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The American Turkish Society and the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University (ISAW) are pleased to bring you the fourth lecture in their series on the archaeology of Turkey in the form of a panel on conservation issues in Turkey. The panel will feature presentations by Donna Strahan (Conservator, The Metropolitan Museum of Art), Nicholas D. Cahill (Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison), and Kent Severson (Consulting Conservator, Institute of Fine Arts, NYU), and will be followed by a reception catered by Peri Ela.

The event is free and open to the public, however space is limited and pre-registration is required. You may register here.

Panel details are as follows:

Panelist 1:
Donna Strahan, Conservator, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Beyond the Field Lab: Emergency Conservation in the Granicus River Valley in Northwest Turkey

Over the past fifteen years, field conservators at the archaeological excavation of Troy, Turkey have been asked to provide emergency conservation on freshly looted tomb material from the region of the Granicus River Valley. This area in northwest Turkey was controlled by both the Greeks and Persians during the first millennium BCE. Looting became increasingly rampant due to the gold and silver objects still present in many of the tomb mounds. The regional Çanakkale Archaeological Museum does not have conservators on staff, thus when tomb looters were caught, the material they were robbing was often left in a precarious condition. The Director and archaeologists of the museum turned to the nearby Troy excavation conservators for assistance.

Examples to be discussed will include a tomb with painted marble beds, exploded ivory, and disintegrated wood furniture; a superbly painted sarcophagus that was opened with a backhoe; a funeral cart; and the material from a child’s sarcophagus.

This cooperation between the foreign excavators and local archaeologists allowed important cultural property to be preserved and published. The museum has added an additional room to display the sarcophagi and painted marble beds.

Panelist 2:

Conservation Issues in Turkey: A View from the Trenches

Panelist 3: :

Archaeologists and Conservators in Collaboration: Working Together in the Field.

Conservation of excavated artifacts begins at the moment of discovery. Conservators working closely with archaeologists during and immediately after excavation yields more effective recovery of finds, better understanding of the nature of artifacts through appropriate cleaning and repair, and improved long-term preservation. The value of close collaboration between conservators and archaeologists in the recovery and treatment of coins, ceramics, sculpture and other materials will be illustrated using case studies from over twenty five years of field work in Turkey.

Register online here.

Leading social entrepreneurs from Turkey will discuss social innovation with perspectives from one of the fastest growing economies, located in the world in a region that is constantly changing. How can a country like Turkey with a young, highly educated population leverage its growing capacity in the business sector to develop its field of social entrepreneurship? What does it take to become a regional platform for social innovation? What is the role of social entrepreneurs in not only addressing particular issues through their ventures but also encouraging others to become engaged citizens and changemakers?

Ashoka fellows Ibrahim Betil, a former bank CEO and founder of Turkey's leading youth organization, and Nasuh Mahruki, a mountaineer and founder of Turkey's pioneering search and rescue organization, will share their experiences as social entrepreneurs and discuss the challenges and opportunities in creating innovative and entrepreneurial solutions to societal problems in Turkey and beyond.

Moon and Stars Project of The American Turkish Society is proud to announce a collaborative concert featuring the Istanbul-based musical ensemble Kardeş Türküler with Grammy® Winner Arto Tunçboyacıyan and special guest Ara Dinkjian.

All proceeds from the concert will support the efforts to help those affected by the earthquake that struck eastern Turkey, near the city of Van, on Sunday, October 23. Please also consider making additional contributions to The American Turkish Society Earthquake Fund.

The ensemble will play traditional Anatolian, Middle Eastern and Balkan instruments, drawing upon the rich, varied and conjoined cultural and musical traditions that are their respective birthright: Turkish, Arabic, Kurdish, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Roma, and Armenian. Tonight’s show marks the first performance by Kardeş Türküler on an American stage. Founded on the ideal of peaceful fraternity, the project is an attempt to represent the multicultural richness of Anatolia, which in the past has led to conflicts as much as musical diversity. Kardeş Türküler offers more than just good intentions though; their virtuosity and musicianship is truly second to none.

More information about the concert program can be found here.

