Turkey and Greece or the benefits of not being invited to the table
by Ben Atlas on 06.21.2011.9:15am · 0 comments
Greece is on the verge of leaving the EU. The history of Greece is indelible from Turkey and it’s interesting to observe that Turkey wanted so desperately to be part of the EU. Turkey lobbied bitterly for the past decade and each time the entrance was blocked for “cultural reasons”. I just heard on Al Jazeera that Turkey had a 6.9% economic growth last year. This must be higher than any EU country. While most European economies are in decline,Turkey is benefiting by being at the general center between the east and the west and having the trade ties, diplomatic relations, and the geographic proximity to Iran, Israel, the Arabs, Russia and the EU, plus serving as the traditional stopover on the silk road to China. As EU itself is on verge of dissolution, you might say that Turkey definitely benefited from not being invited to the table. Long live the bazar!
An aside – with the ebbs and flows of history, Athens, like Jerusalem was reduced from a mighty capital to a forgotten village. Lars Brownworth provides the reference point – What was Byzantine Athens like?
Further reading: Tagged as:
byzantine,
economy,
politics
Turkey and Greece or the benefits of not being invited to the table
by Ben Atlas on 06.21.2011.9:15am · 0 comments
Greece is on the verge of leaving the EU. The history of Greece is indelible from Turkey and it’s interesting to observe that Turkey wanted so desperately to be part of the EU. Turkey lobbied bitterly for the past decade and each time the entrance was blocked for “cultural reasons”. I just heard on Al Jazeera that Turkey had a 6.9% economic growth last year. This must be higher than any EU country. While most European economies are in decline,Turkey is benefiting by being at the general center between the east and the west and having the trade ties, diplomatic relations, and the geographic proximity to Iran, Israel, the Arabs, Russia and the EU, plus serving as the traditional stopover on the silk road to China. As EU itself is on verge of dissolution, you might say that Turkey definitely benefited from not being invited to the table. Long live the bazar!
An aside – with the ebbs and flows of history, Athens, like Jerusalem was reduced from a mighty capital to a forgotten village. Lars Brownworth provides the reference point – What was Byzantine Athens like?
Further reading:Tagged as: byzantine, economy, politics