Tales
From Turkey
Perry Jackman
I had just left Egypt and was on my way to Turkey. Egypt was a Muslim country and so was Turkey, so I automatically thought that
Turkey an Egypt were going to be the same. I
couldn’t have been more wrong.
For
the five days I was in Turkey,
I stayed in Istanbul.
When I got off the ship, I was surprised of what I saw. I saw women
walking
confidently down the street in fashionable clothes, advanced
transportations
systems, tall buildings, and designer stores. When I was in Egypt,
I didn’t
see anything like this. If I didn’t know any better, I would think I
was in America.
However, I then heard the call of prayer and saw dozens of majestic
mosques.
After
my stay in Istanbul,
I have found that it is mix between the east and the west. It is fast
paced and
globalized like a European city, but has values of a Muslim country in
the Middle East. I guess Istanbul is the
best of both worlds. In the
day I would put on a veil and vi  sited
all the beautiful mosques that Turkey
had to
offer. However at night, I would put on my short skirt and
dance the
night
away. I was confused, but I went with the flow.
I
would have to agree with Jenny B. White, the author of the article
“Bridge
between Europe and Asia”. She states
that “the
discourse of the Turkish republic also creates Istanbul in its own (often
contradictory)
images—a western with an imperial past and as a Muslim, Ottomon city”
(White,
23.)
Even though Turkey was not what I expected, I
was pleasently suprised with the mix of the east and the west.
DON'T
FORGET TO ADD A PHOTO
|
