Happy Election Day!

Picture Source: flamabayrak.com


Ahh, just when I think I escape the addictive grasp of American politics, I fall into the clutches of Turkish elections!

March 29 marked Turkey's municipal elections, where thousands of political positions are up for grabs, including the mayoral position here in İstanbul. In recent weeks, the streets are covered by thousands of little pennant flags strung between buildings and electrical posts, posters and billboards covering virtually every building, and myriad enormous tour buses blaring with persuasive rhetoric about individual candidates being blasted from megaphones. The amount of money that must have been spent on these things is mind-boggling, but since they seem to spend little time on television, I presume they are just putting their money elsewhere.

What is important to note in all of this is that despite having multi-story posters of people's faces with their names, the logo in the corners of these posters is perhaps more important for voters. You see, Turkish politics is extremely party-oriented, and political candidates are simply instruments to empower the parties. Mind you, some leaders are able to accomplish a lot and others little, people sometimes equate their performance with the party. Think of the United States and people attributing a leader's actions with the party as a whole, even though here, the attribution is to a greater extent.

Even though thirty-three parties competed for the big election in 2007 and nineteen did today, coalitions are rarely formed between the parties, so forming pluralities and majorities are quite important. Coalition governments are viewed here as failures essentially because Turkey had severe economic collapses and other crises in the 1990s under such rule. This, again, makes party politics all the more important.

According to election returns, it looks like the AKP (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, or Justice and Development Party) has retained a relatively strong lead nationwide, even though not quite as strong as it had performed in 2007. The president and PM of Turkey both belong to the AK Party, and so continuation of this party's policy seems to be bolstered. Among its promises are pushing forward with institutional transformation of Turkey for EU accession as well as promoting moral principles in Turkish society.

While some opponents of the AK Parti argue many of these reforms are either negative or haven't been instituted enough, it appears that voters are giving the party a chance to advance its agenda further.

The mood here is very politically charged today, with celebrations in the streets as well as protests and, unfortunately, some violence, particularly in the eastern part of the country. In an effort to stymie violence and unrest, the Turkish government bans the sale of alcohol on election day as well as the carrying of firearms.

As it is quite late and I have more pages of reading to do tomorrow than I'd like to think about, I am going to end this post somewhat abruptly and hit the hay. Goodnight everyone!

It's been a while...

It has been several weeks since my last posting, and it feels as though life has been turned upside down since I've last written. With apologies as to the delay, I must explain that it occurred due to my computers exploding on me: literally smoke, sparks, popping, the whole enchilada. Because I have not been able to upload pictures and have had to acquaint myself with a Turkish keyboard, weeks have transpired; luckily though, I have a new computer and am trying to finagle English language settings, and now I am offering my first post...

I will surely update you on two trips that I have taken--Topkapı Palace and Cappadocia-- that were quite memorable, but I instead want to take the opportunity to pay homage to my grandmother, Murrell Helmke, who died last week.

Grandma's life cannot be described with any ease, as words do not illustrate aptly the depth to which she valued life: family, friends, new experiences. Her vivaciousness inspired all who knew her, and her death is a great loss to so many.

Above all else, family was of utmost importance to her. While blood relations were of course one of her definitions of family, who she considered to be in her family seemed to transcend that. She forged such deep friendships through the years and embraced the friends of other family members to the point that reunions and gatherings consisted of scores of people, blood-related and otherwise. She took in nieces and nephews and considered them her own. It seemed that Grandma was always in contact with friends, not only from now but from her past as well. Many, many people considered Grandma their best friend, and she was to them all.

She was always so proud of everyone in her family, and she made great strides to keep in contact with us all. If I ever had a question of how someone was doing, in most cases Grandma had the answers. (And sometimes, we would have the answers too...but to crossword puzzle clues) In regards to her pride, all of her friends and even random strangers she would meet and befriend soon knew about us all. Becky at the bank, Anne, her hairdresser, her bridge friends, and the list continues. I was always astounded when her friends or acquaintances would say, "You must be Jon...." She clearly loved all of her friends and family, and the familial reports about the attendance to her memorial service attest to that, as many people loved her too.

My memories of Grandma are vivid, even from when I was quite young. I remember running from imaginary waves (sounds from a sound machine) with her when we couldn't go to the beach. I remember the beach trips so very well and the games of Clue we would play. I remember the Twinkies in her pantry and the hollow sound of the pantry door opening when Grandma was going to cook. I remember the orange sippy cup she would give me (and the rest of the grandkids and great-grandkids). I remember her visiting us in Peru. I remember her stories. I remember sitting in her lap and "working" the crossword or jumble or cryptoquote (which I never quite figured out). I remember always having soft drinks outside in the garage: Grab a tray and go get yourself a Coke; we are eating around, she'd say. I remember she would always be working on a stocking or advent calendar for a grandkid or great-grandkid.

I remember Christmas Eve and the lengths she would go to impress, and every Christmas seemed to be a little bit sweeter and magical each time. Planning started promptly in June, regardless.

This stream of consciousness is not exactly eloquent, but these are just a few of the random memories that have been flooding my mind.

Of course, these random memories are mere flashes of the rich tapestry that is my reminiscence on Grandma. I realize just how influential she was on my childhood, on the way I think and the person I am today.

Her unwillingness to accept what was not right, her tenaciousness, her wisdom and brilliance, her selflessness, her vivaciousness and general positive attitude despite obstacle, and her love of life and family (read:family and friends) make Grandma my absolute hero. I wish I could be half the amazing individual Grandma was to so many people.

Because of my obvious absence from home, her death has been particularly hard because I have not had the close friends and family from whom I garner the most support. This is not to say that my friends here have not been incredible to me (and of whom I am eternally grateful); it is just that sometimes you would love nothing more than a hug from family member. Nonetheless, I know that Grandma would have been mad at me had I traveled back to the States on her account, so I have some solace from missing my family so much.

I am not exactly sure how I should close this besides saying that despite the world has suffered an immeasurable loss, I would rather say that it has been graced and has been witness to a truly remarkable, fulfilling, and full life of an awe-inspiring woman; and for that, I feel immensely blessed.

Thank you, Grandma, for leaving your mark and meaning so much to so many of us. Your legacy will live on for generations to come.

In the meantime...

I've done a few things this past week, but I am going to wait to post until I have more time and I get the photos from my friends. Surprise! Jon forgot his camera on two excursions.

I did, however, stumble across this story on CNN.com that describes well my experiences in getting a Turkish residency permit.

http://inthefield.blogs.cnn.com/2009/03/02/a-rite-of-passage-for-ex-pats-in-turkey/

Enjoy!