Turkey: A Country
In Search of Itself

I’ve been back in the U.S. for a bit over a week now, and of course the obvious question everyone I know asks is, “So what was Turkey like?” Well the easy answer is, “great,” however, that doesn’t begin to answer the real question at hand. I’ve been wrestling with how to answer that question ever since I got back, and am yet to come up with an adequate answer. Comparing Istanbul to things here that people may know never seems to do it justice, for instance trying to compare Istanbul to New York City pails in comparison because Istanbul is nearly twice the size of NYC in terms of population (approximately 16 and 8 million people respectively), and probably in terms of land mass as well. Beyond that another estimated 2-3 million people commute into the city on any given day just for work, that like the entire population of Chicago coming into and leaving the city each and every day. Beyond attempting to describe the shear size of this city, the next challenge is explaining the people themselves, and this is where it gets really tricky. However, the adventure doesn’t stop there, next comes the political climate within the country, which is almost as difficult as describing the people themselves. So as I sit here sipping on my first cup of homemade Turkish coffee, here’s the short answer, Turkey is almost like two having two countries for the price of one. That is to say that, almost every time a consistency within the country begins to appear, something comes up just as quickly that stands in complete opposition to that pattern. . It doesn’t take much effort to find differences in what people say, and what they do. Everybody has these splits, weather intentional or not, they exist without question. However, when in Turkey finding these glaring hypocrisies was almost entirely unavoidable. By no means are these splits always a bad thing, in fact, its quite the opposite, they are more often amusing, or intriguing at the very least. The dichotomies that exist within the Republic of Turkey exist on every level of life, from the private / individual all the way through the state / official level. Alcohol consumption, religiosity, and politics are just a few examples of where people’s beliefs and actions differ quite drastically.

The title of our program was “When East meets West” and this title couldn’t be better suited to our experiences in Turkey. Istanbul is the both metaphorically and literally the bridge (actually there are two of them) that connects East and West. While both having a 98% Muslim population as well as being identified as being Middle Eastern, many common misconceptions are made about the country and its people. As the explained in The Middle East (2007, 3) the term Islam fails to convey the substantial differences among the many sects, nations, and cultures professing the religion. The Islamic world is no more monolithic or homogeneous than the world of Christianity.” People have come to call the United States the melting pot of the world, however, after spending three weeks there, and a lifetime here, I firmly believe that Istanbul is much better suited for that title.
So lets start with the people and work our way up. As Kinzer (2001, 59) shares a story from one of his flights from Germany to Turkey, he illustrates one of the most common rifts found within Turkish society, the interpretation of Islamic law in terms of daily life. While on the flight, a meal of cold cuts and cheese was served to the passengers. The “distinguished-looking Turkish gentleman” sitting next to Kinzer asks what kind of meat is being served with the meal, to which the stewardess replies she doesn’t know. The man responds by asking if it is possible if there is pork on the plate, and the flight attendant answers in the affirmative. At this point the man requests that the entire meal be removed from sight, because as Islam prescribes the consumption of pork is explicitly prohibited. However, when the stewardess asks if there is anything he would like to drink, the man orders red wine. As Kinzer explains, “the gentleman sitting next to me was a believer, else he would not have been repelled by the idea of pork. But the same Koran that forbids pork also forbids wine,” (2001, 60). For as subtle or inconsequential as the consumption of alcohol is, or at least as it may seem to us, when examining Turkey it cuts to the core of the hypocrisies within the country. The rift between secularism and religiosity is with out a doubt one of the most apparent conflicts within the country, both on individual levels, as explained in the story above, but on a much larger / national level as well. One of the most obvious markers of religiosity within Turkey are the women. Walking down Istiklal street one is just as likely to see women wearing the latest western fashion trends as they are to see women covered head to toe with a head scarf and a long trench jacket (which could either be just as fashion forward in terms of print and design or as traditional as possible), or even in full abaya (similar to a burqa without the face being covered).

Beyond the contrast between external displays of religiosity (both in terms of dress and in action) vs. internal beliefs, there exists a great split between how people have adapted to living in such a massive city. As with any major city traffic is a nightmare, and people’s best friends behind the wheel tend to be their horns (even at four o’clock in the morning). People seem to be in a constant state of haste, with little time to waste. Yet quite ironically, few things seem to run on time in Istanbul. In addition though, as I discovered on my first day in the city, as well as any number of other times throughout the trip, people have an incredible way of making the city disappear around them. Older men will happily spend several hours a day sitting in a nargile lounge smoking either by themselves or with a small group of friends, talking and playing backgammon. Additionally on a Sunday afternoon one will find families picnicking all along the parks that surround the shores of the Bosporus. In both of these places the congestion and noise of the city is rarely more than 100 meters away, but the second you enter the café or the park it all seems to fall away. And as Orhan Pamuk discusses how life in Istanbul is intrinsically tied to the Bosporus, he describes it as the point in the city where, “melancholy mixes with joy,” (2003, 68).
Since the mid 1800’s the land now known as Turkey, formerly the Ottoman Empire has been in a near constant state of modernization. The Tanzimat reforms are the marking point where the Ottoman Empire began to shift to a more Western mentality. One of the primary functions of the reforms was the establishment of the Supreme Council for Judicial Reform, which shifted power within the country from the, “palace to the Porte, the bureaucracy,” (Zurcher, 2004, 50). The shift was not made just in terms of political and social structures but in terms of architecture. In 1853 the Sultanate moved its residence from Topkapi Palace to Dolmabahçe Palace, and as Kinzer describes, Dolmabahçe is a , “temple of excess,” (2001, 197), (not to say that Topkapi was not just as ornate) dressed in a completely Western style, versus the very stereotypical Ottoman fashion of Topkapi.

