To reflect on the reflections, (pun fully intended), I would say that the net experience was positive, in terms of the ability to reinforce the knowledge and experiences I related during the assignments. However, I would say that, at least to me, there seemed to be a hard time justifying the point system that correlated with the length of the passages that I wrote during the semester. For only 1 point, it seemed to me that some of the effort I put into the writing was too much, as I found myself, especially for the Book reflections and analysis of the contemporary issue in Turkey, to be spending too much time compiling evidence and examples with my own comments. As a result, they seemed to be too long for only 1 point in the grade-book, which I could have re-purposed in the time perspective to focus on other aspects of the course, as well as other classes in the busy timeline of a college student. Potentially, there could be a varying point system for the reflections, with correspondingly variant length requirement for the reflections. For the Latife Tekin book analysis, Kapka Kassabova book analysis, the contemporary issues assignment, and maybe others, the length requirement, due to the innate necessity of book or article analysis, could be longer and be associated for more points. In the reverse, some of the reflections could remain at 1 point with only 1 double-spaced page requirement that won’t force the student to needlessly extend arguments and points to meet some arbitrary word or page standard.

However, in terms of the rest of the course, I have very little to say in terms of the improvements department, as I felt my experience was very entertaining and enlightening, especially as a person who seeks to rediscover his Turkish heritage and culture to some extent. The lectures were tailored to the interests of the students, which was a refreshing trait to see in a college course, considering many are strictly structured to facilitate the provision of technical definitions, jargon, and examples deemed important by only the professors. Also, the use of documentaries, relevant cultural movies, and class experiences/trips helped to make the small classroom always seem busy and active. However, one general comment I would have revolves around something that I am sure everyone is already aware needs work for following semesters, which is the management of time. I understand that there are countless things, whether juggling several classes, having to communicate with a foreign university, or organizing a research survey for student, that influence the ability to conduct things in a timely manner. But I am confident that the experience from this semester will help build on the necessary organization to best time things for the future, so I know that any faults this semester will definitively help future students, which makes me appreciative of working through the semester (as well as Dr. Schoon and Dr. McClimans having the patience to work with everyone throughout the struggles). Having said all that, I have had an amazing time in Turkish 2241, and I hope that I can transfer everything that I have learned to future trips to Turkey and visitations with my family.

Now that the year is ending, not academically but quite literally, it is appropriate to reflect on some of my takeaways from Turkish 2241, which has advanced my cultural awareness of a country that has a deep connection to my Turkish lineage.

To begin, I would like to consider my gained awareness of some of the contemporary issues that the country faces, as they are the most pressing. Prior to the class, I did not have enough of the initiative to stay up to date on many of the current news coming out of Turkey, and relating to Turkey. First and foremost, it was slightly concerning to hear about the immigration problem that Syrian people are facing, as it has completely ostracized those that are attempting to pass through Turkey into Bulgaria almost as criminals. Furthermore, on the southern border of Turkey (with Syria) there is the terrible fighting with the Syria-based Kurdish forces that were instrumental in the fight against ISIS (in cooperation with the United States). However, this is not necessarily surprising, as Turkey has had a firm negative stance towards the Kurdish people for almost 100 years now. Finally, it will be interesting to see the political landscape of Turkey in the upcoming years, as the increasingly contentious standing of President Erdogan and the AK party may become too much for the country to allow without some resolutions.

Next, speaking of people that were important to the country of Turkey, I had never heard of Mustafa Kemal, Ataturk, before beginning the class, even though my parents and grandparents are Turkish. To my shock, the formal nationhood of Turkey began in 1923, and it was headed by Ataturk, who actually had a very different approach to the direction of the country than I knew Turkey to be in the past. I had at least previously known that Turkey is a primarily Muslim country and that there are certain semblances of the past Ottoman history that are retained to today. As such, it was surprising to learn that Ataturk was the person who radically secularized the country during the early 1900s, in an attempt to make Turkey catch up to the seemingly technological and societally advanced nations of the West. During this time, he would revolutionize the alphabet, take hints of religion out of the public (headscarf banned during his “rule”), and make massive government and lifestyle changes more akin to Western society.

To continue, I would like to talk about some of the Cold War era knowledge that I gained that was relevant to Turkey and the surrounding countries, as it is something that I have heard from my parents. Supplemented by the reading of Kapka Kassabova’s “Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe”, I was able to learn of the historical significance of the Iron Curtain that seemed to loom over Bulgaria and the Bulgarian-Turkish border. During the time, there was an almost obsessive effort to keep people from crossing over to Turkey, and it resulted in an unstable time of ruthless state-sponsored military action, espionage against normal citizens, and general uneasiness in the Bulgarian population.

Next, I would like to discuss those people that have been subjected to the shanty towns that are spread throughout the massively industrializing nation of Turkey. After reading “Berji Kristin: Tales from the Garbage Hills”, which was a genre-defining work by Latife Tekin, I was able to gain a unique perspective of the disparity experienced in Turkey, especially between the richer corporate figures and those that live off the garbage and scraps of society (literally and metaphorically). Historically, and today, there has been a disconnect between the rich/high power position population and the poor/migrant/minority population of Turkey, where there seems to be whole sub-cultures that exist on the humble provisions that people in shantytowns come across through minimal wage work and other opportunities.

