CM16: Turkey

Tahir Abbas is captivated by the complexity of Turkish politics and culture. Ahmet T. Kuru is unimpressed by the authoritarian tendencies of the current regime. Edip Asaf Bekaroglu struggles with the ambiguity of Turkish secularism, Sophia Pandya observes the battle between a Gazi warrior and a Sufi mystic, Yusuf Sarfati debates the headscarf issue, Charles Allen Scarboro takes us on a memorable tour of his Istanbul neighbourhood, Melek Saral scrutinises Turkey's relationship with the European Union, John Crofoot tries to save the historic city of Hasankeyf, Ken Chitwood takes Turkish politics to Cuba, Rebecca Soble spends a day in Dogubayazit, Aamer Hussein remembers his first visits to Istanbul, Peter Clark is transformed by his experiences in Konya, Nagihan Haliloglu is caught up in heritage wars, Abdullah Yavuz Altun dissects Orhan Pamuk's legacy, Ramazan Kilinc examines new works on Turkish nationalism and politics, Suzanne Mordue drinks and draws Turkish coffee and Merryl Wyn Davies finds Fry's Turkish Delight unpalatable. Also in this issue: a short story by Tam Hussein, Samia Rahman reads provocative stories by an emerging Pakistani writer, and our Top Ten Turkish Enchantments.