The presidential visit to Turkey

I will leave the critiques and analyses of American President Barack Obama’s visit to Turkey to the political pundits to debate. For me, an American expat who is also a Turkish citizen, Obama’s trip to Turkey was a very moving experience.

Before moving to Turkey 11 years ago, I lived in Washington, D.C. During my time spent in America’s capital, in the course of my work and through connections, I had the privilege to meet many politicians, diplomats and heads of state from across the globe. However, until President Obama’s visit to Turkey, I had never gone out of my way to merely catch a glimpse of a politician. When President George W. Bush came to İstanbul in 2004, I stayed home, not feeling the slightest urge to see the president of my own country, even from a distance. My attitude was partly due to the fact that he was not my choice for leader, and I did not agree with many actions my country had taken while he had been in office. With President Obama’s journey to my adopted country, however, I suddenly found myself flooded with patriotism, and like many other expats, I hoped for the chance to see the president, even if it was just to wave as he drove by on his way from one meeting to another. I grew up in the United States at a time of great social upheaval as the Civil Rights Movement gained strength across the country. I remember sitting in front of the television with my family, watching as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. addressed the crowd gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Even though I was young and most probably did not understand a lot that was going on at the time, his words moved us all. Over the years, I have seen my homeland become entrenched in wars abroad and have witnessed firsthand its growing pains as citizens of all colors, all ages and all economic backgrounds struggled to have their voices heard by those in power. To me, the election of Obama to the highest office in America signaled a giant step in my country’s journey to fulfill the dream of not just Dr. King, but the vast majority of Americans: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” President Obama is the 11th president I have seen elected in my life. He is, to me, by far the one who brings the greatest hope for change. He is also the first president who I feel truly represents our country for the global melting pot that it is. I watched in November as the election results came in, and I was immensely proud to be an American, which was something I had not felt during the previous eight years. I sat with my son and wept with joy and relief when it was official that Obama had clearly won the election. My son and I later sat together in our home in İstanbul and watched the inauguration of our 44th president. Hugging my son close to me, I again cried with joy. Knowing that President Obama was coming to İstanbul, my 8-year old son declared that he wanted to see him on his first official visit to Turkey. I decided to allow him to skip a day of school and come with me to İstanbul’s historic Sultanahmet neighborhood, where the president would come to visit the Hagia Sofia and Blue Mosque. We crossed the Bosporus the day before the president’s visit and spent the night in Sultanahmet to avoid any possible problems in getting around the city on the day of his visit to the area. Security was tight, with a large police presence throughout the area and barricades were already in place. There was an air of excitement as tourists and locals spoke about the impending official visit. Even the police were cheerful and chatty, in spite of a stress-filled day ahead as security preparations went on through the night. The next morning, we wound our way behind lines of police who were carefully scrutinizing the sparse crowd of tourists, students and workers. We met up with two Canadian friends who were also hoping for a presidential sighting. As it got closer to the time of his visit, we headed upstairs to one of the hotel restaurants offering a view of both monuments. As we entered, my son and I were greeted by cheers from the three tables of tourists already waiting to catch sight of Obama and his entourage. Laughing as we posed, my son and I modeled our Obama inaugural T-shirts, emblazoned with a portrait of the president and the motto “Yes We Can,” for the group. As we all waited for Obama’s arrival, we all chatted, feeling a sense of camaraderie in our witnessing of a historic trip together. Americans, Germans, Brits, Canadians and Turks, we all eyed the entrance to the Hagia Sofia, knowing that the motorcade was approaching as the helicopters hovered overhead. As the first car in the procession came into view, we all began cheering wildly and hugging one another. Strangers just a few minutes before, we were transformed into friends, quickly trading places so that everyone could have a chance to snap photos of the entourage as they entered the Hagia Sofia. Soon they exited the Hagia Sofia, and the small crowd made its way across the park towards the Blue Mosque. Cheering began again as we all craned to pick out the president among the group of dignitaries. “I see him!” shouted my son in excitement as he pointed to our president, who stood out among the group. Knowing that they would exit the Blue Mosque and get into their vehicles on the Hippodrome, well out of sight from our vantage point, we drank tea and waited for the streets to clear before leaving the hotel. We all spoke of the hope we felt with this new president of the United States. The common theme, from all nationalities present, was that even though the world was facing a mounting economic crisis and wars and political upheaval were still ongoing, for the first time in years there seemed to be the feeling that the United States now had the chance to change some of its policies and get back on the right course again. None of us expects change to be instantaneous. However, the excesses and abuse of power of the last few years do seem to be ending. It will take hard work, perseverance and patience to try to solve the problems that President Obama has inherited. The main thing, to me, is that we finally have hope for change. As my son and I began our trip back to our home on the Asian side, he smiled and said: “I am so glad I got to see the president. He makes me happy. I hope he can do his job well.” I nodded my head in agreement.