Turkey and The United States: More Alike than Different

Year 2000, Issue: 11, 93 - 98, 01.04.2000

Stanford J. Shaw

Abstract

When I first came to Turkey a little over forty years ago, I had the very strong impression that Turkey and America, and for that matter Turks and Americans, were very different, that they had hardly anything in common, either in background, appearance or behavior. But as I have returned to Turkey over the years since that time, and as I have studied and written about its history, I have been driven to conclude just the opposite, that despite many differences in culture and religion, they are much more like each other than they are like other nations and people. What I would like to do is to share with you a few facts and a number of impressions which have impelled me to this conclusion.