Elif Shafak

Turkey’s continental drift

On Friday night, my country felt more like a chaotic part of the Middle East

issue 23 July 2016

In Turkish the word ‘yurt’ has two definitions. It means ‘place’, ‘land’, ‘territory’, ‘homeland’. It could also indicate a round, portable tent, the likes of which have been used by nomadic tribes for centuries. In my imagination I have always liked to combine the two definitions, wondering if motherlands could be just as peripatetic as their people.

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