Two ITLSIG Committee Members met in Istanbul, Turkey-June 2024
By Dr Josephine Deguara
Dr Josephine Deguara, ITLSIG Committee member and Research Co-ordinator visited Istanbul between 24th – 30th June, 2024. The main aim of the visit was for Josephine to take part at the Childhood, Education & Society (CES) conference held at Istanbul Kültür University (Figure 1). Josephine co-presented two research presentations: Navigating educational inequalities beyond the pandemic: Parents’ perspectives on ensuring a more equitable education for children (Deguara, Milton, Bonello, Camilleri & Muscat)) and Exploring educators’ perceptions and position of children in their understanding of an emergent curriculum: Children’s agency in pedagogical decision-making (Gauci, Deguara & Chesworth) (Figure 2). However, she took the opportunity to meet Dr Fahimeh Farjami, ITLSIG Committee member and co-secretary of ITLSIG who is based in Istanbul for networking. Josephine and Fahimeh first met each other online through the ITLSIG Committee meetings. This was the first time they met face-to-face where they used their time for networking and to know each other better.
Figure 1: CES Conference Figure 2: Josephine presenting one of her papers
Josephine’s Experience
As soon as I got confirmation that our abstracts were accepted, I got in touch with Fahimeh Farjami. Fahimeh prepared an impressive itinerary, detailing all the important sites to visit. She was very welcoming and took me and my colleagues on a 2-day tour of Istanbul, visiting the most impressive areas and sites, starting with Hagia Sofia Mosque, and the amazing Basilica Cistern (Figure 3) which lies beneath the city of Istanbul and is adorned with colourful lights which together with the reflection from the water creates a mesmerising and magical atmosphere.
Figure 3: The Basilica Cistern-a mesmerising experience created by the reflection of light on water
We also had a stroll around Gülhane Park (Figure 4) and the streets in the Fatih area with its typical shops and restaurants (Figure 5) which was captivating.
Figure 4: Gulhane Park Figure 5: A typical restaurant in the Fatih area
The Grand Bazaar offered an amazing experience, with shops adorned with typical Turkish souvenirs (Figure 6): from carpets to Kashmir scarves, to expensive and colourful chandeliers, Baklava and spices… a truly unique experience, where because of Fahimeh who spoke and bargained with the shop keepers, I lived a unique experience. The Turks proved to be very welcoming, warm and generous people: I was offered free Turkish tea served in the typical Turkish teacups while we chatted with the owner of a shop, and was offered many different types of Turkish Delight while strolling around the Grand Bazaar. At times it felt like I was in one of the Arabian Nights stories – that as magical as it was.
With Fahimeh as guide, we also visited Eminönü port side (Figure 7) Istikal Street and Taksim Square, had tea at one of the most famous coffee shops in Istanbul, Hafiz Mustafa at Sultanahment, ice-cream in the Bebek region (Figures 8 & 9) which is one of the richest areas of Istanbul, and dinner at Galata port, both overlooking the Bosphorus. Fahimeh went beyond: She continued helping us even when we were at the conference, booking taxi for us, checking on us and seeing that we get a good service – that is how remarkable she was.
Figure 6: Turkish Souvenirs Figure 7: Jo & Fahimeh at Eminonu port
Figure 8: Ice-cream time in Bebek region Fig. 9: At the Bosphorus sea
One of the most impressive sights in Istanbul, where East meets West is the imposing Mosques that beautify Istanbul’s skyline (Figure 10) – a memory which I will cherish forever!
Figure 10: Two of the Mosques of Istanbul
