Today, many of us will start the day in a manner consistent with the established practice that is expressed by the opening lyrics of a song by Barış Manço: “Today is festive day/Get up early, children.“
Again, many of us will either exchange eid /feast (Turkish: Bayram) greetings in our community after performing salat-al-eid (eid prayers) at mosque, or, visit our relatives with the occasion of the festive holiday in order to remedy our weakened emotional bonds with them as we often neglect them in the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
Today is our festive day, and expected to be different from other days.
Will it be different indeed? Well, I am quite doubtful.
There are many reasons for my doubt.
We look like a divided society. People who live in the largest city of our country -almost one fifth of our population- will go to ballot box after 19 days, and this sharpens our image further as a divided society.