Culture
They call the Azan here, but after a few days, you don't really notice it much. The first day or two that I was here it woke me up (it sounds at like 5:30am) but after that, I don't hear it much unless I'm out of the house, in the office, or near an open window. It's interesting how it's the same words, but it sounds different each time.
People are very friendly, especially towards kids. We went to a restaurant for Turkish breakfast, and the waitress gave them free chocolate. Older women (and men, though somewhat less) frequently often stop and talk to the boys. We also had a younger lady stop and give them oranges. The other day, an older couple offered to let Caedmon sit with them on the bus, then proceeded to give him candy and pretzels. This week, a delivery guy gave the kids rides on his scooter then bought them each a chocolate bar. I was not prepared for how much they love children here, but I really enjoy the different mentality.
People tend to dress more conservatively here. Longer jackets are common, about 1/3 - 1/2 of the women tend to wear shawls. Probably less than 1/5 of them wear extremely conservative clothing though (black gowns, etc). They dress very trendily, but it is rare to see a woman wearing short sleeves or anything with a V-cut. But who knows, maybe the summer will reveal different atire. Once the weather got below 65, I literally saw people with winter coats, hats, ear muffs, scarves, and boots on.
Out and About
Traffic is absolutely insane. I would not drive here if you gave me a free car and a thousand dollars cash. We get around by bus, tram, and ferry mostly, though Nate occasionally takes a taxi as well. Both the buses and ferries use the Istanbulkart, which is pretty much a card you load up with lira and swipe it to enter. It's a pretty inexpensive and efficient way of getting around. I love how every means of public transportation accepts it - even the old style trams on Istiklal! The sidewalks, when they are present, aren't big and are often cobblestone. Pedestrian crosswalks, even lit ones, are typically more of a suggestion than law, so you really have to watch out. Trying to cross busy intersections can be interesting, but I've learned to go when there is a gap, even a small one, and go fast.
There is a totally different concept of pets and animals here. On almost every block, or every third block at the very least, there is some sort of "stray" cat or dog that pretty much permanently resides there. They sleep on the sidewalks, on doorsteps, or on boxes or mats set out for them by locals, and get water and scraps from the residents. They have their own territories, and coexist (albeit usually with minimal interaction) with the people in that neighborhood. I've never really seen them bark, nip, or otherwise have a bad reaction with people (though they may with other animals entering their territory). They are almost like neighborhood pets. I've ready up on it a bit since I go here, and apparently the city periodically tags, vaccinates, and fixes them (as evidenced by the fact that almost all of the dogs have a tiny white plastic tag in their ear). They've been a part of Istanbul for generations, though there's a bit of a stir over them now. Apparently the city would rather have them off the streets but the people here love them. That's not to say they don't enjoy traditional pets either. We got a puppy while we were here, and I have never seen so many people stop and swoon over a baby animal before!
Toilets are the other big adjustment. I fortunately have not had to use many public toilets as of yet, but wow... Let's just say that in some places (like the ferry), you have "squat toilets" rather than actual toilets, and some don't flush, they literally have a little spigot of running water and a cup, and you "flush" it yourself. Not prepared for that. We have an actual toilet in our apartment, I think what you get depends highly on the establishment and location. Example: ferry = nastiest toilet I have ever seen; Starbucks = normal toilet, protected by a keypad (you literally had to enter the pin to access the toilets), lol.
Shopping
Stores are typically very decompartmentalized here. There are small stores that only sell cheese, meet, cleaning products, wires, bread, paper, light bulbs, drinks and snacks, fruit/vegetables, etc., but it is far less common to just see a "grocery store," at least in the way that Americans typically think of them. That said, I usually shop at those bigger stores like Migros, Namli, and Carrefour. It's just easier with the boys.
I've bought trinkets from the markets in Ortaköy, and did some touristy shopping in the Sultanahmet area. I didn't even try at the Grand Bazaar. It was all SO busy, like a constant swarm of people. I've heard almost everything is cheaper on the Asian side, and that Kadaköy is a nice place to go shop for clothes and the like. I haven't gotten a chance to do much there yet, but it's on my list of "to do's".
Food is cheaper here than I'm used to. Meat is about average, but fruits and vegetables are insanely cheap. Apples are about 2TL per kilo, and strawberries, in season, are about 3,50TL. Toys are a bit more expnesive and harder to find, as is technology. I kind of like it that way though: the necessities are affordable, the comforts are a little more expensive.
Food & Drink
Bread, pastries, and other delicious baked good are easily obtained from one of the dozens of bakeries that line the streets, or from the local grocery store. We've discovered that they have some sinfully delicious chocolate pastries that I've come to love even more than the delicious chocolate croissants we often had in Germany. These mimic them, but with chewier, more bread-like dough, and MUCH more chocolate inside them. Fortunately, we walk everywhere, otherwise these alone would probably be my undoing.
On a similar note, there are dozens if not hundreds of cheap chocolate candies sold in the store here. It's kind of like Germany. There are so many in fact that I'm going to dedicate a post just to it. :-)
Çay is the drink of choice here. We don't have a coffee pot in our apartment, and while you can buy one (or stick to instant), its far less common than tea. Tea comes in special parabola shaped glass cups, served on saucers with tiny little spoon, and often accompanied with a cube or two of sugar. It's strong tea though, made straight from the leaves, not from tea bags. They call Lipton "yellow tea" (or worse). Fortunately there are also not one but two Starbucks in the square.
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| Ortaköy Waffles |
In Ortaköy, there are local foods sold, particularly these massive baked potatoes, which are loaded up with just about everything you can imagine, and waffles, which are also topped with just about anything you can think of. Both are expensive and mostly there for tourist appeal, but its rare to visit the square and not see at least a dozen people eating a potato. There are also little shops selling phyllo dough "sandwiches." Ours had cheese, ground beef, and spinach, and was pretty delicious.
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| Pide with sucuk |
Another tasty treat that we have (too) often is pide. It's a chewy flat bread (almost the taste of a good French bread but flat and with the chewy consistency of a fresh bagel or pretzel) covered with cheese and topped with sucuk (a type of sausage) or other items. Sometimes they actually bake things into it rather top it. We've had some with ground meat and cheese, some with just cheese, and some with potato, but the ones in the photo are by far the best. It's like the ultimate pizza bread, but without tomato sauce.
Simit is another tasty bread snack. Imagine a chewy, more bread-like bagel. They're great with cream
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| Turkish Beers |
cheese, and vendors sell them everywhere for only 1TL.
The beer is sold in half liters, like it is in Germany, but usually the bottles are more barrel-shaped, like nothing I'd seen before. It's not hard to find, but runs about 4-4,50TL (so more than you would pay in the US for Miller or Bud, but less than you'd pay for a Germany beer). Some or quite tasty. So far my favorite is the Efes Unfiltered, but I have to say, they still don't live up to Vitus. Wines aren't bad either. I think all of them are pretty much generic (like "white dry wine" instead of Pinot Gregio), but we haven't really found one we dislike yet.
Another drink I've come to love is the Sirma brand schorles. The lemon and pomegranite ones are my absolute favorites.
I may update this more as I experience more, but I'm going to publish for now. :-)
We've visited the Princes' Islands twice so far: once on our own, and once together with my mother-in-law. They're a little farther away, but the ferry ride out is nice - and cheap - and they make for a nice little escape from Istanbul.
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