Finally, I was able to learn about a somewhat recent occurrence in Turkey, and it was the Gezi Park protests. Although it was an accumulation of tensions against the AK party and their seeming disregard when it came to certain landmarks, environmental concerns, and societal issues, the Gezi Park protests were sparked by the urban development plan to tear down key sections of Gezi Park. It was essentially a modern-day tragedy in a civilized nation, and it marked the recognition of a militant attitude towards an initially peaceful and positively-minded movement. As an important contextual piece, it is crucial to know that during the time there was additional controversy over a third bridge over the Bosporus river, which would further deforest and environmentally harm Turkey, which was drawn in somewhat parallel to the fears of those protesting at the Gezi Park Protests.

To conclude, I would like to briefly recognize three things that I would like to have explored further had the time been there throughout the semester. First, I would like to have expanded upon the Arabesque and Gezi Park Protest music that was highlighted during the music lectures, and taken a broader look at the prevailing genres and any accompanying social movements. Second, even though we briefly discussed the general government scheme and how it has evolved over time, I would have liked to delve deeper into the structure of the government, and the power of certain branches and government-associated organization. Finally, it would have been interesting to investigate some of the economics of Turkey, specifically in its interaction with the global market and management of unemployment and business in the country. However, I found almost everything learned throughout the semester to be useful and interesting, and I look forward to applying some of my new knowledge with my family and potential future trips to Turkey.

In an article published on November 18^th, 2019 by The Brookings Institution, Ömer Taşpınar reported on the recent trip that President Erdogan took to the United States to have a conversation with President Trump and several Republican senators. As an important pretext before beginning to analyze the article, it is necessary to give a brief introduction to the author, whose opinions on the matter may impact the objectivity of the article. Ömer Taşpınar is a “nonresident senior fellow in the Center on 21st Century Security and Intelligence and an expert on Turkey, the European Union, Muslims in Europe, political Islam, the Middle East, and Kurdish nationalism. He is a professor at the National War College and an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies.” He has done extensive research on Turkey and surrounding countries, and his credibility has been vetted by organizations such as NBC, CNBC, CBS, and CNN. As such, there should not be too great of a concern that the information provided in the article is significantly altered or presented in a way that would mislead the audience.

The article, titled “Turkey’s Erdoğan scores a pyrrhic victory in Washington” (pyrrhic means that the victory came at a great cost), addresses the recent meeting that President Erdogan had with President Trump, which primarily revolved around the recent Turkish acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile defense system. As a NATO ally, the purchase of such a defense system from Russia, who is a definitive adversary of the United States, increased tensions between the two countries that have persisted since the Armenian Genocide Resolution and the recent fighting with the Syrian Kurds. Unfortunately for Turkey, it seems that they are stuck in a dangerous middle ground between the United States and Russia, where Russia has military might in the northern region of Syria, which would destabilize Turkish forces and land holdings. On the other hand, the United States has entered several pieces of legislation into the process of being accepted that would place economic sanctions on Turkey, starving them out in a time when unemployment is high, inflation is high, and the currency is relatively weak. Furthermore, the ease with which Turkey can assimilate to United States’ wishes is not easy in any way, since the country of Turkey has a long-lasting feud with the Kurdish people who have tried to claim land that they believe is rightfully theirs for years. This puts the United States in a difficult position because the Kurdish forces were instrumental in fighting back against ISIS through most of the 2010s.

The specific topic of the Kurdish people came up during the meeting as well, where an article titled “Erdogan shows anti-Kurdish video to senators at White House” on BBC News addressed a different aspect of the conversation between President Erdogan and President Trump (who had Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, and several other Senators). As articulated in the article, President Erdogan attempted to show an anti-Kurdish video to the room, which was filled with the very Senators that were actually outspoken against President Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from the Northern Syrian region, and who supported the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. It was these very forces that were instrumental in the fight against ISIS, which was a drawn-out battle campaign that severely injured/killed approximately 10,000 Kurdish troops. There were heated debates between the senators and President Erdogan of the status of the Syrian Kurds, and the conversation depicted the deep divide that still exists between Turkey and the United States, even though we are allies. This relationship was expertly depicted through images in both articles, which had seemingly constructive and hospitable conversations between both parties. However, the images did not tell the full story of the disagreements in countless military, social, and economical policies that separate Turkey and America from seeing completely eye to eye. Furthermore, the articles seemed to have a slightly anti-Turkish mentality, not necessarily denouncing their actions, but suggesting ways that they should be acting, instead of running their current course of policy and goals. To conclude, it is encouraging that Turkey and American are attempting to communicate in the face of cooperation with adversaries, looming sanctions, and human rights issues in the foreground, but it is evident that there must be a continued effort by both countries to compromise and work together for the people that live in both nations.

I have several questions, feel free to answer as many as you want, for my peers in Turkey. First, what has the news coverage been like about President Erdogan’s trip to America, and what the takeaways were from the trip? Also, on some of the issues from the meetings, like sanctions, deals with Russia, and fighting with Syrian Kurdish troops in Northern Syria, what is the general opinion of the public on some of these problems? Finally, have students, such as yourselves, done any research on the state of the economy of Turkey, as it seems that sanctions are being proposed to target some weakness in Turkey’s current economy?

