Turkey

It seems fitting that I read Mary Lee Settle's Turkish Reflections 10 years after I made my first trip to Istanbul. Istanbul was also my first entry to Europe. I visited the strange, beautiful city in late November; minarets standing starkly against gray skies and shiny mosaic walls in a public bath did much to leave me feeling transported to another time altogether. Istanbul carries so much of its past alongside its present.

I've been feeling very rushed to complete this book for my presentation. But I wish very much that I could slow down and absorb all the history and legend surrouding Turkey's past. Facts that I didn't know before: Anatolia, a broad peninsula that lies between the Black and Mediterranean seas, refers to Asia Minor or the Asian part of modern Turkey; the origin of the Seljuk Turks is rather - though not completely - separate from that of the Ottomans; Turkey fought often with and retains much tension with Armenia.

The book refers to both Islam and Christianity in the different regions, and mentions the Crusades, another section of history I should learn more of. Seeing as how the blockbuster Kingdom of Heaven opens this summer, I ought to go to the theater knowing the history before being influenced by Hollywood story-weaving. As it is, controversy is already rising.

Less than 100 pages to go. It's a book powerful enough to remind me how much I want to return to Turkey.

Posted by Monoceros at April 2, 2005 12:46 AM