Free Blog / Mazen Hayek: From Dubai to Istanbul

By MAZEN HAYEK

Al Arabiya

Well, I’m wrapping up things as I prepare myself to travel to Istanbul tomorrow: can’t wait! Obviously, many ideas come to mind ahead of this trip, namely, and in no particular order of importance:

The Ottoman Empire and Turkish nationalism;

Kemal Ataturk and the embodiment of the secular state;

The recent official Turkish stance on democracy, openness and liberties in Syria, not to mention today’s Syrian opposition conference on the Turkish soil;

The forceful Turkish position on Israel at the time of the “Freedom Flotilla” and the diplomatic incident it created;

The relations between the Greek and the Turkish states marked by alternating periods of mutual hostility and reconciliation over Cyprus;

The deaths of up to 1.5 million Armenians during World War I;

The US-Turkey relationship which continues to grow in strategic importance;

Turkey’s European Union membership, in addition to its active role in the UN, NATO and tens of other global organizations: a truly understated regional Superpower (not fully understood by its neighbors!);

Moderate Islam in Turkey and its “franchise” export potential;

Turkey’s “East meets West” mantra, where divine religions live together in peace and harmony;

The Turkish government’s lifting of visa requirements for Arabs and Middle Easterners to engage them more in Turkey’s lifestyle, culture and way of doing business;

The fate of the Kurdish people and their imprisoned Kurdish fighter Abdulla Ogalan;

Bilingualism or Trilingualism: will they gain more ground in Turkey one day?

The interruptive Turkish Tourism TV Spots, print ads and outdoor signs everywhere;

“Turkish Delights,” savory cuisine, stunning mansions and breathtaking scenery;

Turkish soaps dubbed into Arabic, and aired on the Middle East region’s leading SatCaster MBC… on top of which came “Gümüş” or “Noor” (in Arabic), a Turkish melodrama originally broadcast in Turkey by Kanal D, featuring Songül Öden & Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ — who both took the Arab world by storm. When it’s love it never varies;

Turkey-based “tweets” and fellow Turkish “twitter-ers”!

And last but not least, the impeccable Emirates Airline, which will fly me there! (one day will come when I’ll probably fly Turkish Airlines);

And, and, and… how can I forget the hotel overlooking the Bosphorus — part of the boundary between Europe and Asia – where I’ll be staying?!

(Mazen Hayek of Al Arabiya can be reached at:

[email protected] (twitter: @HayekMG). He welcomes comments and re-Tweets)

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