The explosion of blogs around the world has not left the Aegean and the Mediterranean coasts of Turkey untouched. Foreign residents living in Fethiye, İzmir, Antalya and various places in between share with their readers amusing, poignant thoughts, tongue-in-cheek observations and tales of personal experiences of the country they chose to call home.

Some of these bloggers relish their anonymity; preferring to use pseudonyms as they want to protect their privacy and write about life as they see it without becoming public figures. They also want to be able to write about the people they mix with socially without their cover being blown or perhaps because they see that their life choices could be at odds with Turkish society.

Having said that, Billfredo who shares his observations about Turkey in his blog “arseaboutfez” acknowledged, “I don’t shout about my identity, but I don’t really hide it either. It wouldn’t take too much detective work to turn up at my door.”

Jack, creator of “perkingthepansies,” admitted, “I write under a pseudonym to avoid a brick through my window. My sexuality is not the only thing that defines me, but it does color my world view and this enables me, together with the anonymity, to maintain a certain detachment.”

Conversely, Karen, who writes “beingkoy,” said, “My blog makes no effort to hide who I am because I don’t actually have any reason to. Even though my blog shows where I live and what I do, it is still very difficult for people to find me. I have friends who blog behind assumed identities but that tends to be a bit pointless, as anyone who knows them would recognize them.”

Bloggers and their blogs

Billfredo, a 35 year-old British expat who lives near İzmir, described himself as “the son of a Turkish father that means I have a rather rich back-catalogue of anecdotes and a list of topics.”

Many of these he shares in his blog he has called, “An Englishman´s Guide to the Turkish Culture.” His posts are frequently amusing, off the wall and occasionally cheeky. “I always carry a notepad with me to record observations. It’s also gotten to a stage now where people start to hunt me down to share phrases or experiences they feel would be worth a post.”

He added, “Most of my material seems to come from sitting in the barber’s chair. I always try to write quickly, with little self-editing. This leads to the odd mistake but allows for a certain naive spontaneity that I don’t want to lose.” At present he has about 1,000 visits a month.

Why use blogs instead of just sending email? Associate Professor Bonnie A. Nardie of the University of California concluded in a 2004 research paper that blogging is less invasive than emailing. She emphasized the broadcast nature of blogging, “They put out information, and no one need respond unless they wish to. Blogs are not intrusive. No one is forced to pay attention.”

Julia and Barry started “turkeysforlife” as a way of sharing their love of Fethiye and counteracting some of the negativity they noticed. “We had no idea what we were getting into. It began as a kind of daily diary, very much in my own voice. The only structure we had in mind was to keep it positive and not to make posts too long.”

As for subject matter, the beauty of a blog is you can write whatever you want. Some people have a focus and are food bloggers or travel bloggers. “Turkeysforlife” has “hundreds of hits every day and somehow, we seem to bob about and hover between a few genres – I guess we’re Turkey bloggers,” said Julia.

Jack set up his blog to share his wry take on life as a gay man living in Turkey. “I’ve adopted a particular irreverent, satirical style which gets easier the more I write. I write primarily about what I see around me in our rarefied semi-detached expat world. Expatriates, or ‘emigreys’ as I call them, come in all shapes and sizes – the mean and the mannered, the classless and the classy, the awful and the joyful.

“It’s a rich seam and the material is more or less handed to me on a plate. I write little and often so readers can dip in and out as they wish. I’ve had over 40,000 hits since I launched my site four months ago. I am stunned by the reception. I have a loyal following of about 1,000 or so which is steadily growing.”

It doesn’t all have to be witticisms and funny observations: Ayak shares her thoughts, sometimes affected by bouts of depression and her long experience of living in different parts of Turkey with her husband Mr. A., in “turkishdelight.” “Until a couple of years ago I didn´t even know what a blog was.”

Now living in the inland southwestern town of Milas, she said that posts for her intensely personal blog come from various sources. “Ideas just come to me at any time, anywhere. I can be sitting on the dolmuş [a Turkish shared taxi van], out in the garden, shopping, whatever. Then the idea just develops in my head and when I go to my blog, I just write it. I don´t plan, or edit, I just write and that´s it.” Her blog has 77 followers and almost 11,000 views to date.

Karen lives in the small village of Kirazlı Köy, well off the tourist trail, hence the pun in name of her blog “Being Koy,” in which she shares her thoughts, experiences and recipes. “I’ve always written in some form or another and used to write for a newspaper in the U.K.” 

