Saturday, February 12, 2011 — 2:00 – 4:30pm (including reception)
Novi City Hall, 45175 West 10 Mile Road, Novi, MI 48375 — The Council Chambers Conference
TACAM cordially invites you to a gathering to review and explore the Anatolian Civilizations, which greatly contributed to the cultural development of modern Turkey — with the key focus on then Ancient City Ephesus, and Rumi’s Sufism. This is a fund-raising event to sponsor two American students at Michigan universities to participate in CLE’s International Summer School on Anatolian Archaeology in Turkey. All payments will be tax-exempt donations, and will be used for this educational initiative.
Archaeological explorations in Anatolia have yielded a rich heritage dating back to Neolithic Period (14,000-8,000 BC), Bronze Period (2,500-700 BC), Iron Age and Classical Antiquity (700 BC-330 AD), and Middle Ages to the Modern Period (330 AD to the present time). The Turks arrived in Anatolia around 900 AD, established settlements, beyliks, and ultimately empires that expanded into three continents. The civilizations that preceded them in Anatolia contributed to their culture.
One of the most impressive archeological sites is Ephesus in Western Anatolia, which displays remnants of several ancient civilizations (Ionian, Lydian, Hellenic, Roman; 1,000 BC-650 AD). In the contemporary town of Selçuk near Ephesus, an American, Janet V. Crisler has established in 2006 the “Crisler Library at Ephesus” (CLE) to honor her late husband B. Cobby Crisler, a Near East scholar and lecturer. CLE is an American 501c(3) organization; its mission is to promote scholarship, research and education in order to foster a deeper understanding of the ancient history of Asia Minor, by providing a library in Selçuk, Turkey. In Selcuk, it organizes International Archaeology Summer Sessions for university students from around the world matriculating in archaeology, art history or architecture. The 12-day curriculum includes lectures and visits to the archeological sites Ephesus, Priene, Miletus, Didyma, and Sardis.
Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi (1,207-1,273 AD) was a humanitarian poet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi mystic in the City of Konya during the Selçuk Turkish Empire. His Sufi writings on global peace, friendship and togetherness have inspired people to the present day. Sufi mysticism coalesces all preceding Anatolian cultures with those of the Turks arriving later.
The program is as follows:
- Welcome speech by City of Novi Mayor David B. Landry and City Manager Clay Pearson
- Overview: The Treasures of Turkey: Feridun Bek (TACAM President, who also studied archaeology in Turkey and is licensed as an educator in ancient Anatolian cities)
- The Crisler Library Education Vision: Janet V. Crisler, President of Crisler Library in Ephesus Ltd.
- Lecture: Ephesus and Crisler Library Project: Mehmet Çuhadar (Archaeologist and Lecturer in Turkey)
- Brief Presentation on Mevlana Rumi and Sufi Whirling Dervish Performance: Salih Okten (Sufi and dancer in İstanbul over 20 years)
- Questions and answers
- Reception
Tax-deductable donations
Tax-deductable donations: The conference room can accommodate only 100 persons. We ask you to donate a minimum of $25 per person, which includes the reception following the presentations. From students under age of 30 years, the minimum donation is only $15.
For RSVPs or questions, please contact TACAM or call 313 204 8700.
We would like to thank our partners, who made this event possible: City of Novi, the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA), the , and American Friends of Turkey (AFOT).
In partnership with the City of Novi, the Assembly of Turkish American Associations, Honorary Turkish Consulate General in Michigan, American Friend of Turkey and The Crisler Library at Ephesos
