Editor’s Note: For those of us who have been in Istanbul for some time and have grown accustomed to the Turkish way of life, it’s easy to forget how different everything felt when you first arrived. One of our contributors is here to remind us of that feeling — hopefully new transplants to Istanbul and old timers alike can relate!
I have been living in Turkey for almost five months now, and although I am quickly adapting to my new home, there are a number of things that my American eyes have found amusing, unexpected, or quirky. Admittedly, my perspective is unique — likely everyone would have a different take on what they find new, funny, and amusing — but here is my list to date:
1. So many snow days. Istanbul is a maze of narrow winding streets, many of which curl up and down hills, some of which are barely paved. With no team of plows and salt trucks ready to deploy at a moment’s notice, snow generally equals a snow day. Teachers in Turkey rejoice!
2. So many malls. There are over one hundred malls in Istanbul but, seemingly, only about ten stores – these malls are like carbon copies of each other. The same stores at each one with the same exact things for sale. My advice? Skip the malls and hit the streets.
3. Same store, but the Turkish version is not so samesies. There are many stores I recognize here, but they are just not the same in Turkey as they are in the States. For instance, the GAP here is crazy expensive and — can I speak frankly? — it sucks! It’s like a flashback to the worst GAP offerings of the early 90s, “on sale” for 200 TL. No sale rack, bland offerings, and twelve employees for every shopper. Does someone care to explain this? I’m very disappointed.
4. Lots and lots of smoking. Smoking is apparently the national past time here in Turkey. Men smoke, women smoke, and today I saw a eight-year-old buy cigarettes for his “older brother.” The dedication is intense. Smoking is now banned indoors in public places, so during winter, people routinely eat dinner and have tea whilst sitting outside, freezing, with their coats on. Also, don’t be surprised if Burger King has an outdoor smoking section.
5. Showing smoking is banned on TV. It is illegal to show people smoking on TV. To deal with this, cigarettes are blurred out of movies and shows. As weird as this is, I’m for it. Maybe California has brainwashed me, but I find smoking to be super gross and, as we all know, very bad for you.
6. Rules? Not so much. Red lights: optional! Indoor smoking ban: LOL, not on Friday nights, or anytime, really, at those bars/restaurants where they don’t care!
7. Wild dogs run the city. No really, you cannot understand this until you come and see it for yourself.
8. People feed and seem to revere pigeons. Where I’m from (Chicago), pigeons are considered flying rats and worthy only of disdain.
9. Hospitable people, but murderous drivers. In my experience, Turkish people are kind, patient with my foreign ways, and very generous. However, as soon as they get behind the wheel of a car they would rather kill you than slow down for you to cross the road. There is some sort of disconnect here…
10. Atatürk everywhere! Images of Atatürk are EVERYWHERE. A picture in every classroom and a statue or two (or more!) in every park or patch of green space. But c’mon, the guy saw five wars in his lifetime and is truly the father of modern day Turkey, lest you forget it.
11. No personal questions are off-limits. “Hi, nice to meet you. How old are you? Are you married?” It’s true the US has taken political correctness to new heights, blazing a path regarding what is and is not acceptable to discuss. I freely admit that I am on board with this agenda. Turkey? Not so much.
12. Turkish standard time. No one is on time. Don’t rush. They are probably having tea.
13. There is no Indian food. OK, there is some, but as lamb vindaloo is my favorite food group, it is very disappointing to not be able to eat it at least once a week.
14. No Chinatown. You read that right, there is no Chinatown in Istanbul! In a city of over 16 million people, how is this possible? Someone needs to write a dissertation on this.
15. No acupuncture. Possibly related to number 14. There are a few places to get acupuncture treatments here, but the ones I’ve found are CRAZY expensive.
16. One, two, or even three plastic bags with every purchase! After living in California, where protecting the environment is a big deal, I find the surplus of plastic bags to be shocking. Store employees are very confused by my reusable bags, usually trying to (plastic) bag items before placing them in my (cloth) bag. Not to mention the two or even three paper receipts they offer for every single small purchase.
17. Where is the hot sauce? Hot (as in spicy) is not very hot here. Chili powder abounds, but where is my hot sauce? I miss you Cholula.
18. I haven’t met anyone who knows what butterscotch is. Crazy, right?! All translations say, ‘karamela‘ (caramel). “Yanlış!” (False!), I yell emphatically, butterscotch is not caramel! Maybe I have just not gotten to the bottom of this yet. UPDATE: After importing some butterscotch chips and making cookies, my Turkish roommate told me, “Oh, I know this!” So I asked, “What is the word for it?” “Oh,” he replied, “no specific word.” So there you have it.
19. No Amazon.com I’m glad I didn’t know this before I came. I hadn’t realized just how dependent on Amazon I had become until I moved here. It’s like, I thought you could get anything, anywhere in the world. Amazon – bring on the drones!
20. Pirating is Not. A. Thing. Feel free to download any movie, TV show, or music ever made, no problem. Welcome to 1995, Americans, a time before you ever heard of a “bit torrent.”
21. No recycling. However, there is a large population of waste pickers who have this on lock — no garbage bin goes unsearched. But where are they bringing it?
22. Hilariously (and scarily?) unsecured construction sites. In the States, this would be a lawsuit waiting to happen. Don’t let those flying sparks set you on fire as you walk past!
23. Open late, closed early. Stores and restaurants, even government offices, are open and closed, like, whenever. Tax office, 4:25 pm on a Tuesday: closed. Post office, 11:30 am on a Wednesday: closed. Makeup store on Istiklal, 1 am on a Friday: open. Take your chances.
24. Hilariously inaccurate websites. Some major businesses, universities, and even government offices will have ridiculously old or incorrect information posted online.
25. Google maps? Not so much. Google maps might be off by a few blocks or a few miles. It may even send you to the wrong side of town. Yabangee tip: use Yandex.com, a Russian search engine and mapping site that is much more accurate in this region.
26. Christmas trees stay up for months. Christmas in Turkey is really like “winter.” There is a Santa at the mall saying, “Hohoho, Happy New Year.” I think there are even some decorations still up now. In May.
27. Weird American pop culture appropriation. This is not exclusive to Turkey, but still makes me laugh. That hat that says ‘Thug Life’ on a 12-year-old girl. Sure. Flowery T-shirt that says ‘Michigan.’ Hmmm…
28. Fake police. It’s seemingly not illegal to install some blue and red police lights on your car, and drive it on the shoulder of the road to avoid traffic jams and red lights. Whoa! This would give you some serious jail time in the US. That said, I am now pricing out lights for my car.
29. Very raunchy totally uncensored American pop, rap, and R&B songs playing in stores. The local market closest to my apartment might be the worst offender. I’m buying eggs, and then “I wanna f*ck you” blasts from the speakers. I should bring them some vintage Khia (of “My Neck, My Back” fame) and really get that party started.
What did you find surprising or quirky about Istanbul or Turkey when you first arrived? Let us know in the comments!
Missy Weimer is a contributor to Yabangee.
Tks for the Yandex map, very good.
-Wet wipes given at every meal (love this).
-Tea offered even in hardware stores (neighborhood shops).
-Everyone is so helpful if you need directions or help with anything. Had a couple go out of their way to help us find a place we were looking for. Had a man walk with us for 5 minutes to find the right bus in Kadikoy.
-Yes, I don’t like how high the curbs and uneven the sidewalks are. Definitely not wheel chair friendly!
-A demonstration/protest can pop up anytime, so you always have to be aware!
-So unfair that smoking is allowed outside. We non-smokers never get to sit outside and enjoy having a coffee/tea while chatting with friends. We have to sit inside the stuffy cafe.’
-No REAL air condition in the malls. When it gets really hot (July/Aug.), you still don’t get relief after sweating profusely on public transportation and walking, when going into a mall. 🙁 Only a slight difference from outside. Then in winter, the heat is up so high that your shopping experience becomes a sweat experience (especially trying on clothes in the sauna dressing rooms).
-Weddings don’t always serve a meal, so eat before you go. (they may have a snack bar you can buy something from), but yes, the tables will be all decorated beautifully, but no meal. Oh, and a fake metal cake with a cutting ceremony.
-People are so friendly and polite most of the time, but a fight can break out when you least expect it.
-Hairdressers think they are artist and never do what you ask. You are their creation!
-Shopping in the Grand or Spice bazaar us actually a fun and pleasant experience. You still get ripped off at times, but they make it fun, so it doesn’t matter. I have been to bazaars in other places and been yelled at for not buying or pushed in rude ways, but not Turkey. They give you compliments and can be funny. If you want to feel good about yourself, then go to the Grand Bazaar. You will be told you are beautiful, or my latest: “No, you can’t have a granddaughter, you look too young,” while touching my arm in an very flirty way. Yeah, Turks know how to charm…
-I find it to be very clean for such a huge city (Istanbul). And people are very clean. I hardly ever see people leave a restroom without washing their hands. If someone does, they are usually a foreigner.
-The narrow and winding staircases in many buildings. Scary!
I love Turkey even with all the things that are different than what I am used to! 🙂
LOL! These comments are a great addendum to this list. Keep them coming! The list could be 1,000 items long 🙂 And, as mentioned, a bit different for everyone 🙂
You forgot to mention that there are streets you are walking down and suddenly there will be a huge drop, why? Because somebody’s front door (or a shop) is there of course! And pedestrians should simply be aware of this.
No building codes or construction codes! The curbs are different heights, steps and stairs are all wonky. I constantly looked down for the first six months i was here so I wouldn’t stumble. I still stumble to this day on uneven sidewalks!
No germophobes allowed in Turkey! I have seen waiters reach into a bin of sliced bread to fill baskets for customers when moments before they could have been petting the resident cat. Foodies beware!
Cats, cats, cats everwhere! At least, there doesn’t seem to be a rodent problem in Istanbul. Cats are revered by Muslims so cats are allowed everywhere. They are very well taken care of by the residents of the city. Talk about FAT CATS!
Motor bikes on side walks.
And the cats.
Wearing a seat belt while driving? What! No need…
http://www.hepsiburada.com not exactly Amazon but nice to be able to order a few thing online.
Also note – total disregard of personal space – like “in your face” disregard hahahha
Love this – but take note that the municipality does have a huge fleet of snow battling vehicles but the city is huge and like you said, a lot of cobblestoned, meandering steep syreets.
ahhaha 😀 made my day! thank you:) soo true 🙂
the weırdest thıng that ı had 2 get used to ın ‘stanbul ıs the crazy foreıgners who are surprısed (and sometımes upset) that thıngs are alıttle bıt dıfferent.
Number 11 haha. Wait until someone asks you how much you weigh.
I really enjoyed this post as an Istanbulite 🙂 What we perceive as so normal is that alien for a Yabangee:) By the way, we don’t call our dogs “wild”, we love them, feed them and cherish them; at least most of us.
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