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Статья из сегодняшнего "Нью Анатолиана", иллюстрирующая некоторые местные нравы (по-английски).
Показательно.



Which way is the wind blowing?

The New Anatolian / Ankara

Even while Turkey seems it may be on the verge of starting membership talks with the European Union, some see the government's attitude going in the opposite direction, towards more conservative limitations and restrictions.
As proof, this week saw charges that a district in the north-central Anatolian city of Corum had removed urinals due to a mufti's declaration that urinating on one's feet is a sin in Islam.
Orhan Ozturk, a supporter of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party supporter and the mayor of the Iskip district, denied the claims, saying that the urinals were removed due to a modernization project, not because of the mufti's declaration.
"We've been working on the modernization of the region for a long time," said Ozturk. "Urinating on one's foot or not is the issue here. The issue has been distorted."
The nation has seen similar incidents since the ruling party, which calls itself "Islamic democrat," came to power in November 2002. In one, a promotional truck for cellphone provider Turkcell had stopped in Trabzon to perform a show. The dancers took a break when the midday prayer started and continued their performance after it was completed. But a group of prayers leaving the mosque saw the dancers and started to harass and criticize them, forcing them to leave.
And just this summer in Istanbul's Heybeliada district, a group of women wearing body-covering Islamic garb spit on the legs of girls who were wearing shorts. This show of intolerance aroused protests as well as a certain amount of fear.
As a matter of fact, Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul does not allow billboards of models wearing swimsuits or lingerie out of fear of offending Turks returning to the country from pilgrimages to Mecca.
Denizli faced a similar crisis when a shop selling women's lingerie and swimsuits had to take down a sign with a picture of a woman wearing a bathing suit.
Such policies, which critics see as reflecting political Islam and Islamic law, are allowed in Turkey, which claims to be a secular, democratic country. Since the government is unable to pass constitutional amendments which would clear hurdles to applying the Islamic law, a prospect which many fear, some charge that with such incidents the government is trying to impose onto the public a conservative understanding which approaches Islamic law.