"Reading Ramadan in Istanbul
This year in Istanbul, the flags on Republic Day seemed extra large. It wasn't a special anniversary year. Turkey was celebrating its 86th year as a modern secular state. Nevertheless, the sheer number of flags - 60,000 hanging from government buildings, draped across skyscrapers, dominating squares - was unprecedented. The display of 48,000 fireworks over the Bosphorus also seemed a bit over the top. It was as if the current ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), because of its 'Islamist' reputation among detractors at home and abroad, was making a compensatory effort to prove its republican bona fides."
More:Foreign Policy In Focus | World Beat | Vol. 4, No. 44 | Reading Ramadan in Istanbul
