February 07, 2006

Discovering Istanbul

Back in the Philippines, before I came to Istanbul, a friend of mine asked me which country I will be living in. I told her, I was on my way to live to Istanbul, Turkey. Her reaction... " Yaaaaakkk! kadire! di ba puro mabuhok mga tao doon at mababaho? Malapit pa sa Iraq!" I did not know how to react and answer her question. I asked her if she ever went there and she said no. She has never been to any part of the Middle Eastern and European side of the world except for a couple of places in Asia and the United States. I was annoyed at my friend for passing judgement so quickly without knowing what is in this country but then again, I cannot blame her. I also do not know whether what she said was true or not.Then she started rambling about how nice it would be to go to Europe and shop in Dubai plus do bargains in Bangkok, Thailand. Hmmmnnn.. so much for being fair and open minded, I was thinking.

At the back of my mind, I was already wondering how is it in Istanbul, Turkey. I looked at a map and checked if it was near Iraq. Apparently there are still some brave Pinoys who illegally cross the border to find work in Iraq ( makes me wonder, is it worth it?heck! they even stamp the new Philippine passports with "not valid for travel to Iraq", but I digress...). It turns out, Istanbul is the modern name of Constantinople and the great Byzantine empire. This brought me back to my world History classes in high school.Constantinople was then conquered by the Turks and introduced Islam as the religion replacing Christianity that was being spread by Constantine.

Turkey itself is a big country and it is bicontinental. Most part of it lies in the Middle East and a portion of it is located in Southeast Europe. The capital, Ankara is on the Asian side and Istanbul is divided into Asia and Europe. It has two European neighbors mainly Greece and Bulgaria. For its Asian neighbors, it has Georgia, Armenia,Azerbaijan,Iran, Iraq, and Syria.

Well, that's basically the facts I know about Turkey. Other than that, I learn more and more about this country by living here. Below are some things I learned while staying here in Istanbul.

1. Merhaba literally means "hello". It's the equivalent of "Mabuhay" in Filipino.

2. The traffic in Istanbul is as bad as Manila. The drivers are mostly Schumacher or Alonso wannabes!

3. The food is fantastic even without pork. I've never eaten so much eggplant in my life ( and they cook it really well!).

4. The city is a mixture of up and down roads. Sometimes while walking in the street, you will feel like you are hiking a steep mountain.

5. Do not expect to find tropical fruits like mango, pineapple, and bananas. They are mostly imported from South American countries ( thus, the exorbitant prices). The fruits to go for here are cherries, quince, oranges, and apples.

6. There are quite a number of Turkish who can speak German and French. It is not hard to find a bilingual and trilingual Turk. There are many turkish universities that has French and German as the mode of communication.

7. Pirated DVD's already has found it's niche in Istanbul.

8. There are many beautiful ( and I mean beautiful) women here. I believe they are greater in number than the men. Although some ladies have a tendency to put on heavy make up ( think drag-queen do) , brown themselves in a tanning salon and dye their hair blonde.

9. There are many cheeky cab drivers. Just like anywhere else in the world, if they can milk money from tourists, they would. It helps to know or pretend that you know how to speak Turkish.

10. Almost everyone in this country can dance! It's a national past time. Turkish music has these irresistible beats that just make you groove. I love the way the women do their belly dancing and the black sea dance of the men (moving their shoulders up and down while they are all in a line) .

11. Turkish hospitality is phenomenal. They would go out of their way to invite you for a cup of coffee or tea in their homes even if you are a foreigner. Shops would offer you some turkish tea when you come inside.

12. The nightlife is awesome here even if the alcohol is expensive (being a Muslim country.. it makes sense). Bars are packed on weekends not just with yabancis or foreigners like us but with locals as well. The best of it all, we all just blend in and have a good time!

Posted by duke at 2/07/2006 12:26:00 AM

21 Comments:

Jeruen said...: Very informative entry.

On a side note, hindi ko alam kung bakit, pero hindi ka lumilitaw na "Updated" sa blogroll ko. Kaya tuloy ang dami ko na palang na-miss na entries. Minsan pa nga, naging "Forbidden" ang site mo sa server ko. May sekreto ka ba?

líŋ-gwist ín weí-tiŋ; 2/07/2006 04:17:00 AM
JO said...: hi Duke,

at least you are enjoying it there. that's all that matters now.

do you ever see Ruffa G there? :-); 2/07/2006 07:04:00 AM
Gayzha said...: you are indeed very lucky to have the opportunity to experience first hand the Turkish and the neighboring Middle Eastern culture - which is really close to the cradle of civilization. Very rich nga ang culture and traditions nila aside from the fact that they are really very friendly too - I have been in the Middle East - that's why I can honestly say that it is an enriching experience - not comparable to Asian or even American culture. Kaya you should spend more time enriching yourself, as what you are doing now! Forget about other people's comments which are just based on newspapers and chicka chicka! Inggit lang siguro sila!; 2/07/2006 07:24:00 AM
Anonymous said...: i learned a lot from this entry. duke, pag when i hear turkey naiisip ko yung mga ancient achitectural sites. marami ba niyan diyan?; 2/07/2006 09:33:00 AM
duke said...: Hello LIW!

