said to be a
popular 1970s bands s u c h as the Bee G e e s . However, the
n o o n , in w h i c h the g r a d u a t e s ' s p o u s e s and children joined
p r o f e s s o r in s o m e m e d i c a l b r a n c h a n d leading a hospital in the U S A .
highlight of the evening was the m u l t i m e d i a s h o w p r e p a r e d
t h e m . It was a great o p p o r t u n i t y for the families of farflunii
Turkey a n d o f c o u r s e H E A L T H p r o b l e m s t h o s e w e r e t h e O L D p e o p l e
RA 65 at Anderson study Hall
A f t e r d i n n e r he lectured us a b o u t the latest m e d i c a l d e v e l o p m e n t s ,
by two of the graduates. Set to period music in both Turkish
friends to get to know e a c h other. R e u n i o n 2 0 0 5 c o n f i r m e d
the early h u m a n race, the history of t h e w o r l d , the possible f u t u r e
and English, the slide show c o m p a r e d " t h e n " and " n o w "
and s t r e n g t h e n e d the special bonds of friendship that exist
o u t c o m e s of t h e s p a c e r e s e a r c h e s , etc etc... He was a different t y p e
pictures of e a c h of the graduates, and also c o m m e m o r a t e d
of m a n , all white hair a n d b e a r d , but a little bit m o r e g r o w n up t h a n
three friends the Class lost over the years. This was a very
t h e o t h e r e l d e r s . This was t h e e n d of the 4 0 t h page of our n o v e l . We
e m o t i o n a l time for many. Following more d a n c i n g , the group
p r o m i s e d e a c h o t h e r t o m e e t a g a i n w h e n w e finish page 5 0 i n 2015,
m a r c h e d onto the P l a t e a u after midnight. There, u n d e r the
a s y o u n g a n d healthy a s w e were o n t h e 2 4 t h and 2 5 t h J u n e , 2 0 0 5 .
moonlight and magical B o s p h o r u s setting, many m e m o r i e s
Contributed by Aykut Giirlek RA 65
19
obert College Class of 1 9 8 0 celebrated their 2 5 t h
were revisited while singing, drinking and s o c i a l i z i n g just like
between m e m b e r s of the Class of 1980. It was a dreamlike 24
hour period which made us feel 17 years old a g a i n , and one
we will not s o o n forget. RC 80 intends to stay in t o u c h and
not wait until the 3 0 t h a n n i v e r s a r y to c o n t i n u e celebrating
life and friendship...
Contributed by Mustafa Ozmeral RC 80
43
REUNIONS
And the Oscar goes to... Class of 1990!
lt was official after the O r t a 3 S h o w in 1987; the RC 1990 was a class of stars. The level of
participation and the quality of p e r f o r m a n c e m a d e this musical s h o w of 15 year olds a s p e c t a c u l a r
event. Now, those kids have t u r n e d 33, and at their 15th reunion dinner at B i z i m t e p e they proved
that they still have their star quality and keep the RC spirit alive.
The Oscar/movies t h e m e was visible throughout the night. Guests arrived at the Bizimtepe car park
and followed the red carpet to the poolside. They walked t h r o u g h the lobby s u r r o u n d e d by movie
posters. They then stepped into the spotlight and posed for the c a m e r a s . Standing in front of a special
backdrop they posed again, with the actual O s c a r statue, specially made for the night. The backdrop had
a special design with the RC logo and it read " R C 90 15th reunion, A class of S t a r s " . The ladies posed
with an orange feather boa and the g e n t l e m e n s p o r t e d a felt black hat to get into the m o o d . There were
s c r e a m s and laughter as graduates hugged e a c h other. The participants who came the farthest were
Barış and S u s a n a Karadoğan, all the way f r o m San Francisco. Each person had the name of a movie on
a paper, like a movie ticket, which c o r r e s p o n d e d with a table. Before the nine o'clock showtime (i.e.
dinner), e v e r y o n e gathered for a class photo and one with s p o u s e s . Two couples were in both pictures;
Hüsnü Meltem Okvuran and Aslı A h m e t Uysal. RC 9 0 ' s very o w n " W h e n Harry Met S a l l y " s !
T h e s t a r s t h e m e was e v e r y w h e r e ; stars h a n g i n g f r o m t r e e s , o n the cocktail tables, o n t h e stage,
RC 85 Celebrates 20th Reunion
T
he C l a s s of RC 85 had t h e i r 2 0 t h r e u n i o n on the w e e k e n d of J u l y 2 n d 3rd on the m u c h
loved s c h o o l g r o u n d s . The date was a r r a n g e d to c o i n c i d e with the 4 t h of J u l y w e e k e n d
as we have so m a n y c l a s s m a t e s w h o now live in the U S , w h i c h proved to be well
d e c i d e d , as we had eight people c o m i n g f r o m the U S , including Sırma U m u r w h o had flown in
just for the w e e k e n d , a n d Gül Köknel w h o r e a r r a n g e d her " k e s i n d ö n ü ş " plans for the
o c c a s i o n . S e v e n people j o i n e d u s f r o m the U K , two f r o m R u s s i a , and o n e f r o m S p a i n . Nevid's
wife had just days to go with her first p r e g n a n c y and N e v i d flew in literally for a few hours to
be with us. In total 84 people w e r e present, a r e c o r d for o u r r e u n i o n s h y c l a s s !
We met S a t u r d a y a f t e r n o o n to start o u r w e e k e n d with a c h o i c e of activities including
f o o t b a l l , y o g a on t h e plato, s c h o o l g r o u n d s e x p l o r a t i o n , with an "I'm too lazy for any of t h e
a b o v e " o p t i o n , all a r r a n g e d by Koray Yılmaz, o u r " C h e f de V i l l a g e " for the w e e k e n d .
R e c o g n i z i n g e a c h o t h e r after a gap of 20 y e a r s was an activity in itself. The award in this
c a t e g o r y goes to C a n İlgaz, w h o saw Elif Ballık m o u n t i n g t h e stairs of M a r b l e Hall a n d went,
" N u r ç i m , hiç d e ğ i ş m e m i ş s i n , k o l u n d a ç a n t a n l a y i n e tıkır tıkır m e r d i v e n l e r i t ı r m a n ı y o r s u n " .
B u r h a n t h o u g h t this was a " s ü p e r espri a b i " , until he saw the look of s h o c k on Can's face,
w h o was a l e r t e d by Bilge as to t h e real identity of Elif Ballık, w h o took all this in her stride.
As the day t u r n e d into night, e v e r y o n e s h o w e r e d a n d c h a n g e d for cocktails and dinner. The
cocktail party took place in front of G o u l d Hall a n d following o u r p h o t o c a l l , d i n n e r was
s e r v e d by S u n a Kıraç Hall. During d i n n e r the results of o u r survey, that was m a d e over t h e
internet during the weeks leading to t h e reunion was a n n o u n c e d , to m u c h s u r p r i s e a n d
laughter all a r o u n d . The results are said to be s o m e w h a t b i a s e d , t h o u g h , as the s u r v e y had
Ali L e v e n t ' s p e r s o n a l t o u c h ! It was past 4 am w h e n t h e S a g e D o r m was finally quiet, a n d
w h e n s o m e of us could c a t c h a few h o u r s ' s l e e p . It is s u s p e c t e d that tavla and king parties
lasted even longer until R u m e y z a w h i s p e r e d a few wifely words in Aydin's ear!
The following m o r n i n g , after a light breakfast of börek and tea, our families joined us for
b r u n c h on the lovely P l a t o . It was m u t u a l l y a g r e e d that we all n e e d e d m u c h longer t h a n
t h e s e few s h o r t hours to really get to r e d i s c o v e r e a c h other, as well as o u r families.
