I spent 8 weeks in Turkey the fall of Sept and Oct 2015. Our guide was really worried about his country and saw it quickly going backwards. It was the impression of our guide that Turkey was becoming more religious due to the influence of the devout Arabic wife of Erdogen.
I felt no danger whatsoever while I travelled...however, attacks were just starting. We had been in Ankara just 2 days before the bombing there. I certainly would not entertain the thought of touring in Turkey right now
There is a real dichotomy in that country. On one hand, those who I would classify as descending from the Ottomans were not religious at all, in fact our guide and his whole family were atheists. They were well educated and what I would call very modern and westernized.
On the other hand, the population that is Arabic does not embrace either modernization or westernization of their country. In fact, they want to pull back and be even more devoted to their religion.
Gambling was forbidden...not necessarily a bad thing. Liquor was available readily...lots of stores on most streets...but it was taxed so heavily that one glass of wine would cost more than your entire meal.
Jobs and advancement were favored to those men whose wives wore the scarf.
There was an incident in Istanbul where a young girl was bullied off a bus because her friends wanted her to wear a scarf and she chose not to.
We met a young girl...maybe 16 to 18... in the more rural SE part of Turkey. Her father would not let her continue school past Grade 8. She was herding a few cows, had never travelled more than 50 km from home, and in all likelihood, would be married off soon.
I had a neighbour who was Turkish and he said people that self identify as atheists are a very large demographic group in Turkey. He saw the oil doom coming and moved to the gulf states. Smart guy. I'd have loved his take on this.
Erdogan is a worrying figure, didn't he change the electoral rules to allow himself another term? I'm hoping he is gone. But Turks voted for him, so what do I know.
Given how quickly this coup has fallen apart, it's worth wondering if Erdoğan didn't make this happen just as a way to consolidate more power. It's pretty much over already.
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"Think I'm gonna be the scapegoat for the whole damn machine? Sheeee......."
Soldiers 'lay down arms at Istanbul square'
Posted at
00:55
The Reuters news agency reports about 30 Turkish soldiers have surrendered their weapons after being surrounded by armed police in Istanbul's Taksim Square.
Earlier, troops clashed with a crowd of government supporters who had gathered there to protest against the attempted coup.
Haha...so, for which side does the coup appear to be going poorly for at the moment?
The military messed up bad, by failing to secure the president they didn't cut off the head of the government power structure.
It's now a lose lose situation now for the Turkish people. If Erdogan remains in power, there will be a massive crackdown and constitutional rewrites that will result in a even more despotic regime than is already in place requiring a huge amount of bloodshed to get rid of in the future; he will be even more crazy, ruthless and paranoid than he already is. If the military wins there will be a much bigger amount of bloodshed before they manage to seize power.
Given how quickly this coup has fallen apart, it's worth wondering if Erdoğan didn't make this happen just as a way to consolidate more power. It's pretty much over already.
Iraqi information minister is that you? A bit too early to declare Erdogan's victory here.
The military messed up bad, by failing to secure the president they didn't cut off the head of the government power structure.
It's now a lose lose situation now for the Turkish people. If Erdogan remains in power, there will be a massive crackdown and constitutional rewrites that will result in a even more despotic regime than is already in place requiring a huge amount of bloodshed to get rid of in the future; he will be even more crazy, ruthless and paranoid than he already is. If the military wins there will be a much bigger amount of bloodshed before they manage to seize power.
It might also serve as a warning shot to Erdogan though, push to far and the full weight of the military will come down, not just a regiment or two, he hasn't been in power long enough to rebuild the military, just appoint some of the top brass, they are an ever present. Threat to him.
