Turkey is truly a curious land with an interesting mix of East and West. Straight men hold hands and the custom of the cheek kiss is all the norm while men still do not sit with women on buses if it can be helped. Segregation in mosques remains, women praying in secluded areas usually tucked away from the ‘front’. Entering a mosque requires men to cover at least their legs (and the usual shirt shoes etc) and women their head (amongst seemingly everything else). Prayer time can’t be missed as all cities small and large erupt in blaring words of praise. There is still a barter, and word of mouth commission like system in place. This explains why the prices are never the same and always negotiable. Honking at people to let them oHthemthemfjksfdlksfdlsfdf know they’re coming, or about to run them over, is also as customary as chai and carpet salesmen. There seems to be a big influx of money into the country via tourism. Luckily the turks understand how to treat the tourist always looking to help. Needless to say this does take a while to get used to as there is no such thing as a quiet walk. Foreign investment seems abound especially along the Mediterranean coast where there is no such thing as a cheap ‘anything’. Farming has evolved to use tractors though sheep still run unfenced over the landscape. Amazingly everyone seems to speak English to some degree and those that haven’t learned just jet try their hardest to help in any way possible. People are warm and appear to be used to foreigners. The land is diverse and has lots to offer especially historically. These include Byzantine, Ottoman, Anatolian, Roman, and Greek cultural remnants. The East of the country is mostly unexplored by tourists and still has some Kurdish conflicts which are also felt in the West via the PPK bombings and other unrest. All in all, Turkey has to date been one of the most amazing, ‘funnest’, culturally rich, cheapest, and friendliest countries to visit and I can’t wait to return one day.
October 29th, 2008 | Category: Michael, Travel, Turkey | One comment
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