Turkish American Cultural Center of Madison

Cultural Conversations - April 2012

Turkish American Cultural Center — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 17:23:59 +0000

Freya Katkowsky, M.A., J.D.

Katkowsky Immigration Services

TOPIC: “National Interest Waiver Visa Option for Researchers and Academics.”

Date: 04/28/2012 Time: 7pm-8pm

Venue: Turkish American Cultural Center

437 S Yellowstone Dr Suite 110 Madison WI, 53719

TACC Madison Weekend School

Turkish American Cultural Center — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 15:07:54 +0000

TACC Madison weekend school has started on 8^th of January 2012. Weekend school`s main goal is to teach various topics pertinent to Turkish language culture and history to the enrolled students. The weekend school curriculum consists of “Turkish Language and Grammar”, “Turkish History and Culture” courses and additionally provides a “Religious Studies” course as optional. Native Turkish Speaking students who have at least bachelor degree teaches the courses voluntarily. The school hours are 9:00 am to 12:00 on Sundays.

Students who even could not spell a few words Turkish language learned to read and spell Turkish Language after studying one semester in the school. It was amazing to see how our students advanced in Turkish Language, culture and history throughout the semester. Weekend school provided a fantastic lunch to parents and students at the last semester. Teachers, parents and students have gotten together through end of the semester in the lunch. They shared their experiences about the semester, gave feedbacks to each other and planned future occasions.

After three weeks of vocation, the school has started to Spring semester 2011-2012. All of our students were present at the first day of school. The school has a goal to make the students well advanced in Turkish Language, history and culture through end of this semester. We will have couple social activities that will be announced later in this semester. We are fresh, prepared, powered and ready to go…

Book Campaign

Turkish American Cultural Center — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 17:41:32 +0000

Dear Friends of TACC-Madison,

We are excited to announce that we have started a book campaign to build a small library on Turkish literature, culture, and history at TACC. As the number of our members and friends increase, we need more resources on Turkish culture. We also welcome books on other themes and there is demand for books in Turkish or/and English. The collection will be used by students of our weekend school, and by our members and friends, who want to learn more about Turkey.

Please consider supporting our campaign. Sundays between 9AM and 12PM, TACC is always open and available to accept your book donations or alternatively please contact info@taccmadison.org to set up a time to donate your books.Thank you for your support.

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Sevgili Dostlar,

Turk-Amerikan Kultur Merkezi bunyesinde, Turk edebiyati, kulturu ve tarihi konularinda kucuk bir kitaplik olusturmak amaciyla baslatmis oldugumuz kitap bagisi kampanyamizi duyurmak istiyoruz. Toplulugumuzdaki sayisal artistan dolayi kulturumuzle ilgili kaynaklara olan ihtiyacimiz da artmaktadir. Turk-Amerikan toplulugumuzun bu gereksiniminin karsilanmasi amaciyla daha fazla Turkce ve/veya Ingilizce kitaba ihtiyacimiz vardir. Diger konularla ilgili kitaplari da memnuniyetle kabul edebiliriz. Bu kitaplarin hem hafta sonu okulu ogrencilerimize hem de ulkemize ve kulturumuze ilgisi olan tum dostlarimiza faydali olacagi inancindayiz.

Kampanyamizi desteklemenizden onur duyacagiz. Kultur Merkezimiz, kitap bagislariniz icin, Pazar sabahlari saat 9-12 arasi acik olacaktir. Ayrica, info@taccmadison.org e-posta adresine mesaj gondererek de randevu talebinde bulunabilirsiniz. Desteginiz icin tesekkur ederiz.

Saygilarimizla,

Madison Turk-Amerikan Kultur Merkezi

A Historic Visit: Chicago Consulate General of Turkey

Turkish American Cultural Center — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:16:38 +0000

As a part of his Madison visit, Chicago Consulate General of Turkey, Fatih Yildiz, paid a historic visit to TACC-Madison on Thursday, January 26^th, 2012. Consulate General gave a well-received speech about the importance of creating a strong community among the Turkish-Americans in Madison. He also encouraged the Turkish-Americans to be self sufficient first, but then, if possible, to contribute to the others within, and outside of, Turkish-American community. More specifically, he stressed the critical importance of good and long-lasting relationships between Turkish-Americans in Madison and people of Balkan countries, such as Albania, Bosnia, Macedonia, and Kosovo.

