Professor Lynn Raymond. Jia Yay UWRT 1103 lors ‘The Impact of my Past AAs time progresses on, the memories of those who have shaped become thin, There arc Tittle opportunities for an individual to express their gratification of the countless generation. before them. As a result, we fprgét about them, and they become a distant memory in the past. ee To resolve this problem, [have been given th ity express my gratification Bt m singing copay exes my gration my oo * heritage. TeGxpress my avatficaliga- Rave éreated an eSsay that discusses details in regards to the Turkish city known as Istanbul, the qualities that make it a unique city, and the reasoning being leaving the city on August of 1998. In addition, I will discuss the joumey my family took 10 get from Istanbul, Turkey, to Cary, North Carolina, Finally I will review the genuine military service my grandfather partook in as a Colonel of the Turkish Military. Being that Istanbul, Turkey is the place of origins of which I was bom, they are reasons, bchind leaving the unique city at a young age of eighteen months. Before I came into existence, my mother and father lived as entrepreneurs within the city of Istanbul. My mother was six ‘months pregnant and suggested to my father that they should M place where they can reset their business and begin their life anew within the land of opportunity, which was Mricoamefor merigp fe time. My father agreed with her not only because he to believed that America was the land of opportunity, but because America’s economy was significantly higher in comparisonaC at yet 100 eye to that of Turkey. In fact, Ameriga’s G IDP.was 12.32 Trill 7 oflace tillion dollars while Turkey's GDP was a sy, lowly 249 Billion ie ms " VICAR Ly bigidn’t want me to join them to the plane ride to CFIA ret ue J Turkey after bein; ing born. As a result, thay is to Turkey for eighteen months to establish a stable fou dation for them to work with, by the end ofthe eighteen months; [traveled to Long Beach Calif is ‘ontia to life my new life as an American. And while I would personally life in America becau: s¢ Of its solid economy, | still value Istanbul's amazing culture and historical buildings. Despite Istanbul's poor economy, the city offers an extraordinary amount of culture and museums, which make it a hotspot for many tourists. According to TripAdvisor.com, Istanbul offers a wide range of five star museums, including: Hagias Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Taksim ‘Square, Topkapi Palace, Rustem Pasha, and the most iconic of them all, the Grand Bazaar. Most ‘of Istanbul's profit comes from these hotspots and because there are certain times of the year where Americans will visit Istanbul, Istanbul doesn’t earn a consistent amount of profit throughout the year. Although this may seem bad in terms of their economic status, they are also the leading source of olive oil and is home tothe famous, Robert College, the Harvard equivalent of Turkey. While I do visit Turkey every other year to visit the Grand Bazaar or just walk around the Blue Mosque, the journey my family and T underwent while in America was just as impressive. Unlike some other families who stay in their hometown and never move out, my family and [ moved to 2 total of four different cities inthe course of eighteen years. 1 already discussed, my birthplace and how I moved to Long Beach, California when I was eighteen months old, but I shone ritieg in Ametica that [ lived in for all of my childhood. The‘ove to Raleigh North Carolina to meet the demands ofthe company nebo te Ca dag Able to afford a very large, four stores, five bathrooms, four bedrooms, three living rooms, and One study room house at $00,000 dollars. In addition, my grandparents of my mother's side ®ssisted my family in the renovation process. Living in an oversized, four story house with only my mother, my father, my cat, and myself was very lnxurious at fist, but was also very stressful, and cleaning days took the enti day to complete instead of the average four hour‘elean up time, After living they're for four years, the stress proved to be too much and we downsized on November 12*, 2009. The final and hopefully current home my parents are staying is located in whens Inu Cary, NC. The downgraded home is not only smaller than the larger Snore Seessfarhol, bat it features a pond side overview and is far less stressful. And while this joumey was highly memorable, my grandparents provided their full support the entire way. ‘While my grandmother is a loving, gentle, and inspiration person to be with, I found that amy grandfather, Metin Gurses was more influential than that of my grandmather. Metin Guses was tbe Colonel the Turkish military during hs earlier years. Not only that, but he took his hobby of basketball afd used his interest and military experience to become the head coach on the international Turkish Basketball tear gf Turkey. Although he has passed aay, he sil ire in my life, and 1 am grateful that 1 inherited his knowledg« remains to be a very influential fi through his daughter, Verda Ozgunduz. 4 ham very grateful for that,ao —_ WORKS.C ed “Colonel.” Merriam Webster com. Merriam-Webster, Spence Ley, 12+ Fina "Istanbul Tourism: Best of Istanbul, Turkey - TripAdvisor." Itanbul Tourism Best nd. Web, 27 Oct. 2015. Of Istanbul, Turkey TripAdvisor. Trip Advisor, lly 2015, Web. 27 Oct 2015. Wikipedia contributors. "Economy of Turkey." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 7 Oct. 2015. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.