Drinking in the varied phenotypes of Anatolia, the irrefutable historical proof of pre-Islamic civilizations of various stripes and the jarring singularity of "Turkishness" after centuries under a small Central Asian Turkic band and its singular dynasty, the similarities to Pakistan are striking. Cyprus is exactly the counterpart of Kashmir. Large and important cultural legacies of each side lie trapped across the border.
I never understood the bandying about of India's Balkanization until this particular journey. The comparison is slightly lopsided and ironic, as it was the Islamic Ottoman empire that was divvied up - but for Pakistan, India as the Eastern Question and its hoped-for Balkanization might remain very pertinent, in a sort of poetic justice.
Sent from outer space.
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