Parting Thoughts: Turkey

This is likely my last post from Turkey. Like all good things, they must come to an end. I’ve enjoyed my experience here and it was certainly not what I expected. Actually, I had no idea what to expect coming here. Before I got here I only knew a little about Turkey and I thought this is going to be great! – not thinking about all the challenges I would face. Here are some of my parting thoughts and takeaways:

Challenges
While the academic challenge was close to nothing (when I get back to UW I have to get used to colleagues and professors actually expecting something from me), the cultural challenge was huge. Because I had never lived in a foreign country before (especially a developing one), I hadn’t really thought about the mental and emotional challenge of trying to set up a new life and integrate into society even if it was only for a short period of time. Of course things would have been a lot easier if I would have had the support of a middleman of sorts (the university) but they of course completely failed at their job to do so. As I’ve mentioned before the language barrier was by far the largest barrier to overcome. Despite the little Turkish I learned and the helpful Turks who do speak English, I’ve essentially lived here as a mute, illiterate person. And while that may sound funny, it is truly no laughing matter when you’re actually living it.

But I learned to embrace the daily challenges that I faced. My thinking was ok, so I’m in an uncomfortable, unknown or frustrating situation. So what?! There are so many worse situations to be in like being homeless or in jail or fearing for my life. So no, the fact that I am mad, frustrated or annoyed over something while living in a country as beautiful as intriguing as Turkey can’t really be that bad. And usually those types of thoughts help to put things in better perspective for me.

Perspective
Greater perspective is one of the bigger things I have gained here. To be able to see things from another person’s point of view is a very valuable life skill. I have sat and had conversations here and in New York with people from all over the world. And through these conversations I have gained much deeper understanding and insights into current world trends and conflicts. I have learned a lot more about politics and economics. And through these conversations I have been able to more clearly shape my own beliefs, values and principles. And in some conversations I have felt very embarrassed and extremely proud of my home country.

Freedom of Speech
The more I travel and converse with non-Americans, the more I am able to clearly separate the things I love and hate about my own country. One thing I love is the ideals that the USA was founded on, mainly freedom of speech and true democracy. The idea that I can openly criticize, question, challenge or debate any idea or any person for the purpose of creating change, advancing new ideas or seeking the truth is a tremendously sacred human right. As an American I have this right and the belief of this right is not only deeply engrained in our society, it’s written in the Constitution. And this individual right has shaped who I am and given me the opportunity to live a life that is free, truthful and happy. I had to live in a country where this right only partially exists to realize its fundamental significance to human beings. In Turkey, insulting “Turkishness” is a crime. The idea of questioning or debating someone’s ideas or positions for the purpose of developing better ideas, seeking the truth or advancing the potential of mankind does not exist here. And I believe the existence of these rights and beliefs is what pushes the US forward and the non-existence of these is what holds back Turkey and many other countries around the world.

Democracy
Watching the presidential election from another country gave me a tremendous sense of pride for the US and the importance and significance of our democracy. Although I am personally doubtful of Obama’s economic and fiscal policies, it made me so happy to read in the news that that the presidential candidate that received the majority votes was free and fairly elected and that the loosing presidential candidate called to concede defeat and offer congratulations and also that the current president in office called to offer a congratulations and to assist with the leadership transition. That this democratic election can fairly take place and power can peacefully be transferred without protests, riots, power struggles or the intervention of another country is a tremendously great thing. I love that the US sets the example for the world when it comes to democratic rule, democratic elections and peaceful transitions of power and leadership. And then I think about places like Zimbabwe and Myanmar. If you’re not familiar with at least a brief, high-level overview of the current political situations (not to mention economic) in those countries then you should be reading more world news. The more I travel the more I realize the US does not posses all the answers to the world’s problems (although some Americans would like to think so), but at least our country has created political and economic institutions that have been successful and can serve as models for other countries to study, learn from or emulate.

Being World Wise
I love traveling. It gives me the opportunity to meet new people, try new things and learn more about myself. Traveling forces me to accept uncertain situations, embrace change and adapt to my environment. These are valuable skills for me to use in my personal life as well as my career. I’m very happy with my decision to leave Seattle for a while and spend time in New York and Turkey. Despite all the logistical and financial planning, the experience has been more than worth it and had made my life very happy and fulfilling. It’s truly a satisfying feeling of accomplishment.

My adventures are not done yet though! Next mission: Greece. Tomorrow I am flying from Istanbul to Izmir and taking a bus from Izmir to the beach town of Cesme. From Cesme I’ll take a ferry to the Greek Island of Chios. I’ll be in Greece for about two weeks and so I’ll try to send out a couple dispatches from there. Then on the 28th I am flying from Athens to Helsinki (via a crazy 12hr layover in Budapest at which I will try to pack in some adventure there) and meeting up with Matt!!! We plan to battle the cold Nordic weather with hot chocolate and Finnish saunas….but more to come on that later!

Ataturk, the Turkish Republic and the PKK

This post is mostly dedicated to Ataturk and his important significance in Turkey. But first I’ll give an update on my little day adventure to the The Princess Islands. Seeing as I was here for the founding of the Turkish Republic holiday on October 29^th, I thought I would celebrate by visiting the Princess Islands out in the Sea of Marmara in between the European and Asian sides of Istanbul.

