Before joining the field trip to Turkey, my understanding of the country was shaped mainly by my favourite novel, My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk. I imagined Turkey as a place where tradition dominated everyday life and where the cultural influence of the Ottoman Empire remained visibly strong. However, during the trip, several experiences challenged these preconceptions, especially the way Turkish society blends modern lifestyles with deeply rooted historical and religious identities. One of the most eye-opening observations came from our visit on the first day to Hagia Sophia, the historical identity of Istanbul. Seeing it with my bare eyes made me amazed by how history and religion are preserved by modern Turkey. I had imagined it as an old mosque, preserved by distance from daily life. Instead, it has an ongoing transition from a Byzantine cathedral to an Ottoman imperial mosque, now a museum with Christian mosaics, Islamic calligraphy, and historical tourism under the same dome. This observation helped me understand SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, particularly the role of heritage in functioning as inclusive public spaces. Another impactful experience was our conversation with local lecturers from İstanbul Kültür University, Kocaeli University, and Batman University on Day 2. Hearing this directly from a Turkish academic shifted my perspective on Turkish democracy. It was not simply a struggle between modernisation and tradition, but rather an ongoing process of social resilience in adapting to inflation. These discussions related to SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. During our free days, we spent time together with the Westminster students. Even though these days were less formal academically, they ended up teaching me just as much about Turkey and about cross-cultural understanding. We started map observation at the Kadıköy district. Kadıköy felt like a young, energetic, and progressive part of the city, contrasted sharply with the historic sites. Then, we caught a boat from Kadıköy to Eminönü Ferry Dock station to observe the Blue Mosque and ate iconic Turkish ice cream. And after lunch, we went to the Grand Bazaar. The Grand Bazaar is not just a tourist attraction; it is a resilient marketplace where culture, commerce, and community overlap naturally. Additionally, we used public transportation, including ferries, trams, buses, and the metro, to map our observations. This observation is closely linked to SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals. This experience helped me understand sustainable development more than the abstract descriptions I had read in books. After this trip, I now see Istanbul as a multilayered city that balances heritage and modernity, faith and secularism. My “so what” takeaway is this: sustainable development cannot be understood only through policy documents. It must also be read from architecture, public spaces, and people’s behaviour. As a law student, I see that legal and institutional development must always evolve around the historical and cultural narratives people hold, because that is what real life is.
Busakorn Methakulchai (Rally) Kasetsart University