If It’s Thursday (or is it Friday?) It Must Be Turkey

Istanbul is a gem on the Bosphorous; 16,000,000 people call it home. Beautiful, elusive, Constantinople. The city stays up all night, dinner starts at 9pm. We picked out our own fish, (turbot and white fish straight out of the waters nearby). Dinner was a non-stop political discussion. Try summarizing the Ottoman Empire, Ataturk, the European-Middle East melange Turkey is, with hosts smoking cigars, sipping Raki, and waving their arms. Politics here is a way of life, talked about by everyone from the local cab driver to waiters.

Good fortune led us to Cengiz Andar, a journalist with the Turkish Daily News. Andar brilliantly spoke to the Iraq war, one year after Hussein’s statue at the Ferdows Square was brought down. Said Andar, “the act…symbolized the end of one of the most cruel regimes the history of the Middle East has ever witnessed.” Andar has been a close observer for over 30 years of the Iraq situation, and is an instructor on Iraqi history and politics at an Istanbul University. He has been to Iraq four times since the end of Saddam Hussein’s regime. His comments (not views held by too many people we met) were surprising. Professor Andar disagrees with the “pessimism” prevalent in American politics as it relates to Iraq.

Says Andar, (his comments – we just report what we’re told) “the crackdown on Shiite Cleric Muqtada a Sadr and his ‘Mehdi Army’, and the efforts to pacify the insurgency in the Sunni Triangles most insurgent towns are a recipe for success in the reconstruction if the U.S. is to hand over the sovereignty to Iraq on June 30, the fixed deadline. And no, it is not a Vietnam, because Iraq is not Vietnam. Iraq is Iraq . . . the historical circumstances have no resemblance at all.”

Professor Andar stated, that we (Americans) have committed mistakes, one being not stopping al-Sadr when we could have and letting him organize the “Mehdi Army”. He believes al-Sadr is “enough of a trouble maker to threaten many Iraqis.” He commented favorably on Paul Bremer’s declaring al-Sadr an “outlaw” and Bremer’s shaping the situation “on the ground” rather than just reacting…you’ll see more of Andar later.

In case you’re wondering, this view was not one we heard often. The afternoon gave us just the opposite from at least a bakers dozen other Turks. As you know American’s position on Iraq and in other areas is not regarded well. Our notes and tapes reflect this over and over.

Yet at the same time our politics and positions may not be liked or respected, we as a people are. Over and over we heard about our friendliness and willingness to help people in need. What was also remarkable was how well informed Middle Easterners are on the issues of the day, and how too often we as a people were criticized for spouting “sound bites”. Well, guess thatÕs why we came isn’t it?,Éto bring you more than “sound bites”.

Michael Kirser, (editor of Turkish Business World) then joined us. He and his wife Sra have published the magazine through good times and bad. While he says the economy was picking up he also said ads are down, the magazine is thinner. And we know ads are the first to go. Michael addressed Turkish-European relations and the challenges Turkey has because it straddles both Asia and Europe. Turkey is striving mightily to bring itself into this century. It has its challenges, Cypress, and how its citizens view U.S.-Turkey-Iraqi relations, among others. Economist World Outlook 2004 classified Turkey with Zimbabwe as a financial trouble spot. 75¢ USA is equivalent to 1,000,000 Lira. Kirser believes it impossible for the lira to sustain its value and hopes for a soft descent.

Other challenges include, the highest cost of energy and telecommunication rates in Europe, inadequate rail and ports and roads. Michael said Turkey has to work even more diligently toward democracy and the rule of law if it is to progress. The bombing of the British Consulate and the other terrorist attacks they have experienced recently have opened their eyes to the very real danger of how terrorism can be, close to home.

Turkey is a cornucopia of history, people and riches. It is only 80 some odd years old as a country, but based on centuries of history. It is both Asia and Europe – yet wants to be Europe, you see more of an Asian influence.

Istanbul – looks and acts like Paris. A beautiful, elegant, gracious city, with great food, wonderfully friendly people, yet a growing and serious drug problem. Glue sniffing kids roam the street, begging for their families; beaten if they do not do well. Churches and Mosques (98% Muslim country) sit side by side. And yet the groups work, live and love well together.

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