A Turkish Show With A Twist
A Wonderful Integration of East and West Who would have believed in view of the political situation between Turkey and Israel that a show in Istanbul, Turkey, would have an official Israeli photographer and play Yiddish music – well, in modern Turkey anything’s possible
Story & Photos By Yossi Guy
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stanbul is everything one can imagine when thinking of the mysterious intersection of East and West, once the capital of the world. Mosques galore, but very few women with head gear. Turkish flags proudly waving everywhere you turn, but the most friendly, hospitable people and no sight of an oppressive regime. Ancient architecture merged with new housing projects that have turned Istanbul into a 20-million strong city. The Israeli flag hanging alongside the flags of other nations whose representatives are taking part either as judges or as exhibitors. However, the most hounding memory of this show was the tune If I Were a Rich Man from Fiddler on the Roof. You really can’t get more Jewish than that and the tune was playing in the background about 20 times a day. It will always remind me of this show if nothing else will. But if you think the Turkish experience stops there, keep on reading. Turkey was accepted into the global kynological federation, the FCI, about 3 years ago and it is currently a contract member, the lowest form of membership in this organization. However, the local
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kennel club, KIF, has been working energetically to become an associate member and is destined to do so in a year’s time. President, Dr. Umit Ozkanal, a college professor, is assisted by several dedicated board members, including VP Ozan Belkis and treasurer Adnan Uke. They are supported and tutored by Dr. Milivoje Urosevic from Serbia, a veteran judge, with a PhD in animal husbandry and a DMV in veterinary medicine.
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ne of their projects is to have their local breeds recognized, first and foremost the Kangal (which many mix up with the Anatolian Shepherd). Together, they studied over 160 examples of the breed and wrote a standard. They are trying to promote this breed, a flock guardian with a special temperament, to the best of their ability. I had the pleasure of learning to judge the breed, going over a very nice entry of around 50 dogs. The
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