Why Turkey likes NATO again

TUCKED INTO a back street in Karakoy, the port district on Istanbul’s European shore, the NATO Lokanta restaurant is easy to miss. Its first owner proudly hung up a sign bearing its name in 1952, when Turkey joined NATO. But it was taken down the same year, after people less enthusiastic about the alliance pelted the storefront with stones. These days diners do not object to the name, says Mevlut Ozturk, the current manager. He has no problem with NATO either. “There’s strength in unity, as long as it’s between equals,” he says, between servings of lamb shank topped with slices of aubergine. But he has not put up the old sign.