GLOBE TROTTING ( ANKARA, TURKEY)

T

urkey  even today remains for westerners  a startling  land with people mostly locked up in the past, but opening more and more.  Some years ago, as a  matter- of- fact, the NY Times had been reporting about the Turkish elite youth spending time in discos and dressed with jeans.  However, despite such upside down move, Turkey seems very remote and close at the same time. It seems that past continues to permeate every aspect of the daily life.  I wish to be wrong…

Let’s go down  to the streets at Ankara...

First at all, I still  remember the day  I  met a Turkish woman at the Frankfort airport. She was then in the mid sixties, with a big head, the Turkish head. We were chatting, but, my new friend was showing a lot of reluctance to exchange address and more. Apparently aware of literature and politics, this  woman with a beautiful command of the French language, didn't want to go further. I'm  still amazed by her acknowledge of Pierre Loti , the French writer who authored a good deal of adventure novels. "you heard about Azyade", she told me, sure of what she was talking about... 

Ankara is a bustling place, alongside the European neighborhood where French, British and other nations mix up."Nice people" remembered a witness who loves Turkey. She remains most of the time in beautiful hotels , overlooking the city. Ankara is relatively new, but Turkey soul is present everywhere,  as shown recently  in a photo exposition in Grand Central, NY, NY