The o r g a n i z i n g c o m m i t t e e , w h i c h c o n s i s t e d of Ali Levent O r h u n , ipek C e m , Ali Yılmaz a n d
Bilge Y a v u z has a c o n f e s s i o n to m a k e : we had a l m o s t as m u c h fun p r e p a r i n g for this
w e e k e n d as we did during it. O u r s p e c i a l t h a n k s go to K o r a y Yılmaz, Edip Uras, and Hüma
Alpaytaç for all their help, and to e v e r y o n e w h o was t h e r e for m a k i n g it w o r t h w h i l e .
To see t h e full results of the survey, visit w w w . r c 8 5 . c o m
Contributed by Bilge Rizvani RC 85
s p a r k l i n g on the tables... B u r a k Süsoy, t h e c o m m i t t e e h e a d , gave a w a r m w e l c o m e s p e e c h w h i c h
was f o l l o w e d by the s h o w i n g of a m o v i e : M e m o r i e s of RC 9 0 . It was an e m o t i o n a l , yet f u n n y
s u m m a r y of g r a d u a t e s ' lives, t h e n a n d now. T h e r e was also part of the film w h e r e t h e g r a d u a t e s
r e m e m b e r e d O s m a n E v r a n , a c l a s s m e m b e r w h o p a s s e d away in an a c c i d e n t s o o n a f t e r g r a d u a t i o n .
A t r e e was p l a n t e d f o l l o w i n g t h e loss to c o m m e m o r a t e him on c a m p u s , and a
s c h o l a r s h i p f u n d was e s t a b l i s h e d by t h e c l a s s of 1 9 9 0 . A f t e r m o u r n i n g an e a r l y
e n d i n g to life, t h e joy at new lives f o l l o w e d w h e n pictures of RC 90 babies w e r e
shown.
At t h e e n d of t h e film, B u r a k Süsoy c a l l e d e v e r y o n e on s t a g e o n e by o n e to
r e c e i v e t h e i r c o m m e m o r a t i v e c e r t i f i c a t e a n d a c o p y of t h e f i l m . T h e a w a r d s
c e r e m o n y was f o l l o w e d by a live c o n c e r t by Tolga i n c i , a c l a s s m e m b e r , w h o is a
p r o f e s s i o n a l singer. As t h e s o n g
That's What Friends Are For s t a r t e d to play,
e v e r y o n e s t a r t e d s a y i n g g o o d b y e s , h o p i n g t o see e a c h o t h e r b e f o r e the 2 0 t h
r e u n i o n . Walking back to t h e i r c a r s with t h e f r a m e d O s c a r p h o t o in h a n d , they
l o o k e d at t h e stars a b o v e a n d felt like stars, a n d knew o n c e a g a i n why c l a s s of
1 9 9 0 was c a l l e d " o n e of t h e best e v e r " .
Contributed by Didem Sezer RC 90
ALUMNI
NEWS
Fulya Ercan RC 02
Married Erik Holtze in Newark, Ohio on May 17, 2005.
Fulya will be a senior at Denison University this fall. Her
husband graduated from Denison in May 2005.
Nurhan Becidyan RA 65 RC Eng 69
Has become one of the new directors of the Inter-Society
Color Council (ISCC), elected to a three-year term that will end
in 2008. Founded in 1931, the ISCC is an organization of
Başak Yıldızbayrak RC 93 and
Tamer Tamar RC 92
societies and creative individuals who work to propagate the
understanding of color and to promote communication
between technically oriented specialists in color and creative
Got married in Istanbul on August 3, 2005. The couple
workers in art, design and education. Additionally the ISCC
met in 1990 during a physics class at RC and have since
promotes educational activities and the interchange of ideas
been inseparable. Their wedding was attended by in,my K<
on the subjects of color and appearance among its members
alumni from both classes. They currently live in London.
and the general public.
Mr. Becidyan is President and Chief Operating Officer of
United Mineral and Chemical Corporation. He has been working
Hande Eskinazi RC 87 and
Metin Eskinazi RC 81
in the color industry for almost 30 years in which his main
interests are in phosphorescence and fluorescence (both visible
and UV/IR activated) and applications of color for security
Hande and her husband Metin Eskinazi RC HI
industries. After earning a graduate degree in the United
have welcomed a son, Cem, born on June 1, 2
States, Becidyan returned to Turkey to work for a folding
cardboard company, as technical service representative to the
Tamer Gürsoy RC 77
Didem Sezer Epikmen RC 90
Ekipmen has joined Tamer Gursoy RC 77 at the
printers. He also worked as the interim mill superintendent.
After serving in the Turkish Armored Corps, Becidyan joined
the only tissue mill in Turkey as their Technical Director. He
became a sales engineer in 1976 at Sandoz Ltd. (now Clariant
TURKISH INTERNATIONAL PREP SCHOOLS
Corporation) of Switzerland and was transferred to the U.S.A.
(TIPPS) as a TOEFL teacher. TIPPS, founded by
in 1982. In 1986 he joined United Mineral & Chemical
Gursoy in 1998, is an institution which prepares
Corporation and has been the President and Chief Operating
students for TOEFL and SAT tests.After graduating
Officer of the company since 1996. He has an undergraduate
from Boston University and working in NY for a
degree in Chemical Engineering from Robert College, School of
year, Didem Sezer got married and worked in the
Engineering, and a graduate degree in Pulp and Paper
corporate world for 6 years. She took four years
Engineering from the Institute of Paper Chemistry (currently
off after having twins. Now that the girls are off to
called IPST) of Appleton, Wisconsin. Currently he is the
kindergarten, Didem has decided to follow a
Chairman of the Cadmium Pigments Subcommittee Colored
different path. She will be helping students prepare
Pigment Manufacturer's Association (CPMA) and is an active
for universities abroad by giving TOEFL classes as
member of ASTM International.
well as teaching grammar to students in the earlier
stages of their education.
The ISCC home page is: www.iscc.org
Evren Paçalıoğlu RC 93
Married Ömer Töre in July 2004 (son of Erbil
Töre RC Eng 63 and Ayşe Kerimoğlu ACG 67,
brother of Ali Töre RC 90). The couple got married
in Istanbul upon receiving graduate degrees from
Harvard, and moved to London.
FROM OUR
MAILBAG
Sequel to "Kesin"
Dönüş - being back in
Turkey a year on
Kaan Okurer RC 92 recently undertook a "kesin" dönüş home to İstanbul
E n t r e p r e n e u r s h i p is also r a m p a n t in Turkey. In t h e winter, I
could not help but notice Hüsnü. He usually parks his cart on
life in Turkey is better t h a n life a b r o a d or v i c e v e r s a . That is
ultimately a s u b j e c t i v e m a t t e r that may not have an easy
answer. It is also not my a i m to paint a rosy picture of Turkey.
w h e e l s right in front of our office building. It was i m p o s s i b l e
Rather, it is my intention to c o n v e y that t h o s e returning have
to miss t h e s m e l l of his grilled c h e s t n u t s . One day in t h e
m u c h to look f o r w a r d to in Turkey. T h e r e is i n d e e d life after
s p r i n g , I exited the building only to see his cart filled this
New York, S a n F r a n c i s c o or L o n d o n ! But don't forget to pack
t i m e with yeşil erik(green plums). D u r i n g the s u m m e r , he sold
y o u r positive a t t i t u d e in y o u r s u i t c a s e ; y o u will n e e d it to see
grilled a n d boiled c o r n . The only c o n s t a n t a b o v e his cart has
t h r o u g h the p e r v a s i v e fog of o l d - s c h o o l p e s s i m i s m .