She now works as a freelance writer but as Karen explained: “About eight years ago my late husband and I spent a lot of time on a little island off the coast of Mexico. The majority of visitors there were American and there was an active online community for the island. They all loved “trip reports,” so I started writing them and it became a habit. When I moved to Turkey, we automatically built a website for the area we were living.”

Her blog focuses on the daily life of, “A tiny village with less than 600 inhabitants.” And although she insists nothing much ever happens, Karen said, “I write about the things I see here.” She also writes about food and of her popularity. She said, “My hit count is around 5,000 a month and climbing. There are peaks and troughs within this and if I make a post it could go up to 500 in a day. It is steadily increasing though.”

Karen also suggests that few blog followers realize that blogging is hard work and it takes continued effort. “While all of my fellow bloggers are very modest – I know them and I know what they are like! I know just how much work goes into their blogs.”

She draws particular attention to Jack and his partner. “They go over every post and criticize it and edit it and think about it. ‘Turkeysforlife’ continually get out there and take pictures and go on trips and work on their site. All the blogs that people start in a rush of enthusiasm, most fall away when people realize how hard it is.”

Why start a blog?

“Bloggers are driven to document their lives, provide commentary and opinions, express deeply felt emotions, articulate ideas through writing and form and maintain community forums,” according to Professor Nardi. The bloggers of southwest Turkey had some quite specific ideas to share their experiences and all were encouraged to take up blogging by friends.

Jack’s life as a blogger started as an email commentary of, “Our packed adventures in paradise to friends, which went down very well. It was my oldest friend who suggested I write a blog and with the luxury of time on my hands, I thought, why not?” Karen reflects this reason too when she explained, “Mainly it was for the benefit of all our online friends as we were in a totally new country with a new culture and we wanted them to experience it.” 

Julia and Barry started their blog on, “A complete whim and a growing urge to show the positives sides of Turkey.” Ayak has more modest aspirations about her blog. “It is primarily for me – a kind of diary – but I love it that I have followers and that I´ve discovered so many other blogs as a result.”

The joys of blogging seem to have appealed to them all at sometime or other. “Within days of arriving in Turkey,” said Billfredo, “I realized I had started hoarding stories and anecdotes that I wanted to share with my friends back home. As I could no longer gather them in a pub and share my observations over a pint, I realized I needed another way to vent. After a few group e-mails home, a friend suggested I try blogging.”

Ayak’s decision to start a blog was through the encouragement of a friend. “An Internet forum friend who blogged suggested I start one. I spent ages setting it up (I am a real technophobe) and then I couldn´t think of anything to say. Suddenly the friend and his wife added themselves as ‘followers,’ just to encourage me … so I had to make a start!” She uses the blog on occasion to write about, “Some very serious subjects. For example, I used to work in the mental health field. I also suffered myself from depression for many years. So it´s a topic close to my heart.”

What makes a successful blog?

Bloggers must presumably enjoy writing and have some notion that others enjoy reading what they pen. But surprised seems to be the most common way describe the feeling when, like Karen, they notice there are people reading their blog.

Although confident that her blog would be a success, she explained how, “Gradually over the years the readership [of “beingkoy”] has increased. There comes a point in online writing where you seem to reach a critical mass and Google notices you. Right now my blog is read by people who are thinking of moving to Turkey, people who already own property here and like reading about a full-time life here, people who love Turkey and like to look at the pictures of their favorite place and people who have lived here before and like to be reminded of it.”

“It really was just random rambles in the beginning, with the thought of, ‘If people read it, that’s a bonus,’” was the relaxed view of Julia and Barry. “We spent a long time on the layout and title banner purely for ourselves – personal pride. I think our readers are anyone and everyone with an interest in Turkey: especially Fethiye and those who are interested in Turkish food, travel and lifestyle. People who come to Turkey for their holidays visit the blog to get a ‘Turkey fix’ to tide them over till their next visit. We also get a lot of visits from food and travel bloggers.”

Ayak underestimated the impact her blog would have. “I honestly didn´t think about people reading my blog. It was never aimed at any specific market. It was first and foremost for my own enjoyment. I used to keep diaries when I first moved to Turkey but these were lost during our many moves, so blogging became my diary.”

