The Wrongologist

The
Wrongologist has been staying in Istanbul, home to 15 million people. It has
the look and feel of a European city, showing evident wealth, sophistication
and some cultural diversity. The city is growing rapidly: it was home to 8
million in 1990, 12 million in 2000 and 15 million today. All of Turkey is
becoming urbanized: Today, 75% of its population lives in towns or cities.

Istanbul
has the feel of a secular place. There are few headscarves and fewer bhurkas
evident on the streets, while most women are in western dress, many talking on
mobile phones as the walk. Most cars are relatively new, but there is evident
use of public transportation, buses, metro and ferries to the Asian side of the
city. There is much construction underway, including a tunnel under the Straits,
more bridges between the the old city and the new city, and metro line
extensions.

We
saw gentrification much like you would see in an American city: A city block of
old apartments that had been occupied by Kurds is now being converted to
upscale apartments with water views. What happened to the Kurds? They were “relocated”
to another part of the city. The renovated buildings will be offered at market
rates to the new middle class of Istanbul.

Nothing
demonstrates the secular nature of the Turkish Republic better than the Sophia,
a Roman church that became an Eastern Orthodox Church, which became a mosque,
that finally became a museum in 1935.

It
was built by the Romans in 360. The dome visible in the photo was added in 537.
Constantine made it the home of the Roman church (and the city,
Constantinople). It was an Eastern Orthodox Church for a short period, and from
1453 to 1931, it was a mosque. Sophia shows the additions and subtractions as
its religion changed throughout the millennia. This photo below was taken
yesterday:

The
medallion on the right represents Allah while the medallion on the left is for
Mohammad. Behind the medallions is the nave of the original church, with the middle
window pointing to Jerusalem. The lighted arch in the nave was added when the
building became a mosque, and it points toward Mecca.

Our
hotel was the site of the Young Presidents Organization world congress. Since
the age limit to be a Young President is 45, the Wrongologist is disqualified
on the basis of ageism. Holding this meeting in Istanbul demonstrates the
growing economic clout of Turkey and its commitment to tourism. Last
year, 10 million people visited the country.

Turkey
is not without human rights and women’s rights issues, however. Over the past
few days, Turkey’s ruling party, the AKP, unveiled a campaign to replace local
women’s rights groups which provide consultation in 11 centers for the
prevention of violence against women with party-sponsored consultants. All of
the former personnel were dismissed it is alleged, in order to bring the
shelters and consultation under the control of the ruling party.

Most
women’s groups in the country see this as the government’s way to set and control
the agenda of women’s rights in Turkey.

By
the way, the famed Turkish bath houses are open to men only.