My American feast

A normal part of extended periods away are unnatural cravings for bits of the homeland. Let it be known that for three months I have been deprived of these foods, and they make up my ideal first meal back at home. 

PB&J

Bacon

Corn on the cob (butter and salt)

Anything BBQ from Billy Boys on 95th st.

Scones and jam + cream

Strawberries and cream

Coffee with heavy cream & iced coffee

A good beer

Mint julip/ mojito

Mint chocolate chip shake

All of this outside in the yard under the trees, by the way. 

So there ya go. Psycho-analyze away!

My Turkish travels as lived by my stomach

So a big part of my Turkish experience revolved around food and travel.  So I'm going to tie the places I went to with what I ate while I was there. Sund good? Good. 

Best balık ekmek - İstanbul. A trip to Kadıköy will land you the best grilled fish one a baguette you have ever had. Best experienced seated in a chair designed for toddlers. 

Best lahmacun - Antep. My friends know that my favorite Turkish food is the Syrian pizza, and no one does it better than Antep. I'll be honest and admit that I took two trips of several hundred miles each way just for the food. Too bad I got hideously ill on one of them. 

Çiği böreği - Eski Şehir. Ok so it was only a shop, but I had the greatest Caucasian meat pastries there. Plus peppers that come disguised as tomato sauce and will KILL you. 

Honey - one of the few nice things I can say about Kars is that they have great honey. And a restaurant call Döneristan.  

Biber dolması - my other favorite Turkish food is stuffed pepper. My host mother made the best in the world, and I've looked all over Turkey and still haven't found better. 

So there ya are. All my trips described in food (Trabzon doesn't count because I only ate there twice). 

Oh! And if anyone knows of a recipe for BİBER DOLMASI, let me know

Afiyet olsun!

Last day in Turkey (my extended layover in İstanbul)

So it is my last day in Turkey, and I'm feeling a weird mixture of things. It's been wonderful having this sort of unexpected return to Turkey - I wasn't preparing last year to come back for a second year in a row - but I'm definitely ready to go back home. 

I treated today like a very extended layover in İstanbul. Basically, I had 24 hours in he city to do whatever I wanted. A friend of a friend put me up in her apartment right off Taksim.

So today I sat in a cafe in the bazaar beneath the Blue Mosque (the rental fees pay for part of the upkeep of the mosque), and drank çay and Türkçe kahvesi and wrote. It was a very relaxing way to spend my last day in Turkey for a while. Tough that's what I said last year too, hahaha! I think my friends and family would be peeved if I went to turkey for a third year in a row though hahaha!

İstanbul is the kind of city that is too large to even wrap your head around it, let alone experience. 2 continents, 16 million people in the city proper. It's insane. No one can see everything in the city. 

I went to Topkapı palace public gardens today which was pleasant, and something I've never done before, and then I went to get ottoman beef stew for dinner. Omnomnomnomnom! Now I'm at the apartment drinking my last Efes, and writing again. It's 1:45 in the morning and I need to be align out the door at 3:30. This could be a long night. Oh well. I'm coming home!!

Bt in all seriousness, my time in Turkey has been wonderful. It was a surprise to be able to come back so soon, and I'm looking forward to coming back. For all of its cultural insularity and weirdness, it's nice and the people are genuinely friendly. There is a lot left for me to learn, and I can't wait. 

See you state side!

Hugh

7 days out

Well, one week out. Today is my last day of substantive work, and it feels nice.I think that I've done substantive and valuable work, I've learned a lot, and I've had a good summer break.  However, I am definitely ready to be home, even if it is only for a few days.

Tomorrow I'll be taking off, going east on an overnight train.  It should be an experience.  I'll be in Kars for those of you interested.  I'm going to see the ancient city of Ani on the Turkey-Armenia border.  Check out the links below:

https://www.google.com/search?biw=1152&bih=773&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=ani%2C+turkey&btnG=

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ani

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Kars,+Ocakl%C4%B1+K%C3%B6y%C3%BC,+Ocakl%C4%B1,+Turkey&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&sa=N&tab=wl&authuser=0

Goodbye 87/7 Bardacık Sokağı, Küçük Esat, Ankara, Türkiye!

Well a momentous life milestone has passed. I have moved out of my first apartment! It's bitter sweet. I had fun living on my own, even if the water heater went out a few times while I was trying to shower. 

Bt this points to another set of events coming up. I'm leaving Ankara on Wednesday! Yikes! Summer has flown, and I feel like I haven't been here three months. But I guess I have. 

I'm going to be taking an over night trip to the Far East of Turkey to the city of Kars. I'll be touring the ancient Armenian Capitol of Ani which is fit on the border before I fly to İstanbul. The train is something I've been really looking forward to. I have a ticket for a one person sleeper compartment. The train goes along the Euphrates river for 10 hours, and it's supposed to be beautiful. I'll try and be a bit productive on the train, but mainly this is just my last big trip in turkey, and I'm looking forward to it. 

