This week, im in turkey, where theyre gearing up for the countrys 100th Anniversary. Rising from the remains of the Ottoman Empire a century ago, turkey inherited a disparate group of cultures and began a process of rapid modernisation under its founder, ataturk. Im travelling the country to understand how all of these diverse cultures were brought together. From the Burial Grounds of the god kings of ancient anatolia. To the turquoise coast, where Queen Cleopatra is claimed to have once bathed. To an original ottoman coffee house in gaziantep, and the hotel frequented by the founder of the republic here in istanbul. Welcome to turkey. Ship horn blares. Now this has to be the best possible way to arrive in istanbul down the mighty bosphorus. Its this body of water that separates the city but also separates continents. And look at that, that silhouette with the domes, the minaretsjust popping up above the horizon. That is dolmabahce palace. Thats where the founder of the republic, Musta
Now this has to be the best possible way to arrive in istanbul down the mighty bosphorus. Its this body of water that separates the city but also separates continents. And look at that, that silhouette with the domes, the minarets just popping up above the horizon. That is dolmabahce palace. Thats where the founder of the republic, Mustafa Kemal ataturk, set about the business of transforming turkey. And from the past to the present, this is taksim district, the heart of modern istanbul. Getting an ice cream in turkey seems like a bit of an extreme sport. I mean, its very. Its for you. She laughs one vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, i pistachio. Tram bell dings these european style heritage trams have their roots back in 1871, when they were horse powered and later became electric. I love a tram. Thats notjust because im from melbourne. Something quite nice about the pace of it and also, going right through the middle of the city. Everyones scarpering out of the way. Its a really nice w
Turkey inherited a disparate group of cultures and began a process of rapid modernisation under its founder, ataturk. Im travelling the country to understand how all of these diverse cultures were brought together. From the Burial Grounds of the god kings of ancient anatolia. To the turquoise coast, where Queen Cleopatra is claimed to have once bathed. To an original ottoman coffee house in gaziantep. And the hotel frequented by the founder of the republic here in istanbul. Welcome to turkey. Now, this has to be the best possible way to arrive in istanbul down the mighty bosphorus. Its this body of water that separates the city, but also separates continents. And look at that, that silhouette with the domes, the minaretsjust popping up above the horizon. That is dolmabahce palace. Thats where the founder of the republic, Mustafa Kemal ataturk, set about the business of transforming turkey. And from the past to the present, this is taksim district, the heart of modern istanbul. Getting
His father said, no. You have to go and study at this Religious School i and you have to be a good boy. So, a completely authoritarian. Figure who shaped erdogans life away from what erdogan had wanted to become. Erdogans family were religious but modern turkey had largely been ruled by the Secular Elite. So, the Young Erdogan was made to feel like a Second Class Citizen for his faith. He felt stigmatised i that he was studying at a Religious School. So, i think at every stage in his upbringing, as a teenager and in his earlyl years, in his 20s, erdogan felt profoundly othered in a society that was formally secularist,. And i think he has a grudge against the system to this day. When he was growing up, i he was exposed to wealth and privilege, and he realised that people who had economic power. Were also people who promoted the idea of a secular society. They chant in turkish driven by this sense of injustice, erdogan joins the Islamist National Salvation Party in the mid 19705. They c