What is life like in Selcuk, Turkey? I decided to take Saturday and just do community things instead of going out to see more of the sites.
My morning began with a very traditional Turkish breakfast, fresh bread, cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, orange slices, a hard boiled egg, and coffee.
The neighbourhood here is very quiet even though it's only a block off the main road. The local bread shop/ grocery store is two doors away, run by a couple of ladies, probably mother and daughter. Laundry is often hung out in the evening to dry during the night and is taken down in the morning. I looked down the street and could see a man sweeping with something that looked like a large search of twigs.
The local Turkish people tend to keep to themselves, unless they are involved in tourism. I can smile at them but they don't smile back....yet! I've found that in many of my travels. It takes time to build relationships.
There is no local newspaper here so a woman's voice (surprising because it's such a patriarchal society) makes announcements over a loud speaker a couple of times a day; who died, deadline for taxes, special celebrations, etc. Five times a day there is also a call to prayer over other loudspeakers situated at the mosques throughout the city. It may be noisy occasionally, but definitely interesting and an easy part of the culture to accept once I'd been here a couple of days.
Transportation is varied, from cars to motorcycles to mopeds to bicycles. There is even a couple of tractors on my street.
People's dress is varied too. Many of the older women wear traditional clothing; colourful ballooned pants, blouse and sweater, and head scarf. Men often have a cap of some sort on, like a wolf sailer style or a knitted skull cap.
Younger people are mostly in western dress with no head covering. I think it's a personal choice now as many younger people have moved away from the traditional Muslim culture, which makes it easier for tourists to blend in. The only time I will need a head covering is if I go into a mosque. Otherwise, I keep my shoulders and knees covered, mainly to show respect in a conservative culture. When in Rome!....
There are very few women wearing the black burkas so the ones that do definitely stand out. I actually saw a couple of women making a "fashion statement" with their burkas, beautiful turquoises and bright fushia outfits in the market. Change is coming!
I am not going to talk about politics too much other than what I have heard so far is very interesting. I will say that some people believe that the country's current leader is not what he appeared to be when he took power a few years ago and the younger people are realizing that.
There are at least two groups of people in the traditional Turkish cultures. The other large group are the Kurdish people. Many of them hold sales positions because they are darned good at selling. I think some of them are taught the fine art of sales before they can walk! The Kurdish people are similar to many of the indigenous people in Canada and have dealt with many struggles over the centuries from what I understand.
Drinking coffee and tea and sharing food with others is a big part of the culture. Each neighbourhood has their favourite tea man, who delivers on demand. More men than women it seems participate in this ongoing ritual that can happen many times a day. I very seldom see women sitting in the sidewalk cafes and if they are they are well removed from the men. The men will be together for noon meals but there are no women in site. Before or after a meal older men tend to spend time playing tiles, which similar to dominoes.
As I mentioned, call to prayer is 5 times a day. At that time many of the men (a few women) attend the mosque. Friday around 1:30 is the big weekly prayer, so people who have been too busy the rest of the week try to attend then. Often they have to bring in extra carpets because the mosque is full and they have to set up prayer stations outside.
I went out to the local market today, held every Saturday. Everything you can imagine is available here. In this part of Turkey they are well known for cotton. The main employers are garment factories supplying much of the world with good cotton clothing and jeans. They also do the high end labels. The one thing I don't notice here is the real poverty. On the most part people appear well and not needing to beg for money and food.
One of the things that wasn't present at the market, especially around the food area was flies. It is such a clean area that I don't think flies stand a chance!
A few other things I've discovered here? It's a good idea in the older buildings to drink bottled water as the pipes are very old. Also, the old sewer pipes can get plugged up easily so they ask that people dispose of paper products in the waste basket. Also electricity is getting more expensive so our hotel has an automatic shut off when the electronic key is pulled out.
Crossing a road is a challenge! Even though Selcuk has marked crosswalks, that doesn't mean cars stop. I DO NOT cross when there is any sign of traffic.... because if there is you can be assured the car will speed up. They aren't trying to run the tourists over, this happens with everyone!
But standing on the corner allows me the opportunity to watch the storks feeding their babies. There seems to be at least one nest on every corner to keep people entertained!
