5,000-person survey of the ‘New Turkey’

The new campus of the Office of the President, built in the Atatürk Forest Farm in Ankara, will be opened with a ceremony on Oct. 29.

As press reports say, invitations have been sent to 5,000 people. Such a huge reception is being organized for the first time.

I think the newspapers should make detailed analyses of these lists because they will give us a good idea about the president's view - the first president who has been elected by the people - of the people.

I am curious about the artists who are invited, and whether artists such as Fazıl Say, Tarık Akan, Müjdat Gezen and Mustafa Alabora will be regarded as artists of the people or not…

How will the list of businessmen and businesswomen be?

What about the conditions of accreditation for journalists? Will they be accredited according to the same conditions of being accepted onto the president’s or the prime minister’s jet? Will the constitutional article that says, “Everyone bound to the Turkish State through the bond of citizenship is a Turk,” be adequate for them?  

I am particularly wondering about how those Muslims who have a conscience, who have experienced the justifiable resentment because of not being invited to Çankaya in the past because of their headscarves, will feel when they look at the list on the evening of Oct. 29?

Will they see the revenge of people who were treated differently because of a cover on their heads against those who carry different opinions within their heads?

Will they feel the pleasure of “settling an account with the Republic”? 

Or will they see a meeting, a reconciliation ceremony between the covers outside the heads and different opinions inside the heads?

Turkey’s biggest public survey is now being carried out with 5,000 people. Here, right in front of us is the “New Turkey Survey…”

Let us see what the results of the Oct. 29 evening survey will be. In addition, it will also show the result of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's conciliatory "balcony speech" after he won the election in August...

Interesting detail in an emblem

It was the first time I saw this emblem and when I looked closely, the star inside the design that looks like the Turkish flag was not the usual pentacle, but a hexagram: The Star of David.

It is the invitation to an upcoming activity, promoting Jewish culture. This emblem is from an ancient cover, protecting sacred texts. This is one of the emblems used in Jewish religious venues within the lands of the Ottoman reign. It was a very meaningful pattern, combining the Islamic crescent and the Star of David.   

There is also another detail in the invitation, the hosts are “Turkish Jews.” Nobody would judge them if they call themselves “Jews from Turkey,” but these people have been using this phrase for centuries. 

In a century when even Turks are made to hesitate before using the word “Turk,” what else could have shown better their level of commitment to the country in which they have been living for more than 500 years?