Hunter Gray
2014-04-10 18:32:10 UTC
Subject: Greetings from Istanbul
"[C]apital comes dripping from head to foot, from every pore, with blood and dirt."
--Marx, Capital, Vol. 1, Chapter 31
Hunter,
Just a personal line or two to send my greetings to you and yours from
Istanbul, where I'm spending this week. Flying back home on Saturday. .My
wife's hosts at a conference here were generous enough to offer me free
accommodation in a university guest house, so I was more than willing to
come
along, since I found a cheap flight.
I've tried to start conversations with some of the students here on campus
about the political situation and the repressive actions of the present
gov't
(now in conflict with Turkey's Supreme Court about he banning of Twitter),
but
either they shrug it off or are wary of talking to foreigners. The faculty
people skirt around these matters. We're on a closed campus and I can
almost
sense the presence of, if not spies, at least people with the task of
keeping
an eye on things. The place is also dry! They used to sell beer, but an
Islamic
revival in recent years has banned the poison from these groves. A faculty
member advised me to buy my beer outside the walls and to carry it in my
backpack to our room.
But the city is something else, the Old Constantinople - the Second Rome
(the
Russians like to think of Moscow as the Third Rome, but that is more than
debatable), the later capital of the Ottoman Empire, the source of myths
and
orientalist romanticism for the West, A hub of history connecting the
Black Sea
and the Mediterranean. The history is just as palpable here as in Rome,
or
perhaps even more so. I am deeply impressed. And I like the Turks. A
positive
"macho" manly demeanor among the men and some very beautiful ladies,
though
not be visually admired for too long if they are spoken for and
especially if
one travelling with one's wife, who happens be the daughter of a former
Finnish middleweight champion in boxing.
Islamic culture mixed with Turkish secularism, a lot of subtleties in the
air.
Visited my first mosque - nice and quiet. a feeling of reverence. All in
all,
I was prepared for a culture shock that didn't come. Might it be due to
the
old theory that the Finns and Turks had common ancestors thousands of
years ago
in the Altay Mountains on the borders of Siberia and China ? Of course,
it's
not true but it's a nice story all the same.
Best wishes,
Jyri
And the food ain't too bad either.
------------------------------------Just a personal line or two to send my greetings to you and yours from
Istanbul, where I'm spending this week. Flying back home on Saturday. .My
wife's hosts at a conference here were generous enough to offer me free
accommodation in a university guest house, so I was more than willing to
come
along, since I found a cheap flight.
I've tried to start conversations with some of the students here on campus
about the political situation and the repressive actions of the present
gov't
(now in conflict with Turkey's Supreme Court about he banning of Twitter),
but
either they shrug it off or are wary of talking to foreigners. The faculty
people skirt around these matters. We're on a closed campus and I can
almost
sense the presence of, if not spies, at least people with the task of
keeping
an eye on things. The place is also dry! They used to sell beer, but an
Islamic
revival in recent years has banned the poison from these groves. A faculty
member advised me to buy my beer outside the walls and to carry it in my
backpack to our room.
But the city is something else, the Old Constantinople - the Second Rome
(the
Russians like to think of Moscow as the Third Rome, but that is more than
debatable), the later capital of the Ottoman Empire, the source of myths
and
orientalist romanticism for the West, A hub of history connecting the
Black Sea
and the Mediterranean. The history is just as palpable here as in Rome,
or
perhaps even more so. I am deeply impressed. And I like the Turks. A
positive
"macho" manly demeanor among the men and some very beautiful ladies,
though
not be visually admired for too long if they are spoken for and
especially if
one travelling with one's wife, who happens be the daughter of a former
Finnish middleweight champion in boxing.
Islamic culture mixed with Turkish secularism, a lot of subtleties in the
air.
Visited my first mosque - nice and quiet. a feeling of reverence. All in
all,
I was prepared for a culture shock that didn't come. Might it be due to
the
old theory that the Finns and Turks had common ancestors thousands of
years ago
in the Altay Mountains on the borders of Siberia and China ? Of course,
it's
not true but it's a nice story all the same.
Best wishes,
Jyri
And the food ain't too bad either.
"[C]apital comes dripping from head to foot, from every pore, with blood and dirt."
--Marx, Capital, Vol. 1, Chapter 31