Some people see the things as if, and ask why? They want to search what it is under. We dream about the things which did not happen before and occurred.

We are saying that: Why not? It is the right time. Let’s do it together. We should have courage and big dreams, asking for the impossible. With a heart, falling in love with the differences. Each of us is different. For millions of years we haven’t seen any duplicate of anybody. Each of us is arriving on earth as a unique and significant DNA. This makes all of us significant on earth. All of us are the member of the humankind family. We are brothers and sisters to each other. Sufism states that “There are many ways of reaching god, which equals to number of people on earth” 6 billion ways of reaching god is our common root of tolerance in our culture. Avrasya which is the mother land of hundreds of culture, remarkably colored geography is the land of us. We are living next to each other. Hundreds of language, body, sound and culture are erupting from all sides of us. We created a dialog project for this mosaic of differences: DA, Dialog Avrasya Magazine. DAP Dialog Avrasya Platform. We will take our roles on this stage all together. Today on earth all of us are dependent to each other. This means cooperation. DA magazine has been published since four years. It is printed in both Moscow and Istanbul. Our partner in Moscow is Lenin Library. We are working together with our Slav friends. Several times Turkish and Slav folks get together in DAP. We chat. We created projects in the beauty of Antalya. We made plenty activities in several countries of DAP members of Avrasya geography. Our hearts beat together. We reconcile our differences. Today, is reconciling and cooperation day. DAP is taking its responsibility as a civil activist group and international organization. In November we will meet again with all country committees. A new term will start. DA is one of the most important pages of these works. Because literature, art, poem, novel, cinema are our architectures of our souls. We are trying to introduce soul worlds of Turkish and Slav folks by translating many documents from other countries to the Turkish readers. I hope that many books of Turkish authors will be translated to your languages. We can join more than before. Our joining glue is love. Our hearts which are joined with love, are calling each other “I have dream”. Let’s make real our dream. Let’s give hand to hand in order to create more secure and happy world. Let’s construct our future with DA project. Let’s open the doors of opportunities for our next generations.

European Muslim Turks “It is not easy to define the concept of identity. Though I wrote a book about this problem, I have not consumed the topic yet,” Amin Maalouf says.

Because of the easiness that exists in ideological preference and the habit of debating personality by hiding behind ideology, many in our country can instantly define identity. Those who do not develop views and try to conceptualize themselves through Western ideas and modernism, and those who consider all these as the opposite front, create marginal structures. For example, leftist circles used to refer to those with environmental sensitivities as the “bourgeoisie.” This unproductivity prevented a social-based movement such as the “Greens” from coming into being. The focal point and the only slogan of all ideologies is, “We will come to power and correct everything.” Don’t wonder how! Those saying, “I am not Turkish, I exist only with my Muslim identity,” those trying to show Turkey within the nationalist movement, those taking pride in their ethnicity and trying to eradicate all others… Europe is one of the few regions where nationalism is so strong. The German government launched a “You are Germany,” campaign a short time ago. Later, it turned out that this was Hitler’s slogan and the campaign dissolved quietly. The Netherlands was shaken by an unbelievable anti-Islam campaign in the wake of the Teo Van Gogh incident. Islam was almost equated with reactionism and murder. As Amin Maalouf says: “Kemalism united two concepts in Turkey which can easily remain separate in other countries: Nationalism and modernization. In the Arab world, for instance, these two concepts do not work together. Many countries hesitate to face issues such as racism, discrimination, colonialism, religion, past tragedies or think about them differently in their heads.” It wouldn’t be right to make a categorization that “the Netherlands is not an open culture.” These countries which have been receiving immigrants for 50 years and have been asking for immigrant workers recently, have begun to deal with ghettoization, immigrant cultures and adaptation. And they seem to have gotten bored pretty quickly. The Netherlands talks about assimilation rather than integration. The cultural and historical background is not mentioned at all. There are serious prejudices but there is no knowledge. The judgments are the basic materials that fill the ignorant void. It was assumed that immigrants in the Netherlands or France coming from the colonies had been assimilated. However, the recent incidents showed this was not true. There are some Moroccan artists who have been assimilated in the Netherlands but the Moroccans entirely live in ghettoes. People sit in the streets, chat and play cards. There is no other social circle. The streets of the region where they live are their socialization areas. How will they integrate? In a public opinion poll, a Moroccan was asked, “If your neighbor were white and you saw a burglar entering his house, would you call the police?” The Moroccan replied, “I wouldn’t. I belong to the Moroccan community.” However, the response to the same question by an elderly Anatolian man at the meeting we held with Milli Gorus (National Vision) was as follows: “A burglar is a burglar. He does not belong to us.” This is what I try to say when I talk about the understanding of Turkish Islam. The fact that the Anatolian worker favored justice and rightness, without even pondering, is a cultural perception. What is being demanded in the West? To be able to live together and to have faith in the justice system. We want to maintain our identity without rejecting the law and the state. The Turks are a community that does not assimilate. They live with their strong cultural identities. “The Turkish culture must be institutionalized in Europe,” Professor Faruk Sen says. This because the Turks practice cultural integration. Turkey has a culture that can hinder those who use radical Islam politically. December 6, 2005 Dear Nevval, I may largely confirm your comment on “identity”, it’s a difficult issue indeed as it is multi-layered. Accidentally, in a discussion with a French and an Italian friend, I also pointed to the quite different standing of Turks compared to the youth gangs in France – there were even voices in the German-speaking “Turkish Desparado”-szene who called the former an (North-) African rather than a French problem. These are of course not of the Islamist fraction like Mili Görüs, but quite nationalist. However my aim here is another one, somewhat more distantly related. I will recycle letters I wrote recently in an attempt to explain some traits of “European” identity and history. The reason behind that is that I observe a profoundly erroneous assessment of European reactions on the part of Turkish politicians and quite a few commentators. There is a kind of anthropological distance. Which does not mean that for instance our reactions to impositions are inborn genetically; or, if there is something inborn, it is with high probability so in all humans. But something is from the “deep” fraction of cultures: it is inborn in our languages. Such reactions, then, may be quite predictable once the mechanism or inner logic is understood. This may well become political when different nations or “cultures” try to meet a common political future, and I’m quite sure that this is the case with “TEUrkey”. Another point here is that you may miss quite essential things if you regard a “dialogue of cultures” as a “dialogue of religions”. It is not, or only partly, the same. I’m quite sure you know much better than most journalists that ethnicity is rooted deeper and in another way than religion (e.g., by language), except perhaps in Jews and Arabs, where both is believed to be largely one and the same. Heinrich Heine for instance, a German and a Jew simultaneously and for long an exilant in France, has pointed out that Germans are essentially what he called “pantheists” – and he was quite right not only with respect to Goethe, who was known as the “Great Pagan”. Even Goethe’s friend Herder, a Catholic priest, was. This is not a kind of religious creed, but a prerogative determining the modes of thinking and feeling. And I guess it is not a mere coincidence that, when it comes to Turkey, it is exactly the Bektashite mood that I feel is essentially the same, at least in some respect. In an interview with a Swedish-Turkish religion- or cultural scientist, Ilhan Ataseven if I’m not mistaken, a certain Turgut Baba voiced that “if Bektashism had prevailed, the European Union would have been entered long ago”. I do not think he was right, I firmly know, beyond all arguing, that he was. However, my targets are rather political. The annexes below are quite long together and I don’t expect you to read it. Perhaps you find anything interesting while skimming. I will give them titles relating to the main issue. The third part is a kind of explanation as to what never to do with respect to European public opinion, and why. There is a certain logic in the overall arrangement of the letters, but it is not strict. The only quotation relates to a work of Fatma Müge Göcek, and in case you don’t yet know it, I strongly recommend to read it. The second part of the second letter is largely an abstract of its results. Otherwise it’s easy to delete it. as ever Hans-Peter Dear Ms. Sevindi, I read your article “European Muslim Turks” in the Zaman newspaper online. I found the article very interesting and incisive, and thought I should share my thoughts with you regarding the subject. Turkey has been very successful in maintaining its indigenous culture and religion whilst accepting modernity and social change. This success is not only due to the secularism that pervades Turkish society, but also the character and temperament of the Turkish people. I am myself from the Kashmir region of India and am always struck by the similarities between the Kashmiri people and the Turkish people. Just as in Turkey, the people in Kashmir tend to be very secular: although they take religion seriously, they reject any attempt to politicise it. Ultimately, it is the way people think in Turkey that has allowed the country to stave off Islamic fundamentalism. However, the Turkish people should take pride in their culture, including its religious aspect, without feeling the need to imitate the West. I think they should look upon India, Japan and China as models: as countries that are now outstripping the West but which have nevertheless retained their cultural identity, indeed, they are now culturally invading the West!! Regards Aatif Ahmad PS: I am a law student in Oxford University, England, and am very interested in Turkish affairs.

