"Türkçe bilmiyorum" and other observations

If you tell someone, whether it be your old cranky neighbor, a shop assistant, or some guy in the street, "Türkçe bilmiyorum," which means "I don't know Turkish," they automatically assume that you must be lying since you knew enough Turkish to say "I dont know Turkish" in Turkish.

I guess I am lying a little bit. I definitely do know enough Turkish to get by and enough to have a conversation with them. But, for instance, last year I didn't know enough and people still said the same thing.

They can't seem to grasp that foreigners might just memorize a few phrases to throw out here and there when necessary.

Also, I have had numerous people argue with me when I say "Türkçe bilmiyorum." "Bilmiyorsan abla?" (You don't speak Turkish sister?) Maybe it's because I look Turkish. Maybe it's because I seem to be the #1 person to ask for directions in every neighborhood. Maybe it's because even though Istanbul is billed as a "cosmopolitan" city, it's really not..

I have recently started to answer their questions. Give them directions. But they either get frustrated and walk away or find their "friend who speaks English" (aka he knows like 5 sentences) to translate.

Other observations:

It has suddenly become summer. It will take a while to get used to the lack of air conditioning pretty much everywhere and sweating non-stop again.

2. Guess what the current favorite game of the neighborhood kids is? Kick the soccer ball at: a) cars b) satellite dishes c) window grills or d) all of the above. You guessed it, D. Ooh, they just hit my window grill. Twice.

3. I had some other observations but I forgot them...

I'll post the next set of pictures this weekend.

mayhem on May Day

As all access to Taksim (5 minutes from where I live and a main transport hub on the European side of Istanbul) was basically forbidden or blocked off by tanks and cops with machine guns, I chose to take a different route to work and luckily everything went very smoothly. The roads were empty and it's quite possible I made it to work in record time.

However, not everyone was as lucky. There were about 200 policemen at the end of my street in riot gear and 1 tank. Early in the morning, I read reports of people throwing Molotov cocktails and bricks. Newspapers reported that over 1000 people were arrested or detained.

A bunch of teachers got caught in the tear gas/water cannon cross fire. Two teachers even had tear gas in their apartment!

Workers' unions had had plans to march to Taksim and protest there, but this was banned by the government. Eventually they abandoned their efforts and things calmed down.

May 1 is a holiday in most of Europe, but not Turkey. It seems that the government went through extraordinary measures in attempts to control the places people could access yesterday and how they could access them. Wouldn't it have been better had the allowed a peaceful march and provided security for that instead of encouraging people to hate the police more than they already do? (In Turkey, being a police officer is not seen as a good career. When I tell people my sister wants to be a police officer the first thing they ask is why.)

It seems the ruling AKP tried to use May 1 to exert their power (or lack thereof). There is currently a case pending in the Constitutional Court which aims to outlaw the AKP for being "anti-secular."

One union leader expressed his worry that the AKP is only concerned about one freedom - that of allowing girls wearing the türban (a style of headscarf) to attend university. While I am also concerned about that freedom, I'm also concerned about democracy and the right of people to peacefully march and protest, especially on a day like May 1. Not to mention, the connection between many recent events and the "Deep State." (more to come on this later)

Anyway, tomorrow my mom is arriving and we are heading out to Cappadocia on Monday and then the Aegean coast. I'll be back next weekend.

Until then...

My street

There is always a flurry of activity on my street. It's quite an interesting street. From what I hear, it used to be where the transvestite population of Istanbul lived. However, now, much of them have moved on to different neighborhoods, but a few stragglers still remain.

It's quite a diverse street for Istanbul standards. As far as I can tell we have Turks (of course), a good deal of Kurds, a few Americans, and maybe some French or Italians.

One thing that I really love about Istanbul is that people are constantly selling stuff on the streets. Not in an annoying way, but in a way that actually makes sense (for the most part).

Things that are sold on my street:

1. Simit - This is the Turkish snack standard. Kind of like a sesame bagel but without so much bread inside. There is a guy who walks down the street every morning screaming about his hot, fresh simit that was made in a stone oven.

2. Fruits and vegetables - Another neighborhood standard. Every day around 3pm, 2 guys with a pickup truck full of fruits and vegetables comes to the neighborhood. They walk up and down the street yelling about what they have and how much it costs. The housewives then buy the fruit by yelling their orders out the window, lowering the baskets down to collect the produce, pulling them back up, and sending them down with the money. Pretty convenient!

3. Boza - Boza is a winter drink made from fermented wheat. I haven't tried it, but I'm certain I won't like it. There is a bozaci who roams the streets at night wearing an excellent costume with 2 golden pots hanging from his shoulders. I want to buy some just so I can take his picture.

4. Socks - Occasionally a guy comes around and sells socks. Bay! Bayan! (Men! Women!)

5. Blankets - There is a blanket van. They have a megaphone-type set up and they yell about their blankets. Wool, cotton, 15 ytl. Again, very convenient.

6. The guys who buy old stuff/scrap metal - There are a few guys who prowl the 'hood looking to buy your old stuff (apparently they will take anything) or your scrap metal (should you hoard it in your house). They have very distinctive voices and use them to make their presence known.

7. The accordion guy - While he is not actually selling stuff and I only saw him today for the first time, he is quite excellent. I really should charge my camera battery. He was walking with his toddler-aged son and wearing neon pink fingerless gloves and playing the accordion.

8. The belt seller - Should you have a desperate need to guy a belt (Bay! Bayan!), don't worry. He comes around about once or twice a week to fulfill your belt needs.

I guess that's it. I'm sure I'll think of more or I'll hear a new one later.