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The effects of identity crisis
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In a society enshrouded by a type of melancholy found only in Turkey, there is no feeling more pervasive than alienation. Like a low flying cloud, hüzun hangs over Turkey and fills even the brightest hopes of the Republic with a measure of gloom. Caused principally by a crisis of identity, alienation renders much of the population of Turkey detached from the political and social processes. Though Turkey was once a part of a great empire that spanned much of Europe and Asia, it is now a dwarf of its former self. It was once home to a great Islamic civilization whose culture flourished and spread to the ends of the earth, yet it is now an officially secular society devoid of religious inspiration. While these changes occurred many years ago, most Turks have not yet recovered. Just as the prisoner is separated from society, many modern Turks are separated from the very essence of historical and cultural Turkish identity.
As the voice of the people, art and literature can provide us with insight into the Turkish mind. They can help us understand the peculiarities of Turkishness and the effects of alienation on Turkish identity. According to Marxist philosopher Alan Wood, alienation “is to be forced to lead a life in which [one’s] nature has no opportunity to be fulfilled or actualized” (Wood 22). In his “Autobiography,” Turkish poet, Nazιm Hikmet laments upon lost opportunities in his life: “After the age of twenty-one I stopped going places most people go to: / Mosque, church, worship, synagogue, shrine” (Hikmet 325). Like many Turks of his era, Hikmet could not fully embrace his identity as a Turk. His own actions, from speaking out against injustice to inciting rebellion gave Turkish officials cause to imprison him a n...
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...any Turks hold the same regard for Turkey as Orhan Pamuk does for Istanbul: “For me it has always been a city of ruins and end-of-empire melancholy” (Pamuk 6).
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...itly the Christian Orthodox and Jews, which were the largest minority groups from Turkey. In addition, according to nationalist elites, these minorities were assimilable thus, were not capable of becoming part of the Turkish nation. Also, they stated that, the Non-Muslim minorities, mainly the Greek, were not composed of loyal citizens but possible traitors to the Turkish state (Guven 2006). Adnan Menderes believed that was national and extremely important responsibility of every Turk to implement the Turkification, in an attempt to establish an independent Turkish state. A corollary of this concept was the effort of assimilation of the Greek minority by force, exercising a policy of discrimination and restrictions against it. In this context, the language, culture and desires of Non-Muslim minorities had to be connected with the history and dignity of Turks.
In the following essay, I will be comparing the Hagia Sophia in the City of Istanbul, and the Suleymaniye Mosque of Istanbul. Both of these pieces of art are very significant to the in modern-day Turkey. The art pieces will be covered in more detail further on in this comparative essay, and finally, I will be judging the pieces at the end of this essay
Greene, Frederick Davis. The Armenian Crisis and the Rule of the Turk. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1895. Print.
This has not been and easy task, the history and geographical location of Turkey. It lies at a "crossroads" where the two large continents of Europe and Asia meet. This unique location gives Turkey a very diverse populations, Balkan, Mediterranean, Middle Eastersn, Caucasian and Asian identities. This has highly influenced its Foreign Polocy. Its primary objective is in short to develope friendly relations with all countries, most partic...
Damrosch, David and David L. Pike. The Longman Anthology of World Literature Second Edition. Pearson Education, Inc., 2009.
Houston, Jeanne Wakatsuki and James D. Houston. Farewell to Manzanar New York: bantam book, 1973. Print
...ic cleansing of a certain race, and there is no reason for wanting to create the perfect race. The Turkish government set out to do just that, they wanted a takeover to occur, they were aiming to wipe out a whole race, because of what? To have a mono-ethnic and mono-religious society? To become “perfect”, well it needs to be recognized by all, especially the Turks. The Turkish need to realize that they cannot put the blame on others, the killings were by their hands not any other group. It’s hard to admit something so far into someone’s past, and some have a hard time reminiscing those memories because they are ashamed of what they did to people just like them. What people of today’s society need to realize is that just because it’s hard to admit that their people did something so horrible, does not mean that it does not need to be acknowledged nor appointed to.
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Domrosch, David. Longman Anthology of World Literature, The, Compact Edition. 1st Edition. Pearson College Div: Longman, 2007. Print.
The Ottoman Empire had humble roots. Beginning as an Ottoman state, it progressively rose to power to become an empire. As a state, the Ottoman state started as a small state in current-day western Turkey. Based on Muslim beliefs and rule, the Ottoman State began to dissolve surrounding Muslim states, which were absorbed into the future empire. This move thereby ended all the other Turkish dynasties. The Ottoman Empire was marked as one of the largest, longest lasting empires. The Ottoman Empire lasted from the late 13th century to 1923. Throughout it’s time, the Ottoman Empire was remarked as highly successful and progressive. But like all empires, the Ottoman Empire had to make its end. The Ottoman Empire, like all dynasties, went through its rise, peak, and falling periods. This essay assesses each period in the Ottoman Empire's history.
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Al Ghazali, Zainab. Return of the Pharaoh: Memoir in Nasir’s Prison. The Islamic Foundation, 2006. Pp. vii, 188.
Pramoedya Ananta Toer. "Inem". Contemporary Literature of Asia. Arthur Biddle et al (ed.) Blair: Upper Saddle River, NJ, 1996. 139-148.