|
Zach, turn around and head towards the Middle East. |
My foot-in-mouth disease hasn't cleared up any in the Aegean sunshine. A few days ago at the kids' sailing/windsurfing school I commented that we were as far west as we could possibly be while remaining in the Middle East. Whoops, gave myself away on that one! I was politely corrected that Izmir doesn't consider itself the Middle East and that Turkey is part of Europe. Of course I get the age-old debate and Izmir doesn't feel much like other parts of the Middle East that I've visited (see photos), but even now that we're living here I'm a little baffled as to when Turkey wants to be part of Europe and when it wants to be identified with the M.E.
|
This is Turkey, those hills are Greece. |
Surely the eastern border of Turkey, where it meets Iran and Armenia is considered the Middle East. I'm pretty sure Iran thinks it is. And surely Turkey's border with Syria is considered the Middle East. Historically the Asian side of Istanbul was considered the east, as in the beginning of Asia Minor, so maybe Istanbul, the Aegean and the Mediterranean are excluded but everything else in the middle counts? Or maybe it depends on the audience? Or maybe "Middle East" is just a term that we over use in the US? Or perhaps this is simply the magic of Turkey, i.e. neither east nor west...and both whenever they want to be.
BTW, one aspect we've become increasingly sensitive to is that "Muslim" doesn't equal "Middle East." Sounds obvious but it doesn't always feel obvious. I really do need to get out more. Comments welcome.
Lurker says: "Middle East Asia" is an anglocentric misnomer, meaning West Asia. But since the 50s TPTB have rewritten the map of the Middle East to suit their propaganda.
ReplyDeleteLurker out. P.S. Enjoying the family's travelogue greatly.
Zach go here
ReplyDelete