REUNIONS
RA 66 Celebrates
40th Reunion
" O n my graduation day, I had d r e a m s larger than the
universe but they s o o n proved to be no better than s u m m e r
rains. Yes, I was aware of the simple recipe for s u c c e s s in
life, ambition and intuition, of which I had a lot. Yet, it was
m u c h easier said than done. The road was long and full of
hurdles. I doubted my abilities and lost trust in myself times
and again but perseverance paid its good dividends!" With
these words, my now plump c h e e k e d and grey haired class
mate s u m m a r i z e d his 40 years a b r o a d . I would not be able
to recognize him if the organizing c o m m i t t e e had not
pinned his graduation photo to his collar.
Then I began to tell him my story. Before we knew it, we
had s u r r e n d e r e d to the captivating taste of our drinks, mine wine and his, the v e r y much missed " r a k ı " . It was 7:30 P M ,
Friday evening, J u n e 16, 2 0 0 6 . Celebration of the 4 0 t h a n n i v e r s a r y of the graduation of the Class of RA 66 had begun with
cocktails on the " S e m i r a m i s I" boat over the B o s p h o r u s . Most of the graduates were there. Many had flown from various
places around the globe where they live. T h o u g h s o m e of us were meeting occasionally and seeing each other here in
Istanbul, there were quite a few w h o m we had not s e e n for forty years. The nostalgic evening c o n t i n u e d with dinner at the
"Feriye R e s t a u r a n t " in Ortaköy. We were so o c c u p i e d with s c h o o l m e m o r i e s that we did not mind our wives enjoying the
magnificent view, the delicious food and the live music. The hottest table was, of course, the bachelors' one, where also our
beloved teacher Münir A y s u was h o s t e d . E n t h u s i a s m reached its peak when the CD featuring the c a m p u s life was s h o w n . The
CD was dedicated to the eleven RA 66 graduates who had gone to eternity. Next day we gathered in the A n d e r s o n Hall study
wearing T-shirts displaying the class picture taken 40 years ago on the seats in front of that very s a m e building. As I entered
the building I breathed in deeply the beautiful scent of the past. We, who have been drifted to all walks of life throughout
these years, had gathered under the s a m e roof again joined by the mere fact of all of us being class mates in the best years
of our lives. There, Mr. Richard Reid led us through an interesting debate on the political, s o c i a l , and cultural c h a n g e s that our
c o u n t r y has gone through since 1966. Feeling s o m e w h a t d e p r e s s e d we left the A n d e r s o n Hall but the m o m e n t we got on
board of the boat which was going to take us to the hotel in Heybeliada we m a n a g e d to c h e e r up a g a i n . " M e r i t Halki Palas
H o t e l " was an architectural beauty with a majestic a t m o s p h e r e but it did not meet our expectations about being e m b r a c e d by
y o u n g and hot beauties as we entered our r o o m s . Nevertheless, each and every one of us enjoyed the dinner at the pool side
and the " m a v r a " over the night.
Our motto for this reunion was "kırk yılda bir" so the organizing c o m m i t t e e , had wanted it to be v e r y s p e c i a l . It turned out
to be very special indeed not because it was extravagant and spendthrift but because it was a R E U N I O N of the hearts filled
with the love and joy of those beautiful old times. As a m e m b e r of the Class of 6 6 , I enjoyed every m o m e n t of it and as a
m e m b e r of the organizing committee, it was worth every effort. When would we dare do it again? Only time can tell...
Contributed by Rıfat Tokyay RA 66
Class of ACG 71 - 35 at Heart
Yes!! We all felt 35 at heart at our 35th reunion this year!
J u l y 1-2 was a special weekend for the class of A C G 71. C o m i n g from all over the world for this o c c a s i o n , we
e m b r a c e d each other with affection and joy.
From A n k a r a c a m e Ferhunde Us, S o l m a z Dora, Meral Pinar. From A n t a l y a Nimet Kalkay; From Izmir Sevinc
Bozok and from B o d r u m Füsun Doruker
From U S A c a m e Perlette Abuisak, Lale Gerçel and Marie Kibrityan; From G e r m a n y Banu Yakar; From
S w i t z e r l a n d ; Bibis (Simone) A d a t o ; From UK Elian Acıman and from Greece Ekaterini Köseoğlu
From Istanbul/Milan and 5 c o u n t r i e s that she has to visit each m o n t h , c a m e N e r i m a n Tar
A n d those of us living in Istanbul A l t h o u g h s o m e of us see each other occasionally, this was different.
After the meeting on the f a m o u s steps of Gould Hall, the group p r o c e e d e d to a beautiful boat for dinner on
the B o s p h o r u s where each one of us was greeted with a red rose sent by Kubilay, husband of Gülay A y b a r l a s
Dörter. Kubilay was n o m i n a t e d and selected a " h u s b a n d of A C G 71".
We spent the night in the d o r m . The living room in the d o r m was filled with laughter, tears and e m o t i o n that
night.
Breakfast at Bizim Tepe the next m o r n i n g was c r a s h e d by s o m e "breakfast c r a s h e r " husbands. We got the
chance to meet Marie Kibrityan's husband and two children who c a m e f r o m the U S A . Hülya O z a r ' s daughter,
who lives in Italy, was also there. But the most touching surprise was to see the baby grand-daughter of Nadire
Hattatoğlu who passed away so y o u n g .
Throughout the weekend the greatest activity was talking: We talked all at once or in groups or tete-a-tete
because we were so eager to catch up with each other.
We r e m e m b e r e d with s o r r o w those of us w h o m we lost. We were c o n c e r n e d about those who were sick. G o o d
news of children made us happy for each other. We realized with joy that s o m e of us are already g r a n d m o t h e r s .
A n d of course we took pictures! Literally hundreds of t h e m . We are s h a r i n g the pictures with each other and
with those who wish to see the m e m o r i e s of this wonderful weekend at http://photos.yahoo.com/s_bibioglu.
Contributed by Şafak Uzunova Bibioğlu ACG 71
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