b e e n his affixed smile. I am e x p e c t i n g him to c o n v e r t to my
I repeat, I think m o v i n g back to Turkey is a must do even if
favorites - the c h e s t n u t s - next but I w o u l d not put it past his
for a limited p e r i o d a n d even if not now. T h o u g h now is
innovative flair to s q u e e z e in a fall c o l l e c t i o n .
always a g o o d t i m e a n d e s p e c i a l l y in Turkey. Today's Turkey
R e t u r n i n g to Turkey e x p e c t i n g to m a k e m o r e as a
is y o u n g , vibrant a n d e x c i t i n g . The c o u n t r y is u n d e r g o i n g
after twelve years of living in the US where he was first a student and later
p r o f e s s i o n a l e m p l o y e e would be unrealistic. (Though for
s o m e f u n d a m e n t a l s t r u c t u r a l c h a n g e s . It is freer, m o r e o p e n
c e r t a i n f u n c t i o n s , p r o f e s s i o n a l s in Turkey get paid m o r e t h a n
a n d e x p r e s s i v e t o d a y t h a n w h e n m o s t of us left it. To me it
a professional in New York and Boston. The article below is a sequel to an
their c o u n t e r p a r t s in Western Europe). Yet t h e r e are plenty
feels like it is ready to e x p l o d e . R e g a r d i n g t h e future, y o u r
of exciting e n t r e p r e n e u r i a l o p p o r t u n i t i e s to build one's
c r y s t a l bowl is as g o o d as mine. What goes up must c o m e
f o r t u n e . T h e s u p p o r t a n d c o m f o r t of the s o c i a l life a n d being
d o w n , but it s e e m s not c r a s h i n g d o w n this t i m e a r o u n d .
earlier article in the Winter 2 0 0 5 issue of the Quarterly.
A
in a familiar setting also m a k e it e a s i e r to a s s u m e risk here
than abroad.
rriving at the d e c i s i o n to c o m e back to Turkey after
p r o f e s s i o n a l side of the e q u a t i o n . First of all, i n t e r n a t i o n a l
twelve y e a r s a b r o a d was a difficult o n e for me. I had
e x p e r i e n c e is v e r y m u c h in d e m a n d in Turkey so finding t h e
s p e n t practically all of my adult life away. T h e r e were
right job is only a m a t t e r of time. T h e r e are s o m e v e r y
the principles of " b i g fish in a s m a l l p o n d " , c r o s s - c u l t u r a l
m a n y u n k n o w n s about living in Turkey. To make m a t t e r s
t a l e n t e d people in Turkey but t h e pool is not v e r y d e e p .
work, wealth of opportunity, r o o m for p i o n e e r i n g a n d s t r o n g
worse, most of the people I c o n s u l t e d t h o u g h t I was c r a z y for
T h e r e f o r e a y o u n g p r o f e s s i o n a l with i n t e r n a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e
s u p p o r t m e c h a n i s m c a n be a p p l i e d to o t h e r walks of life s u c h
c o n s i d e r i n g s u c h a m o v e . W h e n I woke up on J u l y 21, 2 0 0 4 ,
c a n take on m o r e responsibility and m o v e m o r e q u i c k l y up
as a c a d e m i a , law, arts, m e d i c i n e , etc. as well.
the day after I a r r i v e d in Turkey, my first t h o u g h t literally
the c o r p o r a t e ladder here t h a n in a s p e c i a l i z e d m a r k e t s u c h
was: "Is this the b e g i n n i n g of t h e e n d ? "
L o o k i n g back at the past y e a r and c h a n g e , I can
c o m f o r t a b l y say that I am very h a p p y I m a d e the move. I
as the U S . The size of t h e Turkish m a r k e t is s m a l l e r as well.
T h e c o m b i n a t i o n of t h e scarcity of talent a n d the s m a l l s c a l e
c r e a t e s a " b i g fish in a s m a l l p o n d " s c e n a r i o . The o p p o r t u n i t y
c o n t i n u e to use " k e s i n " In q u o t a t i o n marks. In the current
here is to leverage t h e k n o w - h o w y o u bring f r o m y o u r
global e n v i r o n m e n t , one has to be o p e n to what the future
e x p e r i e n c e a b r o a d to m a k e a d r a m a t i c i m p a c t locally. This is
has in store. H o w e v e r I am all the m o r e c o n v i n c e d of two
a p e r s o n a l l y gratifying e x p e r i e n c e . On the d o w n s i d e , w h e r e a s
things:
one is v e r y c l o s e to i n n o v a t i o n and t h e c u t t i n g e d g e global
• T h o s e of us w h o have never lived in Turkey as adults owe
it to o u r s e l v e s to c o m e back a n d give Turkey a c h a n c e .
• It is quite possible for t h o s e returning to lead a multifaceted s a t i s f y i n g life in Turkey on p r o f e s s i o n a l as well as
personal terms.
W h e n I was m a k i n g t h e d e c i s i o n to c o m e back to Turkey, I
felt a l o n e in my d e c i s i o n . S i n c e c o m i n g back, I have met
d e v e l o p m e n t s a b r o a d , o n e n e e d s to m a k e m o r e of an effort
to see t h e big picture f r o m Turkey. T h e n again I believe this
may be offset by t h e o p p o r t u n i t y to b e c o m e a p i o n e e r in the
r e s p e c t i v e local field.
Ironically, I find p r o f e s s i o n a l life in Turkey to be m u c h m o r e
i n t e r n a t i o n a l or cross cultural t h a n in t h e U S . It is t r u e that a
lot of global h e a v y w e i g h t s have t h e i r h e a d q u a r t e r s in t h e U S .
many o t h e r s w h o have s u c c e s s f u l l y m a d e this t r a n s i t i o n
H o w e v e r as the US is a l a r g e - e n o u g h m a r k e t unto itself,
before me. I believe this is b e c a u s e o u r life a b r o a d allows us
t h e r e is a lot of b u s i n e s s c o n d u c t e d locally e s p e c i a l l y in t h e
to a p p r e c i a t e Turkey in a different way. As in P a u l o C o e l h o ' s
S e r v i c e s a r e n a . By c o m p a r i s o n , since t h e Turkish m a r k e t is
" A l c h e m i s t , " we had to first go away before we could
s m a l l , t h e r e is a lot of i n t e r a c t i o n with t h e b r o a d e r m a r k e t
a p p r e c i a t e our roots. H e n c e , being back is ultimately an
encompassing the neighboring regions such as Eastern
exercise in c o m i n g to t e r m s with one's identity and learning
E u r o p e , Middle East, CIS c o u n t r i e s and R u s s i a . A n o t h e r
to love it. Turks a b r o a d have also been s h i e l d e d f r o m t h e
e n c o u r a g i n g d i s c o v e r y for me was t h e fact that Turkey is
negative e x p e r i e n c e s of the locals a n d c a n t h e r e f o r e view
i n c r e a s i n g l y b e c o m i n g the hub of this region for a lot of
Turkey old a n d new with a fresh eye. That Is why I s u g g e s t
m u l t i n a t i o n a l c o m p a n i e s . For e x a m p l e , Microsoft's Middle
that we o w e it to o u r s e l v e s to c o m e back at s o m e point for
East a n d A f r i c a region c o m p r i s i n g 79 c o u n t r i e s is
an e x t e n d e d p e r i o d even if for a t e m p o r a r y s p e l l .
