Trip Overview

Our trip begins in just a few days. There are five students going: Micaela, Tabitha, Megan, Ben, and Robbie. Each of them wants to learn more about how and why a society can remain so divided over factors that seem so foreign to an American citizen--but factors which are very real to many other peoples throughout the world.

Tabitha and Megan will be spending a few extra days in Istanbul with me before the academic portion of the trip where we will see the sights but also seek to understand the Cyprus issue within the Turkish context.

Our basic schedule looks like this:

Mandatory Arrival Day
Tuesday, May 19
. Arrive in Istanbul at 17:00
. Depart Istanbul for Cyprus at 22:00 (Erçan Airport / Lefkosia)
. Transfer from Airport to Near East University / B&B


Academic Program Week 1
Wednesday, May 20
. Introduction and Program Overview, Bowers & Khashman
. Walking Tour: Nicosia/Lefkosia Walled City

Thursday, May 21
. Class: Socio-Political Legacies of Ottoman Empire and British Colonial Cyprus, NEU Faculty
. Bus Tour: Bellapais and Hiliaron Abbeys, and Kyrenia

Friday, May 22
. Class: The Republic of Cyprus: 1960 Constitution, power-sharing, inter-communal conflict, and the events of 1974, NEU Faculty
. Guest Visit: Honorable Rauf Denktash, former President, TRNC

Saturday, May 23
. Tour: Karpas Peninsula

Sunday, May 24
. Open Day


Week 2
Monday, May 25
. Class: The Current Situation in Cyprus and efforts at Unification, 1974-2004, NEU Faculty
. Reading / Research / Writing Period

Tuesday, May 26
. Class: Turkish and Greek Cypriot views on the Cyprus Question, NEU Faculty
. Governmental Visits
. President Mehmet Ali Talat and Foreign Minister, TRNC
. Visit EU Office in North
. Cultural event in Nicosia/Lefkosa

Wednesday, May 27
. Class: External Actors in the Cyprus Conflict: UN, USA, UK, NEU Faculty
. Visit Office of the UN Special Representative for Cyprus, Mr. Alexander Downer
. UK Representative The Honorable John Hughes Wilson
. Visit with Frank Urbancic, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiaryof the United States of America to the Republic of Cyprus

Thursday, May 28
. Class: Politics in Cyprus since the Annan Plan, NEU Faculty
. Lefkosa/Nicosia Museum Tours

Friday, May 29
. Class: The US in the Middle East: Origins to World War II
. Reading / Research / Writing Period

Saturday, May 30
. Open Day

Sunday, May 31
. Open Day


Week 3
Monday, June 1
. Class: Nixon, Kissenger, and the Cold War Middle East
. Tour of Kyrenia, Peace and Freedom Monument and Gravesites

Tuesday, June 2
. Class: Oil, Diplomacy, and Hostages: The US in the Middle East since 1950
. Tour: Pyla/Pile

Wednesday, June 3
. Class: The Modern Middle East in the American Imagination
. Seminar: Dr. J.D. Bowers on Islam and the Cyprus Question
. Tour: Famagusta and Salamis

Thursday, June 4
. Class: The Modern Middle East in the American Imagination
. Reading / Research / Writing Period
. "The Relationship between Turks and Turkish Cypriots" Conference

Friday, June 5
. Class: The US, Cyprus, the Middle East and the Future
. "The Relationship between Turks and Turkish Cypriots" Conference
. Farewell event

Saturday, June 6
. Depart

Keep coming back to see our updates and new posts as we undertake this journey.