Moon and Stars Project of The American Turkish Society is pleased to co-host with Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies and the Department of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at New York University a music workshop featuring the Istanbul-based musical ensemble Kardeş Türküler, featured artists Vedat Yıldırım, Feryal Öney, Fehmiye Çelik, Selda Öztürk, Burcu Yankın, and Grammy® Award Winner Arto Tunçboyacıyan. The workshop will be an interactive experience where the artists will work with the audience members to perform several songs from the Kardeş Türküler repertoire.

Artists’ CDs will also be available for purchase during the workshop.

BUY TICKETS

Performa and Moon and Stars Project are pleased to present Aslı Çavuşoğlu's “Words Dash Against the Façade,” a fortune-telling walking tour of Manhattan’s famous buildings during which selected interpreters will be given free reign to create the rules of fortune-telling through the use of potentially disputable sources and through the framework of their personal perspectives. This unusual project, curated by Defne Ayas, is part of Performa 11, the fourth edition of the visual art performance biennial in New York City (November 1–21, 2011), and the first work in the United States by Istanbul-based Çavuşoğlu.

Buildings include: Hearst Tower, Club 21 and 55 Central West aka Ghostbusters Building.

For information about the artist and program, please click here.

This year, The American Turkish Society will award its Annual Corporate Partnership Award to Duncan L. Niederauer, Chief Executive Officer of NYSE Euronext and Süreyya Ciliv, Chief Executive Officer of Turkcell.

The event will take place on October 20 at 7:00 pm at The Plaza Hotel in New York City and celebrate Turkcell’s over ten years on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as the first and only Turkish company.

Mustafa Koc, Chairman of Koc Holding and Joseph Perella, Chairman and CEO of Perella Weinberg Partners will serve as a Dinner Committee co-chairs.

The American Turkish Society’s Annual Gala Dinners celebrate successful U.S.-Turkish corporate partnerships and milestones in U.S.-Turkish business ties and take place with the participation of around 400 senior business executives and other VIPs from both Turkey and the U.S.

Please note that online registration is not available for this event. To reserve a table or a ticket, please return the reply form in the invitation to The American Turkish Society by fax at +1.212.583.7615.

Tickets are available for purchase online and are partially tax-deductible.

If you are unable to attend, your 100% tax-deductible contribution is greatly appreciated.

For further information and to purchase tickets for the screening, click here.

A Reception will follow at 9pm at:

The Walter Reade Theater, Furman Lounge - Plaza Level
(165 West 65 Street b/n Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue)

Please note that space is limited for the reception, RSVP to rsvp@maspny.org is required by Friday, October 7. RSVPs sent after this time cannot be guaranteed. The accepted RSVPs will be on a first-come first-served basis, and receive a confirmation email within 24 hours of submitting an RSVP.

Special thanks to Turkish Kitchen for sponsoring the reception.

For more information on the film and director, please click here.

The American Turkish Society is pleased to present a luncheon meeting for corporate members with the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Turkey, Dr. Ibrahim Turhan, on September 26. Member of The Society’s Board of Directors and Chairman’s Circle Corporate Member Nicholas C. Walsh, Vice Chairman of Chartis, will kindly host.

For inquiries about corporate membership and attendance at the event, please call our offices at 212-583-7614, or click here for more information about supporting The American Turkish Society as a corporate member.

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The American Turkish Society is pleased to present a lecture by Ayhan Kose, Assistant to the Director in the IMF Research Department, entitled “Emerging Markets: What is Next?".

Emerging market economies now account for a substantial share of world output and have become major drivers of global growth during the past decade. After the global financial crisis of 2007-2009, these economies have been expanding strongly whereas advanced economies have remained relatively weak with high unemployment. Have emerging markets become self-reliant and "decoupled" from demand conditions in advanced countries? Why have some countries in this group done better than others? And what are the key policy challenges emerging markets face in order to ensure the sustainability of their long-term growth? The lecture will address these questions and examine the main lessons for rapidly growing economies like Turkey.

About the Speaker

FOR RENT
Written by Ozen Yula
Directed by Handan Ozbilgin
Featuring Bridgit Francesca Giuffrida, Steven Hitt, Fernando Torres, Michael Anthony Munoz, Brian Shaw, Nelson Patino Jr.