 First off it took 4 hours to get there because the traffic in Istanbul is horrendous and the public transportation system is completely inefficient here. If Istanbul had an efficient transportation system, I’m estimating it would take 1 hour to get to the islands. This was what I had to do to get from my apartment to the islands: get on a minibus from my house to Sariyer, transfer to another minibus to the start of the subway and ride the subway its whole length (a whopping 6 stops), transfer to a different underground tram type thing that takes me to the water, then hop on the above ground tram to take me to another part of Istanbul where most of the ferries leave. I then had to take a ferry to the Asian side and wait an hour to transfer to another ferry that was actually headed to the islands. So from apartment to islands took 4 hours. Ugh.

 Anyway, the Princess Islands of Istanbul are like the San Juan Islands of Washington. They are a group of islands with no cars allowed. The only way to get around is b

y foot, bike or horse drawn carriage. There are cute homes that people use in the summertime. I just wanted to visit a couple of them and check out the great views of the Asian side of Istanbul and the Sea of Marmara. Then on my way back home I got stuck on the Asian side because the Bosphorus was closed (they actually closed it!!!) for the fireworks and laser light show over the Bosphorus celebrating the founding of the Turkish Republic. October 29 is the equivalent of the 4^th of July, except that Turkey did not declare independence from any other country; it was the date the country of Turkey was officially founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk out of the ruins of the Ottoman Empire’s collapse after WW1. So it’s a HUGE deal for Turkey and for the remembrance of their influential leader Ataturk. I had a prime view right on the Bosphorus of the firework show and the laser light show. The firework show was exactly like all the fireworks shows over Lake Union and Elliot Bay. But the laser and strobe light show was unlike anything I had ever seen. The entire stretch of the Bosphorus was covered with hundreds of spotlights, laser lights and colored strobe lights that were positioned on the ground and also from the two bridges that connect the European and Asian sides. There was also Turkish-European techno-trance music blasting everywhere for miles. Imagine the entire stretch of Lake Washington covered with spot lights and laser lights like its one big party on the waterin the dark that goes for miles. It was such an incredible visual site!

 Ataturk and the Turkish Republic

So, back to Ataturk. Ataturk was the powerful leader that came to power after the collapse of the all might

y Ottoman Empire based in Istanbul. Ataturk assumed the presidency of the newly created secular republic. His real name was Mustafa Kemal, and he later took on the name Ataturk, which literally means “Father Turk”. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey had many problems. It was Ataturk’s vision to see Turkey take its place among the modern, developed countries of Europe. At the time (1920’s), Turkey was impoverished and devastated after years of war, so a firm and strong leader was needed. Ataturk set up the institutions of democracy while never allowing any opposition to impede him. His ultimate motivation for his authoritarian style was the betterment of his people. One aspect of his vision was that the Turkish state be solely Turkish. In creating this national unity and identity, he denied a cultural existence to the Kurds and since then they have fought their sepratist struggle (see below).

 Ataturk’s drive for modernization was unwavering, giving the Turkish state a makeover on micro and macro levels. Turkey adopted the Georgian calendar to bring it in line with the West rather than the Middle East, standardized the Turkish language (to make it more officially Turkish) and told Turks to have last names. By the time of hi

s death in 1938, Ataturk had lived up to his name, having been the pre-imminent figure in the creation of the nation state and having dragged Turkey into the modern era by a combination of inspiration, ruthlessness and incredible vision. The praise of Ataturk continues to this day and when I first got here I was stunned and fascinated by Turkey’s devotion to this person. It is very visually obvious. Westerners are unused to this type of devotion and praise to absolute figures of authority and so it was weird for me. Any perceived insult to Ataturk is considered not only highly offensive but is also illegal. You can also be punished for “insulting Turkishness”. It was immediately obvious to me that Turks are very nationalistic – I have seen the Turkish flag displayed so much. Having nationalistic pride can be a good 

thing and a bad thing. One consequence of a strong national identity it is that it causes people to discriminate against minority groups (the Kurds) and it makes people not as accepting of people from other countries or ethnic backgrounds. The discrimination is very pervasive and very sad and has caused a lot of problems for Turkey.

 The Kurds and the PKK

Turkey has a significant Kurdish minority of roughly 14 million. They live in the eastern and southeastern regions of Turkey. They are not integrated into mainstream Turkish society. Virtually all Turkish Kurds are Muslims and while they look physically similar to the Turks, they have a separate language, culture and family traditions. When the modern Turkey was created, the Kurds were not guaranteed rights as a minority group, unlike the Christians, Jews and Armenians. Until recently the Turkish government refused to even recognize the existence of the Kurds, calling them “Mountain Turks”. Even today no one is allowed identify themselves as Kurdish nor can they be identified as Kurdish on their identity cards. In  1984 the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (the PKK) was formed. This organization is still to this day demanding and fighting for a separate state. They have been deemed a terrorist group (although I don’t know what countries exactly recognize them as a terrorist group). In 1999 a ceasefire between Turkey and the PKK was called but in 2004 it was broken and fighting has been going on ever since in the southeast. Some say the best hope for change lies in Turkey’s hopes to join the EU. The EU champions the rights of cultural and ethnic minorities and people hope that the path to EU membership will force Turkey to recognize and integrate the Kurds.

 Now hopefully when you read about PKK fighting in Turkey and Iraq, you will have the background to better understand some of the conflicts in the Middle East…..