Bloggers has been experiencing some glitches the past weeks. Ako din sometimes I get that forbidden sign! How weird!

Jo Hey there!

I still haven't seen Ruffa G in my seven months of abode here :D

TrueBlue I do consider myself lucky. It's a totally different immersion of culture and it's so much fun!

Kren yes. if you like seeing mosques,forts, and palaces. This is teh place to be. Karamihan sng mga building are more than a century old.; 2/07/2006 01:14:00 PM
Anonymous said...: I feel sorry for your friend acting so naive..Ive been in turkey and its a very nice place and full of history.she shoulf travel more and see the world..; 2/07/2006 01:33:00 PM
Anonymous said...: That's very informative. All I know about Turkey is that it is supposed to be 'Troy' in Greek mythology. Remember Helen of Troy and the trojan horse? Is it true that there were excavations there where (apparently) Helen's jewels were found?; 2/07/2006 04:00:00 PM
tin-tin said...: i similarly heard the same comment when someone learns that i study in uplb. hmmm.. parang you were the only one excited for me. thanks duke!

it's nice that you are enjoying your stay there. that's the important thing. and kost of all, it's not really where you are but who you are with :); 2/08/2006 05:37:00 AM
Unknown said...: Hi Duke, I was about to say, must be a Muslim country when I read that Mherhaba means "hello". I had a friend from Jordan and taught me some basic greetings in her language.

So, being a Muslim country, how does it differ from the other Eastern countries when it comes to women's rights?

I agree with everyone here, very informative post.; 2/08/2006 11:51:00 PM
Unknown said...: Let me think, I often hear of Istanbul or Turkey as tourist destination. I have never even thought of this country to be a Muslim country, but as you said it's in the border, so I guess it has it's European and Asian influences.; 2/08/2006 11:54:00 PM
DanieL said...: hello duke!

you should know better, you're actually there to tell us what turkey is like in an expat's point of view. lots of information about turkey here. maybe next time you can post pictures?

someday i want to visit turkey and see what it's like there. perhaps take a full swing and visit india as well and other south asian countries.; 2/09/2006 07:24:00 AM
Anonymous said...: Thank you for the firsthand information about Turkey. It is good to be informed because it can make one less ignorant. And I must say, can't judge a place without ever stepping foot on it.; 2/10/2006 02:08:00 AM
silentmode_v2 said...: i heard that there are a lot of places to shoot at (take photos i mean). sana makapunta ako dyan and hopefully by my tour guide!

thanks for sharing the info. :); 2/10/2006 11:25:00 AM
duke said...: anonymous - it's ok. People sometimes have prejudice on things they don't really know. I wish the same for her.. that she travel more.

soy -you know what,Troy is one of the places I want to visit here.They have many folktales about it here too... I haven't explored much on it yet. Will keep you upadted! Other than Troy, Gallipolli is another famous site here.

tin-tin - hehehehe I was truly happy for you to get in LB!

True. I'm very happy to be here!; 2/10/2006 12:43:00 PM
duke said...: angelove hello! Most of the Muslims here are Sunnis. Unlike other Middle Eastern countries, Istanbul, per se is very open and modern.
I see many independent women here going about with their daily lives.The younger generations esp. are more liberal.
I'm sure in the the neigboring towns, things are not the same. Apparently, there are still many wives who do not have any say in their homes.; 2/10/2006 12:49:00 PM
duke said...: daniel hello! thanks for eading!
Next time I will put pictures!
I hope you get to visit Turkey one day. It's a totally different experience. You feel you are warped in time and yet still in the modern world.

evi I couldn't agree with you more!Knowing something about a country is a very enriching experience!

jeff I think your artistic eye will feast in the sceneries over here! :D; 2/10/2006 12:54:00 PM
TK said...: from airport to Taslik Hotel, siningil sila Ayheen ng US$40.; 2/11/2006 03:51:00 AM
duke said...: TK 25-30 dollars is the average rate of the taxi from the airport from our place. It's quite far kasi from the city. I know where taslik is... sinigil nga sila ng mataas!; 2/11/2006 12:20:00 PM
TK said...: hey duke, don't get me wrong. despite of the cab drivers Ayheen and Dra. Chichi enjoyed their stay there. I'm sure I will too. someday.; 2/11/2006 04:29:00 PM
duke said...: no problem.I totally understand what you meant:D; 2/11/2006 04:45:00 PM
Anonymous said...: this reminds me of a filipina here in Athens..

she said FOR ME FRANCE IS THE WORST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD
i asked her..."have you been there?"
her: NO
me: so why judge a place you never ever been there?
her: thats what I heard and I feel

hahaha...

anyway take time to go south its just so beautiful out there!; 2/13/2006 11:04:00 AM

Confessions of an Expat's Wife

February 07, 2006

Discovering Istanbul

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