If you’re like me, you probably don’t have time to monitor the news for every single country in the world. It’s natural to look up when something big happens in a faraway country and it’s all over the media, and then turn back to living your own life. Most people are busy working and pursuing their own interests, as they should be. But if you are concerned about geopolitics at all, and all of it’s ramifications, I suggest you start paying attention to everything about Turkey and it’s president, Erdogan. While we Americans were busy with the Obama and Trump years, Erdogan was very busy, too. Now things are getting even more interesting. Please feel free to share your knowledge in the comments.
How did Turkey appear on my radar? I follow the Dan Sheekoz channel on YouTube. The channel is a vlog by a young couple and is loved by many Americans. The recently left Russia and are now ‘vacationing’ in Turkey. Dan makes High Def quality videos and I recently watched this episode and boy did I find out how little I knew about Turkey! Did you know that Turkey is very modern country and there are multiple BILLIONaires in Turkey and it’s a popular tourist destination? After watching the video I wanted to go there, haha! But half the population lives in poverty and they have hyperinflation right now, so it’s like a lot of countries, full of haves and havenots. https://skylineist.com/en/blog/get-to-know-the-rich-neighborhoods-of-istanbul
I did a little research to find out how Turkey got so many billionaires, but it wasn’t easy to find a clear answer. I think it has something to do with exports, energy and corruption and possibly, Russia and Ukraine. But I’m still learning. If you know, let me know in the comments.
As we know, affordable and reliable energy access is essential to the security and prosperity of a nation. And energy providers wield a lot of power. An important deal was made this week. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkey-signs-gas-import-deal-bulgaria-boosting-energy-ambitions. “Turkey perceives the situation as an opportunity to become a gas trade hub that could set a benchmark and supply the region using a blend of gas coming from Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, and even LNG shipments. Ankara is investing in new LNG storage capacity and exploring new gas import deals. ”
I found few articles when I searched for “Turkey gas deal”, but I found many when I used the terms “Bulgaria gas deal”.
For those who believe the Bible, the area now called Turkey has a lot of historical importance and, most likely, future importance.
Few people know that about 60% of the places mentioned in the Bible are located in Turkey
. According to the Old Testament, Noah, his children and the animals he saved in the ark started the repopulation of the Earth from Mt. Ararat in eastern Turkey. Abraham’s call to greatness came in Harran, in southeast Turkey. This city was called Ur of the Chaldeans.”
The majority media opinion on Erdogan seems to be that he is an evil autocrat doing everything he can to get reelected. His former ally is now exiled to the U.S. However, his economic policies don’t seem that different to me from U.S. policies as far as he is running up deficits and causing high inflation and making a few people rich while 99% of the people struggle. Maybe he believes that his policies will ‘trickle down’ to the rest of the country, and maybe they will. He seems to be determined to bring Turkey into the modern global economy.
But as I said, I’m still trying to understand what is going on in Turkey. These are my first impressions. All I know is that I think we should be paying better attention.
Friends who lived in Ankara and then Istanbul for a total of 20+ years primarily stayed out of the politics and were able to leave just after the coup attempt. They suspect Erdogan is consolidating his power similar to Putin and Xi, and will never leave office. His collaboration with oligarchs of Turkey has enriched them to where he and they follow “the golden rule,” or at least the materialist’s version of it: “Them that has the gold makes the rules.” 😉
The Ararat Mountains is a relatively recent designation (mid 11th or 12th century) making the location the Ark landed disputable, although I suspect it is most likely somewhere in Turkey or Armenia. The Ark could have easily lodged on any of the peaks of “the mountains of Ararat.” (See Genesis 8:4)
However, other possible mountains on which the Ark could have landed are in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon or Armenia. Even Jordan’s mountains, though much lower, could be candidates for the Ark’s landing. Remember how quickly Noah was able to leave the Ark, suggesting even if it landed in the higher mountains, it was probably not at a peak, but lodged into a valley.
In any case, it is unlikely the Ark remained preserved more than a couple centuries after the landing, so I suspect all the efforts to find it are rather silly. Finding it would not convince a skeptic just as not finding it does not deter the believer.
❤️&🙏, c.a.
Blue Skies and Green Pastures 
Friends who lived in Ankara and then Istanbul for a total of 20+ years primarily stayed out of the politics and were able to leave just after the coup attempt. They suspect Erdogan is consolidating his power similar to Putin and Xi, and will never leave office. His collaboration with oligarchs of Turkey has enriched them to where he and they follow “the golden rule,” or at least the materialist’s version of it: “Them that has the gold makes the rules.” 😉
The Ararat Mountains is a relatively recent designation (mid 11th or 12th century) making the location the Ark landed disputable, although I suspect it is most likely somewhere in Turkey or Armenia. The Ark could have easily lodged on any of the peaks of “the mountains of Ararat.” (See Genesis 8:4)
However, other possible mountains on which the Ark could have landed are in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon or Armenia. Even Jordan’s mountains, though much lower, could be candidates for the Ark’s landing. Remember how quickly Noah was able to leave the Ark, suggesting even if it landed in the higher mountains, it was probably not at a peak, but lodged into a valley.
In any case, it is unlikely the Ark remained preserved more than a couple centuries after the landing, so I suspect all the efforts to find it are rather silly. Finding it would not convince a skeptic just as not finding it does not deter the believer.
❤️&🙏, c.a.
Do you believe the Sheekoz family was killed in the recent big earthquake? 👃✌️🥰🇨🇦
I hope not .