Merhaba! This is the first (and hopefully not the last) word I have learned
so far in this new and exciting experience in Turkey. I left Rome on Saturday
afternoon and took a short and surprisingly relaxing flight to Ankara. Once I
got in, I hailed a cab and went to the Niza Park Hotel, watching the incredible
amount of lights which illuminated the trees as we drove down the street. There
were so many that it almost felt like being at home during Christmas time. And
so arose my first thought in this beautiful country, as trivial as it was:
Turkish people must really people love lights.
During the first four days in Ankara I walked around the city and tried
to learn some basic Turkish, which was a complete disaster, or as we say in
Italian, "una Caporetto!" The Turkish language is by far the hardest
obstacle I have met in some time but luckily through body language and a sense
of humor I have been able to make up for my complete lack of linguistic
knowledge.
The second impression I had about Turkey was how friendly and warm the local
people have been to me. The hospitality and courtesy again reminded me of home,
specifically Southern Italy and its lovely people. I would argue that this
immense hospitality must somehow be related to the Mediterranean culture
because I experienced something similar during my trips to Greece and Spain.
Food, too, is another common element that seems to connect these Mediterranean
societies. Delicious meat and fresh vegetables definitively represent the
cornerstone of Southern European cuisine and Turkey deserves its place within
this category. Other great culinary surprises were the flavorful fruits and
desserts, especially since the only Turkish dish I knew before coming here was
the stereotypical “kebab”.
The last thing I have realized in the few days I have been here is just
how little knew about Turkey before coming. Like many I viewed it as a society
pervaded by strong religious practices and traditions. I was aware of Ataturk
and his reforms but was unaware of the extent to which they impacted the
country and its people. Walking along the bustling streets of Ankara you hear
both traditional Turkish music and contemporary American music booming from car
stereos and store fronts. You see women with veils walking arm in arm with
women dressed in the latest Western fashions. You can hear daily prayers coming
from university mosques and see students dancing until 2am, just like any
college town in the US. These unique peaceful contradictions between tradition and
modernity are proof that in order to fully understand Turkey and its role as a
bridge between the so called West and East, the country must not only be
explored or examined, but lived in, so here I go.
