Klaus Jurgens

IT was a late Sunday afternoon traveling by overland coach en route from Muş to Van in the East of Turkey. Fabulous, to say the least!

At one minute you are exposed to impressive mountain scenery while a few miles thereafter you spot the world famous Lake Van coming into view every now and then when the newly asphalted road takes a bend. Long and winding for sure – yet in this case it should have gone on forever such was nature’s sheer beauty.

Then as out of nowhere and towards the end of that memorable trip a sign became visible in an unusual yellowish ‘foreign’ color. And what it told us passengers was that neighboring Iran is only 70 kilometers away – we had reached a junction of where you either continue to the city of Van or take a right turn and head to another country altogether.

Many things sprang to my mind as if time stood still. Visually: the road led even further into rugged alpine terrain which created a certain mystical impression. Who would not feel tempted to say ‘driver, go that way please’ and find out what awaits beyond that mountain pass?

Politically, too: I thought for a second that apparently our western world would end right there and the eastern world begins, both meant in a perfectly positive connotation of the words ‘western’ and ‘eastern.’ Then again I said to myself that there is perhaps no ‘West’ and no ‘East’ but that there simply is one shared world?

The Islamic Republic of Iran as the country is officially called always has and always will attract widespread attention. There is the political dimension and there is an economic aspect. Some states have better bi-lateral relations with Iran than others.

But one issue which is even more relevant than previously is Turkey’s very own geographical location and geopolitical position. Please recall that only two weeks ago 46 Turkish and three foreign hostages held by IS terrorists were released.

It does not matter whether a human swap took place or not; what matters is that everyone got out alive. And this was the apparent reason for Ankara not to militarily intervene against the growing IS terror threat so as not to endanger Turkish citizens held captive.

‘Going in’ may have seemed so much easier from far away, think Washington or Paris. But Turkey’s proximity to both Syria and Iraq and the hostage crisis did not allow for any improvised armed forces cross-border attack.

Now that the hostages are freed Turkey is able to act and most likely will even offer to have its own airbases made available to the international community in order to get rid of IS – inspired terror once and for all.

As it seems some overseas commentators do not fully grasp that delicate geographical location the Republic of Turkey either enjoys or alternatively, has to live with, depending on your viewpoint.

There are ‘easy borders’ – consider Bulgaria except for one off lorry driver blockades. Then there are more complicated border policies – picture relations with Armenia. No need to reiterate Iraq and Syria for the time being.

And then there is Iran. I know citizens of that state of course, both from back in London as well as those I met here in Turkey. It seems as if Turkey is well placed to become a kind of (inter)mediator for Europe and Iran, a bridge-builder of sorts.

Now ‘Iran 70 kilometers’ once more became hundreds and thousands of kilometers as the crow flies. But I have not forgotten about that trip and in particular about that road leading up to that mountain pass and into neighboring Iran.

I hope that one day soon many more will travel that way and explore Iran akin the ever increasing number of cross-border tourists arriving on these lands. While seeing is believing learning from each other starts with meeting each other.

And always remember that we expats here in Turkey are blessed many-fold with one of the biggest draws being Turkey’s location. Pack your toothbrush, if autumn kicks in perhaps a little bit more and head East. Maybe not yet into Iran but most definitely until that very junction on the road to Van!