SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Source: FTAA.org

Turkish-Americans celebrate their heritage this month with a week of restaurant discounts at participating eateries, a parade and festival, and an event at Borough Hall.

The 32nd Turkish Day Parade and Festival kicks off on Saturday, May 18, at noon. Organized by the Federation of Turkish American Associations, the parade takes place in Manhattan, with participants gathering at 56th Street and Madison Avenue and marching down to Dag Hammarskjold Park on 47th Street and 1st Avenue, where they’ll join with the festival.

The festival features Turkish music, folk dancers and more.

Here in Brooklyn, the organizations will celebrate with a taste of Turkish culture  during the Brooklyn Turkish Cultural Celebration at Borough Hall (188 Montague Street). There will be complimentary Turkish food prepared by local restaurants, along with more folk dancers and music, to be enjoyed by Borough President Marty Markowitz, other dignitaries, and neighbors. The event is Thursday, May 16, at 5 p.m.

But all week long this week – lasting until Sunday – locals can also enjoy a discount at participating Turkish restaurants, including four in Southern Brooklyn. Coupons and a full list of participating restaurants around the Tri-State area can be seen here.

But here’s the list of local restaurants:

• Opera Cafe & Lounge - 2555 Emmons Avenue
• Liman Restaurant - 2710 Emmons Avenue
• Istanbul Restaurant - 1715 Emmons Avenue
• Istanbul Fast Food - 2202 86th Street

Jewish and Turkish-Muslim teenagers come together to share experiences through the Peace Builders program. (Source: youngpeacebuilders.org)

In New York, people of all races, religions and opinions are crammed together in a vibrant democracy that has forged a unique situation never seen before in world history. Still, even in a place as diverse as New York, we can still find ourselves divided by color, ethnicity or religious beliefs, a painful reinforcement of centuries old barriers of intolerance. That’s what makes the Young Peace Builders (YPB) of Southern Brooklyn so special. The Young Peace Builders is an organization that consists of teenage Muslims and Jews working together to improve their community.

The Young Peace Builders program was launched three years ago as a cooperative effort by the Kings Bay Y (3495 Nostrand Avenue), a Jewish Community Center, and the Amity School (3867 Shore Parkway), a K-12 school that predominantly serves a Turkish-Muslim student body. The program, recently covered by the Jewish Week, so far for girls only, primarily serves as a symbol for an increased linking between Muslim and Jewish groups in the area as well as a training ground for future leaders in the area of interfaith cooperation.

“This can serve as a template for Jewish-Muslim relationships,” said Leonard Petlakh, executive director of the Kings Bay Y. Rabbi Robert Kaplan, who coordinates the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York City’s outreach to various religious and ethnic groups, calls the Y and Amity School “mainstream organizations … within their [respective] communities,” with the ability to influence their own communities. “There is no reason there should not be more and more” Jewish-Muslim programs like those in southern Brooklyn.

The Jewish Week also described how a large amount of credit for the group’s existence belongs to Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz:

The two religious groups, who were neighbors but virtual strangers to each other, were brought together by State Assembly member Steven Cymbrowitz, whose district includes Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach and part of Brighton Beach; his constituents are Jews and Turkish Muslims. After participating in a legislators’ mission to Turkey a few years ago, he brought leaders of his neighborhood’s Jewish and Turkish communities together.

“It’s through education that we can get to understand each other,” Cymbrowitz told The Jewish Week.

Through the YPB, Jewish and Muslim teens have gone on trips to Israel, Turkey, Boston and Washington DC. On these trips, the teenagers have shared hotel rooms, prepared each other’s meals and celebrated religious holidays together. Teenager Hayrunnisa Kalac expressed the hope that the founders of the program hoped to instill in all its participants.

“We’re planting the seeds of something that can be very big” — an example of tolerance, Kalac told the Jewish Week.

Inspiring stuff and a great read. Check out the full article by clicking here and read more about the Young Peace Builders and their mission by clicking here.

Correction (1:47 p.m.): The original version of this article erroneously referred to the name of the organization as Young Peace Keepers instead of their actual name, Young Peace Builders. We regret the mistake, and any confusion it may have caused.

A number of local cultural organizations have teamed up to produce an evening of movies that show the “shared past and common future” of Turkish and Russian-Jewish cultures, two ethnic groups that have planted deep roots in our community. All the information is in the flier below.