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2019/11/18/turkeys-erdogan-scores-a-pyrrhic-victory-in-washington/

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50424362

Today, there are many countries following the lead of those at the forefront of technological and societal modernity, including Turkey, a country that has had a rapid cultural and societal shift towards modernizing their relatively new nation to match the benchmark set by countries such as the United States. In an effort to meet the demands of a global market, Turkey has spared no expenses to increase the inter-connectivity of their country to best facilitate trade, tourism, and business. However, this focus on the material side of life has left an impoverished minority population in Turkey to fend for themselves, and that is the people that live in shanty towns (gecekondu) and fight everyday to work jobs at the lowest rates to live in their makeshift homes. In her book, Berji Kristin: Tales from the Garbage Hills, Latife Tekin essentially put a specific genre into the mainstream literature market in Turkey, placing the shanty town in the driver’s seat. After reading the book and absorbing the unique attributes and style of magical realism that accentuated the lives of those in the shanty towns, I will detail my opinions and insights about the book that I read.

To begin, I would like to preface that I had relatively high standards for the book before reading a single word, as I have had a significant encounter with a book centered around the stylistic intrigues of magical realism. Specifically, my interaction with the genre occurred in high school, where I was assigned to read One Hundred Years of Solitude, which was Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ Nobel Prize winning novel detailing a fictional rural town in South America. Having cemented itself as one of my favorite books of all time, I was coming into Tekin’s take on the genre with high hopes, both for a strong tribute to the potential of magical realism, as well as the information that it can uncover if it took full advantage of the breadth of creative liberty that the writing style allowed the author. For the most part, I enjoyed Tekin’s dive into creating her own subsection of the genre, specifically pertaining to shanty towns in Turkey, which inherently had a political undertone due to its presentation (no matter how true) of the authorities that controlled the ability of the people that had been forgotten by Turkey’s industrialization to live their lives. There were many interesting characters, such as Gullu Baba, Mother Kibriye, Garbage Grocer (later Garbage Chief), Liver Man, Fidan, and many other whimsical personalities. The story took the approach of delving into the lives of quite a few characters, to portray the entire dynamic of people living on the garbage hills (literally) where the shanty towns were set up. This was done instead of the alternative, which would have been to follow the story of one person or family throughout their journey on Flower Hill, later Foundation Hill. I appreciated the contribution every character made to the development of the overall identity of Flower Hill, where, for example, the transition from the early days to the end of the book could be seen in the impact of certain people over the town. One such case was that of Gullu Baba, whose otherworldly predictions of the future, as well as the curing of people with mystical treatments, swayed the early settlers to rely on his judgement heavily in many matters of the town. However, as the town continued to develop, through the help of those such as Mr. Isaac and Garbage Grocer who sought to employ the townspeople in factories (Mr. Isaac) and better equip the town with electricity and water (Garbage Grocer), the opinions of the earlier settlers began to fade. Furthermore, I applaud Tekin for not taking an approach where the entire group of people living on Flower Hill found themselves a part of a cohesive unit against the tyranny of the enemies that are exploiting revolutionary business practices at their cost. Instead, there were many conflicts within the town, such as the case of revolt against Garbage Grocer (temporary at least) after it was found out that he agreed to do side-dealings with Kurd Cemal. Additionally, Tekin stayed true to the cruel treatment of women in families that lived in rural areas, where the beating of wives is not always the easiest to reprimand and enforce justice upon.

However, despite my amusement of the stories of all of the different characters, I do have criticisms of some of the things I came across during the reading. For instance, having established that I came into the reading with high expectations, I was not fully satisfied with the extent to which the story played off the more magical elements, such as the wind having a role rumor spreading and fear inciting. To me, elements such as the wind, howling of the factories, blue water (which seemed to obviously be chemically treated water as the town was near a chemical factory), and others, seemed to be excuses (in some cases) to forego additional explanation and leave the reader with a mystical replacement instead. Also, there were many characters who, after being introduced, were never resolved in any meaningful manner. An example of this would be Sirma, who, after having a defining role in giving a name and face to the grief felt by the early settlers towards the frustrating tenacity of the Garbage Owner constantly demolishing their makeshift homes, simply disappeared from the book. Not only characters such as this were forgotten in a dissatisfying manner, but the plot near the end of the book also took a very simplistic and “time to wrap it up” route.

To conclude, I would briefly like to summarize some insights I have gained about life on the periphery, where the government and businesses only seems to care when the potential for monetary gain arises on the land you have lived on for years. There was a consistent commentary on the impact of industrialization, especially with hastily built and employed factories along roads of commerce. Throughout the book, there were several strikes by the workers of the linen, chemical, refrigerator, and other factories, that had the severe realization almost every time that they had very little say on their conditions and pay. Furthermore, the diversity of people that usually frequented the garbage hills was typically minority populations, in addition to those that were outright too poor to live in villages and apartments. With the national emphasis of the bridges in Turkey that have accelerated globalization of business and economy, the people in shanty towns have existed as the resource of the country to fulfill the jobs that people don’t want, at wages people are usually unwilling to work at under normal conditions. This has created a significant divide between the rich class of Turkish businessmen, who are disillusioned with the idea that they are being charitable to those that would not acquire jobs anywhere outside of their factories and low paying commercial jobs, and the poor, who live day-to-day on a lifestyle of survival, instead of enjoying life’s bounties. While I have not lived in conditions anywhere near that described in the book, my visits to my grandparents, who live in a somewhat rural village in Turkey, has allowed me to realize some of the interpersonal dynamics and group culture that exists in small pockets of the country.

Luckily for Columbus, there has been a way to become introduced to, as well as have exciting inter-cultural interactions, with the people and culture of Turkey. I will explore several areas of commercialism that the Turkish people in Columbus have employed to educate, as well as entertain, those that are interested in some of the specifics of different commodities and practices of Turkey. Additionally, these same locations can exist as places of comfortability and safety for traveling or immigrating Turkish people in the Columbus area, who would otherwise feel alienated by the unfamiliarity of their surroundings. Having paid homage to the all-encompassing value of these locations to people both familiar and foreign to the culture of Turkey, the following Turkish locations in Columbus will be explored in further detail: the Turkish American Society of Ohio, Café Istanbul, Karavan.

