Monday, April 22, 2013

Turkish Nationalism on Display

Nationalism is not all bad, but Turkish nationalism seems to have taken an extreme turn in the prosecution of an American who picked up some old stones on a beach and in protests regarding the sale of modern art.  How many Turks pick up such items without fear of prosecution?  And would the sale of modern art be as controversial if the sale could not be linked to American interests?   Those who support Turkey's nationalistic  demands for control of ancient art (much of which was created by Greeks) should take note of this slippery slope.

1 comment:

Voz Earl said...

This could be a case of overzealous airport security personnel. While I have no doubt that locals collect such items with impunity (I saw it firsthand in Egypt), if they ever try to leave the country with their "collections" in their luggage, they may run afoul of the same security apparatus.

Voz Earl