S i n c e m o m ' s c o o k i n g is e n o u g h to c o n v i n c e m o s t of us of
CÍ1
o p p o r t u n i t i e s for t h o s e r e t u r n i n g .
h e a d q u a r t e r e d in istanbul. F u r t h e r m o r e , the b r o a d e r region
is o n e of t h e fastest g r o w i n g r e g i o n s for m a n y m u l t i n a t i o n a l s
the lure of the p e r s o n a l life in Turkey, in t h e rest of this piece
a n d is t h e r e f o r e a highly strategic part of t h e whole. As a
I will s h a r e s o m e of my e n c o u r a g i n g findings on the
result, Turkey offers s o m e exciting i n t e r n a t i o n a l c a r e e r
The examples above address the business world. Moreover
Lest my m e a n i n g is m i s c o n s t r u e d , I would like to e m p h a s i z e
that it is not my objective here to pass j u d g m e n t on w h e t h e r
Lastly, despite all the r e a s o n i n g a b o v e , for m o s t people, t h e
d e c i s i o n to m o v e back is ultimately driven by intangibles, a n d
the heart o u t w e i g h s t h e brain w h e n m a k i n g a n o n - r a t i o n a l
decision!
PS Pick up a T i m e Out istanbul next t i m e y o u are in t o w n to
get a g l i m p s e of t h e variety a n d r i c h n e s s of the lifestyle.
P P S I am w o r k i n g on a longer piece on the topic of " K e s i n "
Dönüş. Y o u r c o m m e n t s a n d s u g g e s t i o n s would b e m u c h
a p p r e c i a t e d , [email protected]
OBITUARIES
in various theater orchestras. She was a very colorful person;
Ali Neyzi RC 46
Passed away on June 19, 2 0 0 5 after a long illness.
Ali Neyzi was elected to the RC Board of Trustees in 1969 and
served until 1993. He was elected a Member of the Corporation and
a Trustee Emeritus. During his tenure as a Trustee, he served as
Resident Chairman from 1972 to 1988. Below are excerpts from
Filiz Ofluoğlu's (ACG 49, Trustee Emeritus) tribute to Ali Neyzi.
"A man with a big heart full of love, a businessman, an
entrepreneur, an ardent follower of art, a writer, a translator of
literature and drama, loyal supporter of his almamater, Robert
College, where he served as Resident Chairman of the Board for 14
years. A businessman 'The best insurance man' had said a
colleague, years ago. He brought two small insurance companies to
top ranks and created a new one. He taught insurance at Robert
College Yüksek. As an ardent follower of art, he had a vast
collection of paintings by contemporary Turkish artists. Part of this
collection he sold at an exhibition at Bizim Tepe to provide
scholarships at RC with the proceeds.
As a writer and as a member of the Turkish Writers Syndicate, his
life in the world of literature goes back to
1930! He wrote his first novel Sibirya
none in New York. We were desperate. We could lose the campuses.
What did AN do? He found a man who could read the old script, put
Destine Eren (Shevky) ACG 30
d a n c e d with C o n r a d Hilton, proposed to William Saroyan... lived
Passed away peacefully on May 28, 2 0 0 5 in Istanbul. Destine
on and off in M a n h a t t a n between 1976-85. After her return to
him in the basement of the Sarıyer deeds office. In three months
Eren is survived by a daughter Ayşegül Taşpınar, a son A h m e t
Istanbul she m a d e a brief debut in Yeşilçam in Nisan Yönder's
this man found the Sultan's 'ferman', donating the land to us. We
N. Taşpınar, daughterinlaw Seval Taşpınar and granddaughters
film "Kırık B e b e k " with Hülya Avşar. Mayda devoured novels
were saved. About two decades ago All Neyzi went into voluntary
Z e y n e p N. and Nilüfer H. Taşpınar. She was two m o n t h s away
and New Yorker M a g a z i n e s and wrote short pieces until her
exile in the remote village of Çıralı In Antalya, later, he moved to the
from reaching the age of 9 8 .
city. And now, last but not least, the Akdeniz Statue by ilhan
Koman. Ali Neyzi was the President of Halk Sigorta (Now Yapı Kredi
Sigorta). The new building of the company had to be honored by a
statue of ilhan Koman, he thought. Ali had seen a piece of
sculpture by him In a park In Copenhagen. He went to Sweden In
1976, together with a colleague and Melda Kaptana, the former wife
of ilhan Koman, as a mediator, to persuade Koman to make a
statue for Istanbul. Koman lived on a big boat, anchored to a canal
In Stockholm. After much effort and dialogue, Koman agreed. This
was the birth of that great statue, the Akdeniz, during 1977-1980.
The inauguration of the ilhan Koman exhibition at the Yapı Kredi
Her son A h m e t N. Taşpınar RC Eng 56 wrote the following
tribute. " B o r n in 1907 in Istanbul, Destine Eren attended
various French and A m e r i c a n schools, and c a m e to A C G as a
last days. M a y d a was a true intellectual, a humanitarian, a born
free spirit; a model for all. She understood justice to be an
extension of love and refused to c o m p r o m i s e .
She is survived by her son Şarl Berger Şahbaz, her daughter
f r e s h m a n . She excelled in various sports while a student at
in-law Evelyn, and her g r a n d s o n Mika; who presently live in
A C G , and was elected the Student Council President by
C o p e n h a g e n , Denmark.
unanimous vote in her senior year. After a couple of years as a
teacher of gymnastics, she m a r r i e d H. Kenan Taşpınar, RC Eng
Piraye Kaynar ACG 32
26 in 1933. The couple had 3 children, one of w h o m , AN C a n ,
P a s s e d away o n O c t o b e r 29, 2 0 0 5 .
passed away before his m o t h e r in 2 0 0 2 .
In 1960 Destine immigrated with her husband and daughter
Wife of t h e late Halis Kaynar,
she is
s u r v i v e d by d a u g h t e r a n d RC t r u s t e e O y a
B a s a k A C G 5 5 , s o n s Şerif a n d Murat
Kazım Taşkent Art Gallery was on May 6, 2005. Ali was fatally ill at
to the U S , where she lived until her return to live out her
the time. Yet he came to the exhibition. A chair was placed for him
remaining years in her beloved Kalamış in 1993. S h e lived in
Kaynar, five g r a n d c h i l d r e n and one great-
behind the Akdeniz, the work of art he loved and for
New York, and was very active in various Turkish A m e r i c a n
granddaughter.
which he had worked so hard.
A s s o c i a t i o n s in that a r e a . A m o n g her many talents were
A life long learner, M r s . K a y n a r e n j o y e d
cooking in the O t t o m a n tradition, arranging parties that were
d o i n g e n a m e l work, and c o n t r i b u t e d
collaboration with Tunç Yalman RC 44, he
next to the gallery. All was seated there. Later he was
always enjoyed by all attendees, and being there for the
v o l u n t e e r t o m a n y s o c i a l c a u s e s , a m o n g t h e m the A C G
wrote drama reviews for the Vatan and the
brought to the building and sat on a chair. Ahmet
underdog and the underprivileged at all times. She will always
A l u m n i A s s o c i a t i o n . S h e also w o r k e d as a v o l u n t e e r E n g l i s h
Yazı Postası newspapers. His first book was
Koman, RA 69, academic and son of ilhan Koman,
be r e m e m b e r e d as a most affectionate and dedicated family
t e a c h e r at public s c h o o l s .
Hüseyin Paşa Çıkmazı No. 4, a monograph
kneeled in front of him. AN slowly walked and looked at
person, and a very loyal friend.
which aroused great interest. At a time
some of the pieces of sculpture. He knew he was going
when autographies were yet rare, he wrote
to leave us all, not before long. He returned to his chair.
A C G ties : her husband, Kenan and his three brothers, Hasan,
about the mansion at Kızıltoprak, his
'Thank God for that', he said.