First of all, the group that has had the most impact on the local Columbus community, concerning the proliferation of Turkish culture to non-native Turkish people, is the Turkish American Society of Ohio (TASO). What is amazing about TASO, is that they have integrated the most marketable aspect of any culture, the food, into yearly events and cooking classes, which entice people and shine a light on to their organization. After gaining a following of those who appreciate the amazing tastes of the delights and common dishes of Turkey, TASO has the ability to motivate people to delve deeper into culture and language by taking one of their weekend classes. While these classes may seem a way for people, such as myself, to become reacquainted, or strengthen their connection with, the Turkish culture, they are also a perfect opportunity for any people have piqued their interest with Turkey to attempt to learn some more information. Not only do these classes provide a venue of education for many people, but the TASO website provides basic Turkish geographic, historical, and factual information that can give brief glimpses into a country that is not necessarily the most popular. Most significantly, they have a large Food Festival that is an amazing fusion of Turkish cuisine in a festival setting. Specifically, setting up an event such as this is the perfect way to stir up the Columbus melting pot of cultures, as it is a really approachable event, and promotes an uplifting (not to mention delicious) experience.

Moving forward, I will now introduce another great element of the Turkish experience in Columbus, which is Café Istanbul, the most popular Turkish restaurant in Columbus. While it is a little harder to extrapolate a grand motive for Café Istanbul for furthering the Turkish identity in Columbus, their effect is still noticeable and significant. In my personal experience communicating to those that are unfamiliar to certain cultures, it is generally the easy to advertise factors of a country or culture that are easiest to initiate conversations and expanding of cultural knowledge. Thus, it is important that there is a mainstream commercialization of some easy to market Turkish item, in this case food, that at least raises eyebrows about the background of Turkey and its people. Furthermore, Café Istanbul has a greater ability to dive a little deeper into sensationalizing their food than TASO, as it is their main focus and allows them the creative liberty to enhance dishes in a restaurant environment to truly hook new people into the complex work of Turkey.

Finally, there is a antique/novelties store in Columbus called Karavan, that sells a wide variety of goods, including the following: lamps, ceramics, jewelry, shoes and boots, talismans, books and purses, and some “odd” items. They provide a great way to view some of the traditional art and styles that influence the items of Turkey, which are marvelously displayed in the store. Visiting stores such as these are generally really entertaining to people, as it exposes them to cool trinkets and traditional items that are not only fun to look at, but may actually spark an interest to investigate and look more into the country that produces such curious pieces of work. Not only Karavan, but also Café Istanbul and TASO all contribute significantly to the local Columbus economy and diversification of culture, and deserve more light on their availability to the public. To conclude, there are several outlets that people can experiment with to gain some taste, in some cases quite literally, of the Turkish culture, and I would encourage people to try visiting some of the amazing resources here in Columbus.

After recent increases in the tension between Turkey and the global community, especially its bordering countries, there is a heightened relevance of films and novels that detail borders and the interactions of people between different countries. Accordingly, The Good Postman and Border by Kapka Kassabova (including her talk), while themselves containing informative content that enriches one’s knowledge about relatively delicate topics when it comes to border and inter-country politics, provide consumers of the content to draw parallels to contemporary issues occurring as we speak. However, before attempting to state generalized opinions on the relationship between borders and their representation of nationalistic ideals and limitations on the communication between countries, I will briefly discuss my thoughts and takeaways from the short film The Good Postman and Border: A journey to the Edge of Europe by Kapka Kassabova.

First, I would like to dive into some of the interesting messages and imagery that were displayed during the course of the film The Good Postman, which I thought masterfully depicted the general feeling of hopelessness and inevitability that heavies the air in border towns.  The movie followed the story of a small town on the Turkish-Bulgarian border, in which the main plot drivers were the local elections and the pressing issue of Syrians passing through the town to cross the border. It first interesting to see the split in the local community in terms of their outlook toward the Syrian refugees, where there was a distinct different between those that believed they were exploiting the hospitality of the town and those that believed the younger Syrian population could be the cure to the disease in the town. However, the disease was nothing within the realm of expertise of a doctor, but instead a societal plague in which the border towns were abandoned by the Turkish government, and the primarily older population could see the imminent death that accompanied the grim prognosis of this disease. One of the major contributors, it seemed, to the dissent of the Syrians by one of the main characters, was that his belief that they were simply leeching of the culture and resources of the town, and provided nothing of substance to a dying border location. I interpreted this to be a direct result of the age of the local townspeople, many of whom did not want to evolve to the changing times at their point in life, and would rather have stuck to “the way things were”. This specifically manifested in many nostalgic and melancholy statements by many characters stating that the town used to be a hotspot for entertainment and events that brought people to the town in masses. These sentiments built a wall between those that wanted nothing to do with the Syrians and those, like the other primary male character that was a friend of the other protagonist, that wanted to try to help both Syrians and the townsfolk by collaborating. Essentially, this idea became the driving force between the differences between the two campaigns run by the gentleman to win the seat of mayor of the town, wherein their friendship could not resolve this difference in ideology. Interestingly, while their competition seemed to be at the forefront of the film, there was always the looming presence of the current lackluster and non-caring mayor’s dominance of the voting population of the town. She was a younger female mayor that seemed to embody the haughty attitude of a city-dweller that was doing a charitable thing by being the mayor for a rundown town by the border. Met with frustration, the mayor, even after her inevitable win of the election that ironically brought the two friends closer than separate, always answered policy questions with “I don’t know” and “I don’t care”. This presented a stark difference between a person that was simply performing a job, and the two friends that actually cared about the fate of the town. As the film proceeded, news of the dangers of Syrian trafficking and smuggling softened the hearts of many townsfolk that could not believe the atrocities that the Syrian people had to face to flee oppression. These snippets culminated in a powerful ending scene in which the Postman, the main character that sympathized with the Syrians from the beginning, deliberately did not report Syrian people crossing the border into Bulgaria to the border police. Taking small actions like these, to support the fight of those who have experienced nothing but fear and pain, became a direct consequence for many people along the border who realized they were powerless to affect larger social issues through local government positions that had already been taken hold by a willfully arrogant youth population.

