by Jack
For over 600 hundred years the OSMON clan ruled Turkey, (no relation to Donny and Marie). The Ottoman rulers (Sultan) had many wives in their harems and they produced a number of babies. However, it was the first born male baby that inherited the kingdom. They avoided family bickering for who was truly in line to rule by a simple system. They killed all the contenders. Even the concubines that produced male children had their babies put to death. This murderous practice continued until 1850. Curiously, a number of the 1st born died suddenly too and the right to the kingdom was passed to the next in line. So the system wasn’t perfect.
It was a barbaric system, but it lasted for 6 centuries and during that time the Ottoman Empire expanded in territory and power. It was not until the second battle for Florence ended in defeat did the Turks start to consolidate their ill gotten gains and they withdrew to more defensible positions.
In 1909 the last Sultan was overthrown and a secular state took power. They eventually allied with Germany prior to WWI and that was their great undoing. Turkey suffered a string of lost battles due to poor leadership and antiquated equipment and by the end of WWI Turkey was no longer the great empire it had once been. It’s conquered lands were apportioned off to the victors by treaties. Turkey was left pretty much with the borders it now has.
In 1923 Turkey evolved into a democratic republic led Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. To the Turks he was John Wayne, George Washington and Abe Lincoln all rolled into one. And it remains a modern government to this day.
However, Turkey is located in a dangerous neighborhood. Syria, Iran and Iraq, to name but a few, form a good portion of it’s border. They are tugged at by Islamic politics internally and externally and they must deal with a number of ethnic peoples. These people do not see themselves as Turks because they were separated from traditional Turkish society. They are namely Christians, Kurds and Armenians. These groups formed sub-cultures within Turkey and they eventually fractionalized what might have otherwise have been a fairly cohesive society of Sunni and Shia Muslims.
If you were to ask the average Turk today, they have no love for America even though they are members of NATO. Then again, they feel that way about most European countries. However, they need the US (and NATO) to help protect their sovereignty, so it’s a relationship of mutual needs if nothing else.
Although, we’re treated with less respect than such protection might warrant. For example, all US airbases in Turkey are subject to closure with a 3 day notice. No kidding, we are subject to eviction in 3 days, if they say so. So, our relationship with Turkey is more than a little complicated. And it gets more complicated with Islamic terrorism and the new Arab Awakening.
If there is a bright spot here for US it’s that most Turks reject Sharia law. They are a modern, progressive society and the thought of their women wearing bee-keeper uniforms was enough for them to pass a law forbidding it.