A d n a n and Affan were all RC Engineering graduates. Her older
Ovaları at the age of 11. In the 1950's, in
grandfather Mehmet All Aynl and his great
grandmother, the well known musician
Leyla Saz. This paved the road to his next books, Neyzi ile Neyzi
Akdeniz was placed on green grass in the small sguare
He is survived by his wife, Sen Sahir Silan. Condolences
may be sent to her at P.K. 225, 07050 Antalya, Turkey."
Excerpts from a tribute by AN Neyzi's son, Mehmet Ali Neyzi,
Destine Eren was a m e m b e r of a family with very strong RC /
sister, Nezihe, was a m o n g the earliest M o s l e m Turkish
graduates of A C G . The next generation of the family saw
nephews Öztürk and Ertürk Işikpınar, niece Fahire O z r e n , son
as an active
P i r a y e K a y n a r will always be r e m e m b e r e d fondly by her
f r i e n d s a n d f a m i l y for her c h a r m i n g personality, g r a c i o u s
hospitality a n d g e n e r o s i t y .
Oktay Güven RC Eng 68
Oktay Güven, beloved m e m b e r of RA 64 and Eng 68 .mil
ardent s u p p o r t e r of the RA 64 s c h o l a r s h i p fund passed .iw.iy
and Alma Mater about Robert College days, Uzatmalı Sevgiliye
RC 76: "One of the nicknames of my father was the baron
A h m e t and daughter Ayşegül Taşpınar attend the A m e r i c a n
in J u n e 2 0 0 5 after a prolonged illness. He is s u r v i v e d by his
Mektuplar, BeyzadePaşazade, Mahir, Lara FenerlÇakıp Sönen Anılar
without underpants. The handsome, rascal third child was
Colleges of Istanbul during the forties and fifties.
wife Sadel Aydınel RC Yük 6 9 .
I and II, dedicated to his two grandchildren and Lara III, his last
unreasonably generous and loved helping everybody in the
book dedicated to his third grandchild. The Neyzi family is an RC
world. His tolerance knew no bounds. During our childhood days
alumni family. Ali Neyzi RC 46 married his first wife Olcay Ataman
in Erenköy, he would teach all the kids in the neighborhood how
(ACG 46, academic). His son Mehmet Ali Neyzi RC 76, a prominent
to swim and play volleyball, in all the fights during the volleyball
businessman married Fahrünisa Yıldızalp (RC 76, academic). His
matches he would always discover an enjoyable solution. He also
daughter Leyla Neyzi RC 78 is also a writer and academic. His
loved to eat. When In London he would stay at the Savoy and
brother, the late Nezih Neyzi RC 44 was married to Ayfer Doğan
always discovered the most luxurious places during his travels.
ACG 49 and his granddaughter is Zülal Neyzi RC 03. As an ardent
While living his life as a world citizen, he worked hard to make
Destine Eren will be missed by all who knew her, and loved
her dearly. May she rest in eternal peace."
M ayda Şahbaz ACG 30
Passed away peacefully on 16th of
October, 2 0 0 5 .
Her son Şarl Berger Şahbaz and Fatoş
Prof. Dr. Jak Deleon RA 71
J a k Deleon, a c a d e m i c , researcher on Istanbul ,in<l
writer died of c a n c e r on J u l y 9, 2 0 0 5 at the ago of
5 4 . Deleon was born to Istanbul J e w i s h parents in
1951. He studied at Robert A c a d e m y (RA 71) .ind
received his B a c h e l o r ' s Degree in English L a n g u a g e
Bekata E r k m a n contributed the
and Literature at Boğaziçi University (1975). He
following:
gained his PhD in English and A m e r i c a n Literature
supporter of his alma mater and as Chairman of the resident
his children receive the best schooling and continued his
Board, in early 1970 he called several of his friends and asked for
insurance career until my sister and I were married. In the 8 0 s
1.000 TL urgently. 'What for?' He said, 'I am going to establish a
he decided to start a new life, moved to Çıralı (ChimeraOlympos)
foundation.' He did: The Hisar Educational Foundation. During one
in Antalya, built himself a house and started writing. In those
records are to be believed), she
of the Board meetings of the Hisar Foundation where I was a
days you couldn't buy bread or newspapers in Çıralı village. He
attended Quaker P r i m a r y S c h o o l s in
trustee, Ali said, 'A former gardener of ACG has a piece of land next
spent wonderful days with his grandchildren swimming in the
S a m a t y a and Korfu, returning to istanbul in 1923, when she
performing arts with an emphasis on Turkey. He
to our campus. The only access to it is through our land. He wants
beautiful sea which he loved. When Çıralı became crowded and
entered A C G . Her c o n t e m p o r a r i e s r e m e m b e r e d her for her
also lectured on Visual Studies at Bilgi University, .inning to
to sell it for a very low price. We should buy it.' 'Whatever for?' 'We
touristic he sold the house and moved to Antalya. For me he was
leading roles in many plays and for her violin recitals. S h e
give a sense of Istanbul to his students.
can put up an alumni building on it.' We did: Bizim Tepe. Again, in
a great dad. Handsome, fun, loving, always considerate and
attended the Faculty of Literature at istanbul University but
the late 60s, the Ministry of Education suddenly asked for the deed
spoiling his children, believing that he and his family were the
of our land, the ACG and RC campuses. Legally, whoever owns the
left after two years to pursue the violin. She was a student of
center of the universe and enjoying every moment. Successful in
land, owns the buildings. This fell like a bomb at the Board meeting.
Carl Berger, with w h o m she had an intimate relationship for
Deleon devoted himself to studies on Istanbul, Dr.John Frelly
the world of business, he also managed to make his voice heard
A deed over a hundred years old? Where is it? No deed in Istanbul,
of Boğaziçi University called J a k "an Istanbulog" - Expert of
with over 20 novels written In the last 20 years."
many years.
B o r n in istanbul in 1907 (if the birth
M a y d a taught French, Turkish and violin and played the violin
at Istanbul University (1979).
Prof. Dr. J a k Deleon's teaching career covered
English, dramatic criticism, history of ballet and
With his wideranging interests and his gre.it entliir.i.r.rn
about Istanbul, other than his other academic works, J a k
Istanbul. A prolific writer about his home city 1st,intuit, he Iws
OBITUARIES
authored n u m e r o u s books in Turkish and English on Istanbul.
in my o v e r c r o w d e d b a g , Ms W a t r o u s always had the s a m e
reselling her new m e d i c i n e o n t h e
A C G 6 6 , w r o t e t h e following i n C h i l t o n ' s
Out of 24 of his published Works, s o m e of t h e m on Istanbul
p e n , a s t e r l i n g s i l v e r C r o s s pen w h i c h she kept filled with
street c o r n e r for t h o u s a n d s of
memory:
are; A Taste of Old Istanbul, Bars of Istanbul, The History of
bright g r e e n ink. As far as I know, she was so o r g a n i z e d that
dollars. A n d I w o u l d s u r m i s e that
Pera Palas Hotel, A n c i e n t Districts of the Golden H o r n , The
she n e v e r lost it in o v e r 30 y e a r s . S h e drank her t e a - a n d
s h e was In s e r i o u s pain a n d was
t e a c h i n g back a t m y a l m a mater, A C G .
"It was my s e c o n d or third y e a r
White Russians in istanbul, The B o s p h o r u s : A Historical Guide,
lots of i t - f r o m a c r y s t a l Turkish tea g l a s s w h i c h r e s i d e d in its
r e c e i v i n g m o r p h i n e t o e a s e her
A new t e a c h e r was d u e to join us.
A Beyoğlu Visit, (Bir Beyoğlu Gezisi), M o n u m e n t a l Istanbul
o w n s i l v e r c a s e . The t h e r m o s of tea a n d t h e glass w e r e with
suffering.
