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The border
[Welcome to continuing coverage of my recent trip to Istanbul, southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq. Link below for previous posts.] The border zone between Turkey and Zakho, in northernmost Iraq, is a bleak expanse of concrete and mud. Major renovations are underway—“they’re making it more like Europe,” our driver, Haji, says in Turkish—but First World conditions are a long way
Southeastern Turkey
[Welcome to continuing coverage of my recent trip to Istanbul, southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq. Link below for previous posts.]On the evening of March 19, my colleague Yigal Schleifer and I took a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Diyarbakir, a mere 90 minutes but seemingly a world away. The largest city in southeastern Anatolia, Diyarbakir has long been a
Turkish nationalism
Those who think of the U.S. as a morass of jingoistic display could gain some perspective by visiting Turkey. At the top, a banner of Ataturk adorns a building in commemoration of the Ottoman victory in Gallipoli in World War I (1915). At bottom, at the ferry landing in Büyükada, Ataturk appears in a more Soviet style, above a plaque
“A traffic light gone haywire”
[Welcome to “Istanbul, Southeast Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan: A Political Travelogue.” Link below for the next post in the series.] The sights in Istanbul were awe-inspiring, from Muhammad’s sword and scabbard at Topkapi Palace to the meditative labyrinth of the Yerebatan Sarayi, a huge sixth-century cistern built by Emperor Justinian I. Also, these unforgettable views from the shores of Büyükada,
Won’t see this at JFK
Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport connects to just about everywhere. This is one of the first things I saw upon landing.
Movement
These two pictures highlight two very different types of movement. At the top are the “whirling dervishes” of the Mevlâna Egitim ve Kültür Dernegi in Istanbul. From their ceremony booklet: Contemporary science definitely confirms that the fundamental condition of our existence is to revolve. There is no object, no being which does not revolve and the shared similarity among beings
Return
I’m back from a whirlwind trip through Istanbul, southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq. Watch this space for dispatches and travelogues. These two pics capture the view from my friends’ beautiful apartment on Istiklal Cadessi, in Beyoglu, Istanbul.