Turkey: 1st province to ban alcohol drinking in public
We had total prohibition in the thirties. Initially, the Russians and the Americans placed a ban on spirits. Then Turkey's parliament, not to be outdone by foreigners, followed suit. Some of you might know about this, the Church wanted to use wine (I think) in communion but even that was a violation of the law.
We still have a public body, known as the Green Crescent Society, for fighting alcoholism. Smoking in enclosed spaces is banned, too. People are required leave their workplace, step outside their office blocks and smoke in a designated area which is sometimes marked.
You cannot smoke in a restaurant if you are indoors, smokers are required to sit outside even in winter. That has led to a boom in electric heater sales.
Turkey: 1st province to ban alcohol drinking in public
In Afyonkarahisar. Offenders to be fined 35 euros
27 April, 14:22
A Turkish province has banned consumption of alcoholic drinks in public places
(ANSAmed) - ANKARA - The governor of the Turkish province Afyonkarahisar, 250 km south of the capital Ankara, has banned alcohol consumption in all locales and public places, claiming that he is ''acting in the interests of the community''.
This is the first decision of the sort to be made in a Turkish province, and those supporting the secular nature of the state say that the country is seeing ''rampant Islamization'' under the government of 'moderate' Islamist Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The banning of alcohol, revealed Hurriyet, follows on the heels of a recent appeal by the Islamic government's Health Minister Recep Akdag in support of anti-alcohol consumption measures.
Afyonkarahisar, 180,000 inhabitants and capital city of the province of the same name, founded by the Hittites and then conquered by Alexander the Great, was called Afyon (opium) until 2004 when the Parliament in Ankara changed its name.
The governor's decree prohibits the sale and consumption of alcohol in public places - including parks, picnic areas, cemeteries, bridges, historical sites and abandoned houses, as well as all public transport.
Those breaking the law will be fined 82 YTL (about 35 euros). The decision, said the governor's office, was made for the ''public good'' and will make it possible to ''safeguard public order and prevent traffic accidents''
http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/generalnews/2012/04/27/Turkey-1st-province-ban-alcohol-drinking-public_6784092.html
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