Some Misconceptions About Turkey

As living here in Turkey and an American living in Turkey I wanted to write about some of the misconceptions that people in USA have about Turkey. 
  I hope this helps people understand Turkey better. Please keep in mind I have only been here a year and still have many things to learn about. 
  
   Turkey is in the Middle East. 
  This is a gross falsehood and you should do away with this thought fast! Turkey is not a Middle Eastern Country! Turkey is an East Meets West Country and has the latter part of the Silk Road, ending in Ephesus, but many many cities have been major import cities, like (Constantinople:)Istanbul.The Silk Road spanned all the way to India. This region was very important for it was the Gateway to Europe and the Gateway for Europe to The East and the Far East. Turkey today is still important for this region.  
  Turkey people speak Arabic.
 Wrong! The Turkish people speak Turkish and they do know verses in the Koran and the Prayers from the Koran which are in Arabic. They do, however, share some words that are a little similar to Arabic. For example Selam, Merhaba, etc. 
 Also, another misconception is that Turkish people speak Farsi which is what the Persians (or Iranians) speak. This is also a misconception. People think this because Iran is along the border of Turkey. The words, I am sure vary a bit but I am sure there are only about 2% of the people here in Turkey that probably speak Farsi. 



There are so many terrorists in Turkey::: This is a huge Myth. Why this rumor started I do not know. I can tell you being to Turkey and being to Mexico... I am safer in Turkey walking down the street. At least, I feel safer. As a matter of fact, right now, Mexico is far more dangerous than Turkey. Many people think that the PKK is a beloved "Party" here in Turkey but I know that it is considered a terrorist group here and that The Prime Minister, although his wife is Kurd, they do not participate in anyway in the PKK and are against such activities that the PKK are in. There had been bomb threats from time to time in Istanbul and even some bombs but you can  not blame that on The Republic of Turkey but rather the groups that would do something so terrible to hurt ANY one.


  Another Myth about Turkey is the fact that all women have to wear the head cover. 
 As a matter of fact, it is against the law to wear a head cover in schools, in government buildings. So, women try to wear them in places because they want to. Many women wear the Abyah, like in Saudi Arabia, but this is by choice and many people do not like that women wear it.Snuggles family in fact does not wear them.

  Turkish hate Americans
  This is not true. Turkish are very curious about Americans. Americans get really bad publicity because of the White House and the only way to combat that is for Americans to travel the world and be kind and nice to others so when they talk about Americans, they will say nice things about us. 


Another misconception is that Turkish people are not accepting of others. 
 They are very accepting of other cultures and people. I think the problem is that we have a media that controls what we think and see and they do too! They are very proud of their heritage, and they have a right to be! Just like us Americans love celebrating being American! That is not a bad thing either! There are few countries in the world that can celebrate being free and being a part of their country, and I think that all people should be proud of who or what they are!

Turkey is predominantly Muslim, about 90% are Muslim. Of that 90% about 85% of those Muslims are Sunni and the remainder are "other" Islam Faith. Which brings me to another misconception about Turkey. People say that the laws here are "Sharia" or from Islam. this is a flat out fallacy. Kemal Ataürk, when toppling the Ottoman Empire in 1923 did not want a mixture of Government and Religion. This is why when he came into power, he said it was against the law for the women to wear the hair cover in all Government Buildings. 
 Turkey is a progressive Country and wants to have all the technology they can. They are always seeking better technology. The problem is that to import anything is heavily taxed and so expensive that they are discouraged from importing. 
  People from different regions of Turkey have different cultures and different ideas. People from the Eastern region of Turkey have a tenancy to be more conservative than the people in the Western Region.  Their traditions and culture is shaped by what they believe in their religion, but that is true to Hindus, to Buddhists, and as a matter of fact, I saw a Singh family in the store last week! I was so happy to see that we have in Çorlu a mix of people! I love that Turkey is rich in culture and flavor and they are curious about the world and how we are, just as we are about the Turkish people.
 Turkey is full of people from all over the world and all aspects of life. 
 The Government is trying to help the people in Syria. They have helped the Bulgarians, The Bosnians,they have tried helping many many other surrounding countries in peace talks and had never wanted to go to war with Iraq. They have in the same time, sent troops to Afghanistan, Iraq, and many other areas in the world in the U.N. and Peace Keepers. NATO's Headquarters is in fact in Adana, Turkey and America has an Air force base there as well as a Base outside Ankara. 
Turkey has a long history, Istanbul itself has  an archeological site that was uncovered and research is showing artifacts dating back further than 15,000 BC. 
Many of Ancient beloved prophets that Christians, Jews, and Muslims love have been here in Turkey or lived in Turkey or were born here in Turkey. 
 Before people start saying bad things about any country I beseech them to visit the country and see what the people are like and talk to as man people as you can. Before you believe everything you read in the news, remember that Foxnews and CNN and Bloomberg is here, too, but many bad things are being said about Americans and America. CNN in Germany HATES Americans, and Germans are really Anti American, and so I ask you to look at what other people are saying. 

 Another thing I want to say

I am the only Christian for miles around here and I am still few in numbers for being a Christian in Turkey, because I am L.D.S. I want to say that Muslims are not bad people. I am tired of hearing people in America talk about how violent Muslims are. What about all the shootings that happen in America? Were the Columbine Killer's Family Christian? Does it matter??? The prisons in America are the worlds most over crowded. People in Prison are converting to Islam in a high rate, and they have found that the Muslims in Prison are more calm, more kind, less violent than any other group imprisoned.  I am tired of hearing negative things about both sides. We have enough bad things in the world with out having to say bad things about both Christians, and Muslims. Sadly, we are not that different, yet we fight and hurt each other like one or the other is evil and fighting and hating is the biggest evil. 
  I have found being here love, harmony, kindness, goodness, peaceful surroundings in a hard world, kind people that do not have to trust me or even be good to me. 
  I think if we follow the Golden Rule all over the world, we would find a better way of living. 
I hope my readers will try to rediscover Turkey. I encourage people to come visit me if you know me and I can give you tours set aside for christian interests.  
 IF you are a history buff... Turkey is a must see.