Jack too was surprised by the success of “perkingthepansies.” “When I first published, I honestly thought that I might just end up talking to myself. I’m grateful that this has not been the case. My biggest fans seem to be the very people I parody. I guess people love to read about their lives even when it’s not always particularly flattering. I’m more puzzled by the interest my blog receives globally. I really don’t know why anyone in Bible-belt America would be remotely interested in the frivolous ramblings of a diminutive, washed up ex-pretty boy with a distinctly perverse view of the world.

“Generally, the blog is intended as a comic take on ‘emigrey’ life, but I have also written some more serious pieces, particularly on the problems many gay Turks face living an open life in such a traditional society.”

Even Billfredo was amazed to see the increase in Internet traffic. “It’s nice to think that someone somewhere is enjoying my scribblings on life here in Turkey. The biggest readers out there are probably the expat community who like the feeling that they’re not alone in their experiences, loves and gripes. Others would be people who’ve visited Turkey and fallen in love yet haven’t made the move. I also get requests from people who are thinking about a holiday and want to know about a particular aspect of Turkish life (especially hamams and cut-throat shaves, it seems).”

He wryly concluded, “I sometimes check through the keywords that people have typed into Google before ending up on my blog. There are some rather unusual fetishes out there.”

Benefits of social networking 

Social networking in Turkey has grown exponentially in the last five years. Twitter and Facebook are often linked to blogs for an even more instant exchange between the blogger and their public. Karen has her own ideas about this. “I use Facebook and Twitter to cross post my site so it reaches people who maybe wouldn’t find it via search engines or by knowing me. They are useful tools in that regard.”

Jack’s view is that, “Facebook and Twitter are social networking sites with ambitions to take over the world! My aspirations are somewhat more limited. I use both Facebook and Twitter to publicize my blog by syndicating my posts and this has worked well to raise my profile and increase traffic.”

Ayak uses Facebook, “Which I think is entirely different to blogging. My daughter talked me into using Facebook or I wouldn´t have bothered, but it is useful for catching up with friends and family, and seeing their latest photos. I registered with Twitter some time ago but I´ve never used it. I don´t see the point in it. Well that´s not completely true... I really don´t understand it.”

Julia and Barry remarked, “We have over 1,400 people on our Facebook page and over 1,800 followers on Twitter. We use them all as well as other social networking sites. Our Facebook page is really active. We keep it light and for the most part, people respond to that. We post the odd question to keep it interactive and post useful links to other sites and a link up to our own blog posts. It’s another way for people to comment on the blog post because a lot of people aren’t sure how to comment on blogs. Twitter has a different personality to Facebook.”

Billfredo said, “I use Facebook frequently and there’s an “Arse About Fez” group for anything and everything that doesn’t really warrant a post on the blog. I also tried Tweeting but I didn’t have the stamina. I was toying with the idea of creating a social networking site for half Turks/half Brits called Fezbook, but it didn’t really catch on.”

What the future holds

Ayak wants to continue with her blog: “In the same way as I have since I started it. I´m happy with it so I don´t see any point in changing it.”

Turkeysforlife’s creators said: “At the moment, it’s an all-consuming hobby. We both love doing it and people are reading it. We take a lot of pride in it, both for us and for those who take time out of their day to visit. The great thing about a blog is that it is so fluid and it continues to grow over the years – if you keep up with it! I suppose, eventually, our blog will naturally build into a Turkey resource that people can browse.”

Billfredo relished a different approach. “I’ve already had an article about kissing Turkish-style translated into Russian and published in a magazine in Moscow. My article on the subject of lemon cologne and its uses was translated and published in a Turkish travel magazine. Not being completely fluent in Russian or Turkish, it’s hard to know how well the jokes translated. I’m also toying with the idea of a novel/film based on my life as a teacher here in İzmir. If George Clooney can gain sufficient weight, shave his armpits and nail the gormless look, we should be good to go.”

For Karen her life was about to change along with her blog. “Well I was about to move house and country! But the sale of my house has just fallen through – if ever I felt like writing a vilifying blog post it is now! But I won’t.” 

She had built her site offline to reflect this and was going to carry on blogging about her move and new home. “The intention was that once I moved I would just upload the new format to replace the old. As the sale has fallen through I’ll carry on as I am until the house does sell and when it does the new format is ready and waiting. Either way I’ll keep blogging because I like it.”

