Blog from Istanbul, Turkey
I have been meaning to write this blog since we arrived in Istanbul on August 17th. In fact, a lot of it I HAVE written in my head since that time! I was encouraged to do it by my father, and other friends, who are interested to hear more about our experiences here. Also, it will be a nice “journal” of sorts for us to look back on and laugh! As a disclaimer, I want to state that this blog is exactly that--a record of my family’s experiences in Istanbul. I am not any kind of expert on Turkey, Turkish culture, certainly not Turkish language, or politics & history. I do hope to learn something as the blog evolves, but most of it will simply be my observations and reactions to what we are experiencing.
Along those lines, if there are certain things you are curious about, please don’t hesitate to suggest future blog topics!
Things I have learned during my first 6 months in Istanbul
- Light switches can be found somewhere on the wall outside of the room you are entering. This has taken a while to get used to! I can’t tell you how many bathrooms I have entered in the dark, and how long I have spent looking for the light switch--only to remember that I have to exit the bathroom and hit the switch on the wall OUTSIDE.
- Pedestrians, simply put, are not respected in Istanbul. There is no such thing as “pedestrians having the right of way” even at a clearly marked cross walk with a green “WALK” light! Cars pull up to an intersection and simply go, without regard to pedestrians. Even more dangerous than the cars are the scooters (motorized bikes/motorcycles, etc). These vehicles weave in and out of traffic, drive up on the sidewalk, go against traffic on one-way streets, and basically risk their lives (and those of the pedestrians) in order to deliver the bottle of water, or domino’s pizza, or grocery order. This is a huge issue for me, since we do not own a car in Istanbul, and I am walking or taking public transportation wherever I go.
- Curbs in Istanbul average about a foot and a half high. Some of this is, I think, because of the rain and lack of drainage. When it rains, the streets are usually flooded. There may be high curbs, also, to discourage cars and scooters from driving on the sidewalks--but this is only partially successful.
- Turkish lira coins make your purse heavy! There are bills for TL 5 and up, but not TL1. Those are coins that are bigger and heavier than our quarters, and I always seem to end up with about 6 pounds worth in my bag.
- What goes up must come down. Or what goes down, must eventually come back up! This is in reference to how hilly Istanbul is. Our apartment is at the bottom of a steep hill. Wherever I go, it is uphill from where I start! The good news is that on the way home, I get to finish by going down hill! These are not wimpy hills, mind you! I feel like I am living in San Francisco--and Istanbul can get snow!
- Turkish people are very kind and hospitable, even if you don’t speak Turkish. Also, it is difficult to tell who is Turkish and who is not by simply looking, so we don’t “stick out” here. In fact, people approach us regularly, asking directions in Turkish! I always think, “Do I look like I know where I am going??”
- The plastic bottle caps which you see in big bottles hanging on trees and poles around the city are collected to raise money for wheelchairs. Our daughter, Abby, did a service project at her school, and collected over 50,000 caps! She and a classmate will donate them to purchase a wheelchair for a 50 year old Turkish woman!
- The Turkish language has very little in common with Arabic. Other than a few words, our knowledge of Arabic is not much use to us here! You will hear “Tamam - OK”, “Merhaba-Hello”, and “Inshallah-God willing, but that is about all that is familiar. We have also been surprised with how few of the younger generation speak English! It seems to be more people our age and older who are comfortable speaking to us in English. If a younger person at a shop tries to use English, they are often teased by their co-workers!
- There is a strict “escalator etiquette” here. If you are going to stand still on the escalator, you need to stay to the right. If you want to walk up or down the escalator, you stay to the left. However, it is interesting that no such etiquette exists on stairways or in hallways or sidewalks! I can’t tell you how many times I come face-to-face with someone who is walking on what I consider to be the “wrong” side of the stairway or sidewalk! Also, it is not uncommon to have people walking 3 abreast, who will continue advancing toward you, even if there isn’t enough room to pass! The result is that I constantly feel “in the way” here in Istanbul!
- The weather in Istanbul is generally nice, unless it is terribly messy! If it is raining here, it is usually not a sprinkle or light rain. I described it as if someone is dumping a bucket of water onto your umbrella! Also, due to the wind, umbrellas can be more of a nuisance than they are worth! We have also gotten an ‘honest-to-goodness snow storm’, which literally brings the city to a halt. There are plow trucks here, but they seem to focus on the highways, not the very hilly side streets, which become quite dangerous with a layer of snow or ice! Walking can also be treacherous, as some of the sidewalks outside of malls and stores are marble or some kind of tile which becomes extremely slippery when wet or snow-covered. I am not sure why these “indoor-type flooring materials” are used outside where they are exposed to the elements. Just another reminder that pedestrians must be very careful in Istanbul!