Moving forward, I would like to discuss some of my takeaways from our Turkish 2241 reading of Kapka Kassabova’s Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe, in addition to some topics discussed during the talk with Kassabova. Opposite to the film that we viewed, the book began on the Bulgarian side of the Turkish-Bulgarian border (although locations in Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey were all in the book), which was inspired by the author’s desire to revisit the country where her family originated. Throughout the novel, there was a wide range of topics that are brought up and analyzed, commonly highlighted due to its presence at the location that Kassabova found herself at during her journey. However, there was an interesting pair of comparisons made that always persisted during the book, and it was that of the current state of things and the state of the locations, customs, or ideologies during the Communist control of Bulgaria and other parts of Europe, known as the Iron Curtain. The very first differences in time could be experience in the Red Riviera, wherein the previously cloudy (no matter the if it was sunny or warm) beach and collection of local beach town attractions represented the lavish indulgences of the members and supporters of the communist party. Furthermore, it was a location filled with paranoia, as many German and other political refugees typically passed through the area to get to the border. As a result, there were always spies and undercover agents testing people and trying to persuade locals to out people that they though suspicious. Now, the spot is hot for tourism, as it provided the perfect vacation location for beach excitement and entertaining local restaurants and stores. While a product of globalization of markets, the easing of the Iron Curtain was the NECESSARY development in the progression of economic markets and social freedom of movement and lifestyle choices. Interestingly, as the journey heads towards the border, the reminiscent Communist ideologies and culture seem to re-emerge in towns such as the Village in the Valley that line the mystical forest of Strandja, where older generations can directly recall the impact they witnessed of the harsh treatment of refugees and political enemies by Soviet border guards and soldiers. Specifically, one of the patrons of The Disco, was a younger border guard that Kassabova recognized when she encountered this guard with an older compatriot on border duty, who she learned was specifically involved in the murder of countless people who attempted to cross the border. Interestingly, it was the younger individual, who had not been through much of the Soviet instructed border patrolling and policies, that was stricter and tougher on Kassabova, while the older individual who had experience and participated in horrific acts had become lackadaisical to those that might be trying to cross the border. It was spectacular to read, as well as when it came up in Kassabova’s talk, that with the fire rituals, the conspiracy of the Tomb of Bastet, and the myths concerning drinking from water springs a certain number of times as well as fire dragons flying through the sky (among others), there seems to be a distinct culture along the border that is separate from the two countries that the border separates. One of the most modern representations of the border traveling commonalities could be analyzed during Kassabova’s travels between Svilengrad and Edirne, where her travels with Ventsi and Emel enlightened her to not only the stark difference between the gambling/pleasure haven of Svilengrad and the family-friendly/marketplace extravaganza environment in Edirne, but also the ease with which people that often travel the border can pass through, relative to the EXTREME difficulty during Soviet rule. During her time in some of these more modern cities in Bulgaria and Turkey, she was able to interact with some Syrian and Kurdish refugees that are escaping the prevailing fighting in the Middle East (still occurring today), that really brings things full circle all the way to today. After Turkey’s extremely aggressive decision to attack the Kurdish people after the United States formally pulled out from the region, the migrant crisis, as well as human rights issues, began to come to the forefront of global news.

This recent news, as well as the checkered history of the border between Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, and in this case Syria, brings to light the prioritization of the state, over any overarching human rights or global appeasement perspective for turkey. They are essentially practicing a hybrid form of isolationism, where they are not necessarily denouncing cooperativity with other countries, but by their actions, are alienating themselves from the shared ideologies and agreements of other nations. The heightened tensions between Turkey and neighboring countries has reinvigorated the Turkish-Bulgarian border, where the direction of flow is now towards Bulgaria, instead of during the Iron Curtain where the flow of people was to Turkey. I don’t believe that this focus on state sovereignty will benefit Turkey in the long run, as there has already been global backlash towards their military actions, and while no direct legal or diplomatic consequences have been experienced by the Turkish people, the potential for tariffs, the likelihood of rejection in the EU accession process, as well as potential escalation of fighting to a full-blown war exists as dangers that stem from modern Turkish isolationism (in a way). To conclude, the state of the border, as well as relationships between several countries surrounding Turkey, will be interesting to watch for in the upcoming future, as rich historical precedents in the area, concerning the border, will always exist as undertone to history (as presented by Kassabova and the film) that is yet to be written in the region.

For the comic I decided to analyze, I acquired the image from the comic series Uykusuz in the July 8th to August 8th edition. Specifically, the comic I chose to examine was created by Umut and Ersin, and depicts a political commentary about President Erdogan and the AK party. Taking the picture at face value, the image shows President Erdogan struggling through a practice test question from a common university entrance exam about circuits, with an adviser or party member coming to get him or make a statements to the president. After translation, the presidential aid/party member is coming to tell Erdogan that he is essentially too focused on the problem he is working on and is ignoring other pressing issues around him that go past his party-centered worries. Then, the comic shows two internal dialogue bubbles where Erdogan first is stressing the importance of turning on the bulb or keeping it on and shining. This is significant because the light bulb apparently exists as the symbol for the AK party, so it demonstrates Erdogan working diligently to keep the party moving forward through political controversy. Before addressing a possibility for this political issue that may have caused this comic, the final thought bubble says something along the lines of Erdogan wanting to eat raisins to become smarter. Similar to how it is told to young kids in America that eating walnuts or other brain foods will increase intelligence, raisins seem to be a similar source of brain nutrition, so the comic seems to be insulting the intelligence of Erdogan by implying he needs to eat some to rely on a trivial way of becoming smarter. As for the inspiration for this negative portrayal of Erdogan, 2008 appeared to be a time where the AK party was being indicted and brought to constitutional court for attempting to undermine the secular constitution of Turkey. These are just some basic conclusions I have drawn from quick research, so I would love to learn more from my peers in Turkey about some other issues, cultural images, and ideas that this comic portrays.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17994865

While it has become somewhat of an outdated statement to attract tourists, the quote, “Turkey is the bridge between East and West”, stands as a constant symbolism for the belief that Turkey is not necessarily East, nor is it West. A significant factor in this sentiment, at least in the way I have interpreted the knowledge I have gained about the historical and modern characteristics of the country, is that Turkey’s prevalent reintegration of time-tested beliefs and cultural practices has challenged people’s opinions on the identity of the relatively new country. Specifically, the emergence of a renewed effort to embrace Islam as a majority Muslim country has become a norm in the AK party dominated Turkish society. For Turkey, religion is a hallmark in the development and controversy behind the country, from a dominant Ottoman empire that was ruled by religious caliphates headed by the sultan, to the Kemalist reform times during Ataturk’s era, a checkered history of varying religious affiliation has characterized Turkey.

In the classical reign of the Ottoman empire over portions of three continents (Asia, Europe, and Africa), the leadership was characterized by a highly religious caliphate that was typically the sultan of the empire. The culture reflected a devotion to the Islamic faith, where the very journey to Mecca was a sort of end-of-life commitment that signaled the last time a person would see their family. Furthermore, much of the attire and public practices of women were strictly dictated by the tenants of Islam, which were visible through the conservative dress and politeness of pious Muslim women during the Ottoman empire. Furthermore, the intimacy of a partner could only be expressed within the Harem, a word that has been astoundingly twisted to mean a sort of over-sexualized party of women meant to satisfy every whim of the sultan. Instead, it simply is meant to denote the private section of the home where the sultan, or head of the house, is isolated from the outside world and can be most intimate and “real” with their partner or family. However, after Ataturk took control of the newly formed Turkey, the country transitioned to a brief period of intense focus on secularism and somewhat a suppression of the Islamic identity of the country. During this time, the population experienced a major transition to a “Western” style of life, where the language departed from the Arabic (language of the Quran) and Persian influenced language to a more Latin-focused system. Furthermore, women were forced to denounce their public commitments to Islam and had to take off all Hijabs and traditional Islamic headwear to fit into a developing Turkish nation. The culture of Turkey, at a unique state where not every person believed and supported the recent Kemalist programs, was experiencing a fusion of suppressed dissent and fervent support, which created great tension in daily life. However, after the AK party took control in 2002, Turkey began moving back toward a country that embraces its Islamic roots, which hearken back to the days of the Ottoman empire. Even though the majority (~98 %) of Turkey is Muslim, the recent renewal of a seemingly Islamic state has brought with it increased confusion of the Turkish identity, which has been accompanied with disapproval of those that idolize Ataturk and his secularist reforms. It remains a question to how much religious influence the AK party will return to the country, and where the direction of the country will be in the future.

As for what I have learned through the process of becoming exposed to the history and defining characteristics of Islam, I can confidently say that I have learned a great deal. Although my Turkish family is Muslim on paper, we are among the population that still live in Turkey that were named Muslim at birth but do not heavily practice or follow the Pillars of Islam. Speaking of the Pillars of Islam, I was unaware of the specific pillars before our lecture material about Islam in my Turkish 2241 class, and I was surprised to see that there are two categories with five pillars in each. There are the five Pillars of Faith (A singular God [Allah], a sequence of prophets, a series of revelations, a host of angels, and resurrection, judgment, Heaven & Hell) and five Pillars of Practice (Testimony of Faith (Shahada), Prayer (Salat), Almsgiving (Zakah), Fasting (Sawm), Ramadan, The Greater Pilgrimage (hajj), and Jihad). Furthermore, even though I had heard that Jihad is not exactly as described by Western media, it was illuminating to hear that in addition to fighting for Islam (which media has twisted to terrorism), Jihad also means fighting your inner demons. While prayer was not a surprise to me, it was interesting to learn that there is qibla, the direction in which pious Muslims pray, which is the direction of Mecca. To ensure that the correct form of prayer is followed, there are areas in the home and mosques where specific markers are built in to inform the practicing Muslim of the direction they should pray, such as the Mihrab (niche in a wall that demonstrate qibla). During further reading, it was exciting to expand my knowledge on the variation in the forms of prayer as well as the contemporary issues in modern Islam. For example, it peaked my interest that dating, instead of following family enforced partners and marriage, is a relatively new occurrence to those that are pious Muslims (especially women).