The audience had time to provide comments, and ask questions, to honorable Consulate General Fatih Yildiz. He enthusiastically provided candid, to-the-point, and reflective answers to all the questions. After the Q&A session, the president of TACC-Madison kindly asked Dr. Oguzhan Alagoz to present a Wisconsin Badgers jersey, with Fatih Yildiz printed on it, to the Consulate General. Also, at the end of the night, traditional Turkish coffee and delicious Turkish food were ready for our guests and members while having one-to-one friendly conversations with the Consulate General.

It was truly an unforgettable night for our community. As a Turkish proverb beautifully sums it up, “a cup of coffee commits one to 40 years of friendship”. We, as TACC-Madison, believe that our first meeting with honorable Consulate General at TACC-Madison will be a staging point for our meetings and projects in the future.

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TACC MADISON

Baskonsolos Fatih Yildiz’in Turk-Amerikan Kultur Merkezi’ni Ziyareti

Turkish American Cultural Center — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:56:24 +0000

Turk-Amerikan Toplumunun Degerli Uyeleri,
Turkiye Cumhuriyeti Chicago Baskonsolosu Sayin Fatih Yildiz, Madison ziyareti cercevesinde 26 Ocak Persembe gunu saat 20:00′da Turk-Amerikan Kultur Merkezi’ne tesrif edeceklerdir. Bu onemli bulusmada siz degerli uyelerimizi de aramizda gormekten mutluluk duyacagiz. Kultur Merkez’indeki bulusmaya katilmak isteyenler icin adres ve web sitemiz:

437 S. Yellowstone Dr. Suite 110 Madison, WI 53719

http://www.taccmadison.org/contact/

Ayrica Kultur Merkezi’ndeki bulusmasindan once 25 Ocak Carsamba gunu saat 19:00′da Sayin Fatih Yildiz vatandaslarla bulusacaktir. Vatandas toplantisi’na katilmak isteyenler icin adres:
The Pyle Center, Room 313, 702 Langdon Street, Madison, WI, 53706

Saygilarimizla,

Madison Turk-Amerikan Kultur Merkezi

Celebrated Kurban Bayrami (Eid al-Adha)

Turkish American Cultural Center — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 20:14:35 +0000

Turkish-American Community in Madison came together at the Eagle Heights Community Center and celebrated Kurban Bayrami (Eid al-Adha).

At the beginning of the program, Turkish-American families served a rich meal, including meat, rice, salad, and baklava. Then, Alper Bolat, a Turkish businessman, gave the keynote speech. He extended his sympathies to those who lost their loved ones in Van Earthquake. In his speech, he explained the meaning of “Bayram”, and encouraged the audience to watch Azra Bebek’s rescue in Van Earthquake and see an Iranian movie, called Children of Heaven, in order to better understand the blessings we have. He also shared a meaningful story about Sanki Yedim Camii, a mosque in Fatih, Istanbul. At the end of his speech, he thanked the ladies for preparing the food. As TACC, we are also thankful to Turkish American ladies for preparing the delicious food.

Also, Ismail Fersat, a Turkish American Businessman, made a collective prayer for the victims of Van Earthquake. As TACC, we would also like to extend our deepest sympathies to those who lost their loved ones in this horrible earthquake. As a sign of respect, we cancelled entertainment part of our program. However, we organized some fun activities only for kids. Toys were presented as bayram gifts; the clown entertained the kids during the whole program; and Mr. Fersat prepared cotton candies. Kids loved it!

As TACC, we thank all who joined our program and shared the Bayram (Eid al-Adha) with us. We hope to see you at our future events.

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Celebrated Ramazan Bayrami (Eid al-Fitr)

Turkish American Cultural Center — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 20:30:41 +0000

Eid al-Fitr, the festival of fast-breaking, is an important Muslim holiday, celebrated at the end of Ramadan.

We believe that festivals like Eid al-Fitr help bring together people from different cultural and social backgrounds to reinforce friendship and emphasize on the values such as mutual understanding, respect, love, and peace. Nevzat, a member of TACC-Madison’s executive committee, made a presentation about Ramadan’s meaning for Muslims in spiritual and social life after the dinner. Among our guests are UW-Madison faculty and staff members, religious leaders, business people, students and families.

