*I’m really pleased your acquainted with Turkish hospitality. Wished you’d elaborated on “muslim manners” and “cultural differences”. I once spent 6 weeks in the TRNC and from there went to Mersin, Turkiye initially for a few days …… which then transpired into an 8 month sojourn! Turkish people are very welcoming and sharing, I too got many invites and a few sleepovers, met families. These were all bona-fide Turks proud of their country and reputation.
*A helluva lot of Kurds in Mersin, these people lacked the approachability of my countrymen. I suspect your “mixed” experiences might’ve had something to do with them. They feel Atatúrk never represented them (to put it mildly), and as you know veneration for Atatúrk is omnipresent in Túrkiye. I’m guessing they percieve it as a personal insult. Consequently some Kurds don’t care for Túrkiye’s reputation, so visitors might get an offhand treatment from them.
*The Arab/Muslim-Jewish ME conundrum doesn’t offer a glimmer of hope for reconciliation. At least if diaspora Muslims and Jews had close cordial interactions (like Greeks and Turks) then it would set an example. There must be some organisations dedicated to this, but I can’t see any. There are some parallels between Islam and Judaism, and that alone should bring mutual respect as evinced in the Ottoman empire. Was wondering…. is the Arab enmity towards Jews across the board, or is it specifically aimed at Ashkenazis?
*Ateotd everyones tired of the Arab-Israeli cycle of violence. I think the two parties need an interlocuter(s) with real clout. The Arabs won’t trust the USA though. I’d like to see Túrkiye take it upon itself to resolve differences and procure an agreement that both parties willingly accept. Except that Erdogan isn’t the one to do it, too favourable to the Muslim Brotherhood thing. I think we’ll have to wait and see what a post-Erdogan Túrkiye can offer in that regard. I would ask the Israelis to be patient and not give up on Túrkiye despite the noise coming from Erdogans supporters.
*I think we’d all like to see Iran come to it’s senses, but not by foreign intervention. It’s about time Iran had diplomatic relations with the US, but the regimes mindset seems to mirror North Koreas, complete distrust. Apparently, Jews in Iran aren’t persecuted in any way. According to the regime, they don’t have a problem with Jews/ Judaism per se. It’s the US backed ‘Zionist entity’ as they call it which they see as their problem. Sometimes I think to myself whether Russia has sowed these attitudes into its allies, even North Korea which looks like a retro Soviet state doesn’t take kindly at all to Israel. If I’m not mistaken NK gave arms to one of the MENA nations in the 1967 or 1973 wars.