Vizesi

I went home today and retrieved my passport, signaling the end of the month-long battle with the Turkish Consulate in NYC:

I mailed my photograph, application, and acceptance letter; they retaliated by insisting I was a fool for not sending my passport and 20 USD. I sent in another copy of the application, my passport, and 20 USD; they responded by telling me they needed a money order. I Fed-Exed the money order and a letter; they finally gave in, returning my passport (with visa!) three days later. Negotiations were quick and rare- there was a one out of ten chance that someone would answer the phone, and that was only between 3 and 5pm.

From what I hear, most consulates have similar complicated defensive measures (i.e. day- long visa procedures, no 'Call Waiting' service, short hours of operation). It makes this part of the journey that much more exciting.

Tarih (History)

A simplified history of pieces of post-Republic Turkey that interest me- terribly butchered by an amateur:

After defeat in World War I, the lands of the Ottoman Empire were divided amongst the Allied powers. The Treaty of Sèvres gave much Turkish-speaking territory to France and Greece. It was then that the Empire's only victorious leader, Mustafa Kemal, gathered up enough forces to thrash the Greeks in the Greco-Turkish War(1923) to win Turkey's independence. Once secure as President of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal instituted a wide range of cultural reforms, effectively "Westernizing" the country:

• Banning men from wearing the fez


• Forcing the adoption of surnames (Mustafa himself took the name Atatürk, "father Turk")


• Lifting the religious/Islamic ban on alcohol


• Banning Kurdish language education


• Various other changes, including calendars, alphabets, abolishing the Caliphate, etc.

After the death of Atatürk, the young Republic found itself electing its own leaders for the first time. Whenever the nation strayed too far from its founding ideals, the military branch staged a coup d'etat: in 1961, 1971, and 1980. Even more recently, Turkey has applied for entrance into the European Union. While it has grown much as a nation, Turkey's human rights record, international relations, and unstable economy have called into question its qualifications. However, Turkey has been working to improve these conditions, and membership in the EU may further help their efforts.

Material summarized from Stephen Kinzer's Crescent and Star and Wikipedia:Turkey.

Başlamak

A month from now I'll be fleeing my hometown of Philadelphia to attend Middle Eastern Technical University (thanks to the connections of the GE3 Program). I'm sure many people will wonder about me, as I will about them. This blog is to share my experiences with the friends and family who can't be there with me.

Much has happened since I came to school, but I can barely remember any of it. High school feels like a lifetime ago, and even last year seems older than that. I don't want to forget this experience in Turkey, so I'm keeping this blog to remember what I'm thinking and doing while abroad.