I traveled to Springfield, Illinois, to visit Lincoln's Presidential Library this past week. It was a very uneventful drive, but Lincoln's face is everywhere in Springfield. Rightfully so, it is his resting place. I took some time in the morning to pay my respects to the great uniter. His tomb is impressive, with various quotes from Lincoln and statues of him from his life. His remains sit in the back of the tomb, and his family members rest before him. Following this visit, I visited the library and read many primary source documents. Many papers I looked through had much to say about the Battle of Belmont. This information will be of great use when covering this battle. Nevertheless, most of these sources will be helpful to me and Tim as we continue working through our book.
If one were to look at a map of Turkiye and its place in the Middle East, one would see that it holds a solid strategic position as they have control of the Bosphorus Strait and borders Syria, Iran, Bulgaria, Greece, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iraq. They used to be a key partner for the United States in the 20th century, influencing politics in the Middle East. Turkiye maintains a solid religious sentiment, but many respect Western society and values based on its founder, Ataturk. However, since the election of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan'ın 2003 as Prime Minister, the country has reversed its relations with other NATO countries, especially the United States. Erdogan took advantage of its strategic significance. They now pick and choose who they are friendly with (even terrorists) as long as Turkiye benefits. His rise in power initially saw increased economic prosperity, but that has changed in the past five years. Their economy slowed exponentially following a fake coup attempt in 2016. The AKP (Justice and Development Party) dominates Turkish politics. It mixes nationalistic policies with soft criticism of Ataturk and his old policies. It turned people against Europe and Western society. The CHP (Republican People's Party), or Ataturk's party, struggles to gain a majority in their National Assembly in Ankara. They focus more on working with Western countries. They were not always so tolerant of Kurds and other minority groups, but the growing popularity of the AKP and other Nationalist parties forced them to reconsider their positions.
Izmir, Istanbul, and Ankara are the only strongholds that continually vote for the CHP. Some cities on the coast of Turkiye continue to vote for the CHP, but it is an uphill battle. This change in political culture most likely has to do with an increased presence of Islam and Erdogan’s cult of personality. Yet, even the unbeatable Erdogan has to be tactful in his words about the founder as the people still worship the man who founded the country. It would be interesting to see the removal of Erdogan as it would most likely break the hold the AKP has on the country. Erdogan has been in power since 2003, and there is no indication that he plans to resign. Should he be removed, it would only benefit Western powers and society. The only hope is that the CHP will continue to reform and that greater admiration for the West will continue.
Question of the Week: What is the most architecturally impressive library in the world?