Raindrop Turkish House in Collaboration with Houston Independent School District cordially invites you to the Award Reception and Ceremony of First Annual Art and Essay Contest with the theme “Alliance of Civilizations”. Raindrop Turkish House organizes Annual Art and Essay contest for Houston Independent School District middle and high school students This event is invitation only and RSVP is required. We at Raindrop Turkish House and HISD value your presence at this unique event and look forward to your RSVP. To RSVP you can simply click on the link: www.turkishhouse.org/rsvp and fill out the necessary items.

  Annual Art and Essay Contest Award Reception and Ceremony Information:

Friday, January 29, 2010 (6:00 pm. to 8:00 pm.)

06:00 p.m. – 06:30 p.m. : Award Reception

06:30 p.m. – 08:00 p.m. : Award Ceremony

Turquoise Center 9301 West Belfort, Houston, TX 77031

Please RSVP by January 26, 2010 at www.turkishhouse.org/rsvp

Business Attire

The History and Culture of Turkey (A non-credit personal development course offered Spring 2010 at Rice University)

 The only country to lie in both Europe and Asia and one of the oldest continuously inhabited regions in the world, Turkey is a rich amalgamation of cultures with a riveting history. In a sweeping survey of this history, from antiquity to the Ottoman Empire, Atatürk and on to modern times, participants will explore some of the major components of Turkish identity as well as a number of linguistic, cultural, religious and political traditions in their historical context. Lectures on Turkish history will be complemented with a look at significant forms of Turkish culture, including the traditional arts of calligraphy and ebru, Nasreddin Hoca stories, Bursa's shadow puppet theater, Rumi poems, architectural masterpieces of the Seljuk and Ottoman Empires, Turkish music and more.

Instructor: Jeannette S. Okur, PhD, an active member of Houston's Turkish-American community, teaches Turkish at the University of Houston. Her published work includes topics which address literary and cultural analysis, translation theory, teaching methodology and socio-religious history. Dr. Okur is currently working on a translation of Mustafa Kutlu's book of short stories "Sır" and several chapters of a book about transnational socio-religious phenomena originating in Turkey. She holds a PhD in comparative literature from Ankara University in Turkey. A discussion of Ottoman history will be presented by Timothy Fitzpatrick, PhD, visiting professor in history at Rice University.

 Dates: Eight Tuesdays, February 16-April 20, 7:00-9:00 p.m. (no class March 16 and 30)

 Location: Rice University

 Fee: $155, if registering by February 2; $165, after February 2; $145, Rice alumni

 Co-sponsors: Raindrop Turkish House and the Institute of Interfaith Dialog

 For more information and to register online, visit gscs.rice.edu or call 713-348-4803

Haiti Earthquake Victims Waiting For Help!

Haiti Earthquake: a catastrophic earthquake struck near Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The full extent of the damage is still being assessed, but the death toll -- already in the thousands -- is climbing fast.

This is the worst earthquake to hit the area in more than 200 years

Dear Friends,

This is the time that we need to show our friendship and brotherhood. Raindrop Helping Hands launched a campaign for Haiti earthquake victims.

Please send us your generous donation so that we can deliver it to those who are in need.  Funds collected through the Helping Hands' account will be delivered to the authorized people to deliver it to Haiti Earthquake victims.

You can make your donations by:

  * Check (Please make your checks payable to: "Raindrop Helping Hands" and place the memo as  Haiti Earthquake. The check should be sent to 9301 West Belfort Houston, Texas 77031)

  * Google Checkout (Please log on to website http://raindropturkevi.org/helpinghands. You can see the Donate Thru Google Checkout button on the left side of the website and choose  Haiti Earthquake to make donation.)

 Dear students, teachers and parents,

The Turkish community in Houston, Texas, congregated at the Turquoise Center for the Sacrifice Bayram (Eid ul-Adha) celebrations hosted by Houston Blue Mosque and Raindrop Turkish House. The guests of Turquoise Center included but were not limited to natives of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, The Kyrgyz Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Karadag, and the Ahiskan Turks. More than a thousand people in their best clothes gathered early in the morning for the special Bayram prayer, which started with the recitation of Koran and chanting of hymns. Adults greeted and embraced one another wholeheartedly; kids and adolescents honored the hand-kissing custom (kissing an adult's right hand and placing it on one's forehead), while wishing their elders Bayram greetings and being awarded by a Bayram tip in return. The food offered included the indispensible kavurma (braised meat) and desserts such as baklava and Turkish delight. 
Raindrop Turkish House contributed to festivities by making it more fun for the kids, the real joys of Bayram. The kids cherished the gift toys wrapped by the organization committee. At the playground of the Turkish House, a number of activities and events played out throughout the day. The elation of the kids and the gratitude of their parents were at their peak.