TABLE
OF CONTENTS
|
Istanbul: Open For Business
By Jason Hart
In Jenny B.
Whites chapter, "Bridge Between Europe and Asia," she
writes that while Western Christian culture has a tendency to
romanticize
Byzantine culture, the Moslem Turks have an identical tendency to
romanticize
the culture of the Ottomans. The Turks find pride in acknowledging that
in the
age of their empire Istanbul
was the religious center of the entire Islamic world. Furthermore, the
many
monuments and mosques that stand all over the city are living proof of
the
glory of the past. What is interesting, however, is that unlike many
highly
religious Islamic countries, the Turk’s sense of Moslem pride in no way
denies
adoption of Western cultural patterns, styles, or businesses.
For
example, the city of Istanbul
is very much a transnational city. Much of this transnationalism seems
to be
result of the strong youth culture. For example, I noticed the names of
American rock bands like Korn and Guns n Roses spray painted in
graffiti in
alleyways. The bar and fashion district of Taxum is lined with heavy
metal
bars, discos that play loud rap music and European techno, as well as
designer
fashion boutiques that sell the latest fashions from Gucci and Diesel.
Movie
theatres played Hollywood
and European films entirely in English, with Turkish subtitles and I
even drank
a hot chocolate at a packed Starbucks and ate a burger at an even more
crowded
Burger King.
Istanbul is
surely open for transnational
business, because the citizens are ready and willing to open their
wallets.
While
embracing Western consumer culture, Istanbul
has in now way denied its Moslem heritage. I noticed many men praying
in the
direction of Mecca
on prayer mats on sidewalks. Six times a day the call to prayer
radiates over
loud speakers, called out by the Blue Mosque and answered by the Hagia
Sophia.
The citizens of Istanbul
also surely feel a common brotherhood through Islam with their Middle
eastern
neighbors. Many times cab drivers or fellow bar goers would ask me what
country
I was from. When I told them, they would tell me their dislike for
President
Bush, and their inability to understand the rational for the war in Iraq;
however, several were quick to tell me soon afterwards how wonderful
Bill
Clinton and Jimmy Carter are. In downtown Taxum, I even saw an Iraqi
war
protest followed by a police escort. The protestors waved Iraqi flags
and held
pictures of victims of the conflict.
All
in all, Istanbul
is a city of great contrasts. Both the transnational and the vernacular
both
coexist, side by side, embraced by the general populace. The Turks have
found a
common ground between the two, whereby they may reaffirm their own
national
pride securely, while still taking the best of the transnational
culture.
|