Count down: 8 days

Fourth of July abroad

I think that anyone who has spent a significant amount of time abroad will be able to relate to this post. I find that when I'm abroad, several of my belief structures are strengthened, including senses of patriotism. 

This last week has seen the anniversary of US independence, and I have to say that this year's was particularly memorable for me. Being in a foreign country during your national day is surreal. It's a completely normal day, and you can forget what the day is if you're not intentional about it. 

In Turkey this year, I'm living in a relatively small expat community; and we celebrated as a community together. On the third, we had the official celebration at the ambassador's residence where we had maybe 3000 guests! Then on the fourth, maybe 75 employees and families as well as the embassy's marine guards celebrated together with a family style barbeque. Can I just say that BBQ pulled pork topped with bacon is wonderful? Hahah! We played flag football, ultimate frisbee, ate, had some beers, and enjoyed celebrating the fourth as a group. 

I've been trying to remember, but I can't remember what I did to celebrated last year's fourth. This year, though, was a good experience, celebrating with the American community here in Ankara. 

Happy Independence Day, everyone!

Hattuşa and other updates

Wow, I've really not kept up with my end of the deal, promising to blog more regularly! But that aside, it's good to be writing again. I've finished my third week at the embassy, and it's been really interesting. I'm doing what feels like substantive work which is nice. 

Today, I went to the Ankara solid waste management and repurpose facility which was downright fascinating! Don't call it a dump. Hell, they're digging up old dumps and repurposing the garbage. Frankly really really cool!

Then I went to the Ministry of Environment talking with the EPA about turkey joining the Climate And Clean-air Commission. Followed by a meeting with Turkey's public housing ministry, then off to the Ministry of Development. It was a whirlwind of armored cars, çay, and  Turk khavesi. It felt good to be home. 

In short, I'm glad I'm at the embassy. I feel like I'm doing good work, and it's a good experience. 

Finally, check out my photos from Hattuşa on my Facebook page

Turkey and the EU: before and after the internship

One of my coworkers this last week said that I should compare my thoughts on Turkish accession to the EU before and after my internship. This coworker said their opinions had really changed over the course of their working here in Ankara and following the situation. So here's the first part of what will be a two part post:

-----------
Going into the internship, my impression has been that Turkey does not really want to be in the EU. Turkey is currently in the tariff zone, allowing for easy access to the European market (Turkey's largest export partner); but they are not constrained by the legal requirements of being an EU member: recognizing Cyprus, constitutional and budget reforms, adopting the Euro, etc.

My feeling going into the internship is that the Turks derive a lot of benefits from the status quo without any of the responsibilities that go along with that. 

What actually confuses me the most though, is why the EU continues with such an imbalanced relationship. It's pretty clear to me that turkey derives benefits from this relationship, but what the EU gets, I don't really know."
-----------

I'm looking forward to revisiting this. Even in the two weeks that I've been living and working here in Ankara, I've revisited some of these original assumptions. So far those revisits haven't upended my original thoughts but added nuance, background, or motivations. Still in the dark about the EU though, hahaha!

I'll come back to this around the first week of August, so I'm looking forward to seeing where I stand in two months or so. 

Experiencing the protests

I'm in my apartment right now listening to them. I live maybe a mile and a half from where the Ankara protests have been centered. I've been advised not to leave the apartment, so I'm inside, but that doesn't mean I'm cut off from the protests.

Typically in Turkey you mark the passage of time with the call to prayer. This week though, at nine pm, it's been the population if Ankara coming onto their balconies banging pots and pans, honking horns, clapping, whistling, singing the national anthem, even. A sign of solidarity that bridges age and class divisions.

And throughout the afternoon I've heard the protests. I can hear chanting, whistling, and I can hear the "pops" of tear gas getting fired. Today there was also a helicopter flying low overhead, circling the area.

To really know what it's been like, please see my Facebook profile where I posted a series of statuses on June 1st about what I was experiencing as over 30,000 people marched on Ankara.  Also, please see my friend and colleague Danielle Cyr's blog post. She was trapped in the protest, and her blog post should be essential reading for everyone.

I'm staying safe, and the embassy is taking good care of our security. But I'm also quite bored stuck in my apartment by myself. As always, I greatly appreciate any thoughts and feedback.
Here's the link to Danielle's blog:

http://daniellelikestowrite.wordpress.com/2013/06/02/ankara-a-traumatic-arrival/



Also some statistics:

-There have been protests in 67 provinces

-There have been over 1000 injured
This includes people shot in the head with tear gas canisters, rubber bullets, and run over by a military water tanker (find the video on YouTube- viewer discretion advised)

-Tens of thousands have been tear gassed by police

-There are at least 2 dead

- about 2000 people have been arrested

Definitely not a Turkish Spring

For anyone who has been remotely following international news the last week, you may have heard ago the protests that have been occurring all over turkey. At the center of the demonstrations are divisions within Turkish society over the role of prime minister Recep Teyyep Erdoğan.

