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Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
dec 28 2013
Sweet dreams of Turkey and Armenia
BÃ`LENT ARAS
I had an interesting dream a couple of days ago. There was a gathering
of leading figures from the Armenian and Turkish communities, held
somewhere like a cultural center, in Canada. It seemed to me like a
regular meeting for the exchange of ideas on issues of common interest
as well as an opportunity for family-based socializing. I remember a
children's newspaper prepared in Turkish and Armenian, with pictures
and contributions by school kids. One topic on the agenda was
organizing a study trip to Istanbul and Yerevan to visit cultural
artifacts and to discover the common heritage of Turks, Armenians, and
others. This was obviously an exciting project, since people were
enthusiastic about it.
I talked to an Armenian businessman who had an office in Argentina. He
mentioned his participation in the Turkish economy minister's visit to
Buenos Aires, and the meetings with the Argentinian business community
to promote investment in Turkey. A young teacher from a Turkish school
in Ottawa put out some leaflets about Armenian-language courses at his
school.
The popular song, `Fair Bride' (Sarı Gelin) did not sound sad to me
this time. I am not sure in what language it was being sung, but this
emotional lyric was understood by all. Two ladies were discussing
recipes for the Turkish and Armenian versions of Noah's Pudding (known
as AÅ?ure in Turkish and AbaÅ?anur in Armenian). The only difference is
there is no bean in the Armenian version. It is a sweet made of dried
fruit and nuts and pomegranate seeds, spiced with cinnamon and cloves.
I joined the conversation and suggested that they add coconut too.
They looked at me strangely, and said, `Add whatever you like, and
leave out what you do not like!'
The newspaper on the table attracted my attention. There was a story
on the recently opened Azerbaijan-Armenia-Turkey railway line, and the
need to improve its capacity. Due to its strategic value, the railway
had become a central route connecting Asia and Europe. The middle
corridor of the East-West connection was also linking both sides of
the Caspian, and integrating the region into the West.
I approached the Turkish and Armenian ambassadors, who were discussing
new energy
pipeline routes with a number of others. The expanded Southern
Corridor with its gas and oil
pipelines had turned out to be a key source of revenue for the
regional countries and nearby states. It is a secure and stable
corridor, which satisfies the economic, security and political
concerns of all parties. The two ambassadors mentioned the stabilizing
role of these joint projects, their interdependent nature paving way
for improved welfare and peace-building in the Caucasus and the
Balkans, among others. They were referring to the Azerbaijani
ambassador, who was attending these meeting regularly, as an expert on
energy issues. An interesting issue was the Armenian lobby's push for
further European recognition of the importance of these projects in
France.
One source of anxiety was the increasing number of Armenians returning
to Armenia. The recent economic growth, infrastructural developments
and welfare in Armenia had caused a wave of reverse migration to
Armenia, a reversal of earlier trends. The owner of a tourism agency
was happy with the number of Armenian tourists visiting Turkey. He
mentioned that Turkish consulates were providing services to Armenian
citizens in countries without Armenian missions.
I had a nice feeling when I woke up. The conversation on the recipes
for Noah's Pudding had hinted on what sweet dreams are made of. What
you have will be enough. Even just some dried fruits and nuts;
whatever is leftover is fine. You can add more, and leave out what you
do not want. I would speculate that it was Mr. Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu's visit
to Yerevan that triggered my reflections on this issue, which became
such a sweet dream. We have delegated the peace-making duties to our
policy makers.
DavutoÄ?lu's visit is a constructive move and needs to be welcomed and
positively responded to by his Armenian counterpart.
Without a doubt, normalization between Turkey and Armenia will make
this world, in particular our region, a better place. The recent past
is full of animosity, hate and pain, but the future does not need to
be like that. Hope, courage and commitment are enough to make this
sweet dream into a reality.