A positive take on Turkey and the culture is an essential part of the bloggers’ identity. Billfredo admitted that, “Any negative remarks I make are about the British culture. I feel I have more of a right to do that.” But he continues by reflecting the respect they all have for their host country. “Who am I, living in Turkey for only five years, to start ridiculing this culture? I’m English to the core and self-deprecation is our national pastime.”

As for Jack, he summed up the whole business of blogs: “I don’t know how long it will continue. I don’t want to flog the blog to death like a sad sitcom well past its sell-by date. Maybe I will just tire of it or maybe my ratings will drop to a point where I really am just talking to myself. İnşallah.”

The Blogs

Being Koy at www.kirazlivillage.com/wordpress

Turkeys for Life at turkeysforlife.blogspot.com

Arse About Fez at arseaboutfez.blogspot.com or www.arseaboutfez.com

Turkish Delight at ayak-turkishdelight.blogspot.com.

Perking the pansies at perkingthepansies.com

Bloggers upset with ban

The ban by a Turkish court of the Google website Blogger has made it impossible for Internet users in Turkey to access some of the most popular English-language blogs, whether they originate in Turkey or elsewhere in the world. Billyfredo has a keen band of followers for his blog “arseaboutfez”; a frequently amusing and pertinent blend of observation and comment from his hometown of İzmir.

“They need to cut this off at the source; not throw the baby out with the bathwater. It is like saying that Google search is a pornographer just because some people use it for that.” He explained where the people that view his blog come from. “Readers of my blog are split pretty evenly between Turkey and the United Kingdom. This means that I have potentially lost half my readers. My response to this is one of frustration, anger and disbelief; well perhaps I do believe it. The wholesale banning of websites is paranoid and futile. Anyone can get round it if they want.”

“If it is live football being streamed through a blog – and some doubt this is possible – there are millions of bloggers out there. Does this mean that all breaches of copyright are going to be treated this way?” he asked. “If one stall is selling fake Addidas or fake DVDs, does it mean the whole market or town has to be closed down? Turkey has always been seen as very ambivalent about copyright infringement but the authorities are coming down very hard now that a Turkish company is being hit.”

Routing around blockages

A Turkish court blocked access to Blogger for Turkish Internet users roughly two weeks ago, causing consternation and bewilderment among many.

A court in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır restricted some access to Google’s Blogger site after Turkish TV giant Digiturk complained that some bloggers were airing pay-per-view football content for free on their sites.

For bloggers and Internet users in general, it is difficult to understand the mysteries of the World Wide Web and why a hammer has apparently been used to crack a nut.

Sam Michel, the chief executive officer of the London-based digital media company Chinwag and an acclaimed IT expert, explained the problem in layman’s terms.

“Each country has its own view and laws on what constitutes illegal content and whether or not it´s legal to link to it. Companies looking to protect their rights are faced with two stark choices. Either they hunt for individual mentions of these links and ask web hosts, forums or blogging tools to remove them or face legal action. The alternative is to block an entire service affecting thousands of users, like Blogger. The latter isn´t going to go down well with regular users of the service,” Michel said. “Either way, there are always ways round any blocks if a user wants to get to the content badly enough. Utilizing VPNs, the technology companies use to secure connections between offices and remote employees, individual users can literally tunnel through firewalls and reach external content. The Internet was originally designed to survive a nuclear attack and its open structure means there are numerous ways to route around blockages.”

Would they have been bloggers?

Historically, poets, writers, enthusiastic diarists and travelers have provided a window on another world but now blogging has become a way of seeing what it is like to experience another culture, not just by looking through a different window, but through another pair of eyes.

If they were alive today, would Lord Byron, who wrote quite scandalously about his experiences in Ottoman Turkey, or Freya Stark, whose books about the region inspired other writers and travelers, have been bloggers?

While pens and papers were their tools, their writing styles were immediate and energized. Byron journeyed through Portugal, Greece, Albania, Turkey, Switzerland and Italy. His flamboyant personal life was famous in his time and made him a cult of celebrity. Lord Byron’s journals, poems and books were shocking for his early 19th-century readers.

Even today his love affairs, with women and boys, and his swim across the Bosphorus would surely make for a successful, if outrageous blog.

Freya Stark was also a remarkable woman traveler. In her many books, letters and journals, she painted a vibrant picture of the many places she visited.