Fire Set by Racism The French integration policy is very different from that of Germany. According to the French Constitution, France is one nation and different communities do not exist.

Their duty is to adapt themselves to the common values. Even though the freedom to express one’s own culture is recognized, France cannot be regarded a multi-cultural society. This is the state perspective and is determined by law. Until the fire that started in the streets, the French people accepted immigrants from the colonies as already integrated, because they knew their language. For this reason, only the Turks constituted the immigrant group that concerned them. In 2000, young North Africans were saying: “Integration changes nothing, we are already French. You Frenchman, you are racist and we have a problem because you do not acknowledge us as part of the French society.” The fire had already started then, but the arrogant French could only realize the state of affairs under the brightness of today’s blaze. There is no assembly for foreigners in France, no North Africans in the municipal parliaments. There is just one institution in France, the High Council for Integration. There is also a social assistance fund for the immigrant communities. France halted legal migration of labor from Turkey in 1975. Until 1981, foreigners did not even have the right to establish associations. In the wake of the abolishment of this ban, associations were formed; they were followed by the opening of popular spots and restaurants. Turkish neighborhoods separated the Turks from the French society. Ghettoization brought isolation: Turks who read their own newspapers and hang out in their own cafés. The second generation of Turks failed at school, particularly the boys. The municipalities did not allow Turks to settle in neighborhoods where the Turkish population exceeded a certain number. Eighty percent of the Turks in France are young. The Portuguese population is almost one million and they are not at all assimilated, just integrated. Many of the servants in France are Portuguese. France could not prevent the immigration flow after the Algerian War of Independence, despite the restrictions it imposed. In the meantime, racist clashes had begun in Marseille. The French National Immigration Office condoned, winked at illegal workers. Turkish workers crossed from Germany and Austria to France which provided more benefits for illegal workers. The governments did not take heed of this situation because they considered the illegal workers as pariahs against whom they had no obligation. Because of the assimilation policy, the French state has never considered reaching out to immigrants. The gap between the rigid ideological perspective and the reality about immigrants prepared the ground for the recent developments. France which also implemented a selective immigration policy did not succeed. French workers hate Central European workers as well. The main factors that negatively affected Francois Mitterrand’s more tolerant policy on immigrants were economic crisis, unemployment and xenophobia. These factors remained in force without any change, and helped [Jean-Marie] Le Pen’s ascent. The most positive development in those days was the facilitation of the family union. France, which had bestowed the motto “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity” on continental Europe, nowadays is like a ship silhouette fading into the distance. However, the process has 25 years background. Europe with its undying racist and colonialist mindset is today being shaken by the EU crisis, and the idea of established superiority originating from the core mind fuels the fire. Furthermore, the US presenting the developments through the filter of the same mindset as “religious clashes,” confirms that Western ideology is a democracy apostle that cannot stand any other than itself. The racism in France is of “anti-Islamic” character as elsewhere. The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and Belgium cannot integrate with the outside world with their laws and attitudes that allow racist organizations. Europe should immediately open its gates for a cultural mindset change. Europe should cross-examine itself. November 15, 2005 11.16.2005 Let’s see Kurd İdeology what makes people asocial! Hello there…. In your article date November 15, 2005 “Europe should immediately open its gates for a cultural mindset change. Europe should cross-examine itself”. Are you Kidding me , In your country my dear a WHOLE NATION being Prosecuted and Imprisoned and tortured for Saying they are Kurds , Your article made and my friends laugh. Do not talk about something you do not give . France is a great nation .AT least it does not have a bloody ugly present or past like yours. Pier Larose Quebec , Canada

Realities of Muslim Civilization As Professor Fuat Sezgin*, whose book entitled “The Place of the Islamic World of Culture in the History of Sciences” was published by the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TUBA) last year, was taking the [Turkish] culture minister and the delegation accompanying him around his extraordinary museum, he made incredible contributions to our conceptions.

