On the way back from Baku...

I have just returned from Azerbaijan. I had been there for a week. We held meetings with universities, the media, and various scientific and cultural institutions. Our goal was to identify common objectives in development and progress strategies and to make certain plans for cooperation and interaction in line with those goals. I truly believe we have taken significant steps.

This is my third trip to Baku. When I went fifteen years ago, the concrete reflections of political restructuring at the social level were just beginning to be observed. Capitalism had started to enter the country through the palate, with McDonald's hamburgers settling in the most central part of the city. On the other hand, the British had already delved into the oil wells, and Turkish contractors had begun to modernize the city's historical buildings in their own way, transforming them from shanties into apartment buildings. Walking on the narrow sidewalks of the streets and avenues without tripping over natural gas pipes required quite a bit of attention.

On my second visit, I encountered a completely different Baku and could not believe my eyes. If it weren't for the orderly rows of buildings left over from the Russians and their solid stance that gives one confidence, I could have truly felt like I was wandering the streets of Istanbul, for example, on Istiklal Avenue. All the famous brands of the capitalist world had found their place on the city's streets and avenues; it was a city sparkling with cafes, bars, and restaurants. Clearly, capitalism had now firmly taken root and permeated the very marrow of society. But at the same time, all the elements of a modern city had formed with its avenues, streets, transportation, and traffic system. In one respect, it is like Istanbul. You feel as if you have embarked on an interesting journey through a time tunnel within history, but on the other hand, you experience a return to the present that is more orderly than what you find in Istanbul during the transition to modern life. The skyscrapers rising here and there show that Baku's start for the future was given from New York.

Social and cultural transformation is also clearly felt in Azerbaijan. Compared to fifteen years ago, people's clothing, their attitudes and behaviors on the city's streets and avenues, and their forms of entertainment seem more similar to those in Western societies. A more relaxed, sportier, and therefore more comfortable style of dress draws attention. Yet, on my first visit, I was struck by the women walking the city's streets, avenues, and parks in high heels, almost in ball gowns and with exaggerated makeup, and the men in suits. Nowadays, clothing seems to fit the place and context better. By the way, the attentive, stylish, and well-groomed state of the Azerbaijanis is truly admirable.

What interests me most, of course, are the scientific and cultural openings. On my first visit to Azerbaijan, there were very few universities; now we see that many universities have been opened, both state and private. The university campuses, classrooms, and libraries designed in the Western style are truly remarkable. Scientifically, they are still at the very beginning, but there is an incredible effort. It is precisely at this point that our collaborations are very important. Goals such as raising the quality of education, providing world-class university education, and being included in scientific indices are also in the strategic plans of our Azerbaijani colleagues. Our collaborations are important to reach the goals set in this direction more easily and quickly. We, the universities in Turkey, generally have our faces turned to the West in this sense. There is no negative side to this, and we are doing the right thing. However, it is also beneficial to turn our faces to the East to come together on common goals, identify common problems, and create joint solution proposals. Since we keep talking about the imperialist attitude of the West, and since we complain about the monopoly of knowledge and science, then it is of serious importance to get closer to our Eastern kinsmen and engage in collaborations to create strong areas of resistance against them.

We are a young country on one hand, but on the other, we have a very deep-rooted history and an established past of science and thought. Our independent existence on these lands, with the rich cultural, intellectual, and therefore scientific accumulation of the lands where hundreds of civilizations have settled and lived, certainly forms a strong foundation for us to build a system. Therefore, despite all our shortcomings, we are in a good state. In that case, it is important to share the experiences of our own development process with our kinsmen in the East and contribute to their development as well.

On the other hand, one should not ignore that the East has a strong art and literature accumulation based on emotion. I think it would be very enjoyable to strengthen our rationality-focused progress with the richness of the emotional world and aesthetic taste of our past, our roots, and the lands from which we emerged. As I am on my way back from my third trip to Baku, I am also thinking: Perhaps the emotion-focused conversation of the East could be the antidote to the gloom of alienation and loneliness of the West.

What do you think?