Here is a testimonial by Russell Knudson, Graduate Student at UW-Madison:

“The Turkish American Cultural Center of Madison hosted a wonderful event in celebration of their holiday Ramadan. It was clear that the idea of sharing with your neighbor is very important to the Turkish people and they invited many people from different religious and social backgrounds. The food and tea was very delicious, many of the recipes I would like to learn to cook someday, and we were invited to eat as much as we wanted. Finally, some background information about the holiday and the religious significance was explained to all of us, which was very educational. I enjoyed this event, and felt very welcomed by the TACC, thank you!”

We believe these friendships will persist over years and help cement mutual understanding and dialogue in the society.

Hope to see you next time! Eid Mubarek!

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Ramadan Iftar Dinner

Turkish American Cultural Center — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 03:48:35 +0000

TACC-Madison members meet people of different backgrounds to share Ramadan iftar dinners.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the lunar calendar, when Muslims fast from dawn to sunset. It is also the month when the relationships within and outside the community are strengthened by fasting and breaking the fast together. Ramadan is the month in which Muslims reach their spiritual climax through individual and congregational prayers and social activities.
In Turkey, like many other Muslim majority countries, it is a common practice for people to invite friends, relatives, and neighbors to their home and serve them the fast-breaking (iftar) dinner. Inspired by this practice, TACC-Madison members enjoyed sharing their iftar dinner with the Turkish-American community in Madison. People at the tables enjoyed delicious Turkish food served by volunteer members as well as friendly conversations.

We also informed our guests about our past and upcoming events. Among our guests are UW-Madison faculty and staff members, religious leaders, business people, students and families. The dinner helped bring together people from different walks of life to reinforce friendships and emphasize on the values such as mutual understanding, respect, love, and peace.

We thank our guests for joining us and sharing a delicious dinner with us.

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Community Picnic

Turkish American Cultural Center — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 21:24:09 +0000

On July 24th, a beautiful Sunday afternoon, the Turkish American community got together with American families for a picnic at Lake Mendota Public Park.

The weather was perfect for the picnic. People were smiling, chatting, laughing, talking and enjoying each others company. The friends we didn’t see for a long time were seen. Meeting many different people and just seeing smiling faces made us all happy. There were fun activities and as people talked, the children made new friendships and played around. The air was full of the delicious smell of roasting chicken. Peace was made. Cultures were shared. Sunny skies, a light summer breeze and the sound of laughter boosted up a person’s positive attitude. As people sat down, waiting for the food they continued talking. Finally, the food was ready and everybody started eating. Scrumptious Turkish-style chicken and meat, refreshing cold water and soda, crunchy chips with salsa, salads, and the famous Turkish nutty baklava were served.

Everyone was in a good mood and at the end, finally said concluding good bye’s and see-you soon’s. The picnic was a wonderful experience for people and left a good, nice attitude in people’s hearts. We hope to keep friendships tied together forever.

By: Vildan Z. Karaca

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Japan Earthquake Relief: Turkish & Japanese Friendship Meeting

admin — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 02:02:51 +0000

The loss of life and great destruction of property in Japan due to the 8.9 magnitude earthquake followed by a devastating tsunami on Friday, March 11, 2011 saddened Turkish Community of Madison. We remember very well that Japanese people generously and graciously extended their helping hand to Turkish people in the aftermath of Kocaeli, Gölcük Earthquake in 1999. To share the pain of Japanese friends in the aftermath of this unprecedented disaster and to remember our common history, we organized a get-together friendship meeting on April 23rd, 2011 at TACC-Madison with the Japanese Student Organization and the members of Japanese society of Madison.

It is our honor, as TACC-Madison, to be able to stand by Japan and to host its brotherly people at TACC-Madison. On behalf of the Japanese Community of Madison, Mrs. Rie Fredrickson kindly stated her thoughts as “It really worked for us that you gave this opportunity, we could receive positive energy and thinking from Turkish people’s warm, kind hospitality. We got the energy to live for the future!”

Even though it is our impression that our Japanese friends stand strong and steadfast after this tragic earthquake, we would like to once again take this opportunity to express our sincere condolences to our Japanese living in Madison in particular and Japanese people in general.

It is our hope that we, Turkish and Japanese societies of Madison, will organize many more activities and events together. May our friendship last forever!