In "For Rent," poor, rural teenagers come to the big city to find wealth and prosperity. But in the dark, dangerous public parks of this cosmopolitan city, they are instead led into prostitution and violence. This stylistically innovative and vocally stunning play from acclaimed Turkish playwright, Ozen Yula, explores the criminal underworld of modern-day Istanbul through the desperate lives of the young people who flock there. Translated for the American stage, this production features a diverse blend of professional actors and LAGCC acting students.

ÖZEN YULA
Özen Yula’s plays have been translated to English, German, French, Italian, Finnish, Polish,Bulgarian, Bosnian, Japanese, Arabic. His plays are being performed by the National Theaters, Municipal Theaters, University Theaters and private companies all around Turkey. As a playwright and director his plays were shown in last Bonner Biennale in Germany, kontext:europa in Wien, Istanbul International Theatre Festival, Toga Festival in Japan, Cairo International Experimental Theatre Festival, Turkish-Holland Theatre Meeting in Amsterdam. He lives in Istanbul and Ankara, working as a freelance director and playwright. Last year Yula was the Artist in Residence at Cleveland Public Theatre and Guest Lecturer at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, where he developed two world premiere plays.

HANDAN OZBILGIN BROMLEY
Handan Özbilgin Bromley is an internationally known theater director who specializes in site-specific productions. An active member of the Lincoln Center's Director's Lab, her experimental theater productions include: projectmaids (2010 –Present) is a four part series inspired by Jean Genet’s Maids, 3 Sisters Vanishing (2010); The Wall-House-Yard Trilogy (Wall participated at 2006 Istanbul Theater Festival and was invited to the 2006 Egypt International Experimental Theater Festival); Rumi's Math (2003 New York Fringe Festival). In NYC, Handan has directed the work of prominent Turkish playwrights: That's How It Works by Özen Yula at the Around the World in 24 Hours Festival (2009, World Premiere); I Anatolia by Güngör Dilmen (2003, World Premiere). Off-Broadway way credits include: Immigrant Theater project co-director for Suzie Lorie Parks’ 365 Days and t Difficult Dialogues Reading Series (2007); Lark Theater Company, Assistant Director for Pera Palas. In addition to directing, Handan teaches acting at LAGCC where she develops original work for her students. Using the themes of technology and home, the Acting 1 class created a array of distinctive characters on the Facebook project, Creating a Character, Creating a Scene (2009). Handan Özbilgin is the Associate Artistic director at LPAC.

REGISTRATION FOR THIS EVENT HAS CLOSED

Young Turkish designers discuss their work, inspirations and what it means to pursue their profession in the U.S.

Come celebrate Turkish design during ICFF 2011 and hear New York's up-and-coming Turkish designers reflect on themes such as place and creativity, importance of design as cultural interface, and the opportunities and challenges of designing in New York. Designers will display their creations.

Key note speaker: Architect Ali Tayar, principal of the New York-based design firm Parallel Design

Participating Designers: Rozit Arditi , Koray Duman, Munire Kirmaci, Ufuk Keskin, and Efecem Kutuk.

The event is free and open to the public. Please register online by Monday, May 9 at 5:00pm. Members of the press wishing to attend can contact info@americanturkishsociety.org.

Design lovers, don't also miss the latest in the MoMa Design Store’s Destination: Design series, Destination: Istanbul, a special product collection featuring more than 100 lifestyle products by emerging designers from Istanbul. Items will be sold in-store and online May 12 through June 30, 2011. Destination: Istanbul was made possible with the participation of the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV).

The American Turkish Society and American Friends of Turkey (AFOT) are pleased to present a lecture featuring Ambassador Robert Finn on the topic Going Back Home: The Turks in Central Asia. The lecture will examine the political, social, cultural and religious ties among countries of Central Asia and what is likely to happen in the future as the Turkic countries, including Turkey, redefine themselves in this new century following the fall of the Soviet Union.

A reception will precede the lecture which will start promptly at 6:30pm.

