The Future of Turkey/ Turkiye'nin Gelecegi

After spending a night in Istanbul, I could not stand still and just wait for my flight to Israel.  So instead I went to stay at Eskisehir for one night.  Eskisehir is the most modern and artistic city in Turkey.  I heard rumors of the advancement of this city over the last decade, but after touring it all, I can assuredly stand by this statement.  It should be seen as model city for all to follow.  It seemed as if every single tree, every stone, every bridge, every statue, and everything else were specifically handpicked to complement each other and create a paradise within Anatolia.  Although there is some history to be found in this city, you walk around its streets not to see its past, but to see Turkey’s future.  My Turkish entry below for Eskisehir is an email I sent the night I spent there, and here are a few excerpts from the letter just to show how much the city excited me:

“I use to belief that to dream was much simpler as a student.  And after finishing my school career, and seeing some of the hardships of life, my own dreams started to slowly dwindle.  For that reason, my belief that dreams are for students became more of a reality.  After seeing Eskisehir for the first time the previous day, I understood that to dream is not an action left only to the youth.”

“For what you have done I want to take off my hat, get on one knee, kiss your hands.”

“I would just like to finish off with this one statement, you can be of the DS party, or the CH party.  You may switch to the AK party, or you may form your own party.  Do as you wish in the political arena as long as you remain as yourself.  The rest is irrelevant.”

I will be studying the growth and development of Eskisehir very closely from now on.

Eskisehir hakkinda diyecegimi Eskisehir Belediye Baskani Yilmaz Buyukersen’e yolladigim mektubundan okuyabilirsiniz:

Yilmaz Bey,

           Yirmibir senemin yirmisini Kuzey Amerikada gecirmis olan bir kisiyim.  Doksandan itibaren ben ulkeme bir dis gozuyle ancak bakabildim.  Kuzey Amerikayi ve Avrupayi gezdikten sonra da hep Turkiye’yi belli bir sekilde hayal etmisimdir.  Ogrenci hayatinda hayaller kurmak cok daha kolay oldugunu dusunurdum.  Ve okulum yeni bittiginden dolayi o kurdum hayalleri, gercek hayati biraz daha net gormeye basladiktan sonra, yavastan silinmeye baslamasti.  Bu da
hayaller ancak okuldayken kurulur dusuncemi guclendirmisti.  Ama gecen gun Eskisehiri ilk defa gezdikten sonra anladimki hayal kurmak sadece cocuklara ozgun bir seref degildir.  Turkiye hakkindaki daha once kurdugum hayalleri Eskisehirde gerceklesdigini gordum.  Bu sebepten sizi yurekten kutluyorum.  2000 senesene kadar anadolunun tarihi ve gelismesi cogunlukla Marmara bolgesinden kaynaklanmis olabilir.  Ama hic kuskum yokki bu tarihten itibaren anadolunun gelismesinin bas sozcusu Eskisehir olacaktir.  Umarim ki sizin ve ekibinizin
guzel calismalarinizi daha fazla vakit gecmeden diger anadolu sehirleri degerlendirip sizin gibi sehirlerini modernlestirmeye, veyatta, en azindan turistlere rahatlik saglayacak projelerde bulunur. 

             Yaptiklarinizdan dolayi sizin karsinizda sapka cikartmak istiyorum, diz cokmek istiyorum, ellerini opmek istiyorum.  Vali binasinin onunde yazan o tek kelime, “iznindeyiz,” ne kadar gercegi yansitigini Eskisehirde dolusunca hissetim.  Umut ederimki bundan sonra butun Turkiye o kelimeyi Eskisehir icin kullanir.  Anadolu farketmede zorlanirsa, Avrupa farkedecektir, ve dusunuyorum ki bir Avrupa Kultur Baskenti Eskisehire gayet guzel yakisir.  Bu sozle sonermek istiyorum, ister DYP’li olun, ister CHP’li.  Ister AKP’ye gecin, ister yeni parti kurun.  Ne secim yaparsaniz yapin, yeter ki siz siz olarak kalin.  Geresi
ise hikaye.  Turkiye hakkinda buyuk hayalleri olan bu genc sizinle gurur duyuyor.        

Saygilarimla,

Can Gokcen

Views from Eskisehir.  The last photo is of a dish special to Eskisehir called cigi borek.