For those who haven't read it yet, Marianna Grigoryan's Eurasianet story about the disastrous apricot harvest in Armenia this year, is well worth checking out. The story is dramatic enough, but I asked Marianna if she could explain a bit more about the apricot's place in Armenian culture. Below is a short q&a with Marianna about her story:
Why did you decide to write this story?
The apricot is something special for Armenians and during the harvest in June and July it brings to the motherland many Diaspora Armenians who come to taste the sunny Armenian apricot.
As in late March it was announced that the apricot trees were damaged very much, I was following what will be in June and July. When I went to the market in early June, I was surprised very much: my daughter Sophie, who is 6-years-old asked me to buy some apricots and when I asked the seller how much it costs I was shocked! The most expensive fruit in Yerevan was Apricot! The prices were incredible. I asked the seller is this serious or a joke to have so fantastic a price on Armenian Apricot?
One woman near me who was also shopping compared the price of the apricots with bananas and complained to me that the bananas are coming to Armenia from so far are still cheaper than the apricots grown in Armenia. "You can keep your apricots in a museum," she told the seller. Other people near me who came to buy some fruits joined the conversation and told me that this year no one will buy the apricot. Everyone was angry about the prices and the situation. What a bad year they said. Every year something else happens.
The German Marshall Fund's Ian Lesser, one of the more sober minded Turkey analysts out there, has a new report out that tries to chart a future course for Turkey's relations with the West. From his report:
Expert and media commentary suggests that Turkey is becoming an exotic place, a country out of the transatlantic mainstream, pursuing an increasingly assertive and independent policy on the marches of Europe. In this sense, the fashionable controversy over “neo-Ottomanism” is actually a two-way street, reinforced by a revival of very old ideas about Turkey’s geopolitics. It is too easy by far to see the Gaza flotilla crisis and Turkey’s “no” vote on Iran sanctions as straightforward
confirmation of a Turkish drive to the Muslim East. Recent events underscore some striking changes in Turkish society and policy, and these will not make for an easy relationship between Turkey and its European and North American partners. The roots of this friction are diverse, with a strong nationalist component. Yet, important avenues for cooperation remain open and may expand even as traditional patterns wane. The new Turkish-Western relationship will be a la carte, and driven by convergent national interests rather than amorphous notions of geopolitics and identity. It could still be a rough ride.
EatingAsia is a thoroughly mouthwatering food blog written and photographed by a husband and wife team that is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They are currently in Turkey and recently went on a culinary road trip that took them through southeastern Turkey. Their wonderful reports and photos from the trip can be found here. Highly recommended reading.
The jail where the events in the 1978 film "Midnight Express" were supposed to have taken place may today be an elegant Four Seasons hotel, but the movie remains a sore spot for many Turks, who feel it portrayed their country in an unfair light. In pop culture terms, "Midnight Express" certainly remains one of the leading references for Turkey. Now, in an online interview and in an upcoming episode of the National Geographic Channel's "Locked Up Abroad" (a show about Americans who have done prison time overseas), Billy Hayes, the man who's story "Midnight Express" tells, is providing some more details about his experience and his views on the film's impact.
The biggest problem I had with the film is the fact that you don't see any good Turks at all in the movie. It creates an overall impression that Turkey is this terrible place and Turks are a terrible people. Which is not valid or true, both to my own experience and to reality. I actually loved Istanbul. I got along great with the Turks until I was arrested.
Analysts are warning that relations between Turkey and the United States may be heading for a period of volatility, particularly in the wake of the botched May 31 Israeli commando raid on a Gaza aid flotilla, along with Ankara’s recent decision to vote “no” in the United Nations Security Council on sanctions against Iran.
Bianet, a left-leaning website that closely tracks worrying trends in Turkey, has an article out today about a television talk show that has been fined by the Turkish state's television watchdog for what appears to be exceeding the limits of discussion of the Armenian genocide issue. From the report:
The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) decided to impose a broadcasting ban on the Turkish
television station Haber Türk on the grounds of writer Sevan Nişanyan's thoughts on the "Armenian genocide".
Nişanyan was guest at the program "One to one" hosted by Fatih
Altaylı and had referred to the killing of a huge number of Armenians by the
Ottoman Empire in 1915.RTÜK took the decision on 15 June and notified Haber Türk on
21 June. The Council indicated that Nişanyan, one of several guests in the program,
"exceeded the limits of criticism" with his statements that allegedly
"humiliated the Republic of Turkey".RTÜK suspended the broadcast of one program of "One to
one". The "One to one" program on issue was broadcasted on 9
March 2010 at 8.00 pm during the process when the Armenian Bill was accepted by
the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee.
Plov and happiness in Istanbul's Mihman restaurant
Good news for Istanbul's lovers of plov and other Central Asian delights. Mihman, an enticing restaurant run by an Uzbek from Kashgar, has recently opened its doors. Istanbul Eats checked it out and came back very satisfied. Their report is here.
Tomorrow marks the start of Sonisphere, a three-day metalfest in Istanbul that will bring together for the first time the "big four:" Metallica, Slayer, Megadeath and Anthrax. The powerpacked bill also includes German shock rockers Rammstein and a host of other big names. Needless to say, music lovers from across the region are rejoicing, with Iranian metalheads already arriving in Istanbul.
Another example of Turkey's ability to straddle different worlds? Not for the folks over at the Islamist Vakit newspaper, who are having none of this musical bridge between east and west business. In an article published yesterday (here -- in Turkish and with a graphic photo from a Rammstein concert), the paper exposed Sonisphere for what it really is: a Mossad plot to mock Turkey.
From the Hurriyet Daily News's account of the story:
Turkish daily Vakit yesterday harshly criticized the
festival and called for officials to cancel it. Defining the festival as
“disgrace,” Vakit reported that Akbank, affiliated with Sabancı Holding,
sponsored the festival, which is being organized by an Israeli company and will
host Europe’s most scandalous music band, Rammstein. According to Murat Alan’s story, while many festivals are
cancelled in the country in order to mourn martyrs who died because of
terrorist events, the Sonisphere Festival will poison young Turkish people for
three days.
Lots has been said recently about Turkey's ambitious diplomatic moves on the global stage. But what about in terms of wine? The Scotsman recently ran an article looking at some of the more notable developments in the world of Turkish wine -- suggesting Anatolia could be the next Napa Valley -- and offering some suggestions for bottles to look out for. The article is here.
As if the recent marked increase in clashes between Turkish forces and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) wasn't troubling enough, the roadside bombing today of a minibus in Istanbul carrying military personnel could present a very dangerous development.
The bombing took the life of four, including the 17-year-old daughter of an officer. According to the Turkish officials, the bomb was set off by remote control as it was passing by. A similar attack took place in Istanbul a few weeks ago, when a minibus carrying policemen was attacked by a roadside bomb.
In a speech in parliament, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected calls for reinstating emergency rule in the predominantly-Kurdish southeast of Turkey for the government to back off its "democratic initiative," aimed at ending the decades-old Kurdish problem.
"We did not launch the democratic initiative for the terrorist organization. Giving up on the democratic drive is a betrayal to the people of this country. We will not give any concessions on democracy, otherwise terror will prevail," Erdogan said.
Some 12 Turkish soldiers were killed in clashes with the PKK over the weekend.
UPDATE: Responsibility for the bombing is now being claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), a shadowy and militant PKK offshoot. TAK was allegedly behind a series of bombings in 2006 in some of Turkey's most popular coastal destinations, although the group's origins and makeup remain very murky. More on the group here.
