By ANASTASIA ASHMAN
Just call us hothouse flowers. We’re breathing fresh life into the Expat Harem concept — this is now more than a site about a book. It’s a group blog.
GLOBAL NICHE
A variety of voices will begin to appear on the site. Don’t miss anything: Updates by email. Updates by RSS.
You’re also invited to join the cultural conversation at my individual blog.
Along with fellow-American-writer-in-Istanbul Jennifer Eaton Gökmen, I’m cocreator of the critically acclaimed expatriate literature collection TALES FROM THE EXPAT HAREM: Foreign Women in Modern Turkey. We coined the Expat Harem concept* — which reclaims the feminine powerbase of the traditional Ottoman harem and refreshes it as a modern and virtual community of cultural peers.
*We noticed the doors swing both ways. When expatriate women in modern Turkey lead an insular life due to regional naivete, language barriers and ethnocentricity = peer-filled prison. When they find solace and a collective wisdom in one another’s experiences = cultural refuge.
Expat Harem also acknowledges the permanent liminality of today’s multicultural, global existence. Like the nation of Turkey itself — its struggles are both personal and universal, self-perception East yet also West, looking toward Europe or Asia, ancient empire persisting under the surface of new republic. In some small or large way, all of us are coming or going, crossing threshold after threshold but never arriving.
NEW SOCIAL ORDER
expat+HAREM, the global niche embodies the hybrid Expat Harem concept while embracing intentional travelers and global citizens of all kinds. Common interest and experience defines us far better than geography, nationality or even family.
SHARE YOUR PERSPECTIVE
Are you a cultural creative, a globally mobile progressive, an explorer of identity? What is true camaraderie to you, and how (and where) do you find it?
WELCOME BACK. Identity adventurers like you make this global niche what it is -- so, thanks!
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[...] the (softly) relaunched ExpatHarem.com aims to bring its community to life online as a neoculture hub for global citizens [...]
Thanks for writing Adelaide!
In advance of your trip you might want to keep an eye on art happenings with these local Istanbul resources:
Istanbul Arts Diary
http://www.cornucopia.net/istanbulartsdiary/
Expat Community Web Portal
http://www.mymerhaba.com
Istanbul City Guide
http://www.pukkaliving.com
British Community Council
http://www.bccistanbul.org/
Les Arts Turcs
http://www.lesartsturcs.com/about.php
Loved the book. Will be traveling to Istanbul in May and would like
to make a connection before I arrive with granddaughter (21) with an American/British expat group in that city. There must be one, but I can’t find it.
We are interested in art as my granddaughter is an art major.
Thank you Adelaide Olsen, Manassas, VA USA