This distinguished scientist was expelled from university during the 1960 coup. He, nevertheless, has succeeded in performing miraculous works by employing a child’s enthusiasm and energy. Instead of our asking for forgiveness for expelling him, our country still places bureaucratic obstacles in front him. The incredible decrees that were promulgated, the way he struggled against laws, one listens to all these as an absurd movie scenario. Sezgin, who can use seven languages in his scientific works, complained about his works not being allowed into some libraries or not even accepted by others. Because some who claim to be smart believe that all orientalists are spies! What is worse, his article was published in Zaman’s edition of October 1, 2005 under the headline, “Turkey didn’t Lose on its Path to the EU, It Gained a Lot,” and he said that Celal Sengor, Turkey Sciences Academy Resident Member, called and asked him, “Why did you publish it in Zaman?” He replied, “They are the only ones who are interested in me. “I do not understand these ideological differences anyway.” Sezgin, over 80 years old, has been working on Islamic culture and the history of sciences for 60 years. In 1980, he managed to establish today’s institute with the help of Arab states. He opened the museum in 1982. This project, based on remanufacturing all the instruments made during the entire history of Muslim sciences and making them obvious, is breathtaking. Eight hundred instruments are being exhibited in this museum and they show that the roots Europeans link to their superiority, just by producing ideological sciences, passed through Muslim civilization. Three hundred of these are instruments which can be considered as inventions. Where are the story-telling scientists who claim that Muslims invented nothing? Or is it only about the story of the “murderous Turks?” Sezgin quotes the words of a French philosopher, “Renaissance is a fabrication” and emphasizes that a black hole has been dug between us through an understanding that considers being a scientist as pledging loyalty to everything the West says, without making any inquiry and reducing it to a mere title. He tells how intellectuals obstructed the society with a completely fabricated history, as follows: “The feeling of European superiority over the Muslim world, which began to emerge in the 17th century, lies beneath this idea of the difference of the cultural world emphasized by the Europeans. This issue of superiority that has further developed over the last four centuries is a reality. Another reality is the feeling of an inferiority complex in many Muslims, especially Turkish scholars who experience this superiority.” Sezgin who says, “When I showed the models of instruments made and used by Muslim scientists to some German and other European politicians at the museum of our institute in Frankfurt University, they asked me in astonishment the reasons behind the situation of Muslims today.” The same question is being asked by the Turks as well. Sezgin who says, “I used to think it was the Europeans who invented the map,” states that he later found out that all the maps in the West are from the Islam world and began to research on other things he could use as yardsticks. The astrolabe in the West is a copy of the one made by Muslims. The clock displaying minutes had already been made by Muslims in the 11th century. Vasco de Gama wrote: “Muslims in Africa have wonderful instruments. Their ships are splendid. The ingenuity of Muslims is in their method of suspending the compass.” The Muslims had measured the distance between Sumatra and Malaysia with a 10-km error margin. They begin the history of cartography with the Portuguese. This is a big lie. The most interesting is the story of the instrument with which Takiyuddin discovered the power of steam. This is a doner kebap (gyro) cooking machine used in Istanbul. If you think about what happened to the scientific thought that sent men from Bagdat (Baghdad) to India to conduct researches on local languages in the 11th century, you can understand that you are dwelling upon a living civilization even if you just look at the area around you. However, both the Arabs and Turks suffer from memory loss. That’s why we should open the way for Sezgin who wants to establish his library and museum in Istanbul. At least, let’s show this much willpower. *Professor Fuat Sezgin is the director of the Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science at Goethe University November 1, 2005 Executive summary: I was disappointed that the column did not grapple with the question of what did happen to Muslim scientific learning. Reading the rest of this is optional and I’m not asking for a reply. I read your article with interest but was disappointed that it was not more illuminating. I think that most literate Europeans and Americans realize the Islam was the leading intellectual force in the European and Middle Eastern world for hundreds of years. Much of what we of European descent consider classical knowledge is available solely because it was preserved by the Muslims. But, it seems to me, that the column completely failed to deal with the question, “What happened?” There is a story, perhaps apocryphal, that in 1954, South Korea and Egypt had economies that were quite similar in terms of size and capabilities. Today, there isn’t a factory in Egypt that can make a light bulb. I’m not advocating the way of Western materialism as being worth perusing in and of itself, but, in my opinion, Islamic countries have certainly lost all claim to being leading intellectual lights in terms of science and mathematics. The question of what happened is of great interest to me. I’m a 60-year old, white (polite term is “Anglo-Saxon”), Vietnam veteran radically opposed to the war in Iraq. I started reading Zaman in the days when Turkey was coming to the decision not to allow the U.S. to invade Iraq through Turkey. There is a saying in English that we attribute to the Chinese. “There is a Chinese curse, ‘May you live in interesting times.’” Turkey does seem to live in “interesting times,” but because of where it is located, that seems to have been true for a very long time. My best wishes for your society to work itself out as Turkey needs. I apologize for having to write in English. I’m also grateful that you publish in English. The American news media needs all the foreign help it can get. This email does not require a reply although you should feel free to reply should you care to. Don Briggs Berkeley, California Dear Nevval, again, thank you for your last comment which I could read today. It’s a big task, I guess, but necessary indeed. I remembered another private comment I recently uttered on the issue, targeting however another aspect of cultural heritage (below). I guess there are many such keepsakes throughout the world, but not least in the Europe-Turkey tale. the best Hans-Peter – In general I guess that neither Marx nor Weber had any substantial knowledge of Islam or “Turkey”. Prof. Fikret Adanir, in a German-language essay, has pointed out that “the Orient”, “Asia” or such has frequently been used as a screen in European intellectual history: You project on it what you don’t like and then liken your opponents with that picture. (ADANIR, F.: Das Osmanische Reich als orientalische Despotie in der Wahrnehmung des Westens. – 83-121. in: KÜRSAT-AHLERS, E., TAN, D. & H.-P. WALDHOFF (Hrsg.)(2001): Türkei und Europa. Facetten einer Beziehung in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart. – 235 S., Frankfurt am Main (IKO-Verlag für Interkulturelle Kommunikation)) Obviously, then, you need to know nearly nothing, but also, the next generations may become entangled in case the intellectual in question is later regarded as an authority on the matter. That’s probably an important part of the current political drama. -I may add here that Adanir is neither an islamist nor nationalist or Ottoman-romanticist, but simply an eminent historian.- It may become more complicated if I imagine that Western-educated Turks project these ancient projection on themselves. That might become a psychological drama of sort. So I guess it’s quite important to erode these results of history in the scientific community and the public on either side. – externalized cultureHans-Peter Geissen [hpgeissen@web.de]

We must Externalize Culture I was at the Frankfurt Book Fair. The fair that was celebrating its 57th anniversary, was like a cultural festival on a gigantic area. Hosting 7,000 publishers and 400,000 different kinds of books from 80 countries, the fair was being covered by 10,000 news agencies. Imagine the promotion capacity within five days.