A l t h o u g h s h e was o r i g i n a l l y f r o m
(Anıtsal istanbul), Büyükada / A Guide to the M o n u m e n t s ,
her e v e r y day b e c a u s e w h o c o u l d t r u s t o t h e r s t o m a k e the
C h i l t o n W a t r o u s was t h e m o s t
Cocktails and Recipes from istanbul.
tea p r o p e r l y or to p r o v i d e an e l e g a n t g l a s s to drink it f r o m ?
reliable p e r s o n I know. S h e knew
S h e n e v e r t r i e d t h e p r o d u c t in its plastic c u p that t h e
how s h e w a n t e d to live her life,
C a n t e e n p r o v i d e d . O l d e r s t u d e n t s will r e m e m b e r t h e g r e e n
a n d she did not waver. S h e was
v e r y m u c h at h o m e . S h e was e x t r e m e l y
Prof. Dr. J a k Deleon is survived by his partner Hülya Kaya
C h i c a g o , s h e was t r a n s f e r r i n g t o A C G
from Athens College.
S h e a r r i v e d . It was o b v i o u s she felt
Annalie Vickers RC 91
bag f r o m w h i c h all t h e s e i m p l e m e n t s a p p e a r e d ; the y o u n g e r
resolute, e v e n a d a m a n t , a n d o n e
w e l l v e r s e d in c l a s s i c s a n d antiguity. S h e
We were deeply s a d d e n e d to learn that A n n a l i e lost
o n e s of y o u will know her with her black rolling s u i t c a s e , an
c o u l d c o u n t on her to always be
was, no doubt, a l r e a d y i n t i m a t e l y
her life in the terrorist attacks at S h a r m e l S h e i k h ,
i n n o v a t i o n s h e a d o p t e d after s o m u c h c a n c e r s u r g e r y had
herself. I'd write a g u e s t i o n f o r
f a m i l i a r with what was a r o u n d her. With
Egypt on J u l y 23, 2 0 0 5 . She was 31 years old. In the
r o b b e d h e r of t h e s t r e n g t h to c a r r y t h i n g s .
t h e final e x a m a n d , as s o o n as I
1991 y e a r b o o k , her c l a s s m a t e s d e s c r i b e d A n n a l i e thus:
Ms W a t r o u s knew how to b e h a v e a n d e x p e c t e d it f r o m
her wit and her interest in e v e r y t h i n g
put it on t h e paper, I'd say to myself, " C h i l t o n won't like that
a r o u n d her, s h e m a d e f r i e n d s with p e o p l e of all a g e s . Th.it
" F r a n k n e s s , dignity and a s u p e r b s e n s e of humor...
o t h e r s . A l t h o u g h s h e was a fast t h i n k e r a n d a m a s t e r of t h e
o n e , " a n d , of c o u r s e , I was right. T h e p h o n e w o u l d ring in t h e
i n c l u d e d old L e v a n t i n e s of M o d a w h o with their f i r s t h a n d
c o m f o r t i n g smiles and charm... a beautiful, intelligent
o n e l i n e s n a p p y reply, she n e v e r used her s h a r p s e n s e of
e v e n i n g a n d I'd say, " T h a t ' l l be C h i l t o n to c o m p l a i n a b o u t
a c c o u n t s c o l o r e d C h i l t o n ' s k n o w l e d g e of Istanbul or a n c i e n t
and sensitive p e r s o n . " That is how we shall r e m e m b e r
h u m o r to hurt o t h e r people's f e e l i n g s . Woe to the s t u d e n t
w h a t so and so s a i d in the d e p a r t m e n t m e e t i n g , " a n d sure
B y z a n t i u m . T h e n t h e r e was Mrs. Nadi of R u m e l i h i s a r - wife
A n n a l i e . May she rest in peace.
w h o was rude to her in c l a s s a n d t h e n later d e s i r e d a letter
e n o u g h , it w o u l d be her v o i c e w h e n I picked up t h e p h o n e .
of D o g a n N a d i , t h e j o u r n a l i s t .
of r e c o m m e n d a t i o n f r o m her for a u n i v e r s i t y a p p l i c a t i o n .
Faculty & friends
Chilton Watrous
Chilton Watrous, RC English
M s W a t r o u s was r e l i a b l e - e v e n s t r i c t - w i t h her s t u d e n t s ,
C h i l t o n was my linguistic c o n s u l t a n t . S h e read my Englr.b
E v e n w o o i n g her with f l o w e r s was h o p e l e s s ; unless y o u r
too. T h e y knew t h e y w e r e g o i n g to have o p e n w i n d o w s ,
t r a n s l a t i o n s for a Turkish a r c h e o l o g i s t . The two ol us l o u g h l
b e h a v i o r h a d a c t u a l l y Improved a n d y o u had d e m o n s t r a t e d
t u c k e d i n shirts, a n d c o m p l e t e d h o m e w o r k w h e n t h e y w a l k e d
big battles with the a r c h e o l o g i s t w h o w a n t e d to use
t h a t c h a n g e in a t t i t u d e to her o v e r a c o n s i d e r a b l e p e r i o d of
in t h e door. T h e y a l s o knew t h e y w e r e g o i n g to l e a r n . O n e
w e l l e s t a b l i s h e d m i s t a k e s in t r a n s l a t i o n s . He w o u l d s.iy
t i m e , her r e f u s a l still s t o o d .
t i m e w h e n s h e was quite ill last year, she told me that s h e
" a n t i g u e c i t y " , we w o u l d insist on " a n c i e n t c i t y " . He would
s i m p l y could not get her tests g r a d e d on time. S h e ' d b e e n in
say " p i n h e a d " we w o u l d say " h e a d of a p i n " . C h i l t o n ,md I
Ms W a t r o u s n e v e r s p o k e a b o u t her health p r o b l e m s , not
t e a c h e r f r o m 1971 to 2 0 0 4 , died
e v e n to me. I s o m e t i m e s p r e s s e d her for i n f o r m a t i o n in t h e
t h e U S A for tests a n d w o u l d only tell m e that s h e ' d had a n
w o u l d think the battles w e r e w o n . T h e n t h e b o o k s w o u l d lie
o n J u n e 12, 2 0 0 5 i n N e w York
only p o s s i b l e way o n e c o u l d with her: with humor. A f t e r s h e
a l l e r g i c r e a c t i o n to s o m e m e d i c i n e , c o u l d n ' t work for a few
p u b l i s h e d with all t h e m i s t a k e s we t h o u g h t w e i e e l i m i n a t e d '
City a f t e r a fifteen y e a r battle
r e t u r n e d f r o m e a c h trip t o N e w York w h e r e s h e went for h e r
d a y s a n d had fallen b e h i n d . I didn't believe h e r - o f c o u r s e it
with cancer. S h e will be s o r e l y
c a n c e r tests, I w o u l d ask, as t h o u g h she w e r e a student, " D i d
was t h e effects of the c h e m o t h e r a p y - b u t I was really
d u r i n g all the y e a r s s h e f o u g h t her illness. S h e never
m i s s e d by her f o r m e r c o l l e a g u e s
y o u pass all y o u r t e s t s ? " " Y e s , " was h e r s h o r t reply. " N o
s u r p r i s e d w h e n s h e a s k e d me if I c o u l d help her by g r a d i n g
c o m p l a i n e d . S h e n e v e r e x p l a i n e d her p r o b l e m ' o n th e.
a n d s t u d e n t s . S h e is s u r v i v e d by
i k m a l s ? " I w o u l d press, a n d s h e w o u l d say, " N o . " " W e l l , t h e n ,
her t w o s e c t i o n s of e x a m s a l o n g with my o w n two s e c t i o n s .
contrary, she was t h e o n e w h o said " c o u r a g e " to me.