December/28/2013
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/sweet-dreams-of-turkey-and-armenia.aspx?pageID=238&nID=60232&NewsCatID=396
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
dec 28 2013
Sweet dreams of Turkey and Armenia
BÃ`LENT ARAS
I had an interesting dream a couple of days ago. There was a gathering
of leading figures from the Armenian and Turkish communities, held
somewhere like a cultural center, in Canada. It seemed to me like a
regular meeting for the exchange of ideas on issues of common interest
as well as an opportunity for family-based socializing. I remember a
children's newspaper prepared in Turkish and Armenian, with pictures
and contributions by school kids. One topic on the agenda was
organizing a study trip to Istanbul and Yerevan to visit cultural
artifacts and to discover the common heritage of Turks, Armenians, and
others. This was obviously an exciting project, since people were
enthusiastic about it.
I talked to an Armenian businessman who had an office in Argentina. He
mentioned his participation in the Turkish economy minister's visit to
Buenos Aires, and the meetings with the Argentinian business community
to promote investment in Turkey. A young teacher from a Turkish school
in Ottawa put out some leaflets about Armenian-language courses at his
school.
The popular song, `Fair Bride' (Sarı Gelin) did not sound sad to me
this time. I am not sure in what language it was being sung, but this
emotional lyric was understood by all. Two ladies were discussing
recipes for the Turkish and Armenian versions of Noah's Pudding (known
as AÅ?ure in Turkish and AbaÅ?anur in Armenian). The only difference is
there is no bean in the Armenian version. It is a sweet made of dried
fruit and nuts and pomegranate seeds, spiced with cinnamon and cloves.
I joined the conversation and suggested that they add coconut too.
They looked at me strangely, and said, `Add whatever you like, and
leave out what you do not like!'
The newspaper on the table attracted my attention. There was a story
on the recently opened Azerbaijan-Armenia-Turkey railway line, and the
need to improve its capacity. Due to its strategic value, the railway
had become a central route connecting Asia and Europe. The middle
corridor of the East-West connection was also linking both sides of
the Caspian, and integrating the region into the West.
I approached the Turkish and Armenian ambassadors, who were discussing
new energy
pipeline routes with a number of others. The expanded Southern
Corridor with its gas and oil
pipelines had turned out to be a key source of revenue for the
regional countries and nearby states. It is a secure and stable
corridor, which satisfies the economic, security and political
concerns of all parties. The two ambassadors mentioned the stabilizing
role of these joint projects, their interdependent nature paving way
for improved welfare and peace-building in the Caucasus and the
Balkans, among others. They were referring to the Azerbaijani
ambassador, who was attending these meeting regularly, as an expert on
energy issues. An interesting issue was the Armenian lobby's push for
further European recognition of the importance of these projects in
France.
One source of anxiety was the increasing number of Armenians returning
to Armenia. The recent economic growth, infrastructural developments
and welfare in Armenia had caused a wave of reverse migration to
Armenia, a reversal of earlier trends. The owner of a tourism agency
was happy with the number of Armenian tourists visiting Turkey. He
mentioned that Turkish consulates were providing services to Armenian
citizens in countries without Armenian missions.
I had a nice feeling when I woke up. The conversation on the recipes
for Noah's Pudding had hinted on what sweet dreams are made of. What
you have will be enough. Even just some dried fruits and nuts;
whatever is leftover is fine. You can add more, and leave out what you
do not want. I would speculate that it was Mr. Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu's visit
to Yerevan that triggered my reflections on this issue, which became
such a sweet dream. We have delegated the peace-making duties to our
policy makers.
DavutoÄ?lu's visit is a constructive move and needs to be welcomed and
positively responded to by his Armenian counterpart.
Without a doubt, normalization between Turkey and Armenia will make
this world, in particular our region, a better place. The recent past
is full of animosity, hate and pain, but the future does not need to
be like that. Hope, courage and commitment are enough to make this
sweet dream into a reality.
December/28/2013
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/sweet-dreams-of-turkey-and-armenia.aspx?pageID=238&nID=60232&NewsCatID=396
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress