Turkey is changing fast. And it’s modernizing fast. For a recent vacation, I hit the road in Turkey, with romantic memories (from my backpacker days) of horse-drawn carriages and villages with economies powered by hay, dung, and ducks. While that rustic old world is tougher to find, the deep traditions and warm hospitality of the region are as endearing as ever, especially if you venture past the predictable sights and tourist zones. Turkey has a sparse and frustrating train system, but flights are competitive and bus companies provide easy, comfy, and inexpensive connections throughout the land.
At the crossroads of Europe and Asia, much of Turkey is quite westernized. It is a vast land, bigger than Texas and with a population of 83 million. Only half of Turkey’s 42,000 villages had electricity in 1980. Now they all do. Does modernization threaten the beautiful things that make Turkish culture so appealing? An old village woman assured me, “We can survive TV and tourism because we have strong cultural roots.” The Turkish way of life is painted onto this land with indelible cultural ink.
