Merhaba! Hiya, hope all is well at your end :) I am well and enjoying my time here more and more each day. Time is flying past, as i walk the streets with a broad smile, map in one hand & kebap in the other. Since my arrival to the mental metropolis of Istanbul a month ago, I have been overwhelmed by the combined familiarity & uniqueness that Turkey has had to offer. On one hand, the diverse landscapes have provided me with an enormous playground, on the other…it has just seemed like a typical Sat arvo market trip to Sydney Rd (for non Melbournites: this is our local Turkish village). The friendly Turks have welcomed me with their broad smiles & shining eyes - matching their dark hair & faces marked by the sun’s harshness. Other locals, suprisingly, are fair haired, pale and meeting my glance with big blue-eyes. Mostly, however, they just look like Dad with a moustache. Since my arrival, much of my time has been taken up exploring the wonders of this Euro-Asian treasure, and poking around its various regions..taking the time to chill out and 'settle' in these parts. Apart from sleeping in & reading some crappy novels, I have had the pleasure of hang-gliding over the Mediterranean, trekking part of the historical trail of The Lycian Way, sleeping in a cave house and exploring the vast geographical wonders that just happen to have been lying about for the few bazillion years. Oh, and I've visited a mosque, or two ☺ Unfortunately, however, it’s crunch time – I’ve begun leading tours again.. Confident that I would jump straight back into it, I had been somewhat reluctant to spend my time studying at first, and preferred to spend my time leisurely. This was fine of, course, until a few weeks in I realized that I have a shitload of information to harvest!! In time, I have no doubt that I will become a valuable resource of local knowledge for my passengers, but for now, I just want to appear to know what I'm talking about – and that I have known what I'm talking about for quite some time! Never void of a story to tell - I have incurred some hiccups in my scholarly efforts so far. For starters, Australian history is quite uneventful in comparison to the big kids and their adventures on this part of the globe. Anything worth knowing – and indeed, anything I know about Australian history – can be (and has been) summed up on an A3-sized Year 8 history project. Secondly, my acquaintance with Malaysia was pretty easy. The country just turned 50. One of the federated states was Singapore, but now it isn’t. The Brits were kind enough to leave behind some pretty buildings & a decent legal system, but there involvement otherwise is debatable. The Dutch & Portugese merchants established great trade. And the Chinese (bless them) pimp the pork. Easy. Turkey however, has seen quite a bit of action - and I am both excited and overwhelmed by it all: The Romans, The Greeks, The Hittites, Dark Age, Bronze Age, baklava. Ideally, I would have a pool of references to immerse myself in, but alas, life on the road doesn’t permit such luxuries; so a map from the tourist bureau, Wikipedia and Google it is. This is what I have learnt so far: - Forty-five million turkeys are eaten each Thanksgiving; - Turkeys’ heads change colors when they become excited; - A turkey's brain is about the size of a walnut and it is said to have fewer brain cells than a cockroach. Hmmm. It appears that the solitary life of Internet cafes and hotel rooms has not satisfied my scholarly needs. I really can get easily distracted, what with all the fabulous sights & sounds. So, in addition to the boring hours in front of the laptop, I have taken to the streets to make my own discoveries. Not only will I be able to dazzle my future passengers with my historical understanding of this colourful country, but I will also be able to share first-hand knowledge of the customs and cultures within. This is what I have learnt so far: Pt2 1) In Turkey, staring is not considered to be rude, but asking “what the fuck are you staring at?” is apparently frowned upon; 2) A stranger will offer to drink tea with you at least 70 times a day. With or without a carpet salesman, 10-20 cups of tea will be consumed before you hit the pillow; 3) 93% of daily conversations will echo these words: (SCBMHG – sometimes creepy, but mostly harmless guy; ME – well, me) SCBMHG – Ola! (Apparently I'm Spanish in these parts) ME – (smile & continue walking) SCBMHG – OLLLLLAAAAAA! ME – Ola – (accompanied by a small grin) SCBMHG – How are you? ME – ben iyeyim, teshekkular (I'm fine, thanks) SCBMHG – oh – you speak Turkish?! ME – a little, I'm learning (modest tilt of the head) SCBMHG – where are you from? ME – I'm Australian SCBMHG – Australian? ME – yes, Australian SCBMHG – Australian?! Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi! ME: please don’t do that SCBMHG: Australian?! ME: yes. Australian SCBMHG : are you married? ME: married? No, im not married. SCBMHG: OK drink some tea with me please 4) 6% of conversations will involve the selling of carpets; 5) The only way to avoid conversation relating to marital status (or virtue) is to invent a husband. Failing this (some men are not discouraged)…mention that your husband is Greek.; 6) 10-20 cups of tea per day will ultimately result in numerous bathroom stops; 7) 1% of conversations will echo the words “excuse me, could you please tell me where the nearest toilet is? At the risk of playing favourites because it’s the last place ive been – Turkey is seriously bloody fabulous. Sure the people are friendly. The food is fabulous & there’s plenty of it. And yes, the natural wonders are phenomenal. But what gives appeals to me the most are the little things… • Trips last more than a few hours on a coach will have a waiter on them. So, if you are so inclined between naps & reading trashy mags, tea/coffee/water/juice will be brought to you by a well mannered, uniformed young man, accompanied by a yummy packaged cake. • Apart from the usual domestic animals and those ready for slaughter, it is common enough in Central Anatolia to come a cross a big, furry, humped dromedary. For those of you unfamiliar, It’s basically a camel, but a Turkish version – darker & hairier. Hehehe. I can’t pass one of these things without going into hysterics! Seriously, some animals are just too funny. • Old ladies and men selling pigeon food outside mosques, and in marketplaces. Enough said. • The lovely suprise of wandering through a city street and seeing a tortoise walking along. Brilliant. • Getting sunburnt in an instant, then rugging up in a jacket & scarf that same day. • Disappointing each Turk I meet when disclosing that im not Spanish. Or Turkish. Oooh – exotic. • Being offered an ‘evil eye’ pendant by people throughout the day • Frequent molestation by random grandma’s who think nothing of jovially patting/rubbing/slapping my face and chatting away. Friendly, but ouch! I have added some pics – and have a few different ones existing on my Facebook profile (more locals, and some food pics) Check them out ☺ Hoping that you are well. Mwaaaaaaaa xox rose
