US Congressman Charlie Dent: Many Americans think Turkey’s leadership in Middle East will be constructive

When Congressman Charlie Dent was offered an opportunity to visit Turkey, he thought this could be a great opportunity to assess the country’s influence in a tempestuous region.

He had a chance to see Turkey over the span of a week with his wife, Pamela. Although they had different reasons to be excited about the trip, they both found many more during their stay. Since 2005, Congressman Dent has represented Pennsylvania’s 15th district in the US House of Representatives. Although a member of the Republican Party, the congressman has been elected four times in an area that generally favors Democratic candidates. Congressman Dent is a member of the US House Committee on Appropriations and serves on several of its subcommittees, including Homeland Security; State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs; and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies. He has visited different parts of the Middle East at various times, but had not been to Turkey until October. The trip gave this distinguished couple a chance to meet people from different walks of life in Turkey. Upon his return, Congressman Dent spoke with Sunday’s Zaman on topics ranging from politics to culture and from history to current affairs. What was your perception of Turkey before this trip? Did your thoughts change after it? I wasn’t sure if Turkey was going to be a more European or Middle Eastern country before the trip. I wasn’t quite sure. I always sensed that İstanbul was much more European and other parts of Turkey in Anatolia might have been more Middle Eastern. That was my perception walking in, but the more I visited Turkey, the more it struck me as frankly more European than Middle Eastern. The country is much more modern and more secular than I [had] anticipated. Particularly İstanbul is much more secular.