Ambassador Finn is currently Senior Research Associate at the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination and Lecturer in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. Prior to this he was the Ertegun Visiting Professor of Turcology at Princeton University from 2003-2005. He served as the first U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan in more than 20 years, from March 2002 until August 2003. He served as U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan from 1998-2001 and his other diplomatic postings include Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, Turkey; Lahore, Pakistan; and Zagreb, Croatia. He opened the U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan in 1992. Ambassador Finn is the author of the book The Early Turkish Novel, which has been published both in English and Turkish. His poems and translations have appeared in the United States, Turkey, France and Pakistan. He reads in more than ten languages. He holds a B.A. in American Literature and European History from St. John's University, an M.A. in Near Eastern Studies from New York University, and an M.A. and Ph.D in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University. He was a Peace Corps volunteer in Turkey and a Fulbright scholar at Istanbul University.

The American Turkish Society and Turkish Women’s League of America are pleased to invite elementary and secondary school U.S. teachers to

Turkey 101: An Introduction for Teachers

The session aims to give American educators, teaching in all subject areas and grade levels, an understanding about Turkey and provide an opportunity to explore topics and materials to include in their classes. It will be presented by the Turkish teachers of the Ataturk School, a weekly educational program on Turkish history, language and culture run by Turkish Women's League of America.

**A light reception will follow**

The event is free, however pre-registration is required. Please register online. For questions, please call 212.583.7614

Curriculum Development Grants available from The Society

The presentation will be a particularly timely introduction for U.S. teachers who are considering applying for The American Turkish Society's Fall 2011 Curriculum Development Grants (deadline: May 20), a program that supports innovative curricula and other classroom projects related to Turkey.

One lucky teacher will also get a chance to win a trip to Turkey, provided by Turkish Airlines and The Marmara Pera.

The American Turkish Society and The Metropolitan Museum of Art Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art are pleased to present a joint lecture and reception, The Funeral Feast of King Midas and Beyond with Dr. Patrick E. McGovern as speaker.

Participation in the event is by invitation only for members of The American Turkish Society. For further information, please contact us at info@americanturkishsociety.org, or 212.583.7614.

The event promises to be an exciting opportunity to learn more about Dr. McGovern's research that reveals a funeral feast at the ancient site of Gordion in Central Turkey more than 2,700 years ago. Dr. McGovern is the Scientific Director of the Biomolecular Archaeology Laboratory for Cuisine, Fermented Beverages, and Health at the University of Pennsylvania Museum in Philadelphia. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Anthropology. His academic background combined the physical sciences, archaeology, and history–an A.B. in Chemistry from Cornell University, graduate work in neurochemistry at the University of Rochester, and a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Archaeology and Literature from the Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Department of the University of Pennsylvania. For his full bio, please click here.

The American Turkish Society and the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University (ISAW) present the third lecture in their series on the archaeology of Turkey with Associate Professor Kutalmis Gorkay, who is heading the excavations in the ancient city of Zeugma.

Zeugma, literally “bridge” or “crossing” in ancient Greek, was located at the site of the major ancient overpass of the Euphrates, and was thus at the physical intersection between the major east-west trade route and the north-south route that ran alongside the river. Zeugma is located in the south-eastern region of modern Turkey, near today’s city of Gaziantep. Zeugma became the subject of international attention upon the realisation that the Birecik Dam project would flood part of the site with waters of the Euphrates river, and preliminary rescue excavations uncovered exquisite mosaics in Roman houses. An originally Hellenistic site of great strategic importance at the Roman eastern frontier, Zeugma may function as an example for the cultural transition of the region from the Hellenistic to the Roman Imperial period. This lecture examines the city’s civic, religious and domestic realms during that period through architecture and iconographic programs in the light of the recent archaeological investigations carried out since 2005.

The American Turkish Society and Global Friendship Through Space Education invite you to a gathering of Space Camp Turkey Family and Friends. Turkish-American students from the Ataturk School will also be joining for a fun cross-cultural afternoon.

Come with your children ages 7-15 to learn more about Space Camp Turkey from NYC participants and take part in youth-led cultural exchange.

* Light refreshments and Turkish treats will be provided *

Founded by Kaya and Mary Tuncer, Space Camp Turkey is an initiative of Global Friendship Through Space Education that aims to promote friendship among youth from different countries and cultures through space education. For more information, please click here.

