For the 8th annual International Bazaar at the UAB campus, the TAAA was invited to set up tables along with many other countries, to represent the customs and traditions of Turkey. On Wednesday, January 29, 2009, the organization brought Turkish artifacts, spanning from jewelry and porcelain masterpieces to hand woven carpets and other home décor to the event. The TAAA also offered two delicious treats to visitors: locum and Turkish delight. The International Student Organization from UAB organizes the event each year.
Helping others is a major aspect of Turkish festival traditions, especially unfortunate children. One of these holidays is Ramadan. This year, the Turkish American Association of Alabama selected the organization Pathways.Pathways provides support for homeless mothers and their young children; the TAAA, along with the Turkish community, collected gifts for the children, ranging from toys to school uniforms and casual clothing. Several ladies from the TAAA came together one morning to personally give the gifts to the organization, hoping to meet the women and children they were bringing unimaginable amounts to joy to! The young mothers appreciated the gifts dearly, giving everyone who helped another successful and complete mission to help others!
The first official meeting for the TAAA took place on Sunday, January 10, 2009 to kick off the organization’s beginning. The informational meeting, open to everyone, was a big hit. Visitors from all over Alabama came to the meeting and often signed up to become members and even participated in events to introduce the younger generation to Turkish culture and promote Turkish culture in the US. The organization’s board members were introduced to everyone and they all gave a PowerPoint presentation on Turkey consisting of the agenda for the year and a bit of Turkish history. Of course Turkish music filled the Smolian International House at UAB, the building that housed the meeting.
TAAA and TSA have organized 29th October, Republic Day celebration, 86th Birthday of Turkish Republic. A presentation is shown. Ozancan Yuguran played wonderful "Klarnet". We danced, have Turkish dishes and as usual enjoyed each others companies. That was a wonderful day , a day to celebrate wonderfully.
