After the coup, Turkey turns against America

As an American in Türkiye, I do not believe that we had anything directly to do with the coup, but I believe we knew about it, and we informed him ahead of time.

Until about his recent to the US for Muhamed Ali's funeral, Erdoğan was his usual grumpy-old-grandfather self. He was on television every day spreading conspiracy theories, hatred, and misogyny. Within days of returning, he surpised us all by

- Repairing ties with Israel - Sending two ships of aid to Gaza (which was related to the rift with Israel) - Apologizing to Russia - Repairing trade and tourism ties with Russia (which is important. Between construction, agricultural exports and tourism, Russia means 10-15% of Türkiye's economy - Ordering the mayor of Istanbul (half) apologize to a Korean guy whose store was attacked on Ramazan, and chastizing the brutes who lead this attack. - Showing some flexibility about the schools being forced to convert into Imam Hatip (think Madrassa-Lite) - Suggesting that rich and educated Syrians would be given citizenship - Changing his public EU-accession rhetoric from dismissal to willing to negotiate

Even before the Atatürk airport attack everybody just knew something was coming, and the more general conspiracy theory was that Kerry either warned him of something coming, or made some pretty serious threats.

There is some credibility to this theory. Before the past few attacks embassies sent people home or told them not to show up for work, the Bastille day celebrations at the French Embassies in Ankara and Istanbul were canceled, friends at the US consul told us to stay home and cancel travel plans the day of the Ataturk attack (Surreally I flew back from a vacation 3 hours prior)

Unfortunately, Erdoğan has been very emboldened by the Coup, and most of this progress is gone for good.

We are hoping this all dies down, but I wouldn't advise visiting here this year. The nationalistic sentiment is very strong, the thugs are all out in force.

Well, I wouldn't entirely advise it. The very pleasant direct flight on Turkish Airlines from SFO to IST is about $1k right now. In Taksim nice hotels that used to cost $150/night now cost about $60. Hostels with breakfast are down to $7-$8 pretty much nation-wide. The beach-towns on the EGE & the Med rely almost solely on Russian and British touritsts who no longer come. Pansiyons (think B&B before AirBNB), AirBNB rooms, hotel rooms, and resort packages are almost free.

The dollar and the euro are very strong, and the GBP is still respectable. You no longer have to wait in line for attractions like Aga Safiya, the Basilica Cistern, the Topkapi Palace,or wade through a mob of people in the Grand Bazaar or the Spice Market.

Unfortunately this means that the music in Istanbul has died. Most of the best venues for Balkan/Turkish music have either shut down or switched to Spotify, many of the regular street musicians have given up.

"Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. It doesn't matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times. Come, yet again , come , come" - Rumi

I don't think it's fair to put this on either the EU or Turkey alone. There were many factors prevent Turkish membership but the parent is right: religion played a huge role in the public opinion.

I remember Merkel actually saying that Europe was founded on "Christian ideals" (nevermind the actual ideals having more to do with post-renaissance secularism than original Christian dogma) -- the same Merkel nationalists are now blaming for the "Islamification" of Europe.

If Turkey had been more compatible and the EU members had been less bigoted, I imagine Turkey could have even helped with the "Islamification" so many people are now worrying about -- it would created a European example for how Islam can work under Western ideals and prevented a lot of the guilt and xenophobia that lies at the root of a lot of the conflicts with Islam we now have in Europe.

I don't find a good link for the following statement but I saw it mentioned a few times lately and it seems that Erdogan was banished from political life because of it.

At a conference in 1998, Erdogan quoted from an Islamic poem: "Democracy is just the train we board to reach our destination. The mosques are our barracks, the minarets our bayonets, the cupolas our helmets and the faithful our soldiers."

The comment is totally factual, except the very last sentence which is my personal logic conclusion to what is presented before.

If you don't think so, perhaps you could pinpoint anything in my comment that is not true.

Watch the news today. Erdogan stated yesterday that he would be announcing a huge new process that will stabilize the markets. We think that it will be the announcement of a secret parliamentary vote to give him the Presidential powers he desires.