Impressions of Turkey

Turkey's geographical location speaks volumes about it's history. For thousands of years this plot of land has held great strategic importance as a bridge between east and west. It's shores have seen more than it's fair share of battles and it's people have watched empires come and go. It is the home of Troy, the site of the battle of Gallipoli, and the final resting place of Noah's Ark. It is rich with importance to historians, archaeologists, and Biblical scholars alike. And after a long, tumultuous history it is, for the time being, stable.

In it's current incarnation Turkey is a nation of 70.4 million people that covers nearly 800,000 square miles. It is a nation that seems to simultaneously exist within the past and the present. Old men in tweed outfits and button up shirts play backgammon matches against young hipsters with spiky hair. Old women in head scarfs and long, plain skirts trudge down the street past cosmopolitan girls giggling into cell phones. A young punk in a Linkin Park t-shirt sports a guitar case containing the sas, a traditional Turkish folk instrument, and huge Mercedes buses speed down the road past horse drawn carriages stacked high with hay. It's as if the timeline here has gone completely haywire, accidentally integrating the beginnings of the last two centuries.

Turkey's main religion is Islam, but walking the streets in most major cities, you might not guess that right away. As opposed to many of their neighbors, most religious Turks practice a soft form of Islam that is neither militant nor fundamentalist in nature. Though some still choose to, most Turkish women do not wear head scarfs, and alcohol, especially the local favorite raki, is served in nearly every restaurant.

This is not to say however that Turkish people are not pious Muslims. Every city has an abundance of big and beautiful mosques, and the call to prayer rings throughout the streets of Istanbul as loudly as it does in Kabul or Tehran. It's just that the majority of Turkish Muslims practice their faith in a way reminiscent of American Catholics; more often than not keeping the faith, while picking and choosing the traditions that fit their modern lifestyle.

The average annual income in Turkey is around US$6,000, however this figure increases dramatically in metropolitan centers and along the western coast. The two big industries that keep Turkey's economy running are tourism and agriculture. In fact, Turkey is one of the only countries in the world to be entirely agriculturally independent. Much of the land outside the big cities is dedicated to farming, with tomatoes, apricots, wheat, and corn being chief among it's multitude of crops. Farming methods range depending on the capability of the owners, and everything from shiny new tractors to plow driven mules can be seen being used here.

Which of course, brings us to food. I was recently talking to a waiter at a restaurant who remarked that he wanted to visit his brother, who currently lives in Tokyo. He was eager to go, but was worried because he thought the food in Japan wasn't healthy, like the food in Turkey. This is of course absurd, as Japanese cuisine is among some of the healthiest in the world, and Turkish food is extremely high in calories and fat. In fact, this country has one of fastest rising obesity rates in the world.

Bread, cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, and olives make up the ordinary breakfast, rivaled only by lentil soup served alongside heaps of crusty, white bread. Grilled meatballs known as kofte, are a popular for lunch served with tomatoes and rice, and again more bread. But the reigning king of Turkish cuisine is the all-mighty doner. Doner itself means “spinning” in Turkish, and you'll find the huge slabs of chicken and beef that comprise the bulk of these sandwiches rotating in the windows of endless store fronts. Similar to the Greek gyro, the doner consists of thinly sliced meat, tomatoes, onions, ketchup and garlic sauce dressed on thick French-style bread. They are cheap, fast, and probably the single reason that the presence of McDonald's doesn't loom as largely here as it does in other parts of the Europe. Did I mention they're also delicious?

Anyone who has ever watched Midnight Express knows that drugs are highly illegal in Turkey. But there are three vices that almost everyone here is guilty of: tobacco, tea, and backgammon. These addictions are on display on nearly every street corner, quite often all at once. In my time here I have thoroughly succumb to two of these three demons. Fortunately neither one I've chosen is likely to cause me cancer, though I am in danger of both losing sleep and wasting time.
Straddling Europe, and the Middle East, Turkey is an ancient land that is charging full throttle into the new millennium. Though it may not be as successful as some of the other countries that border the Mediterranean, Turkey is no longer the sick man of Europe. In fact, from what I've seen so far, it appears to be doing quite well.