Monday 18 July 2016

Turkey - A Contradictory Country.


I chose 'contradictory' but I could have picked Erratic, changeable, unpredictable, variable, varying, changing, inconstant, unstable, irregular, fluctuating, unsteady, unsettled, uneven; self-contradictory, contradictory, paradoxical; capricious, fickle, flighty, whimsical, unreliable, mercurial, volatile, blowing hot and cold, ever-changing, chameleonlike.


I was sitting in the courtyard on Friday evening, playing backgammon with a friend when said friend's phone beeped with an incoming text.  "Are you still in Turkey? Are you OK?"  Why would he not be ok we wondered.  Thus the 'inconsistency': While Istanbul was raging and my blogger friend Terry had fighter jets and sonic booms over her apartment in Ankara, I was sipping wine, winning at tavla and contemplating  picking another bunch of grapes.
Friends who have visited me in Turkey know why I choose to live here despite all the above adjectives, those who haven't will never understand. There is no logic, little beneficial law and quite often a lot of hullabaloo, but one gets used to this state of affairs and misses the chaos when in more ordered countries.  The minute I moved to Turkey to work, I knew I'd stay - I just clicked with Turks; we laughed at the same things and I felt genuinely safe in their company. Which is why the reports of young innocent Turkish conscripts being murdered by their fellow countrymen is so hard to bear.  I want to pull out Turkey's power cable, press reset and restore the factory settings that we are all used to. Something has gone terribly wrong with the machine. 

28 comments:

  1. I fear it's a rocky road ahead, Annie. It makes my heart sink.

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    1. Maybe, but Turkey usually learns to carry on regardless.

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  2. Not easy to find words comenting the current happenings here in Turkey.
    You did. Bravo!
    And yes, something is wrong with this machine.
    Pressing reset now means:
    "Your device has sucessfuly being reseted - Date 1916"
    Malisev :-(((

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    1. Thank you for commenting, I'd love to meet up for a coffee and discuss " shoes for big feet in Turkey"

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  3. Terry Glaysher18 July 2016 at 17:07

    Thank you Annie. Over this extraordinary weekend I've been reading Cornucopia's Bosphorus Requiem edition and feeling achingly nostalgic for a Turkey and especially an istanbul I grew to love in the 60s. I want so much to recapture the feelings of that time and you have described perfectly what I wish I could do.... Unplug and hit the reset button. Aynen öyle!

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  4. Beautifully expressed, Annie. I only know Turkey from your blog and Ayak's, but your love for your contradictory country shines through and I feel very sad at what is happening to it.

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    1. One day maybe Ayak and I could host you in Turkey.

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    2. A lovely thought. One day I may hold you to it...

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  5. Have been so worried watching from here and was surprised when talking tho friends and family that things are ok. Not sure what to think about the situation. Praying things work out for the best.

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    1. From a Bodrum point of view, it looked worse on screen than in reality. Those in Istanbul and Ankara were not so fortunate.

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  6. Spot on. Too much time spent on massive egos snd greed.....we need to look back and learn before we can move forward and progress. I think the entire world is spinning off of its axis, and please stop and let me off!

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    1. I used to think an escape to a yurt in Outer Mongolia was the only answer, not sure anywhere is exempt now.

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  7. Couldn't find better words to express, so want to press that reset button, really is not fair. Good to hear life resumes with soem sense of normality there and really can't wait to make it to Bodrum and see you early Aug, need to get your mobile. Praying and wishing for peace at home and peace in the world xxx Ozlem

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    1. Hope you family in Istanbul were not affected.

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  8. . . an 'attempted military coup'? It was nothing of the sort!

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  9. Annie, You put your finger on the exact thing that we also think is the most heartbreaking. When I saw the soldiers being arrested by police in the CNN building, I just knew that those poor youngsters didn't know what had hit them. It stinks.

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    1. When the country turns on Mehmetcik, we are in trouble.

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  10. Evet, a reset would work wonders! I fear the Turkey I knew and loved is fading fast...at least for awhile. :(

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  11. BBC News says 'Crackdown toll passes 45,000' including teachers, university deans, interior and finance ministry workers as wellas the military, police, judges..... where will it end. So sad.... reset please to the Turkey we grew to love so much.

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    1. The collective loss of sleep in Turkey must be massive

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  12. A cartoon has been going around suggesting the same remedy for the not so United States. Stumbled onto this through a seasonal cook. Interesting to get another glimpse.

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    1. Thanks for popping in . We could do with some Canadian calm here.

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  13. Annie - how wonderful you expressed the situation! My feelings about this magic country are very simular to yours. I wish for the innocent and loving people in this country, to awake from this nightmare very soon!!

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    1. Thanks Bettina. I've been thinking for a while that those of us that still feel like this about Turkey should get together and make our feelings felt in the press in Europe.

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