tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567168789336947243.post6953501295668553599..comments2024-02-25T09:45:48.931-05:00Comments on Lally's Alley: ORHAN PAMUK'S ISTANBULLallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05310472614196384595noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567168789336947243.post-92005015278225389502012-07-16T08:14:02.706-04:002012-07-16T08:14:02.706-04:00I understand about the attacks - they have a stron...I understand about the attacks - they have a strong nationalist streak in the country. We were there when Israel was attacking Gaza and the anger was not that Israel was defending itself, but that it seemed to the Turks that it was overkill. Turkey and Israel had good relations until then. Israeli tourism was important and Izmir, where we stayed, was one of the areas that many Israeli's came. They have problems with nationalism, the Armenian question, conservative Islamists, Kurdish rebels and radical Islamists. Western Turkey is much more conservative, while Eastern Turkey is much more European. Many secular Turks live in the East. The Eastern cities have attracted a lot of European and other Western businesses. Still the volatility is there and Pamuk certainly has run afoul of the more conservative elements. And of course we are seeing that kind of divide becoming more common in this country.<br /><br />Hopefully this will post - I lost the last one to some kind of blogger error.tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02038980686084187677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567168789336947243.post-21444168031491528772012-07-15T23:17:11.537-04:002012-07-15T23:17:11.537-04:00Tom, I appreciate your comment. I've heard not...Tom, I appreciate your comment. I've heard nothing but good things about Turkey from friends who have visited there. I haven't, put off by MIDNIGHT EXPRESS, the movie with the late Brad Davis, who was a friend and a really nice guy but suffered some serious attacks from Turks in the USA getting revenge for his taking part in that flick.Lallyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05310472614196384595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567168789336947243.post-66796955929839074422012-07-15T20:31:22.759-04:002012-07-15T20:31:22.759-04:00I enjoyed Istanbul (the book and the city) I firs...I enjoyed Istanbul (the book and the city) I first visited Istanbul for 3 days in 1974 and then again for 2 days over New Years weekend. Like so much of the world it has changed and not changed. One of the problems in Turkey is the conflict between the pro-Islamists and the secular. In Western Turkey many people consider themselves Europeans. And culturally they are. For me his books are slow to read, but excellent. I have read Snow and a couple of others. Two more are still on the to be read shelf. <br /><br />But back to Istanbul Memories and the City. I agree that parts of it are repetitive as much of it are essays. <br /><br />My daughter and I spent most of our visit with a friend in Izmir. On a trip to a mall we went to a bookstore and the only American poet translated into Turkish was a slim volume of Bukowski. Their was also a lot of poetry in English. <br /><br />I'd go back if I could.tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02038980686084187677noreply@blogger.com