Observations About Türkiye

Local Masjid (مَسْجِد)
(Mosque) in Side, by M. C. Dutt

Observations About Türkiye |
Tuesday – August 11, 2026

Days hitherto, I have not mentioned my personal observations, beyond general observations of course, about Türkiye, and I do have some thoughts and reflections to share about this emerging economy in the Near East.

    Before I begin I would like to once again reiterate the fact that the Near East must be separated from the Middle East, for what most people refer to as "the Middle East" is actually quite erroneous; by "Middle East" it is actually tradition to refer to India, the entire Indian subcontinent, and instead assign the label Near East to what is now seemingly name praxis; most moderns would today refer to Türkiye as "the Middle East", when in fact and again Türkiye is located in the Near East. I actually find it quite sad and discouraging that this term should have lost its usage in everyday vocabulary, and I suppose too that this is a sign of the decline inherent in our times, for after all we are living through the Kali Yuga, a subject that I have covered elsewhere.

    Now, I have been here in Türkiye for the past week and I must say that there are certain things about this country, its culture, and its people, that I indeed fancy, and then there are some other aspects about those qualities that I do not fancy as much. For instance, whenever I have attempted to buy something outside a general store, and even sometimes when I have visited local general stores, I have been greeted with a very upfront but aggressive manner that I find quite offensive; what I am referring to is the seemingly constant insistence upon certain men to assume that I like how they approach me. Again, I am referring to the sales clerks and the small business owners attempting to lure me into their shops and small boutiques. Now, I am a man that does not mind engaging in business with materially oriented and minded persons, but I do not like it when I do not have the slightest moment to reflect. I would argue that this sales trick is turning away more potential customers that it is capable of generating, for I do not believe that I could possibly be the only person offended by this aggressive demeanor. Again, I can understand the wish on the behalf of the owners of these stores and restaurants to sell material goods to their customers, but I can almost assure most of these people that they would be better off had they left the intrigue up to the customers themselves; this bullying tactic is surely not winning me or anyone else over, at least I have a very hard time believing in that prospect. I suppose this rather aggressive and imposing demeanor is an artifact of the certain Turkish way, really of a kind of Turkish cultural aspect deeply rooted in the East and in the Islamic view on the Inshalla (إن شاء الله), but my friends I must warn you: there will be no will of God to respect if you do not allow the hand of God to actually guide you. Now, this cultural aspect is one that I can respect from a distant, but that I must admit does offend me close up, and again I believe most outsiders would agree on that point, not that their or the opinion of the majority must matter in this regard, for I have not arrived in Türkiye to advocate any kind of cultural change, read "Kemalism".

    Now, this cultural aspect that I have described above was on full display in an incident that involved two Romani Vagabonds that held me up in their establishment against my will in a very threatening manner. There was, as I have stated, at least two of them: the one small and good looking and the other enormous and hideously looking, and at first the obvious oriental swing and the general atmosphere of those Gypsy quarters called upon my attention, but I barely had the time to put my other foot inside the threshold of their store before they had brought me inside a part of the story where I was unable to exist, and the small and good looking man was talking a great deal about how I should drink a certain extract in order to detoxify myself, while the other hideous looking man made it clear that I was not to leave before I had bought their schtick. In the end, I lost €200 before I was free to leave their establishment. Again, I do not blame the general Turkish character on this incident, but I do believe that the general promiscuity when it comes to doing business has enabled and contributed to this kind of outrageous and fraudulent tactic. Now, I can go on to complain about this, but I realize at the same time that I should have walked the streets of Side with more circumspection and with more suspiciousness, read "How do You Profile People?". I suppose too that a wise man would take his own security more seriously.

    Then there are aspects about the Turkish character that I do appreciate, such as the easy going social nature of most Turks, something that suits them well in this climate, and something that I believe will add to their emergence as a strong economy in the future. I suppose too that their cuisine is good as well, and if you are a person who enjoys meat, then you would likely enjoy the Turkish cuisine. Now, I am mostly vegetarian; for me it is simply the case that I enjoy the vegetarian side of Turkish cuisine, such as lentil soup and of course figs, read "Are Certain Foods Immoral?". I also much prefer the conservative character of Turkish women, for it makes them more beautiful and more Godly, something that surely will serve to enable the betterment of the Turkish nation, especially in this dope filled world. Are there not enough scandalous and scantily clothed women in the West? Have not God heard the cry, the cry of each mother of every damsel; have not God seen the sorrow, the sorrow and the regret in the eyes of each father of every damsel? If not, then God has lost his fate in the West, but not yet has God turned his back on the Near East, but the winds are only blowing in one direction. Kneel before God I say, read my "Bible Study series"! Indeed, this kind of divine inspiration is easy to come upon on the streets of the Mediterranean, really on the Arab streets, even though these streets are filled with Ottomans and Turks, and they are really lacking in the Arabesque, even though you may come upon themes of that kind; at any rate, I like these aspects of Türkiye – I prefer these aspects to the other negative ones. Now of course, each nation has its ups and downs. Perhaps I should mention the amount of tourists here in Türkiye, and yes they are annoying and they keep filling the streets, but I do still understand that they are crucial for the economy, read "What is Capitalism?".

Reginald Drax (AKA, M. C. Dutt) – August 11, 2026.