“The guest of the year” country was introduced with various activities not only in the fair area but everywhere in the town. Korea was the fair’s guest this year for the second time. Since Turkey did not make an assessment of Germany’s demands in 2002, it has never been a guest country so far. No thanks to our bureaucracy, it just likes obstructing. The things being said are the exact answer to the question, “Why doesn’t the West know us?”. Because the world of personal disagreements, instead of making sensible planning and grabbing opportunities, becomes irresistibly heavy politically. The participation of Turkish Culture Minister Atilla Koc and Undersecretary Mustafa Isen this year, was a very positive thing. Especially, being able to realize the Introduction of Turkish Culture, Art and Literature (TEDA) project showed that Turkish politics gradually is beginning to perceive the power of literature. In addition to this, efforts are being made for us to participate in the fair in 2008 as a guest country. In Turkey, there is no system, institution or person marketing the writers and culture. For us, marketing, place and product are considered special skills. Even the Bosch Foundation donated 800 million euros for the promotion of Turkish literature. The carpeted surface where Korea and German Writers’ Union played a soccer match at the weekend is in the center of the soccer section. The fair which donated a “halle” to soccer due to the fact that the 2006 World Cup finals will be played in Germany, emphasizes the importance of foresightedness. In addition to the section for the pin ball game, you try to hit books with balls just like in amusement parks and get the books if you hit them. These activities are nice because they make the youths and kids enthused about books. Their seriousness is in professional ethics. For example, the chairman of the German Publishers’ Union reportedly resigned for selling his own shop to a giant chain called Tayla. The publishers raised hell because they found the behavior of the chairman, who is supposed to be against monopolization, unethical. I also have news for the so-called “elite” approach which humiliates us very much by saying this kind of events do not happen anywhere else except in Turkey: As the decision to transform the old town into the way it was before World War II was passed by the City Council, all hell broke loose. The municipality administration brought a therapist as a solution to the request that Frankfurt, known as Germany’s most modern city, be turned into its pre-1938 state! When the psycho-therapist joined the meeting, members went mad, saying, “Do you think we are insane?” The administration said, “We are trying to analyze your behavior.” When you look at countries from the inside, you can perceive much better how some columnists or elites in Turkey are trying to humiliate the country unjustly. The corners held by people whose minds and judgments are locked, are only like stone walls blocking the country. Following the assassination of Dutchman Theo van Gogh by a Moroccan, his Somali friend Ayan Hirsi Ali, spearheaded a campaign against immigrants, Muslims and Turks. “A macho culture is being condoned under the falsity of living together, women are being crushed, ” she says. She also continues to attract supporters because the latest and most popular books at the fair are stories of Turkish girls forced into marriage. “Ayse” is written on a book cover with bold letters. The subhead is: Nobody Asked Me. It is a Turkish girl forced into marriage who is narrating this. A sad picture of a bride staring at you. Renate Eder is the book’s author. The book tells about Ayse being brought from her village at the age of 14 and forced to marry her cousin and the torture by her mother-in-law. When you read this, you have a feeling of hatred and anger. The title of the second book is, “I Just Want to Be Free,” written by Hulya Kalkan. She also writes a story of her being forced to marry and return to Turkey, as a 17-year-old Turkish girl who was born and raised in Germany. I had dealt with the approach of Turks to women, the situation of the girls and the problem of forced marriage in a documentary I made in 2000. The women who talked to me covered their faces out of fear. Turkey is unaware of what is happening in Germany and those in Germany are unaware of the happenings in Turkey. How then can you expect foreigners to know us? October 26, 2005

In order to Do a Favor A newly established holiday created polemic in Russia. November 4th, which was suggested by religious men and accepted by the public as an official holiday, is called “National Unity Day”. The November 7 Revolution Day celebrated for 80 years has been removed in return.

