Discovering the hidden Turkey

Press, 13 November 1985, Page 21

Discovering the hidden Turkey

By

SANDRA ARNOLD,

who has made

several visits to Turkey gathering background for a novel.

Travelling in Turkey is like taking a trip through an enormous open-air museum. Famous places of the classical world, Ephesus, Miletus, Pergamum, Sardis, Halicarnassus, Troy and Antioch are all located here, each leaving behind echoes of its civilization. St. John wrote his gospels in Ephesus, which is the reputed last home of the Virgin Mary. Father Christmas, (St. Nicholas), was born near the Taurus Mountains. St. Peter founded the first Christian Church in Antioch. Abraham lived in East Anatolia before he went to Canaan. Mevelana Rumi who founded the Whirling Dervish sect lived in Konya. King Midas (of the Golden touch) ruled in Gordion, which is also where Alexander cut the Knot. St. Paul was born in Tarsus and it is where Antony and Cleopatra met for the first time. And yet Turkey is still largely an undiscovered land, its tourism industry 20 years behind the Mediterranean countries.

The Turks themselves have inhabited their country for a mere 900 years, whereas its total history from the arrival of the Hittites is 4000 years. The Hittites, thought to have migrated from the west or north and who spoke an IndoEuropean language, established a great empire in Anatolia (Asia Minor) in the second millenium BC. After them came the Phrygians, Lydians, Persians. Alexander the Great conquered the whole Anatolian Peninsula in the fourth century BC before giving it the Hellenic culture. There were influxes of Celts and Jews in the period leading to the beginning of the Christian era. Then the whole of Anatolia became part of the Roman Empire and later the Byzantine Empire. There were Armenians living in the east of the country and Kurds in the south-east. Out of the desert rode the Arabs bearing the standard of

Mohammed and Anatolia once again became a battleground — Islam versus Christianity. In the 11th century a ferocious tribe of Turks known as the Seljuks appeared from the east. Under the leadership of Alp Aslan (the lion) they defeated the Byzantines and opened up the whole of Anatolia to the Turks. Twenty six years later the Crusades began and Crusaders and Byzantines fought for possession of the Peninsula against Arabs and Turks.

The Seljuk Turks established a highly cultured and artistic capital in Konya, but they in turn were devastated by the invading Mongols. By the 14th century, after the Mongol onslaughts had diminished, another tribe of Turks, the Ottomans, who had settled in northwest Anatolia in Bursa, started to move northwards. They captured Constantinople in 1453 and it was never again in Christian hands. After that they relentlessly conquered and expanded a vast empire which lasted for 600 years. Its zenith was reached in the early part of the sixteenth century under Sulieman, known as The Magnificent by the Europeans though as The Lawgiver by the Turks. After Sulieman, the Empire went into slow but gradual decline, finally collapsing in the First World War. In 1918 the Turks were driven out of most of Europe and the Middle East, but through the gen-

ius of Ataturk, they kept Istanbul, Thrace and the Straits, and the whole of the Anatolian mainland which together form modem Turkey. Under the republican regime, Turkey has adopted many of the appearances and attitudes of Europe and has made great strides towards modern civilisation, but outside the main cities it is still oriental in nature.

The harem has long been abolished but the concept behind the harem, which is that men and women belong to two separate worlds still lingers. It is easy to change laws, not so easy to change the mentality of a people. It is generally assumed that men have strictly dishonourable intentions towards women and the lengths men go to to protect their womenfolk seem extraordinary to a westerner. At parties (except those of the educated elite) girls dance with each other or with their husbands or close male relatives only.

It is still basically a male society and a nation of soldiers — every male Turk has to do military service. A man’s most important relationships are with other men

and it is common to see men walking hand in hand or with arms around each other. Except in cities, it is rare to see a man walking with a woman. When couples meet it is the men who embrace and kiss.