Although the Empire had been going through a very rapid process of modernization for the last half century, the rise of the Turkish Republic and Ataturk brought forth the most extreme and significant transitions. Ataturk was responsible for changing the Turkish alphabet from and Arabic to Latin text, completely restructuring the government, but most significantly transforming it into the explicitly secular nation we now see today. However, it comes as no surprise, the Turkish government is far from perfect. As with the rift between secularism and religiosity in terms of individuals, the same dichotomy exists at the governmental level as well. Recently the Turkish government has come under intense pressure because people feel that the AK Party (the current Islamist and ruling party in the country) has diverged to far from the nations secular roots. Although Ataturk’s shift towards secularism was seen as overwhelmingly successful it was not accepted with arms wide open. As Filali-Ansary (2003, 195) discusses, for a long time secularism had been equated to both godlessness, immorality, as well as a, “disavowal of the historic identity and civilization inherited from illustrious ancestors.” Despite great initial resistance to secularism, it was not only widely accepted but is now seen as necessary. The countries current ties to its areligious political nature have actually led to a number of coups over the years, as well as the banning of Islamisist political parties as well. In the 1980 the Kemalists successfully banned the Islamist, Welfare Party, and currently there are threats being made by the Turkish Attorney General to ban the AK Party (Kinzer, 2001, 77). One of the most apparent disputes the Turkish government is now facing is the issue of the headscarf ban in universities. Although recently the AK party has managed to pass legislation allowing individual universities to make the decision to adhere to or lift the ban, the issue is still hotly contested. The primary argument surrounding the debate is that if women are allowed to cover, seculars believe that it would, “not be a step toward free choice but the beginning of a pressure campaign that would ultimately force all women to cover themselves,” (Kinzer, 2001, 75), conversely Islamists say that covering is commanded by the Qur’an, and therefore the ban is repressing their right to practice their faith.
The repression of religious freedoms however, brings us to another source of conflict within Turkey, the EU. As we learned, although official talks about Turkish ascension to the EU have been going on since 2005, Turkey has been trying to join for nearly two decades now. Although the European Union has cited numerous reasons as to why they have not been admitted yet, the issue of human-rights tends to take center stage when it comes to this debate, in addition to the countries economic problems. In addition to the ban on headscarf’s and other forms of religious expression the issue of human-rights violations with the Kurd’s in the South Eastern parts of the country tend to come up as well. As Çagaptay (2006, 1) explains the Turkish governments idea of nationalism, if your Muslim, and you’re in the country, you’re a Turk even if you don’t speak Turkish (which stands in startling contrast to the countries secular identity). The problem is that at no point throughout history have the Kurds self-identified as Turks, despite constant pressure from the government to conform. As a result of Kurdish reluctance to yield to the government, they have become subject to numerous regulations, going to the extent of even banning the Kurdish language for a period of time. In addition to the language ban, access to public services such as education was also made more difficult for Kurds. Although many of these restrictions / regulations have been repealed by the government over the last several years in an attempt to appease the EU, much of this has only been done on paper but not been done in actual practice. On the flip side of the coin regarding Turkeys acceptance to the EU, many people have become somewhat reluctant, if not out right opposed to joining. This mentality has resulted from the EU clear reluctance to allow Turkey entry, while at the same time allowing countries such as Romania, Bulgaria to enter quite easily. In addition Turk’s have also vocalized fears that part of the problem may be an anti-Muslim / anti-Eastern mentality by the clearly Judeo-Christian / Western EU.
In summation, Turkey is one of the most diverse I could ever imagine being. The dichotomies I discussed that exist within the country don’t even begin to scratch the surface of the complex world that is Turkish society. Although Turkeys government has improved by leaps and bounds, there is still a lot of room, and need, for improvement if Turkey is to continue to elevate its status on the world stage. In fact, Turkeys national football (soccer) team could be used as a perfect analogy for what needs to happen within the country itself. Watching Turkey play its last three matches of Euro 2008 it has come from behind every time to win, and that is exactly what the country needs to do in the eyes of the rest of the world. It has the ability and the talent to come out on top, it’s just a matter of them realizing their opportunity and seizing it.
And in a final message to my fellow students / travelers, I couldn’t have imagined having that experience with anyone better than you. So to you all, ŞEREFE.