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Turkish Women from the point of view of an American Woman
Çağrı Çabanoğlu
Çağrı Çobanoğlu: First, I would like to welcome you to Turkey. I understand that you are married to a Turkish man. Does this mean that you speak Turkish?
E. Grace Beyler: Yes – I speak “conversational” Turkish. I learned my Turkish nearly forty years ago, so it’s a bit old-fashioned and a little rusty, but such as it is, I am happy to use it.
Ç.Ç.: How would you describe your book?
E.G.B.: It’s a snapshot of Turkish life at a very particular time in the recent past. Based entirely on the letters I wrote while I lived here in the early 70s, it is part travel writing, part memoir, part social history and part love story. I hope it’s something for everyone!
Ç.Ç.: The front cover of your book depicts a woman in salvar trailing a lone camel under a Turkish flag. Is this how you perceive Turkey?
E.G.B.: It’s funny that you should see the figure on the cover as a woman; I always thought it was a man! But I think the cover is a perfect metaphor for the tension between old and the new that exists throughout Turkish culture. On the one hand, there is the modern republic as reflected in the flag; and on the other hand, there is the traditionally shalvared figure representing the past. I think it’s always difficult to find the balance between leaving things behind while embracing the new. And this problem is not unique to Turkey.
Ç.Ç.: You are publishing your book but in English. Could you please tell me why?
E.G.B.: The book is based on orignal letters. Because the letters are in English, I thought it best to publish them first in their original language. I am also eager to bring to English readers a wider vision of Turkish culture and society than is represented in most of our western media. Unfortunately, Turkey does not get a lot of positive attention in the western press, and I hope to do something to redress the balance.
But I am also happy to report that the book is currently being translated into Turkish. As much as I want to bring Turkey to others, I want to bring the recent past to the younger Turkish generation. I felt I had a duty to share this with them.
Ç.Ç.: “Forty Camel Girl: Letters From Turkey”, suggests that you are familiar with the meaning of the expression. How much do you know about the cultural implications of this expression?
E.G.B.: Anyone who reads the book will see how I came to understand the meaning of that expression. It is a recurring theme of the book.
Ç.Ç.: Are you by any chance the Forty Camel Girl?
E.G.B.: There are many “Forty Camel Girls” in the book. The reader will have to decide if I am one!
Ç.Ç.: Your last letter in your book is dated first September 1971. What motivated you to write this book after 36 years?
E.G.B.: Prior to retirement I just didn’t have the kind of time I felt I needed to do the job properly. But I love writing and it has always been my intention to put the letters into a book. My parents were particularly eager for me to do this so. Even though both are gone now, I feel as if I have fulfilled a promise I made to them many years ago.
Ç.Ç.: How has the world changed since you wrote the letters?
E.G.B.: We like to think that things progress and this might be true in a material sense, but I’m afraid that “progress” is not a word I would use to describe the overall state of the world today, especially as compared to the recent past. When I re-read the letters after so many years, I was struck by the parallels with today’s events. Then as now, America was involved in an unpopular war which resulted in a lot of anti-Americanism; the recurring problems over Cyprus and the Middle East were in the headlines, and the world was splintering into ever-smaller factions. The chaos of the times seemed to be reflected in both Turkey and in my Turkish family. Although the characters have changed, the same old things seem to keep happening over and over again. As my son likes to quote,”The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.” Would that this could be different.
Ç.Ç.: The époque reflected in your book (1969-1971) is a highly sensitive period in Turkish political and social life. If you were to write this letters today, would you use the same tone?
E.G.B.: Absolutely! Of course I was emotionally involved in the lives of my Turkish family members, but with regard to the wider society and the events of the times, I tried very hard to be objective to observe without being judgmental. They were difficult times for everyone.
Ç.Ç.: This sounds like a serious book.
E.G.B.: Not at all. While there are many dramatic moments and events, most of the letters deal with everyday life and relate many funny and amusing incidents - most of them at my expense! It’s certainly not all doom and gloom.
Ç.Ç.: In your book, there are a lot of references to Turkish Republic, Islamic Culture and Atatürk. Nowadays we are going through a politically critical period, almost a crisis about the principles of our Republic such as Laicism (secularism). As an American writer, what are your views about this trend?
E.G.B.: I live in England where the Church of England is the official religion and it doesn’t seem to cause any obvious problems, mainly because the English are extremely tolerant, and the culture is more secular than religious. But as an American, I come from a country whose Constitution – like Turkey’s - guarantees the separation of government from religion. I believe in this wholeheartedly. I do not think that government has any business interfering in the religious lives of its people.
Ç.Ç.: There are many references to Atatürk in your book. Does this mean that you admire Atatürk and what he managed to do for Turkey?
E.G.B.: I have tremendous admiration for Ataturk! Where would Turkey be today without Ataturk? Would Turkey even exist today without Ataturk? Few countries can have been as profoundly and as permanently changed by a single ruler as Turkey was by Atatürk I cannot think of a current world leader who genuinely puts the very best interests of his country and its people ahead of everything else – his primary motivation for all that he does. Ataturk did not seek power for power’s sake, nor did he use his position to line his own pockets and those of his friends and family. Where are such leaders today?
Ç.Ç.: Interestingly enough, you seem to have lived as a real Turkish bride (for example, attending “ladies’ days” which is very Turkish), how much of this life style have you adopted in your day to day life in England?
E.G.B.: Not enough! But anyone who enters my home will immediately understand that someone who loves Turkey lives there. My walls have Turkish prints, the floors are covered in Turkish carpets, and I have Turkish ceramics everywhere! I am particularly fond of old textiles and have a little collection of Ottoman items.
Ten years ago I started a reading group which meets monthly to discuss our book-of-month. It’s very similar to a ladies’ day but with books at the heart of the get-together.
Ç.Ç.: How do you regard Turkish women?
E.G.B.: I have always been a huge fan of Turkish women. Even in the late 60s, there were far more Turkish women in the professions than I was used to seeing in either the USA or England. Today’s women have built on that foundation, and I am enormously impressed by all that they have achieved. And I’m not just referring to the high-profile doctors, lawyers and other professional women. All Turkish women have a pivotal role in their culture, and they are recognizing and using this strength for the benefit of their families. It’s wonderful to see this happening. They really are Forty Camel Girls!
Ç.Ç.: What would you like your readers to remember about your book?
E.G.B.: I would like for them to remember the warmth of the Turkish people, their generosity and acceptance. This has not changed over the years. Folks are still just folks. We forget that at our peril.
Ç.Ç.: You are an American woman, married to a Turk and you live in England. Do you see yourself as American, Turkish or English?
E.G.B.: I see myself as a human being! I really don’t like labels. They seem to me to be a means of separating us rather than showing us all that we have in common. Multi-culturalism should provide a place where we can learn from each other because – with the relatively few extremist exceptions in our midst’s – most of us want the same things out of life. These things should unite us. I believed that when I wrote the letters, and I believe it today.
E. GRACE BEYLER:
Grace Beyler was born and grew up in the USA. Most of her adult life has been spent in London, which she regards as home and where she sees her most important roles as those of wife, mother and grandmother. Now a retired businesswoman, her first priority is family and friends, but she also enjoys her volunteer work, travel and writing. From a young age, Grace always wanted to travel, and she feels that her decision to settle in London has provided her with a stepping stone to the rest of the world. Turkey remains a favourite destination; her fascination with the country continues. | 
Turkish Women from the point of view of an American Woman, June 10, 2007, Zaman International
