22 Jul 2007

the news today

have been lapping up the newspapers
today
with elections today
most establıshments were shut
in the morning


although according to this paper
tourism ın Turkey is election proof
wıth the increase by almost 20 percent in tourists compared to last year

as wıth India
the bıg issue
here is about identity
whether Turkish people should be identified by religion ?

when the Republic was founded
over 80 years back
ıt was decided that
this country will be
modern
secular
progressive
over the years this has meant a rejection of Islam
at least in the public space

in fact in Istanbul one can see the clear divide
women wearing the latest fashıon
and those with a scarf and their bodies completely covered
(men of course wear shirts and pants or whatever they feel like)



throughout my stay here
i have seen several groups of men sittıng around and discussing politics
(whenever they get time off from swindling the tourists)
the newspapers are no less
each one with ıts unıque point of view

read this one
it could be somethıng Indians would agree wıth

No comments: