It's nine o'clock on a warm Friday evening in downtown Istanbul, and Taksim Square is packed with young people strolling, chatting, waiting for dates to show up. Most wouldn't look out of place lounging on any southern European piazza--well-groomed youths with slicked-backhair and white shirts, grungy students in combat trousers, pretty girls in Britney Spears tank tops. The only sign that you're in a Muslim country is the fact that some of the girls wear traditional headscarves and long cotton coats, and leave for home before it gets too late. And as night falls, the wail of the call to evening prayer cuts through the pop music blaring from cafes and CD shops.
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