Ed Whitfield: A Strong Voice of Turkish-Americans on Capital Hill

Wayne Edward Whitfield is an American politician who served as the U.S. Representative of Kentucky's 1st congressional district from January 1995, until his resignation in September 2016. As co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on U.S.-Turkey Relations and Turkish Americans, he was an ardent supporter of the U.S.-Turkey relationship and a voice on Capitol Hill for Turkish Americans. As the Republican co-chair, Whitfield founded the Turkey Caucus in 2001 along with his Democratic counterpart, former Congressman Robert Wexler of Florida. Their original objective was to have 25 members in the Caucus. The growth of the Caucus, however, exceeded expectations. At the time of Whitfield’s retirement from Congress, Caucus membership was 155, with 43 of the 50 states and all six territories represented. Congressman Whitfield talked to TURKOFAMERICA.

A Cultural Diplomat: Demetra George

Demetra George (Mustafoğlu), Honorary PhD: one of the most celebrated musical ambassadors of the United States. Soprano Demetra George has graced opera stages and concert halls, including Carnegie Hall as well as U.S. Embassies across Europe.  A two-time Grammy List nominee for her cd “Demetra George Sings Love Arias” she has sung for four U.S. Presidents, and performed with over 700 symphony orchestras and boasts a repertoire of more than 20 opera and operetta roles and 18 in musical theater.

Bridging Cultures Through Archaeology: Exploring Ancient Turkey for 40 Years

Charles Brian Rose is an American archaeologist, classical scholar, and author. He is the James B. Pritchard Professor of Archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania in the Classical Studies Department and the Graduate Group in the Art and Archaeology of the Mediterranean World. After graduating from Haverford in 1978, Rose pursued his Ph.D. in Classical Archaeology at Columbia University. Concentrating on the Roman Imperial period, his interests expanded to include the eastern Mediterranean, where he took part in New York University’s excavation at Aphrodisias, Turkey, and the uncovering there of a large and extremely well-preserved early 1st century AD sanctuary dedicated to the Imperial Cult (the cult of the emperors). His thesis, completed in 1987 and published in 1997 by Cambridge University Press, examined the sculpture, coins, and inscriptions associated with the Imperial Cult throughout the Mediterranean world during the period demarked by the life of Julius Caesar (100–44 BC) through to the suicide of Nero in AD 68.

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Bonnie Joy Kaslan Serves 35 Years for Turkey as an Advocate, Educator, and Facilitator

Serving as the San Francisco Bay Area’s Honorary Consul General for the Republic of Turkey for 35 years, Bonnie Joy Kaslan was a loyal advocate and frequent visitor to Turkey. She considers Turkey her second home and she is proud to have served for over 35 years as an advocate, educator and facilitator between the peoples of Turkey and the United States. Although officially retired she continues to give presentations regarding Turkey and the subjects she holds dear.

Rising Star Chef Ana Sortun: How Turkish Cuisine Has Changed Her Cooking Career

Turkey’s cuisine is recognized as being one of the most sophisticated in the world and it wasn’t well represented in the Boston area at the time Chef Ana Sortun decided to open Oleana in 2001. With a degree from La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine in Paris, the Seattle-born Ana Sortun opened Moncef Medeb’s Aigo Bistro in Concord, Massachusetts, in the early 1990s. Stints at 8 Holyoke and Casablanca in Harvard Square, Cambridge soon followed.

Turks Who Make A Living at Calandra’s

When she first stepped in Calandra’s which is still the largest bakery in New York, New Jersey and, Pennsylvania states today, she was a 23-year-old student. She was going to school, on the other hand working at the bakery in the early hours of the morning. Amide Turan who was a political science student dreaming of being a diplomat, all of a sudden found herself at Calandra’s that she, later on, became passionately attached to and felt like in a family environment. She has been working at the same company for 20 years now. Calandra’s was founded in one of New Jersey’s poorest places in 1962 by 28-year-old Luciano Calandra and his wife Ortenza who immigrated from Sicily in 1957.

Prof McCarthy: “History Books Do Often Treat Turks Unfairly”

Justin A. McCarthy is a nationally and internationally recognized scholar of the Ottoman Empire, modern Turkey and the Middle East.  He has published eleven books, most recently The Armenian Rebellion at Van (2006). In 1996 University of Louisville recognized him with the Award for Outstanding Scholarship, Research, and Creative Activity. He holds an honorary doctorate from Boğaziçi University, Turkey, and is a board member of the Institute of Turkish Studies and the Center for Eurasian Studies (AVIM). McCarthy served in the Peace Corps in Turkey in 1969, where he taught at Middle East Technical University and Ankara University.

Raquy Danziger: Powerful Female Percussionists

Raquy Danziger is a celebrated performer, teacher and composer known for her expertise on the darbuka, the Middle-Eastern goblet drum. Raquy has performed and taught around the globe from the great concert halls of Egypt to remote towns in Siberia, spreading love and excitement for darbuka drumming.  Her unique and systematic approach has helped elevate this ancient drum to be a shining solo instrument fit for a concert hall. Raquy specializes in the split hand technique, which is a fast and elaborate drumming style. She also plays the mystical twelve- string King Kemenche Tarhu, a rare and exotic bowed instrument.

Exclusive Breakfast Event: How to Live, Work or Study in the U.S.

Fragomen Partners Parisa Karaahmet and Freddi Weintraub invite you to join exclusive event to learn more about EB-5 and other opportunities to live, work and study in the United States. Guest speaker, Barbaros Karaahmet, Partner and Co-Chair of Herrick, Feinstein's Turkish Practice Group will also lead a discussion on the current climate for investment in the U.S. Learn about the EB-5 green card and the E-2 nonimmigrant investor options. 

MTS Logistics, NYC-Based National Logistics Provider, Raises Over $50,000 for Autism Awareness with 9th Annual Bike Tour with MTS for Autism

NEW YORK, June 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- MTS Logistics, a leading U.S. freight forwarder who last year was named one of the nation's top 10 shippers by volume at the Port of New Orleans, today announced that it had raised over $50,000 for autism awareness through its 9th Annual Bike Tour with MTS for Autism. The event was held on Saturday, June 8th, and was the culmination of months of fundraising by the company for autism awareness.

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