I decided a long time ago that the first blog post I should write while in Turkey should actually be a response to questions I received before actually coming to Turkey. After I told most people that I'll be spending a year here, many of their eyes would light up and they would tell me how excited they were for me. However, as I talk to people about my work and what I'll be doing, I've learned that many people aren't quite sure what Turkey is like. As a country nestled between the Middle East on one side and Europe on the other, many Americans don't quite know where to put it in their minds, or how to classify it. In order to present a relatively helpful introduction to the country, I thought I would answer some of the questions I've been asked the most about my new home:
"You'll be living in Turkey next year? Will you be OK?"
It's a vague question that's a little difficult to answer, but I think the reason most people ask it is because they know Turkey is near countries such as Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq, and they lump it in with the rest of the Middle East. In reality, however, Turkey is one of the most stable countries in it's region, even when you compare it to some of its wholly-European neighbors (take a look at Greece, for example). The democratically-elected AK Party has enjoyed stable support for the past 10 years, and the country's economy has boomed during that time period. It has been the target of some bombings over the past years, perpetrated either by armed Kurdish separatists groups or actors in Syria's ongoing struggle. These remain isolated incidents, however, and overall Turkey is a beautiful and growing country that draws millions of tourists every year.
"You'll be living in southeast Turkey next year? Will you be OK?"
Haha, don't worry, I'm totally fine. I live on a quiet college campus six miles from the center of a city famous for its apricots. My next-door neighbor is a mosque, and there's a mountain in my backyard. Nothing happens where I live.
Seriously though, Malatya is five hours from the Syrian border, and there has been no trouble with the Syrian civil war in this area. Turkey has opened its borders to a huge number of Syrian refugees, and there is a refugee camp near Malatya, but these refugees camps have great accommodations and there have been no tensions between the refugees and the locals. There has been absolutely no spill-over from the violence into this area. The Syrian war is a great tragedy that has unfairly affected the lives of hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children, but there is no need to worry about me during this conflict.
"Are the people living in Turkey Muslim? Are they Arabs?"
The population of Turkey is 99% Muslim, but a large number of that population are secular Muslims, similar to how many Americans might be secular or atheist, but culturally Jewish or Christian. In fact, Turkey is built on a long tradition of state secularism, but the ruling political party has been changing to a more religious orientation over the past few years.
The largest ethnic group in Turkey is comprised of Turks. They have a completely different ethnic history and origin from Arabs, as they originally came from Central Asian and have more cultural similarities to the people living in Turkmenistan and surrounding areas than they do the people living in Saudi Arabia. It's also important to note that Turkish people may get offended if you confuse the two (imagine the reaction if you told an Irish person that everyone in Ireland was British). So, please keep that in mind if you're ever visiting Turkey or talking to someone from the country.
However, not all the people living in Turkey are ethnic Turks. There are also a number of Kurds, Greeks, Armenians, Arabs, Azerbaijanis, and other ethnic groups scattered throughout the country.
"What language do they speak in Turkey? Is Turkish a language?"
Good question, and yes! Turkish is a separate language of its own. Again, it's not closely related to any of the other languages in the region other than Azeri (the language spoken in Azerbaijan). However, it does contain a number of cognates with Arabic, Farsi, and Urdu, as well as French and English. This highlights Turkey's unique origins, as well as its interesting position as a bridge between the East and the West.
"Turkish must be hard to learn. Don't they use a different alphabet?"
Actually, they used to, but they don't anymore. Turkish changed to the Roman alphabet in the 1920s, when the republic was founded. In addition, it's not that hard to pick up. The next post will actually be on Turkish, so tune back in for a better introduction!
"Are you excited to go?"
I most certainly was, and I could not be more excited to be here. That's all for today. See you next time.
"You'll be living in Turkey next year? Will you be OK?"
It's a vague question that's a little difficult to answer, but I think the reason most people ask it is because they know Turkey is near countries such as Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq, and they lump it in with the rest of the Middle East. In reality, however, Turkey is one of the most stable countries in it's region, even when you compare it to some of its wholly-European neighbors (take a look at Greece, for example). The democratically-elected AK Party has enjoyed stable support for the past 10 years, and the country's economy has boomed during that time period. It has been the target of some bombings over the past years, perpetrated either by armed Kurdish separatists groups or actors in Syria's ongoing struggle. These remain isolated incidents, however, and overall Turkey is a beautiful and growing country that draws millions of tourists every year.
"You'll be living in southeast Turkey next year? Will you be OK?"
Haha, don't worry, I'm totally fine. I live on a quiet college campus six miles from the center of a city famous for its apricots. My next-door neighbor is a mosque, and there's a mountain in my backyard. Nothing happens where I live.
Seriously though, Malatya is five hours from the Syrian border, and there has been no trouble with the Syrian civil war in this area. Turkey has opened its borders to a huge number of Syrian refugees, and there is a refugee camp near Malatya, but these refugees camps have great accommodations and there have been no tensions between the refugees and the locals. There has been absolutely no spill-over from the violence into this area. The Syrian war is a great tragedy that has unfairly affected the lives of hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children, but there is no need to worry about me during this conflict.
"Are the people living in Turkey Muslim? Are they Arabs?"
The population of Turkey is 99% Muslim, but a large number of that population are secular Muslims, similar to how many Americans might be secular or atheist, but culturally Jewish or Christian. In fact, Turkey is built on a long tradition of state secularism, but the ruling political party has been changing to a more religious orientation over the past few years.
The largest ethnic group in Turkey is comprised of Turks. They have a completely different ethnic history and origin from Arabs, as they originally came from Central Asian and have more cultural similarities to the people living in Turkmenistan and surrounding areas than they do the people living in Saudi Arabia. It's also important to note that Turkish people may get offended if you confuse the two (imagine the reaction if you told an Irish person that everyone in Ireland was British). So, please keep that in mind if you're ever visiting Turkey or talking to someone from the country.
However, not all the people living in Turkey are ethnic Turks. There are also a number of Kurds, Greeks, Armenians, Arabs, Azerbaijanis, and other ethnic groups scattered throughout the country.
"What language do they speak in Turkey? Is Turkish a language?"
Good question, and yes! Turkish is a separate language of its own. Again, it's not closely related to any of the other languages in the region other than Azeri (the language spoken in Azerbaijan). However, it does contain a number of cognates with Arabic, Farsi, and Urdu, as well as French and English. This highlights Turkey's unique origins, as well as its interesting position as a bridge between the East and the West.
"Turkish must be hard to learn. Don't they use a different alphabet?"
Actually, they used to, but they don't anymore. Turkish changed to the Roman alphabet in the 1920s, when the republic was founded. In addition, it's not that hard to pick up. The next post will actually be on Turkish, so tune back in for a better introduction!
"Are you excited to go?"
I most certainly was, and I could not be more excited to be here. That's all for today. See you next time.
I liked it too much. I don'T think that I could explained better than you I tried to do. It is absolutely brilliant
ReplyDelete