Sabbatical in Ankara

 

Last month I returned from a 6 month sabbatical in the Philosophy Department at Bilkent University.  

It was an amazing trip.  Türkiye is a beautiful country. The food was amazing and the people were so hospitable and friendly.  I taught an undergraduate/graduate course on my regular "Science and Justice" seminar.  

Tragically the earthquakes occurred 2 weeks after arriving, and all the Universities in the country went to online (zoom) instruction for 2 months.  My youngest son accompanied me on this sabbatical, and he attended an international school to do his semester of high school.  

Together we lived in a 2 bedroom apartment on campus.  This was the view from our apartment in the mornings:

My son had a daily bus ride to and from school, while the gym and department was only a 15 mins walk away for me.

We were also a 15 mins walk away from the Bilkent Centre, which was very handy for going out for dinner, buying things for our apartment etc.  And below was one of our fav places to walk on campus:

 

I was able to get a lot of research done, completing a draft of a new textbook and writing and publishing a few papers. 

It is nice to be back home, and my son and I will always have a soft spot in our hearts for the people, culture and food of Türkiye.  

Cheers,

Colin