SUPPORTING SPACE CAMP TURKEY

The American Turkish Society raises funds for scholarships to increase participation by New York City students and teachers in Space Camp Turkey. By starting or renewing your membership or making a program contribution (you may choose Space Camp Turkey from the drop-down menu), you can join in our efforts to promote greater understanding between Turkey and the U.S. through educational and cultural initiatives.

Young Turkey/Young America: A New Relationship for a New Age , an initiative of The Atlantic Council in partnership with the Istanbul Policy Center (IPC) at Sabanci University, is an exchange program for young professionals (aged 24-35) with sessions primarily in DC and Istanbul. The program is designed to connect and build constructive relationships between future leaders from the United States and Turkey, and will work toward the vital task of renewing and reinvigorating the two countries' important bilateral relationship. The participants are individuals who started careers in the fields of public policy, business and journalism, possess a strong passion for international engagement and have demonstrated leadership abilities.

The American Turkish Society is, once again, collaborating with The Atlantic Council to host the young Turkish professionals in New York City from March 4 – 6. The Society was involved in this program for the first time last year, and received great feedback from both program partners and participants, thanks to the support of our members and friends.

On Saturday, March 5, we will be offering two opportunities for our members and friends to meet our guests. Those interested in attending should RSVP to info@americanturkishsociety.org or by calling (212) 583 7614.

WELCOME BREAKFAST
Join us for an informal discussion U.S.-Turkish Relations and UN activities

Stephen Gee, Political Advisor, US Mission to the UN
Huseyin Muftuoglu, First Counsellor, Turkish Mission to the UN
Dr.Uner Kirdar, Former Senior Advisor to the UNDP Administrator

9:30 am –10:30 am
The American Turkish Society
305 East 47th Street, at 2nd Avenue, 8th Floor

The American Turkish Society is pleased to present a luncheon address by H.E. Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan, as part of its Meet the Ambassadors event series. Ambassador Apakan will discuss Turkey’s non-permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council in 2009-2011, and the country's increasing significance in regional affairs, among other issues.

Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan was appointed as the Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations in August 2009 during the first year of Turkey's non-permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council. Prior to his current appointment, Ambassador Apakan served as the Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey from December 2006 until August 2009.

The Society's Meet the Ambassadors program has hosted a number of U.S. and Turkish Ambassadors to date, including Ambassadors Mort Abramowitz, Eric Edelman, Marc Grossman, O. Faruk Logoglu, Mark Parris, W. Robert Pearson, Ross Wilson, Baki Ilkin, Nabi Sensoy, and James Jeffrey.

Pre-registration is strictly required. To register online please click here or complete registration form and fax it to The American Turkish Society at (212) 584 7615 by February 24, 2011.

For questions, please email info@americanturkishsociety.org.

Young Society Leaders

U.S.-TURKISH RELATIONS AND THE ROAD AHEAD FOR 2011

The American Turkish Society is pleased to start the new year with a foreign policy discussion.Please join us for a conversation with Dr. Joshua W. Walker on the current state of the relations between Turkey and the U.S. and what we can expect in the coming year.

Dr. Joshua W.Walker is an Assistant Professor of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond and a fellow at the German Marshall Fund based in Washington, D.C. His forthcoming book focuses on the role of historical memories in post-imperial successor states, with a particular focus on Japan and Turkey's domestic and foreign policies. Among his many affiliations, Dr. Walker is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Brandeis University and a research fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. Dr. Walker completed his Ph.D. in Politics and Public Policy from Princeton University with a focus on international relations and security studies. He holds a Master's degree in International Relations from Yale University and a Bachelor's degree from the University of Richmond. He was a Fulbright Fellow in Ankara, Turkey and has worked for the U.S. Embassy and State Department on Turkey. Active in bridging the academic and policy worlds, Dr. Walker has co-founded the Yale Journal of International Affairs, Young Professionals in Foreign Policy in New York, and the Project on Religion, Diplomacy, and International Relations at Princeton. In addition to his numerous articles, briefs, and book projects, he has been published in a variety of outlets including Christian Science Monitor, Foreign Policy, International Affairs, International Herald Tribune, New Republic, Washington Quarterly, and Washington Times. In addition, Dr. Walker is called upon to offer commentary in international media outlets.