Hello everybody…
Looking at the boards these days, I figure it’s revelation time!
So, just in case you have any questions regarding Turkey, or Turkish people, feel free to ask them…but please be patient if you do not get replied instantly!
I will reply every question as thoroughly as I can…
For those who, for some reason or other, might want to flirt with me…you can do it here, but I’d rather you open a flirt thread in my name on MPSIMS!!!
Is the emnity between Turks and Greeks as great as it is made out to be?
From whence does the hatred arise?
What’s your opinion on Cyprus?
That should get you started…
Gp
My mom’s husband is named Turk.
But he’s Finnish. (His real name is Turkka.)
If I get a chance to visit your country, what are some places / things to do that I should not miss?
The enmity between Turks and Greeks is a political issue that does not really have much reflection on the daily life of the two peoples.
The historical background can be traced all the way back to the early years of the Ottoman Empire, when the “Empire” was covering only a portion of Anatolia and nowhere else, and The Eastern Roman Empire (THe Byzantine Empire) was the main power in the region.
The conquest of Constantinople ( 
Hey I know its current name, that happens to be my hometown!!!) was , of course, not a giant step towards an historical brotherhood.
Still the two peoples have lived in peace together under the very liberal Ottoman Regime for hundreds of years… ( I know it sounds biased, but it actually is not…it just would take too long to document what I mean by the Liberal Ottoman regime, and if I were to explain it at length, this thread would belong in GD.)
After WWI, The Ottoman Empire was among the losing countries, and its land was occupied by British, French etc. forces. And the Greeks troops entered Western Anatolia during that period. The “Recent Times” animosity between the two countries stems from the 4 year war fought during that time.
As for Cyprus… I do not see the current “Two Separate States” system as the only way possible, or the best way possible, either. However, in the late sixties it was pretty much proven that the representatives of the two nations cannot manage to live in peace together. The separation was the only means to keep the people alive!!
Todays conjecture, and the conditions everybody lives in is much different…And I do believe that sometime in the near future a system to satisfy all parties will be put in effect.
Hi, W.M., or should we now refer to you as the Turkish Guy? And is it presumptuous to call you a guy?
I initially thought this was a thread to ask the guy who cuts football players from the team at the end of training camp…did you know that this guy is called “the Turk”?
One of my best buddies while I was in Germany was a Turkish national. He found it a bit odd to work in Germany where there is such a large population of immigrant Turks. They consider themselves Turkish but often do not speak the language or speak it well. What is your experience, if any, with this?
I have found all of my Turkish friends and colleagues to be a lot of fun, and extremely friendly. Hope that you continue the trend!
The Turks and the Finns do have some kind of common roots.
I know that among the languages spoken in Europe, only Finnish and Hungarian have the same type of sentence structure as in Turkish!
Hmmm…
with the current enormous economic crisis going on in the country, the crowds are thinner, but in an unbelievable way, they are there!!! Looks like, one thing we cannot give up in life is our entertainment!
The Aegean and Mediterranean coastal towns…Nature, sun, 
all kinds of fun! YOu might want to choose just one of these towns to pay a visit.
Apply to me for more detailed info re: nature holiday options, cultural, religious, etc… stuff you might find interesting…
And I repeat an offer I made about a year and a half ago: I will be glad to be a host for any doper who might happen to visit here!
Do all of you have web sites offering to kiss us all?
ShibbOleth…
As for all your Turkish friends being such fun guys… I am glad…
I do have a tendency be that way - if I may say so…Hope I don’t end up being a disappointment!
As for the Turks in Germany issue, that is, indeed a sad story. In the late sixties, when there was a serious unemployment rate in Turkey ( And not as much as today’s unemployment, mind you)there was a lack of work force in Germany to do the dirty work in the country.
So there was an open invitation for foreign labor, and this was probably the best thing that happened to hundreds of thousands of Turks in their lives. Or, so they thought.
Now, after more than 30 years, there are millions of Turks living in Germany(about 2,000,000 possibly), three generations!!!
And they are culturally neither German nor Turkish!
