In Dusty Turkish Village, Surfing the Web for Brides

The arrival of the internet in Turkey’s rural southeast has had at least one surprising consequence: men in the village of Gokce have started using the web to seek second wives from abroad. Although in the past, Turkish men would travel to neighboring Syria, now they increasingly use Arabic chat websites to attract potential wives from Morocco. Moroccan women make appealing candidates because they are able to travel to Turkey without visas. The brides-to-be also find Turkey an attractive destination to improve one’s lot: a Muslim society with rising political stature and cultural influence – several Turkish soap operas have become hits across the Middle East in recent years. Although Turkey banned polygamy in 1926 and Morocco did in 2004, the internet – a veritable symbol of modernity – may be giving an ancient and outlawed tradition an unexpected boost. – YaleGlobal