What's it like there?

I think that the most common question I have from friends and family is "What is it like, living in Turkiye?"  So in order to answer that question, I will devote a blog entry and see what comes of it.

First, I have to point out that we live in Istanbul--the largest city in Turkiye, and one of the largest in the world, with a population of 12-15 million people.  It is certainly not representative of the entire country.  It reminds me quite a bit of New York City in some ways.  We have individual neighborhoods that each have their own flavor.  There are areas where the residents are very wealthy, some where they are very poor, and many inbetween.  We have lots of different ethnic groups, including Turks (of course), Kurds, Roma (gypsies), people whose ancestors come from the Balkans (now independent countries), ethnic Greeks, Arabs, ethnic Armenians, and lots and lots and lots of foreigners (including yours truly!).  Although the vast majority of the population is Muslim, we do have Christians and Jews as well, plus Zoroastrians, pagans, and most likely a few others that I am forgetting.

Traffic is one thing that just about everyone agrees upon--there are far too many cars on the roads.  When meeting up with friends, almost every conversation begins with the state of the traffic on the road.  "Did you have much traffic on the way over?"  Or, "So sorry we were late, the traffic, you know!"  We have been in traffic jams where it literally took us 30 minutes to move 5km.  Other times, we have been known to sail right through the same area with little to no trouble at all.  Most often, it has to do with traffic backed up at one of the Bosphorus bridges.

And that's another thing that sets Istanbul apart--this is the only city in the world that spans two continents.  Europe and Asia are separated by the Bosphorus Straits and connected by two bridges, the Bosphorus Bridge (Bogazici Koprusu) and the Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror Bridge (Fatih Sultan Mehmet Koprusu).  That narrow body of water separates more than the continents, it also has a tendency to divide the people of the city.  There seems to be a stark difference at times between the people who inhabit the European side vs the Asian siders.  Europe has the very wealthy population, the international airport, and most of the big businesses.  Asia has the middle class folks, the regional airport, and the smaller businesses.  The Asian side tends to be more family oriented, while the European side is well-known for its night-life.

Some of the things that are very different in Istanbul as compared to the US:

• Prostitution is legal here and regulated by the government.  There are definitely red-light districts, although I can't say that I've been allowed anywhere near them. 
• Turkish people, God-love-'em, can't form a queue (line) for anything.  Trying to get Turks to take a number and stand in line is the most worthless endeavor you can possibly imagine, and possibly one of my least favorite traits. 
• However, they love children and never hesitate to fuss over a baby or child.  Turkish fathers are amazing--I have never seen a place where so many fathers carry their kids, walk them school, push the prams (strollers), play in the park, and all those things.  Coming from a society where fathers are considered to be expendable, this has been an eye-opener for me and I love it.  It makes me realize just how wrongly we view fatherhood in the US.
• You can get anything delivered, from medicines to groceries to furniture to McDonald's--nope, you don't even have to waste the energy to get there for your Big Mac!  My favorite delivery, though, is KFC!

One of the things that I like the least, however, is that no one seems to be environmentally aware.  There is very little recycling here and it's a completely disposable society.  Litter is everywhere and it's likely because there are very few trash cans in public places.  Turkish people tend to keep their homes ridiculously spotless, but all you have to do is walk out the door to step into a huge pile of trash. 

Another thing that bothers me is the focus on Western (particularly American) medicine.  There is very little here in the way of natural treatments, like herbs, chiropractic, massage therapy, naturopathic medicine, etc.  There is a huge push here to take a pill for everything, antibiotics for every sniffle.  And most medications can be bought without a prescription at the local pharmacy.  Can you say, "multi-drug resistant bacteria?"  I knew you could!  The situation surrounding childbirth has me appalled, as you probably know if you've read previous blog entries.  The doctors rely heavily on ultrasound at each appointment and don't test urine for protein, glucose, or ketones.  They also have a 90% +/- cesarean rate and don't even bother to tell women that there are other alternatives--as far as the doctors are concerned, there aren't.  Breastfeeding is not encouraged at all and formula is pushed heavily on unsuspecting moms and babies without discussion or thought about the damage that artificial feeding can do to both mom and babe.  ARGH!

There are animals everywhere--cats and dogs live on the street and most Turkish people do not keep pets.  They think that we are strange because we do.  There are a few charity organizations devoted to the welfare of the street animals; they go out and tag, vaccinate, and spay/neuter animals to try to take care of the population.  Unfortunately, it's a bigger responsibility than they have the money for, as they rely entirely on donations and volunteer help.

Food is another huge difference.  The food here, even in restaurants, is fresh and freshly prepared.  Only in the foreign-based restaurants (McDonald's, Schlotzsky's, Pizza Hut, etc.) will you find preserved and pre-prepared food.  One of the things that I really don't look forward to when we return to the US is the quality of the food.  Everything is packed with salt, preservatives, some kind of corn-based something (corn syrup, corn thickeners, etc), and makes me gain weight and feel like crap.  The vegetables have no taste there and I'm always happy to bite into a tomato or cucumber when we come home to Istanbul.

Overall, the people here are very nice and friendly and willing to help in almost any situation.  They love to eat, drink, dance, and have a good time.  There is nothing that they won't do for their families and friends.  It's such a refreshing change from the isolationist attitudes in the US.

That's a brief synopsis of life in Istanbul, although by no means a full accounting.  I'm always happy to answer direct questions, so feel free to post a comment and I will do my best!