Nobody really accepts them as a part of themselves, they have nowhere to go, no nation, no community to belong to. And they are a pretty welathy, but unhappy lot of people living there.
Hey Watermelon Man, is it still possible to find Turkish ice-cream in Istanbul? I mean, the kind that’s sticky and a bit chewy. I’ve heard that it has completely given way to American/European ice-cream.
Sevgili Türk karde$im, merhaba. You’re right, Istanbul is one of the world’s great cities, and incredibly beautiful and friendly. Also, the food is excellent. I had a wonderful time when I visited there. Also went up the Bosphorus as far as possible, to Anadolu Kavagi where from a hill you could see the Black Sea in the distance, but the Turkish naval station there is off-limits to everyone. The Bosphorus is one of the most beautiful areas I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been all around the world.
Perhaps you could share your thoughts on liberal Islam. How moderate/liberal Muslims can take back their religion from the fundamentalist bullies.
People who have gotten to know regular, ordinary Muslims often remark what nice people they are. Indeed, it was the kindness and gentleness of Muslims that influenced me to convert to Islam. Maybe that’s our problem: We’re too nice. We don’t know how to defend our moderate Islam from the fundamentalists who are extremely pushy and overbearing. I hate how the Wahhabis and other extremists have hijacked our religion and think it’s time for us moderates to assert ourselves.
I can understand very well what the Turks of Germany are going through. Neither Turkish nor German, as you said. As an American Muslim, I don’t know where I really belong either. I do know one thing: the purpose of my existence is to promote peace and understanding between all peoples of the world.
We didn’t make Mahir a celebrity by ourselves:))))
I believe the need for “complimentary kisses” combined with the need to “be able to sneer at someone at no cost” made a celebrity out of a poor dude!
Hey , I am willing to kiss you all provided you are attractive babes, and Mrs. watermelon does not get upset about it!
:D:D:D
Yess…
In fact there is now a chain of ice cream shops - decorated in the modern vein - that serve the Turkish style ice cream: MADO - the Short version of Maraþ Dondurmasý - the special style of Turkish ice cream you were referring to!
Why did Constantinople get the works?
Not really. There’s also Estonian and a number of related languages along the Finnish Gulf and in Russia.
I am a muslim offically. That is, in my birth certificate, Islam is written in my religion box. ( Yes, we do have a “religion” box in the birth certificate - I wonder if everybody does.) Yet, I am not actually practising any religion. I am not an atheist either, but the completely secular lifestyle is what makes me feel comfortable and at peace with life and myself. That is why I did not post anything in the very informative “Ask THe Muslim Guy” thread. I am not an authority on the religion in the way Muslim Guy and Tamerlane are.
As for my opinion on the idea of liberal Islam: Turkey is a country whose population is 99% muslim. And the number of fundamentalists is a minority. raising in number due to the ineptitude of all the so called “liberal” politicians, but nevertheless a minority that will never gain enough power to alter the social life in the country.
Liberal Islam is the practised religion in the people of Turkey by a large margin, and hey, there is nothing wrong with it ! I mean - nothing wrong at all!!
As to how liberal Islam will regain the power over fundies when the “Religion ýssue” comes into question, that sounds difficult to me. At least in terms of PR.
I believe, “The more radical you are, the more noise you make” theory holds true, and even though the majority in any kind of belief are the moderate and quiet masses, the discussions will always feature the radicals to a higher extent.
My approach is to take the whole issue more lightly. I know this approach will not save the world from WTC-like disasters, but the opposite approach will make life more difficult for everybody, and unfortunately, sick minds will not heal by either approach anyway.
Thanks Floater.
I feel I learned something new!
Cool
Hmm…
What kind of works???
No no no. You were SUPPOSED to say “That’s nobody’s business but ours!”
Sorry, dumb joke. It’s a reference to an old novelty song called “Istanbul (not Constantinople)” that most people probably know now by the They Might Be Giants version.
The pertinent lyric goes
“Why did Constantinople get the works?
That’s nobody’s business but the Turks’.”