A Human Interest story
People and Society
Turkish people are the most charming people I have ever met. They tend to be extremely friendly, open and keen to engage. Their warmth and ability to express affection is quite captivating.
They are extremely helpful and take responsibility for each other and others. If something happens in the street e.g. an accident, passers by will always stop to help. On many occasions, when heavy items were being delivered to my house, complete strangers passing by stopped to help.
On most of the occasions when I asked someone where I could find a particular shop or bus, the person walked me there to ensure I would find it.
On one occasion I had a fall in the street (actually, I had several; not induced by alcohol, but rather the combination of potholes and distracting eye candy). On each occasion people stopped to help me and once when my knee was badly injured, passers by offered to get me to the hospital. When I declined this offer I was dropped off at a café to rest. At the café the waiters made a great fuss of me. One cleaned the wound and went to the chemist to buy a dressing. On another occasion the owner of a restaurant popped insisted on taking me home in his car rather than get a taxi.
Keep your eyes peeled to the road when out walking; no matter how pretty the passing talent might be.
One day I hired a taxi to get me home with a load of shopping. The next day there was a knock at the door and there was the taxi driver with a broomstick in his hand that I had left behind in his taxi.
I met the wonderful Hassan when he was the taxi driver taking me to the airport. Two months later I was pushing my trolley around the supermarket when there was a tap on my shoulder. There was Hassan with my portable computer hard drive key in his hand. I asked him how he had found me and he said that he had seen me shopping at this supermarket in the past and therefore travelled around each day with the key in his pocket just in case he saw me again!
I found people in the street, delightful. They are chatty, cheerful and welcoming.
People in the service industries, shops, restaurants etc take great pride in giving a professional service and the service is second to none.
Wherever I lived the neighbours were extremely kind and considerate. They made gestures that we might have only expected perhaps 100 years ago in the UK, taking parcels in for me, taking in the washing when it began to rain, sending over tit bits with their kids and so on.
Hospitality is akin to religion. Enter a Turkish home and they will share or indeed give whatever they have; without reservation. Compliment someone, say on a jacket and they might take it off and give it to you. Hospitality is also afforded in shops, offices and everywhere else where you will be offered tea, sometimes share food if they are eating and make other very generous gestures. Your comfort is supreme and they will do everything possible to make your visit a good experience. Of course, some of this also serves to get your custom; nevertheless the hospitality rituals are genuine and when returning to the UK I would really miss this service.
Manners are superb. This is cultural and built into the very elegant language. There are correct terms to address people dependant on how intimate the relationship is, how formal the situation is as well as the age of the person; older people being addressed by more respectful terms. Indeed older people are revered rather than marginalised as in many other countries. People still stand for older people on buses!
The children’s and young people’s behaviour is exemplary. In all my time in Turkey I never witnessed loud and obnoxious children or youths or heard swearing or aggressive language in the street. I also never saw a drunken young person; although they did drink, this was done with maturity. Young people were certainly out in the evening having a good time with their pals; but never intimidating other people. The children and young people always stand for more mature people on buses; will help people with heavy parcels off and on to the bus.
The exception to the good manners rule is the Turkish middle and upper classes that seem to look down on people below their status and behave towards ‘ordinary’ folks in a very abrupt and rude manner; rarely saying please or thank you or acknowledging their existence.
The snobbery of the Turkish middle class is awesome. They behave with an air of superiority that is overt and not modified by who is observing. They are obsessed with expensive brand names and what the latest status symbols are whether it be cars, the place to live and indeed who they mix with. Most I met were apologetic and denying of their roots, religion and culture, preferring to identify with the European middle class. Speaking English and French seems to be very important, having travelled Europe, shopped at Harrods. They are dreadful social climbers and will claim to know anyone who they think will impress; musicians, artists, politicians and will name drop shamelessly. If they think you are posh they will want to befriend you; to enhance their status. You will be an accessory!
If you want to see them at play, sit in one of the restaurants in Turkbuku and observe them in full flow. I warn you that it is quite revolting and will put you off your food. You will want to rescue the poor waiters from these sods’ verbal arrogance and verbal assaults.
In short, Turkish people at a superficial level at least are absolutely delightful. It is when the issue of money rears its ugly head that everything changes and the darker side merges.
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