The evening meal came straight from the market. It was almost the end of the season for artichokes but we were lucky enough to order a feast of them. They were prepared in a way I've never experienced them and were exceptionally good!
After a full day it's back to the hotel to finish off the evening with a glass of wine and yogurt, strawberries and pine honey!
The neighbourhood here is very quiet even though it's only a block off the main road. The local bread shop/ grocery store is two doors away, run by a couple of ladies, probably mother and daughter. Laundry is often hung out in the evening to dry during the night and is taken down in the morning. I looked down the street and could see a man sweeping with something that looked like a large search of twigs.
The local Turkish people tend to keep to themselves, unless they are involved in tourism. I can smile at them but they don't smile back....yet! I've found that in many of my travels. It takes time to build relationships.
There is no local newspaper here so a woman's voice (surprising because it's such a patriarchal society) makes announcements over a loud speaker a couple of times a day; who died, deadline for taxes, special celebrations, etc. Five times a day there is also a call to prayer over other loudspeakers situated at the mosques throughout the city. It may be noisy occasionally, but definitely interesting and an easy part of the culture to accept once I'd been here a couple of days.
Transportation is varied, from cars to motorcycles to mopeds to bicycles. There is even a couple of tractors on my street.
People's dress is varied too. Many of the older women wear traditional clothing; colourful ballooned pants, blouse and sweater, and head scarf. Men often have a cap of some sort on, like a wolf sailer style or a knitted skull cap.
Younger people are mostly in western dress with no head covering. I think it's a personal choice now as many younger people have moved away from the traditional Muslim culture, which makes it easier for tourists to blend in. The only time I will need a head covering is if I go into a mosque. Otherwise, I keep my shoulders and knees covered, mainly to show respect in a conservative culture. When in Rome!....
There are very few women wearing the black burkas so the ones that do definitely stand out. I actually saw a couple of women making a "fashion statement" with their burkas, beautiful turquoises and bright fushia outfits in the market. Change is coming!
I am not going to talk about politics too much other than what I have heard so far is very interesting. I will say that some people believe that the country's current leader is not what he appeared to be when he took power a few years ago and the younger people are realizing that.
There are at least two groups of people in the traditional Turkish cultures. The other large group are the Kurdish people. Many of them hold sales positions because they are darned good at selling. I think some of them are taught the fine art of sales before they can walk! The Kurdish people are similar to many of the indigenous people in Canada and have dealt with many struggles over the centuries from what I understand.
Drinking coffee and tea and sharing food with others is a big part of the culture. Each neighbourhood has their favourite tea man, who delivers on demand. More men than women it seems participate in this ongoing ritual that can happen many times a day. I very seldom see women sitting in the sidewalk cafes and if they are they are well removed from the men. The men will be together for noon meals but there are no women in site. Before or after a meal older men tend to spend time playing tiles, which similar to dominoes.
As I mentioned, call to prayer is 5 times a day. At that time many of the men (a few women) attend the mosque. Friday around 1:30 is the big weekly prayer, so people who have been too busy the rest of the week try to attend then. Often they have to bring in extra carpets because the mosque is full and they have to set up prayer stations outside.
One of the things that wasn't present at the market, especially around the food area was flies. It is such a clean area that I don't think flies stand a chance!
A few other things I've discovered here? It's a good idea in the older buildings to drink bottled water as the pipes are very old. Also, the old sewer pipes can get plugged up easily so they ask that people dispose of paper products in the waste basket. Also electricity is getting more expensive so our hotel has an automatic shut off when the electronic key is pulled out.
Crossing a road is a challenge! Even though Selcuk has marked crosswalks, that doesn't mean cars stop. I DO NOT cross when there is any sign of traffic.... because if there is you can be assured the car will speed up. They aren't trying to run the tourists over, this happens with everyone!
But standing on the corner allows me the opportunity to watch the storks feeding their babies. There seems to be at least one nest on every corner to keep people entertained!
The evening meal came straight from the market. It was almost the end of the season for artichokes but we were lucky enough to order a feast of them. They were prepared in a way I've never experienced them and were exceptionally good!
After a full day it's back to the hotel to finish off the evening with a glass of wine and yogurt, strawberries and pine honey!
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