‘Rebel’ is the culture of Turkey

Author Kaya Genc and Christopher De Bellaigue were in conversation with Suzy Hansen during the second day of Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) on Friday wherein the three discussed political divide in Turkey and the present situation of the country.

Kaya Genc discussed his book “Under the Shadow: Rage and Revolution in Modern Turkey” and recounted the political journeys of more than a dozen younger Turks leading up to and following the ground-shifting Gezi Park protests of mid-2013. The discussion underscored the diversity of Turkish political perspectives today, yet highlight just how little has changed in the past century.

“Turkey is very active in the production of arms and ammunition. And the extremist fever is very high there. That is why rebel has become a culture of Turkey. “ Said Genc and added, “Although the country’s economy grew at 11 percent, protests were also there at the other end.”

Journalist and Author Suzy Hansen, who was in New York to take a writing fellowship in Turkey, has a series of small realizations that culminate in an epiphany about her identity. She spoke about her book “Notes on a Foreign Country: An American Abroad in a Post-American World”.