her h u s b a n d Varak P o g a r y a n ,
w h a t w o u l d y o u like for s u c h a g o o d k a r n e ? Shall I buy y o u a
T h a t ' s w h e n I knew she was really ill b e c a u s e s h e n e v e r
w h e n e v e r I c o m p l a i n e d a b o u t not being able to get together
RC 4 2 .
b i c y c l e ? " I'd ask, a n d t h e m o s t i n f o r m a t i o n I w o u l d get is,
a l l o w e d herself to lean on o t h e r s . I sat d o w n with t h o s e test
b e c a u s e of my busy s c h e d u l e and o t h e r c o m m i t m e n t s
" Y o u ' d better wait until after my m a k e up e x a m next
p a p e r s - i t was e i t h e r a 1 9 8 4 or B r a v e New World t e s t - a n d
campus on J u n e 22, 2 0 0 5 and
m o n t h . " E v e n this last y e a r after she retired and m o v e d to
l o o k e d at t h e m . A n d this is a t r u e story... I got my coat a n d
w h i c h was a t t e n d e d by a large n u m b e r of C h i l t o n ' s
New York to be n e a r her d o c t o r s , s h e f a c e d life (and death)
went out a n d b o u g h t a g r e e n p e n . I knew that if I was g o i n g
c o l l e a g u e s at RC a n d her f o r m e r s t u d e n t s , her fellow
with h u m o r a n d e x t r a o r d i n a r y c o u r a g e . O n t h e p h o n e s h e
to do it, I had to do it c o r r e c t l y , in t h e Ms W a t r o u s way!
t e a c h e r in t h e E n g l i s h d e p a r t m e n t Diane O z b a l d e l i v e r e d the
w o u l d d e s c r i b e her
following e u l o g y :
new wig a n d how it
N e w York City, s h e g a v e away m a n y of h e r p r i z e d
had t r i c k e d all her
p o s s e s s i o n s . S h e g a v e me this c a n e and told me to use it.
hard to s p e a k to y o u t o d a y a b o u t my d e a r f r i e n d and
visitors into
" W i t h this c a n e , " she s a i d , " Y o u c a n o p e n even t h e top
a c c e p t a n c e f r o m B e n n i n g t o n College, Mrs.Watrous was
c o l l e a g u e o f m o r e t h a n 3 0 y e a r s , C h i l t o n W a t r o u s . While
t h i n k i n g she had
w i n d o w s in t h e office. S o m e o n e has to let all t h e s t u f f i n e s s
a m o n g t h e m o s t p l e a s e d . Yet t h e c h a l l e n g e wasn't over,for
f o u n d a new
out." I'm not sure w h e t h e r s h e was s p e a k i n g m e t a p h o r i c a l l y
now I had to find a way to s p o n s o r my e d u c a t i o n , and once
hairdresser, a n d I
or not. A n d she also gave me her f a v o r i t e s i g n , w h i c h had
a g a i n , it was M r s . W a t r o u s w h o c a m e to the rescue
At a m e m o r i a l s e r v i c e held on
" A l t h o u g h I am well k n o w n as a g o o d talker, I find it v e r y
p l a n n i n g what I w o u l d say today, I s h e d e n o u g h tears to
wash away all my notes, but I am d e t e r m i n e d to hold it
t o g e t h e r now b e c a u s e C h i l t o n was not o n e for t e a r s . S h e
was stalwart, e v e n r e l e n t l e s s l y c h e e r f u l a n d never a l l o w e d
her health p r o b l e m s to affect her m o o d or t h e c o n v e r s a t i o n .
M a n y did not e v e n realize she was ill, a n d that is e x a c t l y how
s h e w a n t e d it to be.
M s . W a t r o u s was an e l e g a n t lady. S h e knew e x a c t l y how
t h i n g s " o u g h t t o b e " a n d s h e a r r a n g e d her l i f e - a n d her
c l a s s r o o m - t o have it t h e way s h e w a n t e d . S h e liked guality
a n d did not c o m p r o m i s e in her daily habits. While I buy
plastic Bic p e n s by t h e d o z e n a n d use a n y o n e I c o m e a c r o s s
W h e n s h e p a c k e d u p her b e l o n g i n g s last J u n e t o m o v e t o
C h i l t o n was t h e e p i t o m y of c o u r a g e . She nevoi wont u i u l c i
C h i l t o n was i n d e e d a noble lady, d e d i c a t e d to hi i t u e m i s
to Turkey a n d to R o b e r t C o l l e g e . I shall greatly miss h e r
Tugge Kurtis. RC 2 0 0 0 , a f o r m e r student, also read a
e u l o g y at t h e m e m o r i a l s e r v i c e . S h e referred to M r s .
W a t r o u s as " m y advisor, my guide a n d m e n t o r " .The
following is an e x c e r p t f r o m her s p e e c h .
"In F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 0 , w h e n I r e c e i v e d my letter of
would understand
b e e n h a n g i n g o v e r her office desk for y e a r s . I now have it on
t a l k e d to p e o p l e , gave me n a m e s and a d d r e s s e s ol
that she had had
t h e wall of my office, p r o m i n e n t l y d i s p l a y e d for s t u d e n t s to
f o u n d a t i o n s to c o n t a c t , s h e even c o n t a c t e d them for me
yet a n o t h e r r o u n d
s e e . W h e n she g a v e it to me it was inside a pink f o l d e r a n d
From t h e day I s t a r t e d high s c h o o l in 1997 till the day i
of c h e m o t h e r a p y .
s h e s a i d , " Y o u n e e d this. Y o u are far t o o flexible with y o u r
g r a d u a t e d f r o m B e n n i n g t o n in 2 0 0 4 , Mrs.Watrous was there
L a t e r s h e told m e
s t u d e n t s . " S h e o p e n e d the f o l d e r a n d p r e s e n t e d m e with her
for me in e v e r y possible way, e n c o u r a g i n g me to hold on to
t h a t she w o u l d
P A Z A R L I K Y A P I L M A Z (No B a r g a i n i n g ) s i g n . W h e n I look at it,
stay f o c u s e d a n d to keep my h o p e s up.
finally be g e t t i n g
I h e a r her v o i c e s p e a k i n g to me. S h e is my role m o d e l for
rich, after a
c o u r a g e a n d c o n s i s t e n c e , a n d I'm t r y i n g to t i g h t e n up
lifetime of
w i t h o u t her by my s i d e . "
t e a c h i n g , by
Another former colleague and close friend, Nigar Alemdar
I want to s h a r e with y o u one last incident that
is very
s p e c i a l for me. O n e t i m e I walked late into Mrs.Watrous'
c l a s s f e e l i n g all w o r n o u t and c a r r y i n g a big d o w n on my
face. S h e i n t e r r u p t e d t h e c l a s s and a s k e d m e A M
'
OBITUARIES
a l r i g h t ? I've n e v e r s e e n y o u w i t h o u t that s m i l e since I've
f o u n d a t i o n s for the books that he w o u l d later p u b l i s h on
met y o u , w h i c h c h e e r s me up e v e r y t i m e I s e e y o u . " I was
O t t o m a n a r c h i t e c t u r e and o t h e r a s p e c t s o f T u r k i s h c u l t u r e .
v e r y t o u c h e d by this c o m m e n t . I felt s e e n , I felt l o v e d . Mrs.
W a t r o u s was a keen observer. S h e c a r e d for her s t u d e n t s
d e e p l y a n d s h e did not h e s i t a t e to s h o w her love.