The characteristic of the November 4 holiday is that you must do a favor on that day. A poll conducted reportedly showed that 75 percent of the people do not know the meaning of any holiday, but become happy simply because it is a holiday. Another negative result that was obtained from the poll is that nobody wants to make any favors for anyone else and that nobody really cares about each other. However, while they debate over doing a favor or not for just one day of the year, we endeavor to do favors and charity during the whole month of Ramadan in our country. We display consolidation. It is obvious that we must preserve this spiritual atmosphere and its values and carry them to the rest of the world. Russia’s mufti, Ravil Gainutdin, is in Turkey now. He said that religious freedom, which was not given during the era of Czarism and communism, is given to Muslims today. He stated that for the first time Islam has the same rights as Judaism and Christianity. However, although Gainutdin says, “Mosques are full of Muslims performing teravih prayers, [special for Ramadan prayer following the Isha prayer, sunnah of the Prophet Mohammed]. Everybody competes to invite their Muslim brothers to iftar dinner. Friday prayers are not omitted. Big iftar dinners are organized outside for the first time this year,” he also indicates that Islam phobia continues among the people. Carrying an Arabic printed book in your hand causes suspicion. Last Friday after the teravih prayer, a few Russian young men raided the mosque of a young imam with a PhD degree. They reportedly beat the congregation and the imam, who was taken to the hospital. It was reported that currently the imam does not have any sight ability. The attackers shouted “You won’t be able to seize Russia with Islam.” Why are these people against Islam? I think that the Russian church, state channels and media do not convey positive information about Muslims; on the contrary they form unreal images. For instance, the Iraq War is broadcasted as the war of violent Muslims killing each other. There is no political dimension. The media makes provoking publications. The state still controls 85 percent of the media. The Orthodox Church does not use its will power, either. There is the mentality that has a historical approach based on just defeating a religion; therefore, the nation invests in the image of an intolerant Muslim. The result: people who do not want to do a favor. The iftar dinner organized by the Turkish Foundation of Writers and Journalists on Sunday had the theme “Towards global peace”. Peace and other values will evidently emerge from Anatolian territory. Especially since students coming from Cambodia, Senegal, Kenya, Bosnia, Russian Federation drew a wonderful picture side by side, hand in hand. The Nigerian student said “These schools will change Africa’s misfortune.” When a Kyrgyz student said they spoke in Turkish with other students from all over the world and became close friends, I forgot all insults, cruel judgments and rejections I had been subject to for having defended the schools. Looking at the hopeful faces of the youth from different races, I also thought of the things done to Fethullah Gulen who set up Turkey’s biggest peace movement and platform. We, Anatolia-the owner of the culture of love, will overcome our misfortune and add more values to the world’s values. The children of exploited countries and consumed with wars were speaking Turkish, the language of “peace and love”. They were commemorating Yunus Emre: “Let’s love and be loved”. I watched my phrase “Muslim missionaries,” which drew great reaction when I first wrote it, to be used as a familiar taste by other mouths. The fact that Osman Baydemir appeared on stage with these children and gave messages of unity and peace means the following: The agreement of the differences that could not be achieved by any institution and political party in Turkey has been achieved by Gulen. Many people in this country, including me as well, were blackened and slandered by the publications similar to those of the Russian media, and no comment was made. The world continues to turn today. I listened to Mevlana Jalaladdin-i Rumi, who said, “Listen to the voice of your heart/ then you can see roses unfolding and greens growing inside you, and that remedied my loneliness. October 19, 2005

Beginning the Bridge In the 1970’s, while evaluating the relationship with the EU, Turan Gunes had said figuratively speaking, “One cannot play pishti (a Turkish card game) at a bridge club.” Playing bridge is based on certain rules and one should make the effort to learn them.

It cannot be played with disorder, nepotism and arbitrariness. The anger always thrashes the minds of our country and we miss the light. In 1998, we ran the campaign “Come on, Turkey Forward to Europe” on the front page of Yeniyuzyil newspaper for days. While the youth and all segments of society sent very optimistic messages, Necmettin Erbakan and his friends became very angry. Moreover, many journalists wrote “We deceive people, we cannot enter Europe!” Those whose thoughts could not move beyond of this ideological polarization were angered. I had written the following: “Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who said independence is my character, was never skeptical about this country. Turkey won its independence at the beginning of the century in an environment where people were being preyed upon by the wolves at our door, today should not fear making some self-criticisms. If we cannot rid ourselves of the fears of the past, we cannot produce new policies. Polarization and the feeling of hatred is the greatest obstacle facing our entry in the new century. Unless we have a shared ideology, we will have no future. Mahatma Gandhi questions the laws and says: Rejecting cooperation with what is bad is a man’s duty just as cooperating with the good is.” Money, law or institutions are not the source of freedom, the source of freedom is humans. Their solid character and principles cannot be bought, they cannot be outlawed, and they cannot be exhausted by being made to suffer difficult conditions. We are at a historic turning point that will take a privileged place in Turkey’s history. Let us ask the question, “Are we brave and principled enough to undertake the task that awaits us?” while looking in the mirror of future. Because the future stems from today, the ideology developed from stereotypical ideas and opinions are like a thorn in the foot of the transforming world. We cannot destroy the thorn but we can remove it from our foot. Liberalists or social democrats in our country could not realize the mental change y, however it has been realized by members of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) who came from Erbakan’s party, labeled a religious party. Thus, they came to power as well as they energized the country. The AKP adherents went through mental change, overcome the negative discourse of Erbakan, “the Western club,” and they joined the club. Why is it that the AKP members and not others succeeded at this? It is because AKP members had a social background. Anatolian tradesmen, KOBI’s (small and medium size enterprises) and its restricted capital realized the importance of opening to the world. They pushed for the mental change. The Istanbul bourgeoisie and circles that were in cooperation with the West could not do this. Parties representing them could not do it either because they have empty foundations, only their inner world and intellect would force them to make change and it was not there. They could not do it. They did not even support those who fight alone as Western type intellectuals. The AKP should continue to proceed with the mentality change and it should dispose of its conservative sides. As Olli Rehn said, “The total freedom of thought missed in all fields” should be realized. All kinds of social sexual discrimination towards women should be removed from laws and practices. In the TV programs I have been preparing since 1995, all politicians to whom I asked about ensuring the total freedom of thought in the law gave affirmative responses. Nobody said, “I do not want it.” However, they did not take any action to make amendments to laws to ensure total freedom of thought or for amendments in the election law about the parties. When I looked at what I have been writing for years, I see that I have always emphasized the following: “In a country that cannot express its thought freely, there can be no intellectuals, universities, or opinion-makers. There can only be men following the ideas of gangs and teams. The obedience exists there as the only norm. Turkey has the ability to make its own synthesis, clear its way, that’s enough.” As we are changing, we will change Europe as well. We will convey the human essence and our civilization to them. They will free themselves of their own bigotry. Bigots have existed in every century. The bigots of the past had a single name: “The Mullah Kasims! Bigots of today will be named with the same common name tomorrow as well. As for those who realized change, they will exist and will be remembered by their own names. October 11, 2005 Letter:Dear Nevval, first, thank you. Three points I think might be helpful in one or the other way. I. In your comments, you mentioned quite frequently mentality problems. As to ideology I understand that an authoritarian nationalism is the main problem (as generally in Europe and beyond), causing the emergence of bands and cliques, corruption a.s.o.. In the end Turkey is derived from the Ottoman state bureaucracy, so it’s understandable with its advantages and disadvantages. It was certainly thought FOR the people in some sense, but not BY the people. To claim nationalism and to be a nation are different things indeed, as you wrote on some occasions. And the AKP might be seen as a kind of “revolutionary peoples party” or similar, that is, they are currently building the nation of Turkey for the first time (of course, I simplify the process here). They cannot do it alone however, as a nation is never represented by one party alone. On the other hand, the AKP seems to know that. A certain parallel in history, and quite a heartening and sentimental one for me, is the emergence of authentic national-democratic movements in the 19th century’s Central Europe, as they -wether Germans or Poles ot others- wanted to become free nations in a unified Europe. In Hambach, both avowed brotherhood with one another and the French. Jews like Heinrich Heine were leading figures among the Germans. However, as the nations were defeated and usurped by bureaucracies and ideologists, we went through a century of destruction, and after WW2 began to unify the ruins and the graveyards. All in all, we have learned and still learn methods that ensure a democratic development. We had to learn a lot about problems and risks on the way, about fatal errors that may occur and human failures which are always present. It is, or should be, a cause of joy that Turkey wants to join the same union. Perhaps, it will be, if the development is understood and communicated this way? II. Personally I’m especially struck by the issue of “struggle against hostile investment”. Many ideological constructions are really surprising unless one learns lots of historical specials. Let me add some remarks to the “European” side. The mention of “absorption capacity” first is a sedative regarding fears about mass immigration and financial request, and second an admonition to prepare the EU for the foreseeable developments and to reduce and/or share the costs. Further, it is a reminder that the EU urgently needs a smoother mode of decision-making. The financial aspect predominantly relates to the agrarian sector and rural development, Turkey being the most challenging candidate ever seen in the EU’s history. The aspect of decision-making relates not only to the current 25 states and to the accession of Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Turkey, but of the whole Balkan region too. (And in the long term we may foresee a further and probably last enlargment zone stretching from Moldavia to Azerbeijan, not to mention the remaining possible but easy candidates in Western Europe.) It may be worth to remember that all these aspects were repeatedly emphasized by Austrian politicians, not least the former EU commissioner for rural affairs, Franz Fischler of the Austrian Peoples Party (ÖVP), a party-colleague thus of Schüssel, Plassnik and Ferrero-Waldner. As well as they need a sedative for the Austrian public (and others), they are aware of some difficulties on the ground (which include mentalities of course). So, another formula discussed by the Austrians last year was a transitional period with Turkey becoming a member of the European Economic Community and some selectable EU-treaties, like Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. Both these complexes mentioned above should be seen as grave, that means, they do not relate to some luxuries, but may challenge the existence of the union. However, there is only a slight probability that the EU will reject Turkey, as she is needed in some crucial respects. Definitely, we will not have a century to waste. Whereas the “privileged partnership” concept is not appropriate, it may be seen as an attempt to construct an intermediate or even an emergency solution in case we do not find a better one. If such a solution will be needed depends on both sides. III. At last, I want to point to some trump cards Turkey holds in the field of European history. There is the archaeological record, which is rather gigantic and contains the essentials of early European history as well as a cultural history of 12.000 years. And there are the Ottoman archives, which also are rather gigantic and will help to re-write SE-European history of the last 500 years. Last not least, the ethnographical record, of which I do not know much, but have no doubt that it refers to matters which generally are poorly known outside Turkey, while they might shade some light on questions of more general concern. If these assets could be made more commonly known, perhaps by congresses or TV features, it might show to a larger public that we have not just to do with a “developing country”, as it is in economic terms. best wishes Hans-Peter Geissen Germany

