Sunday, September 25, 2005

French Street, Istanbul

Living in Istanbul has been a whirlwind of change over the last 5 years, but perhaps the most disturbing trend has been economic disparity. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Prices have risen at an incredible rate. The car I bought 4 years ago sells for more than twice as much today. The average annual salary is very low, but prices for everything are quite high.

A good friend of mine grew up in one of the most popular districts of the city, Taksim. Renovations and additions like French Street, a pedestrians only street filled with exculsive cafes, drove up the prices so much they and many others had to move. There are dangerous trends towards the materialism of the west here in Turkey, but in some ways they seem worse. The division of wealth, but desire for status seem stronger than in the west. Remember to pray regularly for the Turks that they would not give in the god of Islam for the false god of "stuff". Instead, we pray that they would find them both empty and meaningless and that God would lead them to real truth.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Fletch

Thanks for the hook up with our trip last week. It was NOT a wipeout, and it was actually really great to spend the part of the day that we had with those two guys. They are great and encourage us greatly b/c it means God is still on the move here. We weren't offended in the least...just wish that The Lord would have said something!

We'd like for you to set up a meeting with Silas whenever you get a chance. müsaitiz this week. Sen bilirsin.

The Lord is good so we have no problem continuing to wait on Him - we'll soon soar like eagles!

All our love

blue|sofa