Today we read about Erdogan’s appointment of his son in law to take charge of the Finance ministry. All I can say is that it’s really sad to see Turkey move towards the ultimate profile of a dictatorship state. But then again we only need to turn our eyes towards the west across the Atlantic and we see similar trends in Trump House. It seems that Middle Eastern style rule is becoming more of a trend nowadays in alt-right & Islamic territory alike – now how about that for irony. Turkey was once – in the NOT too distant past – seen as a beacon for progressive/pragmatic rule in a region mired by corruption and autocracy. Now it seems that Turkey has turned a page. I actually lived in Turkey for over 3 years in the late 70’s/early 80’s when the country looked quite different than it looks today – a modern state with deep eastern tradition along with strong western influence on culture, education and politics – a great model for the region, one that placed Turkey as a true bridge between western/eastern cultures along with its potential to become an influential state both politically & economically. This would have been a vision in sync with the one adopted by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938) the founder of Turkey. I can only hope that the new generation in Turkey and elsewhere can take back control and shape their future along similar lines that their founding father envisioned. It remains a beautiful country with wonderful people and a very rich/proud history.