By Andrew W. Griffin

Red Dirt Report, editor

Posted: July 12, 2009

reddirtreporter@gmail.com

OKLAHOMA CITY – Operating in six states and now open and active in Oklahoma City, the Raindrop Turkish House is a non-profit, cultural and social organization that promotes Turkish life and customs in America.

It is also an amazing resource for interested folks who want to know more about the fascinating country of Turkey and Turkish culture. This reporter was in Turkey recently and found it to be an amazing country with an equally incredible culture and people.

Alerted to the Raindrop Turkish House via an article in The Edmond Sun, written in May by William O’Brien, Red Dirt Report was keen on finding out more about Raindrop Turkish House.

So, Red Dirt Report recently met with Orhan Kucukosman, who works at the Raindrop Turkish House at 4444 N. Classen Blvd. Kucukosman said that Raindrop has facilities not only in Oklahoma but in Texas, where they started in 2000, as well as facilities in Kansas, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana.

The purpose is simple, he said.

“We want to build a bridge between Turks and our American brothers and sisters,” Kucukosman said, adding that there are not many Turks living in Oklahoma.

“I know what’s going on on both sides,” he said. “There are plenty of people here who don’t know anything about Turkish people.”

Their office is large and has many rooms, from a kitchen to cook in, a roomy space to hold lectures and individual offices, to name a few.

Living in America for the past decade, Kucukosman said he is eager to share Turkish culture with Americans and continue to build a connection between the two countries and cultures.

“In the past 10 years that I’ve been here I’ve never had a single problem,” said Kucukosman who grew up in a city between Istanbul and Ankara. “When I go home I have friends and family who aks me if it’s dangerous, if I’ve ever been held up with a gun.”

While such a notion may seem amusing to Americans, many Turks have never been to the United States and are only familiar with our country through movies and television.

That is why Raindrop organizes trips to Turkey. The two cultures get to meet one another. It is an exchange embraced by people in state government to business operators and people simply wanting to know more about Turkish culture.

In fact, Kucukosman said he had just returned from his native Turkey with a group of over 100 Oklahomans who had participated in a Raindrop-sponsored intercultural trip to the country where these visitors from the Sooner State visited the usual tourist destinations over the course of 10 days. Additionally, Raindrop organizers took them into the homes of Turkish host families where they shared meals. They also met businessmen, government officials and schools in cities ranging from Izmir to Antalya.

“There are a lot of beautiful places in Turkey,” Kucukosman said.

Kucukosman said that in addition to the Raindrop Turkish House events, he is also active in the Institute of Interfaith Dialog, whose office is also in the spacious Raindrop Turkish House facility.

The aims of the IID include taking “a stand that peace on the planet can be achieved within the foreseeable future” and that the “spirituality of all individuals be heard in a space that is free of dogmatism, criticism, oppression and fear.”

And for those folks who want to come to the Raindrop Turkish House in Oklahoma City and meet people from Turkey as well as folks with an interest in that fascinating country, there will be an event at their Classen Blvd. building at 6 p.m. Food will be available and a speaker will talk about a recent trip to Turkey. Kucukosman said all are invited to attend.

And that’s just a sample of what the Raindrop Turkish House has to offer. There are cooking classes and other events scheduled throughout the year.

“I believe if you bring people together and break bread together, there’s no problem you cannot solve,” Kucukosman said.

For more information, call 405-593-1778 or visit online at www.raindropturkevi.org. And for more information on the Institute of Interfaith Dialog, call 405-426-5425 or visit www.interfaithdialog.org.

Copyright 2009 West Marie Media