To conclude, I will briefly recall one of my few experiences with religion, specifically Islam, that was significant enough to remember. While I was in middle school, my family visited Turkey to visit our family (on both my mother’s and father’s side), and I was surprised to be woken up by loud religious prayer music during the morning. Since my experience with religion prior to that day was in the religiously free culture of the United States, it was strange to hear the entire town engrossed in prayer by direction of the communication system. Having studied a little about Islam, the prayer does not seem out of the ordinary in any way, instead it is a religious norm upheld by devoted Muslims, and should be expected in many rural and urban settings where the practice of religion is extremely commonplace. To this day, among many other reasons, I would like to revisit Turkey to gain a much less ignorant perspective of the various aspects of Turkish life, one of them being Islam, that I can re-explore as an educated adult that won’t have the adolescent-minded naivety to unfairly question things around me that are not familiar.

The minute that I signed into the free trial for the beginner Turkish language assigned by my Turkish Culture class, I was immediately met with words and phrases that I have encountered through listening to conversations between every member of my family except my brother and I. Since both of my parents are Turkish, and similarly their parents, siblings, and step-siblings, there is a concerted effort to stay true to their native language and continue speaking Turkish. However, after moving to the United States, my brother and I were thrown into a vigorous teaching regimen, almost indoctrination, of the English language, one that was enforced so strictly that our constantly required speaking and writing practice forged a path away from our initial language understandings. For my brother, who was 4 when we moved, did not have to undergo a revolutionary change, as his grasp of any language other than babbles was still rudimentary. On the other hand, I had already begun taking intermediate level grammar courses in Hungarian, as I was born in Hungary, and was speaking extremely basic Turkish with my grandparent, aunts, and uncle. Nevertheless, my family stays in close contact to this day, where we actually have scheduled Skype calls with almost every weekend to stay in touch and allow our grandparents to see their grandchildren’s’ faces. While I can’t understand most of the conversations that are had, there is an intrinsic value of interacting with the language that has a rich history in Turkey, and I am happy to notice that less than half of the content in the free trial of the Turkish course was absolutely new material that I had not heard in my family’s conversations in the past. Furthermore, the pronoun for “I” and “You” (“Ben” and “Sen”), as well as “nasılsın” (“how are you?”) are some of the basic words and phrases that my brother and I are able to speak and understand without translation from our parents.

My unique perspective on the Turkish language, as an individual with native speakers in my proximal and distant family, has allowed me to look at the language as more of an entity with a decorated history, rather than as an intrinsic part of my life. This has allowed me to realized, and affirm through the historical readings and lectures we have had in Turkish 2241, that there is a cultural impact that the Turkish language holds in the hearts of all Turkish citizens. Before continuing, it is important to distinctly recognize that many, if not all, languages have some level of cultural influence in the way people define themselves and their population, and at this point, I am communicating my perspective of just one of those many languages, Turkish. As for Turkey, the language has a deep-seeded role in both the characterization of a people, as well as a marker for a complex nationalist movement in the early 1900s. After WWI, in an effort to consolidate area in the face of the dominating Allies that wanted to claim land, Turkey signed the Treaty of Lausanne that, among other stipulations, required that Turkey and Greece uproot around two million people in a massive population exchanged. The signifiance of this event could be felt after the move was made, as the increasingly nationalist country of Turkey was beginning to realize that they needed certain criteria to determine what makes a Turkish person. It eventually came down to the religion you followed and the language you spoke, which became contested in cases where a Muslim individual only spoke Greek and vice versa. At this point, language became a crucial factor of deciding the nationality of an individual, and Turkish virtually served as a passport for people that wanted to identify themselves as a Turkish citizen. Not only did Turkish exist as this pseudo-credential for the nationality of an individual, but it marked one of the earlier changes implemented by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk to modernize the country of Turkey. Instead of drowning in loathing and ideas of revenge towards those that won WWI, he realized that the Allied countries represented a standard of technological and societal superiority that had to be matched to be a strong nation. Consequently, Ataturk (“The Father of the Turks”) started a revolutionary program of reforms that changed or had an impact on every societal, cultural, governmental, educational, or globally polital aspect within the increasingly solidifying lines of Turkey. One of the major reforms, seemingly overnight, was the revolutionary rework of the Turkish language, both written and spoken, where Islamic and Persian influences were scrapped, and a Latin-based system of Turkish was established and pushed throughout the country. While the reforms were not the most popular at the time, the changes set a precedence for the future identity of Turkey, and allowed for the development of a unity and national pride among Turkish citizens that survives to this day. For example, the architectural idolization and ideals of Ataturk (titled “Kemalism”) have survived to this day, as people, almost obsessively in some cases, recall the history of Ataturk and are trying to keep his belief in the modernization and secularism of Turkey alive.