Despite their reputation for being cruel and uncompromising, the Turks are a kind, courteous people - no Mediterranean histrionics here. And religious fanatics are rare. A uniquely Turkish way of expressing negation is to say “Yok”, which loosely translated means, “It doesn’t exist.” The gestures accompanying a yok are halfclosed eyes and a slow sleepy upward movement of the head, while at the same time making a faint clicking noise with the tongue. The family is extremely important. Respect for parents is essential and the system is patriarchal. Children and young adults greet their parents and older visitors by kissing their hand and raising it to the forehead as a mark of respect. Younger brothers and all sisters defer to the eldest brother and he is responsible for their protection. Family members in employment are also responsible for financially maintaining those who are not, as

there is no unemployment benefit in Turkey.

Although polygamy was abolished by the adoption of the Swiss Civil Code in 1926, it still exists in the villages. Civil marriages are not popular with the peasantry because they are not considered respectable and subsequent civil marriages would have legal repercussions. The only acceptable form of marriage is conducted by an Imam (priest). As these are not recognised by the state, multiple Imam marriages are immune from prosecution. In some Anatolian villages the ancient Turkish custom of bride price still persists. Pre-Islamic in origin, it stems from the idea that the main purpose of a woman, besides bearing sons, is to work in the house and fields. As a girl’s “honour,” - or lack of it - considerably affects her bride price, premarital relations are unforgivable and may be punished by death. Village marriages are still arranged after negotiations between the two families and the girl’s father expects an advance payment of the bride price. If the young man cannot meet the payment he has the alternative of kidnapping the girl. A kidnapping causes a great deal of drama in a village. A young man, helped by his friends and relatives, seizes the girl and escapes with her, far away from the fire and fury of her father. Legally, it all depends on whether the abduction is forcible or a genuine elopement. If rape is proved, the man can go to prison for 10 years. If the girl is willing he may get away with it, especially if, in time, they produce a son, though in some cases blood feuds are established.

One elderly lady told me that she had been taken from her village by friends when she was a girl, supposedly to go shopping in Istanbul. On arrival they went to the house of a young man whose parents wanted a wife for him. Her reaction was, “Well, I did not come to Istanbul to marry but it seems that this is my Kismet. He is a poor man but a good Muslim.” She remained in a separate part of the house for three months until the marriage was arranged, not daring to go back to her village as there were several “candidates” who might kidnap her. Her sister was kidnapped and kept prisoner

by the man’s family until she agreed to marry him and was threatened with death if she tried to escape. Not until she produced three sons in five years was she allowed to be reunited with her family. I asked what the children thought of this “courtship” of their parents. She laughed and said the youngest son had recently kidnapped a girl for himself but his father did not like the girl’s family so she was sent back and a better match arranged. When a baby is born, it is considered to be especially vulnerable to danger for its first 40 days. Newborn babies are rubbed with salt to make them strong and are tightly swaddled for protection. Sometimes they are made as ugly and dirty as possible to deflect the “evil eye” which is the most widespread-' of -all- supersti- '*• tions. One must never praise other

people’s property and especially not their children without adding the good luck word “Mashallah." Children all over Turkey wear a blue bead as a protection against the “eye.” The look of blue-eyed blonde- haired people is regarded as particularly dangerous. The protective powers of the blue bead is based on the idea that parts of a whole even when separated remain in contact - the danger from the blue eyes goes into the blue bead like lightning into a conductor.

When a child is born, its name is whispered into its ear by the eldest of the family. If it is a boy he is circumcised in an odd year, when he is three, five, seven, or a little older. He is dressed up in a white satin suit with a red sash bearing the word “Masallah” and a white pill-box hat for the ceremony and is taken to the local mosque for- 4 ' prayers. J

Friends and relatives are invited to the party after the circumcision, which is performed by a religious man who specialises in the operation. The boy then goes to his bed which is specially decorated for the occasion and receives the congratulations and presents of his relatives. If the family is wealthy, puppet shows and shadow plays are organised and singers, dancers and magicians perform. I saw a comedy sketch on Turkish television which contrasted the terse meeting and greeting of a couple of westerners with the way the Turks meet. After enthusiastically embracing, each family member is asked about, their triumphs and worries are shared by the inquirer, and past problems and present activities are discussed in detail. Finally, with real regret, goodbyes are said. And the Turkish '‘expression for goodbye is "Gule gule,” - “Go laughing . “ ; -