Today is a Brand New Day Austria claiming the “EU cannot absorb Turkey” resisted the ratification of 24 countries. Unfortunately, Austria which could stomach the Bosnian war in the heart of Europe at the end of the 20th century, is now protecting war criminals.

UN War Crimes Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte said, “You cannot imagine how disappointed I am, the prime minister (of Croatia) promised me full cooperation. General [Ante] Gotovina is still on the run,” in a sad way. The Austrian Die Presse newspaper’s headline read, “The government must have seen red.” In fact, the European Parliament has also seen red and is busy with 1915, the massacre in Bosnia doesn’t interest it. The task of the prosecutor definitely is very hard. Because of the EU issue, Turkey has been the most important topic on the media agenda for a long time. The covers, front pages and documentaries all try to describe Turkey. When I look at all these, I see the European media dealing with Turkey more positively than ever before. The reason for this is that the number reporters who are long-term residents of Istanbul has increased, and journalists speaking Turkish and trying to know Turkey are relaying information that influences Europe. I think they have even begun perceiving Turkey deeply without being affected by the negative attitudes and expressions of the Turkish intellectual group. The Westerners who used to analyze Turkey after speaking to a few known people have now been replaced by those who speak to people from different strata. The fact that the [British] The Independent newspaper devoted its front page to Turkey and positively conveyed to the society the answers to the question, “What have the Turks ever done for us?” could serve as an example for us as well. Why? Because they could relay more information about Turks and Ottomans picked up here and there, through know-it-alls in rooms full of diplomas and languages. Our newspapers even criticize our multiculturalism, and say for instance, “the minorities” were distinguished by their clothes, what kind of democracy is this? Don’t even dare mention the era of empires! It is hard to find an intellectual who would accept these words, “The West learned everything about trade from the Ottomans.” Just like those among us, who gather information here and there, say: “We knew nothing about trade, only the minorities used to trade and violent acts were committed in order to get hold of it.” The newspaper which praised Turkish political ingenuity, said the following: “The ancestors of the Turks showed their political genius and brought their nomadic tribes from the Central Asian steppes to the gates of Vienna. They brought their power of synthesis in calligraphy, metal and glass arts to the West.” What do ours say: “The Turks were nomads riding on horsebacks who knew nothing about art. There would have been no art, no architectural work of ours without the Armenians and the Greek Cypriots!” The newspaper that mentions the effects of military knowledge and the Ottoman luxury and comfort on the West contradicts all our allegations. That the Ottoman-Turkish culture gave the West human comfort, welfare and pleasure, which were rejected by the Puritans, was praised in the Newsweek’s cover as “Cool Istanbul.” The only person who wrote negative things about Turkey and Istanbul was Orhan Pamuk! The author of “Kara Kitap” (Black Book) could not help depicting a black country! It was meaningful that Mr. [Norman] Stone, in his editorial in The Times yesterday, asked, “Does the honest, active Turkey really need us?” Because there is unemployment, tax burden and heavy bureaucracy in Europe. We should also not forget that we made a very late request to Europe, which asked our hand for full membership 42 years ago. I think that the ground for negotiation is closer to the marriage today. Because the Western mentality that analyzes Turkey admits that it needs it. While ours get drowned in the shallowness of the discourse, “If I were them, I would not accept Turkey, either,” the Westerners read and see as required by intellectualism and do not refrain from expressing the admiration they feel towards Turkish culture, history and energy. Those who refrain from doing so are the ones who cannot overcome the inferiority complex of the “Siege of Vienna,” just like Austria, and those who embrace the committers of genocide… Mevlana addressed them 800 years ago: “Yesterday is gone, my dear / we need to say something new today!” October 4, 2005 10.05.2005

This year has seen 22 million tourists come to Turkey. Eight million of them chose Antalya, on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Antalya’s large planning center still has hundreds of projects on its shelves, all of which aim to promote the city even further.