Finally, while there is no language that I can speak fluently beside English, I have had the opportunity to dive into many experiences and cultures throughout my life from which I have picked up some of their respective vernaculars. Specifically, my integration into the world of Tennis at the start of High School, which I play to this day, has accompanied with it some terms that would not make sense to someone outside the tennis culture. For instance, if I told a beginner to never stand in No Man’s Land, they would look at me like I was crazy and that I was talking about some deserted island. However, it is actually a specific area of the court near the baseline where a player would be found with essentially no options of attack or defense, and find themselves in a place no person should be, hence the name. Another example is that of “trying to be Hulk”, which may be specific to my school team as a result of our coach reprimanding us with the line countless times. When our coach says the line, he is telling us that we are trying too hard to be aggressive and are simply uncontrollably hitting the ball as hard as we can, which fits the vehement anger of the Marvel character Hulk. Small phrases and words such as these are common in many subsets of life, and serve to make those that know the secret behind the words feel a part of a community that others do not have access too without the necessary knowledge and experience. Similarly, the development of a unique national language facilitated the efforts of Nationalism by Ataturk, and forged the way for a modern Turkey.

During my previous week in Turkish 2241, I had the opportunity to read an excerpt from Edward Said’s Orientalism, and watch the third part of a PBS documentary titled, “Islam Empire of Faith”. Having absorbed the information from both the reading and the film, I was delighted to challenge my assortment of historical knowledge that has developed over my academic career, and to further analyze stereotypes that characterize the globally prevailing West vs. East conversation.

To first understand some of the contextual reasoning behind the development of a strong West vs. East divide, it is important to discuss some of the content presented in the PBS documentary. The very early growth of the Turkish empire, a modern-day derivative of the Ottoman empire, was strongly characterized by invasion, pillaging, and conquer. There was a strong emphasis of breeding warriors that could help to expand upon the steadily growing land that the Ottomans had control over, which was to the detriment of all of Europe, as it was the primary direction in which many Turkish sultans aimed their pathway for domination. This early targeting of many modern Middle Eastern countries posed no immediate threat to Europe as a whole, militarily or culturally, however, the sentiment quickly changed when Mehmed the Conqueror set his sights on Constantinople (modern day Istanbul). Although the siege lasted months, the eventual victory by the Ottomans signaled a massive shift in power dynamics of the continent, as Constantinople was a major religious and cultural treasure of Europe at the time. For instance, the Hagia Sophia, which was previously the under the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Christian church, became an imperial Ottoman mosque. The significance of this change in ownership can be attributed to the fact that the Hagia Sophia was, at the time, the largest cathedral in the world, and as such, held a coveted spot in the religious hearts of all of Europe. Its conversion to a mosque signified a dramatic change in outlook of the European people toward the foreign Ottomans, who now rampaged all the way from Asia into their sacred city of Constantinople and took one of their most prized possessions. From this point, an agenda was established against those who came from the East, one that penetrated so deep into the levels of European society that eventually, as can be observed today, there were many prejudices and stereotypes that prevailed unconsciously in the minds of most people. An unfortunate propagation of these negative sentiments towards those that hail from Islam, the Muslim culture, and Turks, which were all intertwined to encompass one archetype that ignored the individuality of each group of people, was the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. While widely considered one of the greatest sultans of Ottoman history, his powerful reign witnessed the emergence of a double-edged sword for the people of the Ottoman empire, and it was the embracing of the arts and cultural commingling between Turks and Europeans. The massive expansion of architecture and artistic expression during the era of Suleiman was immense, as his art patronage invited creatives from around the world, especially Europe, to come tickle his fancy and impress him enough to be licensed for projects. Specifically, the modern-day city of Istanbul witnessed an artistic revolution unbeknownst to the world beforehand, as the riches of the Ottoman empire at its peak created almost limitless room for creativity and splendor to be formed throughout the city. Unfortunately, this became a time of Ottoman amazement and dependence on European excellence, and a time for Europeans to make hasty first impressions from their temporary experiences in a totally different environment. This led to the development of a new form of Oriental art that seemed to belittle and poke at the customs of the Ottoman culture, as well its people. Men and women were portrayed by the same tropes and stereotypes, and many cultural oddities were accentuated to seem even more strange, sensual, improper, or unfitting of “civilized” European society.

Briefly alluded to in the conclusion of the previous discussion, the progression of a European culture with a superiority complex toward Turks, and many Middle-Eastern and Asian ideologies, peoples, and cultures, became known as the phenomenon called “Orientalism”. Under this supposed understanding of a people, as Edward Said eloquently verbalized, there is no consideration of the rich historical and cultural complexity of an entire people, but instead, there is a focus on easily recognizable mannerisms, features, cultural practices, and general lifestyle characteristics that may not necessarily be accurate but portray people of the “East” as lesser or uncommon in some way. The misfortune that arises from this ideology, which is especially true today, is that there is very rarely a case where the positive differences of Middle-Eastern or Asian culture are highlighted or made prominent. For example, many modern films and TV-shows, which reach a broad global audience, generally portray the “bad-guys” as Muslim or Islamic radicals/terrorists, or some people that originate from the Middle-East, Asia, or portions of Africa. Furthermore, these people are always displayed as inept criminals, that always make some mistake that the hero takes advantage of and embarrasses the foes. While it can be argued that there is some truth to the character traits of the enemies, as they are meant to embody modern day terrorist cells and enemies of the “free world”, the constant generalization that ALL Muslims, or all people that follow Islam, or all Turkish people (who have been mixed into the same group as the previous two), are bad is unfair to the intricate and beautiful aspects of these cultures. As such, I believe it is regressive for modern global society to allow for the cultural divide that the East/West argument propagates, and instead of considering Turkey technically being in the East or a certain line where the West or East begins, we should begin to alleviate the misplaced distrust and stereotyping of regions of the world. Accordingly, I believe it is the responsibility of our generation, and those that come after, to challenge the harmful stereotypes that exist in the world, and to begin spreading awareness of the beauty of different peoples, places, and cultures.