Turkey as a modern state was founded on a principle of almost radical public secularism enforced by the judiciary and the military. Erdoğan has changed the game. He is a rough and tumble urban politician whose base of support are Muslims. And while 99.6% of turkey are Muslims, politicized Islamism has never played a big role in Turkish politics.

Erdoğan has changed the rules of the game in three ways: he has curbed the army and brought it under civilian oversight (in the past, the army has engaged in coups when it felt secularism was being threatened); he has led turkey in a decade of booming economic prosperity (in the last decade Turkey's economy has tripled, with plans to triple it again in time for the republic's centenary in 2023 which would make it the tenth largest economy in the world); and he has become to be seen as an incredibly strong public figure.

This last feature is what most disturbs most people on the streets of turkey. Erdoğan is engaging in a show of force, reminiscent of his earlier days. He is not the typically aristocratic politician, and he has shown flashes of an inferiority complex. This is an outgrowth of the same.

What are the consequences of the demonstrations?

Turkey will not undergo a "Turkish Spring."  At question is not the validity of the Turkish political system. It is a question of Erdoğan. He is currently engaged (along with his economic growth plans) in an attempt to replace the current constitution put in place by a military junta. Under the proposed constitution, the president would be more in the mold of an American president with much more political power.

In his push for the withdrawal of secularism, the "growth above all else" approach to development, and the strengthening of the executive at the expense of traditional powers like the judiciary and the military, Erdoğan has over reached.

Erdoğan will not be swept from power, I don't even think he will lose his position as prime minister in the next elections. However, there will be real consequences of these crackdowns.

1) the proposed constitution will not pass
2) İstanbul will not be awarded the 2020 Olympic Games
3) FDI to turkey will take a hit

All of these are massive personal blows. The Olympics were to be Turkey's coming out party as it approached its centenary and entry as the newest BRICs country.  They will not be awarded to İstanbul. The constitution will be rejected, and this will be a rejection of Erdoğan and his executive style. Finally the growth that Turkey is planning on (an effective 900% expansion of the economy over two decades) is currently about at the limits of what Turkish input can achieve. It requires foreign investment, and I believe foreign corporations will look at state security forces indiscriminately tear gassing, hosing, and (horrifically) running over protestors with water tankers, and these corporations will need to be convinced to come to Turkey.

This is the long term impact of the Taksim protests. Erdoğan will leave office eventually, but the foreign perception of Turkey as a homogeneous Eden of investment has been exposed. Turkey has experienced internal divisions over government's role vis à vis religion before, but now large swaths of the population have challenged the government on it.

The short

The next decade will be expansionary for Turkey but not as smooth as it looked last week, even.

Last day of summer

Today Is the last day of summer (I slept in till 8:30 today and I miss it already). Tomorrow I start working at the embassy here in Ankara, and I couldn't be more excited! I'm starting to get to know my surroundings better, and I'm getting used to everything that comes with living on your own in a foreign country.  I spent the day today trying to figure out where everything is (moderately successful), and tonight, hopefully I'm getting wifi installed.

But I've out together a compare and contrast of Bursa and Ankara for laughs.

Ankara good: high visibility
Ankara bad: tap water has high levels of lead and other heavy metals

Bursa good: tap water is spring water
Bursa bad: the Turks call it cloudy. It's smog.

I thought that this might make a few people laugh. Ad I don't worry about the water too much. Five liters costs about 80 US cents!

But I think that's all for now. Happy Memorial Day, and wish me luck!

In Ankara!

I write as I sit in the bus terminal in Ankara waiting for my friend Matt to pick me up. I start my internship at the US embassy on Tuesday, and I'm very excited, but before then, I need to find an apartment haha!

All this caps off a week that has been my first real break for quite some time, if by break I mean crash course in refreshing/relearning my Turkish! It was very nice to spend that week in Bursa (Alaşar köy) with my host family from the CLS program last year. The Memiş's are incredibly hospitable, and I'm very thankful to have friends like them. 

Before I go, I also want to wish Jenny good luck as she leaves for her internship in Thailand today  you should check out her (video?) blog too (link at bottom). I plan on trying to keep a post or two every week, so send me an email complaint if I don't.
Finally, prediction: Dortmund wins tomorrow 2-1 AET.


Jenny's Thailand blog:
http://www.landofsmilesthailand.blogspot.com/

I didn't think I'd be back in Turkey so soon, but I'm glad I am!  Just to recap, I'm here in 2013 as an Intern at the US Embassy in Ankara, though I'm writing from Bursa where I've been the last week. I plan on really restarting the blog soon, but in the meantime,  something to think about:

"Political perception... is a matter of date.  If you want to judge anything written by a foreigner about a country, you need to know when the writer first went there... So often the first encounter is formative.  Emotionally and implicitly,... it remains the standard by which all subsequent developments are judged."

-Timothy Garton Ashe