The year-end in Japan
is time for extravagant, bonus-targeted sales, special TV programs and
advertisements, lurking with tenacious business tactics. However,
the hottest topic, by far, of this year's end is the "Y2K"
issue. Computers are also in common use all over Turkey, in which I
am staying, and here it's the year 1420 according to the Islamic
calendar. Still, it doesn't seem to make this country immune to the
problem and Turkish newspapers report everyday that Y2K measures are
in progress.
Turkey is said to be one of the most modernized countries in the
Islamic bloc and in big cities like Ankara and Istanbul, many live in
just the same way as those in the Western society. It's also a fact that there is no party without beer and wine in
Turkey, secularized though fundamentally Islamic.
The end of this year, 1999, happens to coincide with Ramadan, the month
of fast. This year's Ramadan is from December 10th through January 7th.
Having left Tokyo a few days ago and
then arrived in Trabzon, a traditional city
of commerce in the eastern region of Turkey, I can see a cross section of
Islamic society more clearly, which can't be observed staying in big
cities.
Ramadan is the 9th month of the Islamic year,
during which people abstain from orally taking in nourishment from dawn
till sundown. Those who fast would not put anything including water
and tobacco in their mouth during the day. However, as it seems, when
dinnertime comes, they have a square meal with their family and friends.
In Trabzon, there is no sight of people eating during the day. Almost all the restaurants are closed.
The only place open is
McDonald's but I didn't see a customer inside when I happened to pass it
by earlier today. Perhaps most customers would choose takeouts and
eat in secret at places like their office. Coffee shops are open,
too, but there is nothing on the tables in front of customers. This
makes me wonder how these shops can make any money at all. There usually
are venders serving tea and coffee in government offices, and I hear
they also take a vacation during this period.
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Trabzon
is located about 1,200km (750mi.) to the east of Ankara, so
sunrise and sunset come noticeably early. Sunset is around 4 p.m.
and the whole town turns bustling already around 3:30. Most stores
close by 4 p.m. during this time, and people hurry home or run to
restaurants all at once.
Restaurants impatiently wait for the customers' arrival with salads and
appetizers set neatly on the tables. There are even restaurants
with tables out in the sidewalk despite the cold. As 4-o'clock
nears, customers of families and friends start gathering in small groups.
The restaurant, ready with special Ramadan menus, begins to serve
plates of food, already prepared and ready, as soon as the customers
arrive. Though soup and appetizers are set side by side on your
table, you can't
touch them just yet. Just anticipate sunset counting each second, in
the meantime seasoning the food to your liking with the salt, herbs and
spices on the table. The mosque nearby plays a verse from the
Koran through the speakers, and it signals the start of a meal. It's a grand spectacle of people deliberately taking out their spoons and
digging into their food all at once. Most people finish their meal
and cheerfully leave their table within 30 minutes. Maybe it's none
of my business to worry about their health for eating so much rich food
in so little time, which might as well be their reaction to the hunger
during the day (granted that many probably do that so they can immediately
begin
preparing for their next prayer ).
(Trans.:
TS)
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