Turkey

Thursday, November 18, 1999 Yesterday on the city orientation we visited the central and historically significant Taksim Square, then Suleymaniye, a mosque built by Sinan, the Michelangelo of Turkey, then the Blue Mosque, then the Grand Cistern which is an amazingly atmospheric underground hall, built in the sixth century under Justinian and where Itanbul's sultans used to store water when the city was besieged. It's also where I played my bagpipes in 1995 at the request of the Cistern; I was playing on the street and they invited me in. We then went to Topkapi palace which was the center of the Ottoman universe for around 600 years. Topkapi also housed the Sultan's harem and the Janissary guard. Like the Forbidden Palace's many courtyards in Beijing, Topkapi Palace has four courtyards which progressively restricted access to various groups. It's a beautiful palace overlooking the Bosphorus in an historically central part of the world. Istanbul, then Constantinople, in the 6th century was the eastern end of the Roman Empre and the center of the Christian world. During the Ottoman Empire, imperial Istanbul's power extended far beyond its walls. Click photo to enlarge Turkish boys Friday, November 19, 1999 In contrast to yesterday's heavy rain, today is a spectacularly clear November day. I saw a crowd assembling outside the French consulate today near Taksim Square very close to the internet cafe where I'm writing. Someone said that French president Jospin is here - probably for the summit of world leaders. People apparently want to see him. Istanbul's old buildings from may different time periods are very pleasing to look at. Click photo to enlarge Hagia Sofia It's 2:30 and the third call to prayer just occurred. I haven't see anyone prostrating themselves in public, but people do get on their knees in mosques. Religion seems to be gaining a slightly stronger foothold recently in spite of Ataturk, the founder of modern, secular Turkey, and his best attempts to lessen the role of Islam on this country. But it's also likely that Turkey will join the EU sometime which probably would offer a counterbalance to these conservatýve religious pressures. How will religion and the information world coexist I wonder? The sociologist Weber saw religion as affecting specific classes of people. Middle class Calvinism, for example, shaped certain attitudes toward materialism that were favorable to capitalism. Unlike Protestantism, I don't think Islam supports the same "rejection of this world while living in it, while working hard out of guilt and prospering but not enjoying it" in combination with an orientation to progressive rationaliization of the economic system. What attitudes will prosper in this new globalizing system and where will Islam fit? How would I find information about current Turkish attitudes and polls, I wonder. New York Times? Almost every restaurant, internet cafe and tea house contains unavoidable cigarette smoke. This morning I took a boat trip on the Bosphorus where we saw magnificent houses and palaces.   Click photo to enlarge Turkish Viagra   Click photo to enlarge Istanbul Market Street   Click photo to enlarge The U.N.'s Kofi Anan and Gordon MacLeod speak in front of the Chor   Click photo to enlarge Upside Down Head in Grand Cistern

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