Click to enlarge

The Turkish Cultural Center of Brooklyn will present a free screening of the film “Rumi: The Dance of Love,” January 21, 7:30 p.m. at TCCB headquarters, 245 Avenue U in Gravesend.

Here is a synopsis of the film, from an email we received:

The documentary centers on Rumi, the great philosopher and poet revered and loved by the masses all over the world for his ideas on universal peace, humanism, brotherhood and love transcending the centuries. Narrating the universal thought of Mevlana, whose ideas reach us from the 13th century embracing humanity with their themes of love and humanism, with a poetic and dramatic style, the documentary explains Rumi and the light of his oeuvre with the help of the ideas of love, samah and ney. “Rumi: The Dance of Love” presents the light of love of Rumi spreading from Anatolia with animated scenes, visual animations and a poetic, narrative style.

Here’s the trailer:

According to a rep from TCCB, “Rumi’s life and transformation provide true testimony and proof that people of all religions and backgrounds can live together in peace and harmony.”

To RSVP, click here. For more, call (347)-903-8875, email info@tccbrooklyn.org, or visit TCCB’s website, www.tccbrooklyn.org.

Source: Anne Szustek of "Brooklyn Based"

Who knew that Midwood had such a dazzling array of eateries exclusively specializing in Turkish cuisine? Apparently Brooklyn Based’s Anne Szustek knew, because she wrote the ultimate compendium on where to go and what to order if one has the inclination to fress on some Agean or Black Sea delicacies beyond the borders of our favorite neighborhood:

Brooklyn’s Turkish community is located in the southern reaches of the borough. There are Turkish restaurants and shops in Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay but you’re most likely to hear Turkish spoken on the street in Midwood. Home to Brooklyn College and painted Victorian houses, the neighborhood is easily accessible via the B, Q and F trains. Kings Highway and Coney Island Avenue are among its main thoroughfares; the Kings Highway B/Q stop is a good starting point to explore the Turkish community.

The Turks, for their part, use yogurt as liberally as mustard or ketchup—atop pasta, roast meats and vegetables alike. Casual fans of Turkish cuisine may be well acquainted with savory, spicy shish kebabs—another Turkish word. But these skewered treats hardly scratch the surface of the country’s cuisine. Turkey, straddling two continents and 81 provinces, is a hodgepodge of flavors.

Among the places she checks out are Taci’s Beyti (1955 Coney Island Avenue), Güllüoğlu Bakery (1985 Coney Island Avenue) and Turkish Café (1618 East 16th Street).

But beware, Anne points out: “Just don’t go to a Turkish restaurant and eat falafel, which is not a Turkish dish at all—it’s actually nigh impossible to find in the country outside of snooty Istanbul restaurants catering to expats and moneyed Turks who often developed a taste for it while studying abroad in the U.S. or U.K.”

Ah, the more you know, eh? What are some of your favorite Turkish spots?

Manti. (Source: Camera on autopilot/Flickr)

Ever sit in Anatolian Gyro on Sheepshead Bay Road (and who among us hasn’t?), happily munching on a refreshing cornucopia of humus, stuffed grape leaves, baba ghanoush, tabule, or one of their succulent lamb or chicken kebabs, and think to yourself, “Gee, I wish I could cook food as awesome as this?”

Well, good news: Now you actually can make food as awesome as that, because those mind-readers at the Turkish Cultural Center of Brooklyn knew you wanted to learn how to cook Turkish food, and they are not ones to disappoint.

Turkish Cooking Classes will be held once a month at the Turkish Cultural Center of Brooklyn (245 Avenue U between West 4th Street and Van Sicklen Street), beginning April 23 at 3 p.m.

This month’s featured recipes will be Manti and Burma Baklava.

RSVP to the center by calling (646) 241-6600 or e-mailing rsvp@tccbrooklyn.org.

You don't know what a kanun is?! Jeez, we have to show you everything around here.

The Turkish Cultural Center at 245 Avenue U will have a presentation on music’s healing powers tonight, March 30, at 7 p.m.

Julie Ann Cunningham, a freelance writer and musician, will discuss her recent article in The Fountain Magazine titled “Music of the Spheres,” which explored different cultures and their use of music to heal body and soul. From Ancient Greeks to Egyptians, Indians to Israelis and Europeans, mere sound waves have long been used to affect people’s health, and Cunningham will talk about the different traditions, notable figures and instruments used by various civilizations.

Oh, but it’s not all talkie-talkie. There will be musical performances with the kanun, a popular Turkish instrument, and light Turkish food will also be served.