TURKISH DELIGHT

"We surveyed the jars of coloured candy, trays of marzipan and assorted sweetmeats while the stall keeper deftly wrapped the block of lokum we had just bought. The occasion was our first visit to Turkey and aided with a rudimentary tourist map we were trying to navigate a path through Istanbul's maze-like Grand Bazaar.
We stopped by the stall to ask for directions and decided to buy some "Turkish Delight" to take home with us.
I recalled the tacky lokum when I read Michael Reynolds' article - "Turkey’s foreign policy flip" posted in MESH (Middle East Strategy at Harvard). Referring to Turkey's foreign policy volte-face Reynolds quoted a popular Ottoman adage to illustrate the hitherto Turkish contempt for Arabs:
"There is a certain poetic irony to the Turkish dream of exporting food throughout the Middle East via Syria. Damascus’ Ottoman-era fame for its sweets gave rise to a Turkish saying that aptly summarised official Turkish attitudes from the 1920s through the end of the century toward all things Arab: Ne Şam’ın şekeri, ne Arabın yüzü, literally ‘Neither sweets from Damascus nor an Arab’s face,” which can be roughly translated as, I don’t want to have anything to do with the Arabs, even if they do have tasty sweets."

At this juncture, I’ll add a margin note to avoid confusion:

I vaguely recalled our first visit to Turkey in 2009 while paging back over older posts searching for something suitable to use to describe the present dilemma Israeli tourists are facing in Istanbul. The post I found was aptly called “Turkish Delight”, though as I recall we experienced a culture shock when we viewed the landscape from the top of the Galata Tower in the Taksim neighbourhood of Istanbul. The vast expanse of mosques spread out across the skyline was awe-inspiring. Admittedly, in 1974 we spent a few days in Tehran en route to Australia, but that was before the era of the Ayatollahs.

Back to the main text and the present day.

When Israelis were first advised to cancel their planned Istanbul holidays, many tended to ignore official warnings or were afraid they would lose their money if they cancelled their holiday bookings. While some returned home, incoming flights brought more Israelis to Istanbul eager to tour regardless of the danger.

 Israel's National Security Council issued a severe travel warning late last month urging Israelis to avoid travelling to Turkey and several other destinations bordering Iran, fearing Iranian revenge for a number of high-profile deaths that have struck the Islamic Republic in recent weeks, which Tehran blames Israel for.

Israel’s intelligence and security agencies have made a concerted effort to identify and locate Israelis who have chosen to ignore the warnings against travel to Turkey. It transpires that half of them fly to Istanbul for a connecting flight and do not leave the airport. The air terminal and its facilities are well protected, so there is less concern for the safety of passengers in transit. However, Israelis go to Turkey for various medical treatments, including hair transplants and other kinds of cosmetic surgical procedures. Since the procedures are booked and paid for in advance, they are loath to forgo them.  Consequently, they are willing to risk life and limb for the sake of acquiring a healthy head of hair, or a pair of perky boobs. Still, the warning has made an impact. The medical tourists may fly to Istanbul, but they rush back to their hotel after their treatment and forgo the opportunity to tour the city sights.

Another facet of the heightened tension in Istanbul is the game of wits being played out between Israel and Iran. This includes the decision to reveal the identity of the Iranian mastermind plotting the attacks: The head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence unit, Hossein Taib, a Muslim cleric who has a long record of terrorist activity and intimidation both in Iran and abroad.

The people tracking him speak of a vicious commander with a tendency to risk everything in order to attain his goal. In this instance it’s hunting Israeli tourists in Turkey

Veteran journalist and defence analyst Yoav Limor claims Taib has been known to security forces in Israel and the West for years. “The decision to mark him publicly as the figure behind the current threat also puts a bullseye on his back. It goes without saying that he will now look over his shoulder whenever he leaves his home or sees a passing motorcycle in the street. In an instant, he has moved from the nameless and faceless pursuer to the pursued.”

Defence Minister Benny Gantz’s explicit warning that Israel “is preparing to respond with force in the face of any threat to Israeli citizens everywhere” is also aimed at making the threat personal so that Taib and his colleagues in Tehran know that they are in the crosshairs.

Turkey’s security and intelligence authorities are worried that its tourist industry as a whole will be adversely affected by this turn of events.

No matter how this plays out, Iran will continue to seek revenge and Israel will continue to attack in Syria and Iran (according to foreign news sources) There is no final volley, or check-mate in this battle of wits. Yet some observers envisage two possible outcomes: Either the repressive Iranian regime achieves its ultimate goal and wipes Israel off the map, or a popular uprising in Iran ousts the current regime, Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and all. At present both goals are no more than wishful thinking.

 

Have a good weekend.

 

Beni                                                                            24th of June, 2022.