Tahir Abbas explores the enigma of modern Islamist Turkey, Ahmet Kuru discovers Turkey's political history, Nagihan Halilolu gets tangled in Turkish heritage wars, Zeynep Okten has reservations about the country's Islamic finance industry, Gokhan Bacik wonders why Turkey fails to have a social contract, Iftikhar H Malik is enchaned by the whirling darvishes, John Crofoot revisits the Seljuk era, Charles Allen Scarboro listens to local stories, Onur Suzan Nobrega fights for the oppressed Zaza Alawis, Semiha Topal is appalled by violence against women, Rebecca Soble spends a day in Dogubayazit, and Mohammed Bakari remembers Istanbul. Also in this issue: Suzanne Mordue on Turkish coffee, street beggars in Istanbul, and our usual short stories, poems, list and the 'Last Word'"