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Cumhurriyet Bayram Dinners 2008
Washington, DC Arkadaşlar Cumhuriyet Bayram
Celebration
October 26, 2008
Festive balloons—Turkish flag and blue bead boncuk motifs—welcomed the
ninety people who came to Kazan Restaurant to celebrate Turkey’s national
day. CNN Turk was there to record the event for Turks in Turkey.
This was the 45th anniversary of the arrival in Ankara of
Turkey II [and a couple of other groups?], so that group took the lead in
what is becoming a ritual at the Washington dinner—a somewhat shaky
rendition of the Turkish anthem. As we stood and sang the old familiar
words, “Korkma, sonmez bu safaklarda yuz en al sancak…”, scenes of
the distant past floated before our eyes. Students gathered in schoolyards
while we teachers stood by every Monday morning. Squawks from loudspeakers
all over Turkey as citizens paid tribute to a country literally hobbled
together by Ataturk from the ruptures of the Ottoman Empire.
Dave Weinman, our first director and general guru, took the podium to
thank a few stalwarts who make Arkadaslar what it is—people who have already
been mentioned by our new Arkadaslar president, Mike Jewell.
Representatives of the Turkish Embassy were on hand. So was the Peace Corps
Director Jody Olsen and the head of RPCV organization, Kevin Quigley. All speakers agreed that Arkadaslar is
the gold standard of Returned Peace Corps Volunteer groups. No other group
has held together so tightly—something amazing when you realize the last
volunteers left Turkey in early 1970!
There seemed to be general agreement that the main reason for this
cohesion that can bring 100 people together 40 years after the fact lies in
Turkey itself—the beloved ikinci memleket of each Peace Corps
volunteer.
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Photos from the Bayram Dinner |
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Page 1 |
Pat Fesci (T-4) |
Yıldız Yağcı of Anatolian Artisans
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Yıldız Yağcı and
Margaret Hamill Patterson (T-4) |
Kazan Restaurant ready for Bayram Dinner |
Sandy Anderson (T-13) & Billie Day (RPCV Sierra Leone; Friend of
Turkey) |
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Page 2 |
Mary Helen Madden (T-10) and Linda Scheffer (T-8)
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Kevin McCarthy (T-2) |
Peggy Hanson (T-1) and
Mugs Mast (T-2) |
Alan Gall (T-1) and Chuck Mast (T-2) |
Dave Weinman, Amca |
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Page 3 |
Joanne Omang (T-4), Ramazan Tuzun, Beth Healey (T-4)
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Jim Healey (T-4) and Joanne Omang (T-4) |
Kazan owner, Zeynel
Uzun,
with Ken Hill (T-9) |
Ayhan and Cemal from
Kazan Restaurant |
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Page 4 |
James
Weslowski, Marie
Zeller (T-2), and
Mugs Mast (T-2) |
Ed Hearn & Kathy Markley Scruggs (T-2) |
Tony (T-2) and Cathy Venegoni and John Wintrol (T-2) |
Lin Lougheed (T-16) and Ken Hill (T-9) |
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Page 5 |
Myles Denny-Brown (w/ glasses)(T-8) and Tony Whitehead
(T-12) |
Kevin Quigley, Ken Hill (T-9), Winnie Hill, Mrs. Kevin
Quigley &
Erdeniz
Şen |
Demet Cabbar, Pres. ATA-DC, Mrs. Quigley and Kevin
Quigley |
Dave Weinman, Tony Venegoni (T-2), & John Wintrol
(T-2) |
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04/12/09
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