Antalya Mayor Menderes Turel says that a sewage plant, the construction of which was completed within 5.5 months, now prevents waste from 250,000 people from flowing into the sea. Such a beautiful city, loved by the entire world, has reached this stage despite all those plans, projects, and promises. Its infrastructure has still not been completed and yet I am sure no administrator feels any responsibility in this. Hia Nevval I note in your article the value attached to wards providing and attracting tourism. This is of course a major money spinner for many economies and it can make a substantial impact on the earnings through foreign exchange. I recently had a good fortune to visit Istanbul and Ankara. My initial experience over whelmed me, particularly the rich and historical past. I was very moved by the hospitality and the kindness given to us. The people were so helpful and friendly that we felt proud to have been able to experience this wealth of Turkish society. However, I do have some minor concerns about the facilities offered to the tourist in these big cities. One of these is that there was lack of strategically placed information centres which would really help people like us who have an extremely limited knowledge of the country. One had to try and look very hard to find right details which could be frustrating and time consuming. The public transport system seemed so complex that even the locals would sometime struggle to work out how to direct us. I am sure this would one of the important items for improvement in the mind of Turist Board. Regards amjad khan Thank you for your invite, I certainly hope that I am able to make more journeys to your lovely country and rich my life with more immensely delightful experiences as my family and I had in our last visit. In fact, Mr. Turel proves many things can be done only in one year if only one wishes it. A masterplan for development and construction of public facilities and transportation will be completed for the first time this year. The mayor’s most remarkable characteristic is that he comes from a long-established family in Antalya. He has several stories and memories in each corner of the city. Antalya, which looks like a concrete jungle when viewed from above, is still a very beautiful city. Turel, who won the municipal elections with 35 percent of all votes, received 46 percent support in a survey conducted a year later. Described as a “young and dynamic” candidate during his election campaign, the mayor is now known for his diligence and frankness. The mayor never replies to aggressive criticisms in a similarly aggressive style and is happy because the opposition against him does not include any allegations of corruption. “Those, who are in power, are criticized for what they do. But here we are criticized for what we don’t do and we’d never do,” he adds. Noting that he is not pleased with the change of hands of Kaleici, the mayor said everything would be revised and restored. If Kaleici is no longer treated as decoration but rather a revival of the old Antalya, the city will benefit from this at high levels. Transportation from Belek to Antalya’s downtown is rather difficult. Tourists coming to Belek mostly return to their countries without seeing the real Antalya. Turel plans to construct a railroad system between Belek and Antalya which aims to reinvigorate Antalya, a city and a center that is worth a walk around at nighttime. “We usually worry about walking around Antalya during the night time,” the mayor says and has launched an initiative to bring light and security to every corner of the city. They aim to provide a secure environment for tourists to walk comfortably in the streets. Turel, who views social and cultural activities as the municipality’s essential duties, has benefited from theatre in many ways. For instance, he provided students of 44 high schools a play based on a true-life story: “My 18 Years”, a play about the fight against drug addiction. Turel’s goal is to make Antalya a trade, congress and tourism center and to extend the “season” to 12 months there. Some hotels present their customers the culture of Yoruk nomads in addition to football, golf and rafting events which are encouraged in Antalya. A new system allowing those who want to settle in Antalya after their retirement has opened a new era. This system is also practiced in the island of Majorca and works as a kind of settlement-based tourism. A German village in Alanya is an example of this. Antalya prepares to become sister city to Yafa and Gaza There are 62,000 squatter houses in Antalya, which pulls the highest number of immigrants. Twenty percent of its population comes from Southeastern Anatolian Region of Turkey and they are settled in the Kepez region. Pro-Kurdish Democratic People’s Party (DEHAP) could win only seven percent of votes from this region in the last elections. I must also say that a visit to the 7 Mehmet Restaurant is an essential part of any visit to Antalya. 7 Mehmet is the oldest restaurant in the city. The brothers Hakki and Sadik Akdag, following the tradition of the “Ahi Brotherhood” ( a religious fraternity developed by the 14th-century leader Ahi Avran from a medieval craftsmen’s guild), present a unique range of dishes at their restaurant. They are living examples of how to work in the service sector. They go to the bazaar and control prices and quality themselves and often sleep at the restaurant instead of going home. Their father Mehmet Akdag taught his sons to learn all aspects of the business. Some have even asked Hakki to play the piano in the restaurant but this is a step too far: “I cannot learn playing the piano at this age. If the cook runs away, I can cook; if the waiter runs away, I can serve, but if the pianist runs away, I cannot play!” he joked. A visit to Antalya shows Turkey is not in need of more industry. Everything we provide through promotion of tourism and cultures, as well as protection of the environment, will attract the attention of the entire world. August 30, 2005 hi mrs. sevindi how are you. ı wish you are fine. ı read your writing everytime. ı like it. because your writing is very logical. thank you very much for it. ı want to ask you someask. what do you say? 1. do you like from turkey? 2.do you like from türkiye’s PEOPLE? we are like you. because we are all brothers and sisters. byeeee ALPAY KAYA

Istanbul Culture The prominent US tourism magazine, “Travel&Leisure,” has announced its 2005 success list. Two hotels in Istanbul — the Four Seasons Hotel and the Ciragan Kempinski — ranked among the top places on the magazine’s list of best hotels. Moreover, Istanbul is ranked seventh best city in the world on the 2005 list. Sydney is first, Rome third, Florence fourth and New York sixth. Istanbul is ranked third best city in Europe after Rome and Florence. Experts agree this is a great success.