M r s . W a t r o u s has h e l p e d s h a p e t h e p e r s o n I am and the
In 1965 G o d f r e y met Gillian C h o r l e y , w h o s o o n a f t e r w a r d s
b e c a m e his wife. A f t e r their m a r r i a g e t h e y r e t u r n e d to
L o n d o n , w h e r e their s o n R o b e r t (Bertie) was b o r n in 1 9 6 8 .
T h e i r h o m e at C h a l c o t S q u a r e on P r i m r o s e Hill in L o n d o n
p e r s o n I wish to be greatly. S h e t a u g h t me to m a i n t a i n my
b e c a m e a c e n t e r for g a t h e r i n g s of f r i e n d s a c t i v e in T u r k i s h
s t r e n g t h a n d c o u r a g e even in t h e m o s t c h a l l e n g i n g life
art, a r c h i t e c t u r e literature, history a n d politics.
c i r c u m s t a n c e s ; not only t h r o u g h what s h e said but in the
G o d f r e y ' s first p o s i t i o n after r e t u r n i n g to L o n d o n was at
way s h e led her o w n life. S h e c h o s e not to be d e f e a t e d , she
t h e B e v i n g t o n p r i m a r y s c h o o l in N o r t h K e n s i n g t o n , w h e r e he
p r e f e r r e d to s m i l e a n d l a u g h . M r s . W a t r o u s loved life a n d she
e v e n t u a l l y b e c a m e d e p u t y h e a d . His e x p e r i e n c e s in this
e n g e n d e r e d it. S h e has b e e n a t r u e b l e s s i n g in my life a n d in
s c h o o l gave rise to his n o v e l l a , There Ain't No Angels No
t h e lives of many. I am f o r e v e r i n d e b t e d to her for all she
More (1978). His next p o s i t i o n was e d i t o r of t h e Islamic
has given me a n d c o m m i t t e d to follow a n d pass on her
s e c t i o n of the Macmillan History of Art. He t h e n b e c a m e
legacy. I will m i s s her v e r y m u c h . "
d i r e c t o r of the Royal A s i a t i c S o c i e t y , w h i c h he o v e r s a w
t h r o u g h the s o c i e t y ' s m o v e to its new h o m e in Q u e e n ' s
Godfrey Goodwin
G a r d e n s , West L o n d o n . G o d f r e y ' s m a g n u m o p u s is his
History of Ottoman Architecture (1972)
Died in the UK on A u g u s t
a
magisterial
work
that has b e e n a c c l a i m e d as the d e f i n i t i v e c l a s s i c in its f i e l d .
19, 2 0 0 5 . D e s c r i b e d as o n e of
the g r e a t e s t s c h o l a r s of
His o t h e r b o o k s are
Ottoman architecture,
(1990),
Sinan:
G o o d w i n was b o r n in 1921 in
(1993),
The Private
the UK a n d was a m u c h
Janissaries (1997),
loved p r o f e s s o r of art history
Its Life and Personalities (1999),
Ottoman
Ottoman
Turkey (1977), Islamic Spain
Architecture
and its
World of Ottoman
Topkapi
Palace: an
Values
Today
Women (1997),
Illustrated
The
Guide
Edirne ( 2 0 0 0 ) , a n d
to
his
and a r c h i t e c t u r e at R o b e r t
memoir, Life's Episodes ( 2 0 0 2 ) . He also wrote a n u m b e r of
C o l l e g e f r o m 1958-1967.
s c h o l a r l y a r t i c l e s on Islamic art and a r c h i t e c t u r e and e d i t e d
Godfrey
A u t h o r and physics p r o f e s s o r
J o h n Freely w r o t e t h e f o l l o w i n g :
" G o d f r e y G o o d w i n was e d u c a t e d In E n g l a n d at b o a r d i n g
O t t a v i o Bon's
The Sultan's Seraglio (1996).
A f t e r the d e a t h of his wife Gillian in 2 0 0 0 , G o d f r e y
r e t u r n e d to istanbul e v e r y s u m m e r to give c o u r s e s at
s c h o o l s a n d at C l i f t o n C o l l e g e , B r i s t o l , a f t e r w h i c h he
Boğaziçi U n i v e r s i t y in the B y z a n t i n e and O t t o m a n
s t u d i e d at t h e F r e n c h Institute a n d the Royal A c a d e m y of
m o n u m e n t s of i s t a n b u l , B u r s a and E d i r n e . His e n t h u s i a s t i c
Dramatic Arts.
efforts were g r e a t l y a p p r e c i a t e d by his s t u d e n t s a n d
He j o i n e d the B r i t i s h a r m y s o o n after the war b e g a n in
S e p t e m b e r 1939, t h o u g h he was blind in one eye, t h e result
of a c h i l d h o o d a c c i d e n t . A f t e r t r a i n i n g he was s h i p p e d to
c o l l e a g u e s at Boğaziçi University, w h i c h in 2001 a w a r d e d
him an h o n o r a r y d o c t o r a t e .
G o d f r e y G o o d w i n is s u r v i v e d by his s o n Bertie G o o d w i n .
N o r t h a f r i c a , a r r i v i n g in A l g i e r s in 1942. He s e r v e d t h r o u g h
t h e N o r t h A f r i c a n a n d Italian c a m p a i g n s a n d w h e n the war
e n d e d in 1945 he was in R o m e , w h e r e he edited a p o e t r y
m a g a z i n e p u b l i s h e d by the B r i t i s h A r m y .
İnci Özdeniz
M a t h e m a t i c s t e a c h e r at R o b e r t
C o l l e g e f r o m 1979 to 1991, inci
Following his d i s c h a r g e f r o m t h e a r m y he t a u g h t at
Özdeniz p a s s e d away in istanbul
W i n c h e s t e r in E n g l a n d and t h e n at V i c t o r i a C o l l e g e in
i n O c t o b e r 2 0 0 5 . S h e had t a u g h t
A l e x a n d r i a , w h i c h he had to leave in 1 9 5 6 w h e n britain a n d
m a t h c o u r s e s in all levels d u r i n g
israel t r i e d to s e i z e the S u e z C a n a l . He t h e n c a m e to Turkey,
her years at RC as well as physics
w h i c h he had first s e e n in 1952 on a visit to istanbul a n d
and c h e m i s t r y d u r i n g her e a r l y
B u r s a , and in 1957 he b e g a n t e a c h i n g at t h e E n g l i s h High
years at t h e s c h o o l . A g r a d u a t e
S c h o o l for Boys in Nişantaşı. T h e n in 1958 he j o i n e d t h e
of A t a t ü r k Kız L i s e s i of istanbul,
faculty of R o b e r t C o l l e g e , w h e r e he s e r v e d as h o u s e m a s t e r
Midway J u n i o r C o l l e g e of
of H a m l i n Hall and t a u g h t t h e history of art a n d a r c h i t e c t u r e
Kentucky, with a BS and M a s t e r of A r t s in S e c o n d a r y
in the H u m a n i t i e s P r o g r a m of t h e Yüksek O k u l .
G o d f r e y b e c a m e i n v o l v e d in the art w o r l d of i s t a n b u l , his
E d u c a t i o n f r o m t h e University of Kentucky, inci Özdeniz was
a lively and c r e a t i v e individual w h o s e o t h e r t e a c h i n g posts
c l o s e f r i e n d s i n c l u d i n g the s c u l p t o r Özer Kabaş a n d t h e
i n c l u d e d Darüşşafaka L i s e s i , A m e r i c a n S c h o o l o f Las P a l m a s
painter A l i y e Berger. His S a t u r d a y t o u r s of the historic
in G r a n d C a n a r y Island, B e r k l e y Institute in B r o o k l y n , NY a n d
m o n u m e n t s of istanbul b e c a m e legendary, laying t h e
A n k a r a Koleji.
Cepten para
göndermek
gerektiğinde...