My Time in Turkey

I recently came across an e-mail that I had written to my family when I arrived in Turkey in June of 2005. I have posted the e-mail which describes my first impressions below. Some of those impressions changed during the trip, but the sense of awe remained throughout.


You will notice that the spelling seems off; this is because I was using a Turkish keyboard and at the time I could not find the equivalent of a lowercase "i." Anyway, enjoy!


Hello from Turkey!!!

Well, I fýnally made ýt! My school, Yedýteppe Unýversýty, ýs rýght on the edge of the cýty on the Asýan sýde, about an hour away from the aýrport, so I got to see many thýngs on the way to the school. I notýced that, lýke most býg cýtýes, there are two types of areas. There ýs the rých areas, whých consýst of modern sky scrapers; beautýful and elaborate mosques; expensýve restaurants; and expensýve, European-style fashýon stores wýth advertýsements where the women are essentýally naked. Thýs sýde ýs secular, and they see Islam as a relýgýon rather than a lýfestyle, as most see Judaýsm and Chrýstýanýty ýn Amerýca. You hardly see women wearýng headcoverýngs ýn these areas, or men w/ scraggly beards.

There ýs also the poor sýde, wýth shacks and rundown buýldýngs everywhere. These areas tend to be more Islam orýented, wýth men havýýng unshaven faces and women ýn headcoverýngs {though rarely, even ýn these areas, wýll you see women ýn burkas, the full body coverýng}. In these areas Islam ýs not just somethýng you do on Frýday evenýngs ýn a mosque, but ýt dýctates most of theýr lýfe, as does Judaýsm for the Ultra-Orthodox ýn Amerýca. Though people are more relýgýous ýn these areas, that doesn't mean they are výolent or Islamýc fascýsts or antý-semýtes, just that the rules and tradýtýon of Islam play more of a role ýn theýr lýves.

One of the maýn reasons why the poorer areas may be more relýgýous and the rýcher areas are secular may be that the offýcýal polýcy of the country ýs to be secular. Thýs polýcy ýs mostly espoused ýn publýc buýldýngs (government admýnýstratýve buýldýngs, publýc unýversýtýes, etc.) where ýt ýs ýllegal for women to wear headcoverýngs. It ýs probably mostly the rých and growýng mýddle class that deal wýth the government and get educated ýn the publýc unýversýtýes, and are lýkely to be engraýned w/ the secular values anyway.

Anyway, the Unýversýty ýs on a beautýful campus that ýs only about 4 years old. The archýtectual desýgn on many of these buýldýngs ýs more elaboratel than any campus I've been to ýn the states, wýth rounded buýldýngs, huge skylýghts, and marble floors. The campus ýs very secularýzed, wýth most of the gýrls wearýng tanktops, lowcut jeans, and havýng dyed-blonde haýr. They're basýcally lýke a campus full of Chrýstýna Aguýlleras, just more tan. It aýn't so bad beýng me!

There ýs, however, somewhat of a language barrýer. Not many people speak Englýsh around here, and I don't really speak much Turkýsh yet (though I was proud of myself that I was able to say to someone ýn Turkýsh "Where ýs the Law Facýlýty," and they actually understood me. Unfortunately, I dýdn't understand the reply, and wandered around campus for an hour before I actually found ýt). But I'm pýckýng up random words here and there.

Anyway, your eyes are probably waterýng after readýng thýs letter, so I'll stop here for now. And I appologýze ýf there are a bunch of mýspellýng or ýf you can't read any of the words wýth the letter "ý" ýn ýt, as the keyboard ýs mýxed around a lýttle být and the letter "ý" on the keyboard has no dot above ýt. I have a phone ýn my room, so you can contact me, though I can't call out from that phone (and I don't have my cell phone). The number ýs: 90 [thýs ýs the country code] XXX-XXX-XXXX. I love you all, and I'll comunýcate wýth you soon.

Love,

Adam

Read More......

Now is not the time to offend Turkey

The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee is preparing the death knell for U.S.-Turkey relations. It just approved a resolution recognizing the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians in the last years of the Ottoman Empire (c. 1915) as genocide. The resolution will next move to the House floor for a full vote, and a companion piece is waiting for a vote in a Senate committee.

My argument is NOT that there was no genocide. Many historians believe a genocide occurred, though I do not know enough about the surrounding events to have a definitive opinion. If it did occur, the Armenian genocide should be
roundly condemned, though Congress must stay out of the debate.

Turkey is one of the U.S.'s historic and most important allies. There has been much focus in the media that a good portion of US supplies for the War in Iraq go through Turkey, but that's just the beginning. Turkey has been a member of the NATO military alliance since 1952, serves to moderate and mediate conflicts throughout the Middle East, and has shown the world that a country can be both predominantly Muslim and a modern democracy.

