Program NOT running Summer 2010

INFORMATION SESSION:
January 26th at 4:10 p.m.
Maginnes, Room 260

APPLICATION DEADLINE: February 6th

This program runs during first summer session, May 14th thru June 11th.

This summer program explores the religion, history, politics and culture of Turkey.  The six-credit course focuses on both medieval and contemporary understandings of Islam in Turkey—with special emphasis on the legacy of Islamic mysticism (Sufism).  Students will examine the impact of Sufi tradition on popular piety by reading the haunting love poetry of the renowned Sufi master, Jalal ad-Din Rumi, by visiting Rumi’s shrine, and by interacting with living Sufi teachers and their mystical communities.  How is Islam experienced and expressed in contemporary Turkey?  What role has Islam played in Turkish social and cultural history?  What is the relationship between Islamic identity and national identity today?  How does Turkey balance its multi-ethnic and multi-religious past with its modern aspirations?  How do today's Turks seek to be both modern and spiritual?  Students will explore all these important questions during four intense weeks of cultural immersion.

The study tour begins and ends in Istanbul.  Istanbul was once Constantinople, but today it is a vibrant and cosmopolitan city at the crossroads of East and West.  With the city as our classroom, the group will visit mosques, churches, synagogues, shrines, meditation houses, libraries, caravansarais, tea-houses, museums and modern universities.  We will also tour the Grand Bazaar, a historic site and one of the world’s largest indoor shopping arcades with over 3,000 shops with goods from all over the world.  Along the way, students will receive numerous lectures and workshops from leading Islamic scholars, Sufi masters, musicians, artists, calligraphers and local academics. 

Beyond Istanbul, the program also spends two weeks 'on the road', traveling to a number of important historical and cultural sites, including:

• Ankara:  the nation's bustling capital, and burial site of Ataturk, the founder of the modern Turkish Republic

• Cappadocia: a geological wonder famous for its underground cities and caves
• Konya: burial place of the renowned Sufi poet and saint.
• RumiKusadasi:  a jewel on the Mediterranean coast with glorious beaches
• Ephesus:  site of glorious Greek and Roman ruins and the house of the Virgin Mary, a pilgrimage center for Muslims and Christians alike

With access to people and places that no tourist could ever hope to see, this program explores Islamic identity and practice in the context of Turkey's remarkable religious pluralism and rich historical heritage.  For Lehigh students hungry for a different kind of international experience, it offers a unique, in-depth, face to face encounter with the diversity and dynamism of the global Muslim world.

Lehigh University
Study Abroad Office
32 Sayre Drive, Coxe Hall
Bethlehem, PA  18015