Visited Istanbul last year and saw a lot of locals violating the no-alcohol prohibitions of Islam. They seemed pretty easy going about religious restrictions. One Israeli tourist described Istanbul’s religion as “Islam light”.
They really like their Raki, an anise flavored liquor.
Fairly recent story from Blake Gray on raki, alcohol in Turkey, and the Turkish wine industry: http://palatepress.com/2012/11/wine/wine-and-turkey-not-a-thanksgiving-story/
A paradox, perhaps?
The Koran specifically mentions wine. But raki—about 45% alcohol distilled from grapes—hadn’t been invented in Mohammed’s era. So there are plenty of conservative Muslims who consider wine evil, but toss back a bottle of raki a night.
How does beer fit in? We saw groups of young people drinking beer on the square near the Galata Tower after dark.
Like I said before, many Turks drink, the same way that many christians do not follow the letter of what the bible spells out…
Turkey is a secular country.
Even in the rural very conservative areas, many Turks drink Raki.