As someone who has seen all these cities, I can say that Istanbul has a richer cultural variety in addition to its natural environment, geographical position and historical heritage. Sydney is a city with a modern urban design, utilizing the attractiveness of the sea but not history. If you say New York, its attractiveness stems only from its architectural structure suppressing all human sizes, representing the 20th century and supported by a synergy of different cultures. Although Chinese, African Americans or Hispanics live in separate neighborhoods, life still goes on in common spheres. The Roman history does not include different races but Rome’s urban architecture and entertainment ethos are still rich. Florence is an urban atmosphere you breathe both a certain historical period and dance with the Renaissance. As for Istanbul, it has been existing since the Neolithic Age. It has a city soul from time immemorial. Thousands of peoples, cultures and histories, including Genoese, Eastern Rome, Turks and Russians have lived here and left have traces on this splendid palace called Istanbul. Although these peoples lived in different neighborhoods, they had formed a common Istanbul culture and soul since the Ottoman times. Clothes in different colors resembling different origins of people did not prevent friendships. Istanbul lying on the Bosphorus, the longest water line, could survive until the 1990s without damaging its natural fabric. Istanbul faced oblivion because of politicians who did not/could not handle the waves of mass immigration which started in the 1980s. Those who didn’t love and understand it treated the city roughly. Who are those people? They are masses alien to the city culture and fail to internalize it. Those “provincials” that Istanbulites complain about and identify with different concepts begot rednecks (in Turkish slang they are called magandas) who damaged the urban culture. They plundered, polluted and spoiled this city they didn’t feel like they belonged to it. And finally, they became mafias. Nevertheless, Istanbul still has an untouched structure. There is a culture that it has molded for millennia. One can easily be fascinated by surprising cultures, peoples and architecture seen in every neighborhood and every corner of the city. This feeling of being surprised that fascinates you is accompanied by a feeling of excitement as well. I was excited when I heard that Prof. Ilber Ortayli would teach courses on “Istanbul.” It is very nice that what I have been recommending for 17 years would come true. I want Istanbul to be the subject of a unique course in the national curricula, beginning from primary school. Adoption of an urban culture starts at age six or seven. Plus, there mustn’t be illiteracy and forgery. A friend of mine, who is an author, complains about those who look like descent people in publishing world: “Unfortunately, I annulled my agreement with a publishing company and collected my book I could finish at the end of a three-year study. I am 51 years old but perhaps I still could not understand people’s deification of monetary ambitions. Ms. Sevindi, I feel like a mother who has lost her newborn baby. I was shocked when I saw the first edition. Except the first 25 pages and the last 15 pages of the book, all other pages do not belong to me. I learned that the official application for the International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN) had not been made by July 11. They directed me to the banderole system. I went to the City Culture Directorate and realized that no banderoles had been obtained for my book. Banderoles on my book belonged to three different authors. I applied to the notary public and reported to the publishing company that I have officially repealed my agreement. I asked compensation as well,” my friend says. Isn’t this the behavior of a redneck? Don’t we ignore many issues like this? Don’t we avoid writing about the realities? Aren’t the ones who always seek interests the rednecks? Isn’t this feeling of indifference spoiling our cities? Increasing the city culture and making Istanbul a lovable city not only for tourists but also for all those living in Istanbul can only be achieved through a mentality transformation. August 2, 2005 Dear Nevval Hanim: I enjoyed your article “Istanbul Culture” in Zaman. I also e-mailed a copy of it to one Istanbullu. I wish, you could mention what Napoleon Bonaparte said about Istanbul. He said, “If World were a single state its capital would be Istanbul.” Many thanks for your article. Respectfully, Zouk / USA. Dear Mrs Sevindi, As I am new reader of your most distinguished newspaper and in searching , recently, of its past articles I have come across with your interesting article, of the 8.5.2005, under the title “ Istanbul Culture”. I have carefully read same and I was surprised that although you refer to Istanbul’ s passed and present history and culture you deliberately omit three basic cultures i.e. Greek, Armenian, Jewish that played, and continue playing ,very important role to this unique city’s life. Being an old inhabitant,journalist and guide of Istanbul,which I continue loving with all my existence and heart although I live the last 40years in Greece,allow me to express my bitterness about your omission. Mrs Sevindi , you must well note that Greeks have played a very important role in Istanbul’ s history,but in your country’s history as well,and each stone,toponyme ( name of a region, geographical place of ci- ty/town/village etc),monument or corner has something of the breath or sweat or contribution of them. Please check the names : Istanbul,Izmir,Trabzon.Samsun,Sinop,Tarabya,Samatya,Marmara,Iznik etc. To hide this fact is not good for Turks at all, the moment you knock the door of Europe and you aim to become European by choice and not by force or financial and political interest only. If you have chosen to include Greeks, as your most guides wrongly do, in Eastern Rome’s culture this is wrong again as Greeks pre-existed Rome ( whose culture was based on the Ancient Greek culture ) and continue being existed ever since, although Roman Culture disappeared with Roman Empire. We Rum as Greeks, and not Byzantines or East Roman or I don’t know what ( Ionians,Karians,Kappado- kians,Pontians,Thracians etc ), we continue our civilization which has started in Aegean 7000 BC and has expanded all over the world ( again you can follow the toponyms in the Black Sea, Mediterranean, Europe,North Africa,Middle East,Asia etc ) contributing to world’s history and culture productively. With this opportunity I would like to mention that it is totally unacceptable your guides, guiding thou- sands of tourists ( which visit Turkey to partly see Greek culture and past and big part of which arrive with Greek ships or buses since 60’s and 70’s when tourists were very few in Turkey ) or brochures printed by various sources ( state,prefectures,municipalities etc ) NEVER mention the name Greeks but are “ quite satisfied ” by using names of cultures such as Ionians, Karians, Pisidians, Pontians, Pamphilians, Kappadokians etc. Dont they know that all these cultures belong to one and only cultu- re that has written history with golden letters since Aegean Civilization ( Cycladic Culture ) and Pha- raonic times ( Minoan and Myceanean Cultures ) long before other cultures appear in Anatolia ? It’s time to teach them all in order to make good and correct reference to Greek culture and civilizati- on for better promotion of Turkey in the very competitive international touristic market. I will be very happy to read your opinion on all above and should you need any help in the future,for our culture and contribution,please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely yours / Sevgilerimle ve saygilarimla Vassilis Hatzopoulos