"Grassroots Anatolia indifferent to Turkey's EU bid 13/12/2004
The tising tensions in Ankara and European capitals surrounding Turkey's bid to begin EU membership talks elicit little more than perplexed shrugs in this typical town of the Anatolian heartland. 'Is it a monster? Is it an angel?' asks Erdal Karakulah. 'We don't know what the European Union really is. 'For me,' says the 22-year-old who makes a living selling produce in Kirsehir's marketplaces, 'it doesn't mean much. Maybe a little more wealth -- that's all.' Life in this drab, gloomy town of 250,000 souls, less than 200 kilometers (125 miles) southeast of Ankara on the vast, dreary central Anatolian plain, appears far removed from the bustling industrial cities of Western Turkey. Erdal answers questions in one of Kirsehir's many internet cafes, and should in all logic have all the information he needs about the EU at his fingertips. "
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