Bilkent Exchange
Why Turkey?
Turkey is also very accessible for students and faculty from the United States. It offers much that is culturally familiar , but importantly it provides a gateway to much that is new and compelling. The choice is often up to the visitor – Starbucks, or traditional Turkish coffee; a hamburger or a kebab; pop, rock or Sufi music.
Today, Turkey continues to be central to international events. As it strives to enter the European Union, it also plays major roles in the diplomacy and economics of the modern Middle East. Its trading partners include every European nation along with Iran, Iraq, Israel, and Afghanistan.
Turkey’s role as a bridge between East and West serves to bring into question the issue of the “clash of civilizations.” It is secular, but its population is overwhelmingly Muslim. Matters of the place of religion color and often trouble contemporary Turkish politics, yet visitors to cities such as Ankara and Istanbul will often find the secular and religious closely intertwined – women in headscarves dining alongside friends dressed in the latest European styles; men in tailored business suits attending Friday prayers; and university students whose views and lifestyles and political views traverse the entire spectrum of secular to religious, and right to left.
Study in Turkey today quite simply allows a student to partake of an immensely long and rich history and culture while situated at one of the centers of the changes and challenges of the twenty-first century.