But the people of Turkey feel that they have been repeatedly slighted by the West, especially recently. Turkey applied for full membership into the European Union in 1987, and it believes xenophobia has kept them out while allowing in less developed countries such as Poland and Bulgaria. Further, while ethnic Turks on the island of Cyprus voted for peace with Greek Cypriots and were kept out of the E.U., Greek Cypriots voted against peace and yet were admitted into the E.U. Turkey also contends that the US ignored Turkish concerns when it went into Iraq, and consequently it has been a victim of a spate of terrorist bombings originating from Iraqi Kurdistan.

The events of 1915 are a sensitive subject for the Turks. In recent years Turks have been more open to examine their history, but attempts to force them to confront their past have been met with fierce resistance. If the genocide resolution passes Congress, it could burn our bridge between the West and the Muslim World.

Once again, genocide should always be condemned. If the mass murder was currently being committed, I would demand that Congress denounce the perpetrators. But it is not Congress' place to throw history into a country's face and drive away a vital American ally.

Read More......

Turkey Supports Israel

"We see Israel as our number one county that we trust, it plays a very important role in our considerations." These words were spoken not by a U.S. official, but by a representative from a Muslim country: Turkey.

In an interview with an Israeli publication, Turkish Ambassador to Israel Namik Tan spoke glowingly of the relationship between the countries. "We will do our best to help our friends in Israel. We will continue to be a real example of democracy in this troubled region, together with Israel."

His comments come as some in the West, including Israelis, have been concerned that the reelection of a religious-oriented party in the Turkish parliament could move the country away from its Western orientation. The Justice and Development Party (known by its Turkish initials "AKP") promotes the legalization of public displays of religion, such as allowing women to wear head-scarves in Turkish public buildings. That practice is currently outlawed as part of strict secular reforms put in place by modern Turkey's founder, Kemal Ataturk.

But the AKP has also been seen as pro-business, opening up the economy and overseeing annual GDP growth of 7%. Further, the AKP has vigorously enacted reforms that will allow a hoped for accession into the European Union.

Concerning questions that Israelis might not be welcome in Turkey after the recent election, Ambassador Tan responded, "Turkey will continue to be a popular destination for Israeli tourists of course, we are honored to host them in our country."

Concerning Iran, Tan stated that military intervention would not bring desired results, but that Turkey is against Iran getting nuclear weapons, and calls on the country to cooperate with the international community.

Tan also said that his country will continue attempts at facilitating talks between Israel and Syria. At this point, Syria has stated that it only wants to talk with Israel if the U.S. is involved, while Israel has stated that it only wants to talk to Syria one-on-one. Turkey would be an excellent compromise.

Read More......

Weekend News Wrapup- 7/22/07

Israel and the Palestinian Territories
PALESTINIAN Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has apparently made good on his pledge to crack down on Hamas in the West Bank. On Sunday his security services arrested 22 rival Hamas operatives in a 24-hour campaign against the terrorist group. This comes as members of terrorist groups associated with Abbas' Fatah party have pledged to end their attacks on Israel and turned in their weapons in return for being removed from Israel's wanted list. The question remains as to how many individuals have made that pledge, and whether Abbas is willing and able to enforce an end to attacks on Israel from his own party.

Syria
IRANIAN President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met in Damascus this past week with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Assad and Ahmadinejad reportedly struck a deal where Iran would fund for Syria $1 billion worth of advance weapons--including fighter jets, tanks, and missiles--and aid in Syrian nuclear and chemical weapons research. In return, Assad reportedly promised not to seek peace with Israel. Iran has denied the deal.

Turkey
EXIT Polls in Turkey's parliamentary elections show the religious-oriented Justice and Development Party [which goes by its Turkish initials "AKP"] won in a landslide against strictly secular parties. Preliminary polls give AKP 51.6%, while left-leaning Republican People's Party ["CHP"] won 15.2% and far-right National Action Party ["MHP"] won 13.7%.

The AKP is more accurately compared to the religious right in the U.S. rather than other "Islamist parties" such as Hamas in the Palestinian territories or Hezbollah in Lebanon. It is considered pro-business, and has overseen annual GDP growth of 7%. It also has worked to conform Turkish laws to fit European Union standards. But it wishes to permit more public expressions of religion in Turkey, such as allowing women to wear head-coverings in public universities or allowing politicians to publicly proclaim their faith. Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, imposed a strict separation of Mosque and State.

In recent months there has been tension between the current AKP government and the military, which considers itself the guardian of Turkish secularism. The military has initiated four coups since the 1960's; the latest occurred in 1997 when Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan was pressured to step down due to his militant Islamist views. The AKP has much milder views than Erbakan, but the military has accused the party of undermining Turkey's secular character.

In Turkish elections, voters select parties rather than candidates. The party with the most votes wins the most seats in the 550 member parliament. A party must receive at least 10% of the vote to gain seats. If a party takes more than 50% of the seats, they form the government; if no party receives an absolute majority of the seats, several parties may form a coalition government.

Read More......