christmas time

ten days to go. in a country where tolerance means tolerance to agreement, freedom of speech means freedom to speak the same language, democracy means freedom to vote for what everyone else votes, the time for controversy arrives.

what is to be celebrated is the name of the argument. new year? noel (christmas)? islamic 'bayram' (religious feast) of offering? this year the 'rumi' calendar of islam and the common gregorian one played a game to remember. within ten days time this year christmas, new year's and 'bayram' coincides. new years day and the first day of bayram, the day when every family is supposed to slaughter a sheep or a cow (sometimes even a camel -see picture below) overlaps the new year's eve. people are supposed to finish shopping for new year's and bayram on saturday, go to sleep, wake up early on sunday, slaughter some animal, cook some of it, distribute the rest among needy, go to the beauty parlor, prepare for new year's festivities, visit close relatives all day long and have fun until the first lights of monday, 1st of January. quite a schedule,isn't it?

the controversy comes when fundamentalists argue that new year's celebrations are of christian origins and therefore are sinful. there is a long time tradition in secular metropolitan Turkey to erect christmas trees and put presents under them to be opened January the 1st. however this tradition, started during the modernization efforts of 40's and 50's, is under severe attack by the ruling forces (both politically and culturally) since the first time political ruling of fundamentalist party mid-90's. within all these arguments though, I have not been able to hear one single person propogating a though such as; "let them be. whoever wants to erect a tree, let them erect whatever they wish. if someone wishes to celebrate christmas (or hannukah for that matter, since the vast majority of 'official' turkish minorities are jews), let them celebrate, whoever wishes to spend the new year's eve in mosques, let them..."

but personallyi I am enjoying a sight totally different from the above arguments since last night. a prestigious shopping mall started displaying their 'new year's' ornaments. it's one of the best I have ever seen here and it is georgeous. the whole building is surrounded by a wall of lights very much like a Russian Orthodox christmas decorations (or should I say architecture).

see it for yourselves and enjoy.

in and out of our collective minds

the shadows, as the fall skies fell on the head of every pedestrian in istanbul, were gaining height. streets full of gossip, flare and expectations of the government saying 'no' to european union as the group follows up the recomendations of the European Parliament to halt negotiations on several topics concerning Turkey's membership. Bu alas, the government starts another row of marketplace bargaining tactics to postpone what, this author cannot even imagine if they knew what. politics as usual.

the shadows on the other hand still growing. streets marked with half-dead, tormented and hopeless trees are full with exhaust gas coming from a wild variety of vehicles one can only witness in Istanbul. looking for an identity and obtaining it does not satisfy them. one has to change it so vehemently that at one point one loses his sense of recognition. 'who was that guy that passed me a while ago?' is arhetorical question not a cognitive one mostly. he, who carries the burden of the lack of knowledge as to who he is, what are his roots, and where he is going to, is a lost soul where the only tradition is the lack of it. the streets are not. they have one, one that is so strong for their own benefit. they carry centuries of use, abuse, and natural wear, as if it was a fate unevitable becuase of the monstrosities they have witnessed: crusades, invasion, hundreds of insurrections, riches, poverty, massacres, interventions, tears, laughter, briefly all things considered human here.

many people have walked these streets. they were of different backgrounds, cultures, religions, and of a wild variety of ethnicities. they have shared the common fate of instability, chaos and wealth concurrently. fallen stones, torn pavement blocks, ghost-like trees and their uneven branches reflect that common fate as they get older (as in two hundred centuries old), more pathetic and forlorn. walls that reflect an unavoidable gray, dust, violent green of that foresaken land in bliss, look like they would give away soon. but they don't. they haven't. they won't. they have endured centuries old debates on whether history is something didactic to count on or a notion that should be erased off the collective mind that make up the people here. it's an official target and at the same time sole aim of that collective mind that all people should be alike in this society. one who does not belong to the flock bear any chance of intellectual survival. the collective mind lingers among different political views, rights or wrongs as time goes on. but there is only one single set of this criteria that is right at any given point in time and its collective status hardly change. it can even manifest itself in the form of tens of different political parties defending the same collective mind at the same time.

it is a collective virus, closing all doors towards free speech, improvement, scientific research and individualism to mention a few virtues.

one scholar (ali nesin) recently said "scientific research is a product of welfare. a society must be wealthy to engage in research that will save the nation in fifty years to come, individuals in this society must posess plenty of time that they can waste on free fall research. in this country both people and corporations have to concentrate only on projects that could save the day." he is right, but societies today need to differentiate between saving the day and seizing it. and to seize one must accumulate. accumulate knowledge, faith, history (facts) and build on top of these foundations. however the collective mind here has one agenda; no matter what the consensus may be, it has to defend status quo (even if the current consensus, or what is claimed to be the current consensus, may last only a few days) and that should be the case collectively. one truth, one solution, on people; hence an undivided country.

fall lingers on

another long fall. as in seasons. the city is lurking in trouble. trouble in commuting, trouble in breathing, trouble in communicating.

towards 2007, inevitable economical instability (as in exploding external deficit), inevitable political chaos ( as in presidencial and general elections) are hanging over the unhappy crowds line democles' sword.

and on the lighter side, malls are losing crowds to fiscal turbulance and become meeting places for lovers. no shopping but window shopping. small businesses are losing ground, so does average people's incomes as global competition cuts away the profits of ever troubled exporters.

so, 2007 will be the year of checks and balances. where hopes will either flourish or give way to mayhem. but that's that for now. it's holiday season. for now troubles are set aside for all believers. for muslims it's holidays starting with the new year, and for the minorities it's christmas and hannukah time. so be it. it's time to rejoice and be merry, at least for a little tiny miny time. more on christmas soon.

be well.