Reflections on Turkey

It was especially nice to be in a city welcoming of tourists and to not feel awkward wandering around with a huge pack on. In Albania if you’re walking around with a travel pack, people usually stare or say rude things making you feel super self-conscious. It was nice to not feel so ostracized and to just fit in with the loads of foreigners there. I forget what it feels like to be normal…or at least not to stand out so much.
It was interesting being in Istanbul and seeing the parts of Turkish culture that are still prevalent in Albanian culture…and also to realize the huge differences. Some of the vocabulary is similar. Beyond that, some of the mannerisms and body language are also similar. Certainly in the bazaars it was easy to see the Turkish influence on Albanian haggling and bargaining and the aggressiveness of the sellers sometimes. In Turkey, as in Albania, there’s usually a person out in front of the shop/bazaar stall that tries to charm the customers walking by [such slogans as “oh I have missed you long time,” or “hello beautiful girl, where are you from?...”]. It’s almost a competition to see who can be the most charming…in the abrasive sense, of course. They also love yelling prices at you or picking up and showing you everything that you have no interest in.
It was extremely interesting to me that while Turkey would seem to be more conservative…there are at least more people openly practicing Islam…it was socially more liberal. What I mean is this. In Albania, while the country is technically around 80% Muslim, the majority of these people are only culturally so and do not practice the religion. You would think that if they have lost the ties to the religious aspect of Islam, their social standards would also be somewhat different. However, the social code is very conservative…women work at home and stay at home most of the time. The men frequent the bars and go to the cafes and play dominoes. Even if couples are married, they rarely go out together and VERY rarely display public affection. In Istanbul, it was the opposite [not to say that the rest of Turkey is like this…I imagine they would be more conservative not being in such a major metropolitan area]. There were certainly more women covered in long dresses and head scarves practicing Islam…but they would be walking down the street holding hands with their boyfriends or out to dinner or something. It was just SO nice to be back in mixed-gender company and not be the only woman out after 8 pm! It was nice not to be so special for once [I’ll probably get back to America and wonder why I don’t get all the attention any more ;) ]
Lastly, I realized after being in the Peace Corps for a few months, my standards for hostels have gone down the crapper. Pretty much anything seems nice to me! After sleeping on numerous questionable surfaces…visiting Albanians, sleeping over at other PCVs houses, using wool blankets that looked about 100 years old and hadn’t been washed for maybe that long, etc…where sometimes I’d be lucky to have a blanket, pillow, or sleeping surface besides a floor, anything is an upgrade from that! I realized my perceptions had changed when a friend I made came to meet me at my hostel and commented that his was so much better! Oh man! …I thought I was at the 4 Seasons! Sharing a room with 8 people where I actually got my own bed, blanket, and pillow! …and there was running water and electricity all night! ….what can I say, I guess my standards have changed :)