Turkey speaks to you. Not in a chest thumping, “come appreciate me, sample my churches, my culture, my cuisine, I have centuries of art, anarchy, architecture” way
Illustration/Uday Mohite
Hello Turkey, you with your unique land mass, you’re one in a million geographical location. God’s own country.
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Turkey lies shattered. Turkey lies shaken, seismic shocks not once but twice. Turkey, you beautiful nation, you will rise from the ashes as you always have. You have been reborn, resurrected, you’ve witnessed trade, torture, terrible sieges. You are Ottomam. You are Byzantine. You are breath-taking.
Turkey speaks to you. Not in a chest thumping, “come appreciate me, sample my churches, my culture, my cuisine, I have centuries of art, anarchy, architecture” way. Instead, she requests dialogue. She demands an immigration requirement beyond an unsmiling official asking, “What is the purpose of your visit”. She asks, “Why are you really here, what do you hope to discover?”
You do not merely choose Turkey over Bangkok because it’s a more chilled-out holiday. Turkey is not just a cover story in National Geographic, or a chapter in the Rough Guide/Lonely Planet. Turkey isn’t six days of Mumbai-Bangkok-Mumbai. Turkey is hard work, Turkey cannot be covered in “Ten essential things to do in Turkey”, Turkey isn’t merely tourism, it is “Travel Paradiso”. Turkey is Istanbul, Turkey is the Bosphorus, straddling Europe and Asia. Turkey is the Hagia Sophia (1,000 years church, 500 years mosque), minarets and Mother Mary adorning the walls. Turkey is the azaan at the Blue Mosque, that lets free a hundred pigeons. Turkey is the thermal limestone springs of Pamukkale. Turkey is the Hamam baths. Turkey is whirling dervishes. Turkey is a vacation, but it’s also an extensive excavation. Turkey is underground cities, and overground trams.
You don’t just “do” Turkey, don’t just strike her off a bucket list.
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Turkey will never just be the flavour of the month, Turkey is a photographers dream, as Ara Guller will attest to, Turkey says, “You visit me, you cherish me…I am an original. I will cause you some jet lag. I am not a destination because your kids have their school break. I will stay in your DNA forever.”
Turkey is a value system, not a more economical foreign exchange. I will squeeze your rupee, but, God, I am worth it. You long to come to me because I have been invaded, annihilated, I am not just mosques, minarets, museums.” Turkey isn’t picture postcard, she is craggy, she is weather beaten, Turkey isn’t clean, cosmetic, clinical, she has cracks, warts, she will not necessarily show you some fake, artificial side. She says, “I am rich, I am poor, I am Asian, I am European. I am 1243, I am 2023. You want to visit me? You better earn it!” Turkey is the Gold Standard, the Golden Horn You discover you own Turkey. Your kids won’t be bored, distracted by their hi-tech gadgets, but they will return as adults to explore, because Istanbul, Izmir will outlive the iPhone. You enter Turkey’s shores with a myriad, million questions. But Turkey will leave you to find your own answers. You will leave exhausted, but enchanted. Because she says ‘I am medieval, I am mystical, I am modern. I am majestic. I am metropolitan, I am multi-cultural. I am multi-faceted, I am Turkiye”
Turkey is Ataturk. Turkey is Erdoyan. Turkey is presently earthquaked, Not her fault that there are fault lines, Turkey has seen strife, Turkey has seen sieges.
Turkey I stand with you, I pray that travellers to your nation double and triple.
I will return to you time and time again. May there be a million “evil eyes” watching over you. Turkey was rocked, Turkey was shaken. Turkey is homeless. Turkey you will re-build. You will resurrect. You will be reborn, see you soon, Turkey. Meheraba.
Rahul daCunha is an adman, theatre director/playwright, photographer and traveller. Reach him at rahul.dacunha@mid-day.com
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