ask the turkish guy!

[all_i_want]

i just watched the last simpsons episode which starts in homer's garage and somehow ends up in a turkish freight ship. so i thought, hey, maybe its time i started a thread about my own country. i am sure verte will also help me answer some of the questions, and i appreciate that . we could discuss anything about turkey in the thread, so fire away.

 

[U2democrat]

can you explain why there's such a large turkish population in germany?

 

[Irvine511]

why is your food so good?

do you consider yourself Asian or European? something different?

do you think the rest of the Muslim world should follow your example?

just how accurate is "midnight express"?

 

[joyfulgirl]

Why are the massages so brutal?

 

[joyfulgirl]

Could I as a single white urban woman with sexy pants travel safely alone in Turkey?

 

[all_i_want]

after WW2 the german government was accepting immigrant workers from turkey under some kind of deal, in order to help germans rebuild their country, and also create employment for those people. a lot of turkish went there in order to earn money to send back to their families at home, but then most of them stayed in germany and brought their families with them. today there are over 2 million turks in germany. there is also a substantial turkish minority in the region, netherlands, belgium, france, austria. if you'd like to know more on this issue, i would be happy to dig up some additional information on this, and there is a turkish guy from austria just down my hall, i could ask him as well.

 

[Irvine511]

is there a visible gay culture in Turkey?

would i be thrown in jail for kissing a man and getting caught?

 

[U2democrat]

thanks for that answer

i'm going to germany this summer and my german teacher has mentioned the high turkish population and all the great restaurants there.

what's the geography of turkey like?

 

[Irvine511]

thanks for that answer

i'm going to germany this summer and my german teacher has mentioned the high turkish population and all the great restaurants there.

what's the geography of turkey like?

you must get a Doner Kabab in Berlin -- amazing.

and Berlin is an amazing, amazing city.

 

[joyfulgirl]

and Berlin is an amazing, amazing city.

I second that emotion. I was there before the wall fell and didn't want to leave. I'd love to go back--I'd love to see how it's changed.

 

[U2democrat]

i'm so psyched about berlin and europe in general



ok now back to all_i_want's question and answer session

 

[all_i_want]

why is your food so good?

do you consider yourself Asian or European? something different?

do you think the rest of the Muslim world should follow your example?

just how accurate is "midnight express"?

oh the food has to a lot with the spice culture that we sort of inherited from the ottomans. i am abroad right now, and i am going crazy not being able to eat some of those stuff!

the other question is a hard one. because even right now, we are trying to answer that question, as a nation. my take on this is that we are sort of left in the middle. the country is, culturally at least, the inheritor of the ottoman empire, and they were all over the place you know. we have been in substantial interaction with europeans for centuries, and the west has affected us as much as the east has. but especially after the the republic was established, the direction has always been towards the west - secularism, democracy, free markets. in such a mixed culture, it is hard to reconcile some of these, but we are doing our best.

as for being an 'example' for the muslim world.. i believe, ideally, they should. we are trying very to protect the ideals that were set forth for us, 82 years ago, and i do strongly believe in those ideals. but as far practicality goes, i dont think what happened to our country, a revolution on a major scale does not seem to be coming in most of these countries. i dont expect them to become a carbon copy of our system, but i believe others in the muslim world must push forth the ideals we are trying to champion in the ME, take those core beliefs, and change the fate of their countries, their people and their children.

and for the midnight express.. i dont think so. i believe it is more or less rooted in the kind of perception the west, in this case mr stone, has of the orient, than any solid facts. it is a very deliberate attempt to defame a country, and i must say it has succeeded.. admirably. seriously, millions of tourists come here every year and they have been coming for a while, they are treated extremely well here, because as a country turkey has the reputation, if i may say, to be very hospitable towards their guests.

also, a couple words on our prisons.. i think the living conditions in some of our prisons are WAY too good compared to the US, which is kinda of against the whole idea of being in prison, and the other ones are leaning towards a isolationist concept. (right now some prisons are more like military barracks, it just doesnt work, prisoners are too comfortable)

 

[all_i_want]

Why are the massages so brutal?

they wouldnt be as effective if they werent brutal

no really, i dunno. you should ask a massage specialist.

 

[all_i_want]

Could I as a single white urban woman with sexy pants travel safely alone in Turkey?

believe me, youd be as safe as you are in... well, anywhere basicly. common sense is pretty much all you need

Originally posted by irvine511
is there a visible gay culture in Turkey?
would i be thrown in jail for kissing a man and getting caught?

well, there is a certain gay culture but is not as open as it is in europe. personally i am not very qualified on how it works either.. but no, you wouldnt be thrown in jail for kissing a man. so you dont need to fear that you might get caught or anything. of course, if you were famous, youd definitely make headlines, but i think that pretty much happens everywhere.

Originally posted by U2democrat
what's the geography of turkey like?

its between the middle east and europe, a bit of our country is on the european soil and the rest of it is in the area thats called near east, anatolia. the western turkey, which is the more advanced part of the country is very similar any european country you could go to. the eastern part is full of mountain ranges and its rather under developed. for the map:

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/tu.html

wow.. these Q&A's are harder than i expected but ill try to answer as much as i can

 

[U2democrat]

is "all i want is you" your favorite U2 song?

if not, what is?

 

[all_i_want]

is "all i want is you" your favorite U2 song?

if not, what is?

oh i was just listening to that like crazy when i registered, so i couldnt really think of anything better. and my favorites always change depending on my mood.. right now, i am digging AB, so wild horses is in heavy rotation.

but one song i would NEVER give up in U2 catalogue is stay. it is quite personal to me and i think its such a special song.

 

[Shono]

What is your take on the current depiction of Turkish people on '24'?

I know there has been some very negative reactions from the Turkish American community, but I almost feel like leaders within the community feel obligated to stand up to a perceived stereo-type even if they don't believe it is present on '24' specifically.

In reality, without the weight of having to use a "political" response, what are your personal feelings about the way Turkish people are portrayed in media today?

 

[all_i_want]

firstly, i am a huge fan of 24, i never miss an episode. best action on Tv today. and i do think our 'prime minister' in S2 was just hilarious (oh that goatee )

i was a bit concerned when it started off saying 'oh we're getting some weird computer codes from turkey'.. i was thinking.. ok, when did we cross over to cyber terrorism all of a sudden? and we use latin alphabet so it is pretty hard to confuse it with arabic as well.

on the other hand i think the last thing turkey needs is bad publicity. so i was quite concerned.

as this last season progressed it is now quite obvious that it has nothing to do with turkey specifically, and the names of the characters are not turkish either, and they never really talked in turkish all throughout the season. and turkey is not really known for its homegrown internationally known terrorist talents either, except for that guy who shot pope at one time, so i think whats the point of actually including in the plot? it doesnt add any value or credibility to the story. i dunno why they decided to use something like this, but i see it as an unnecessary thing to do.

about the media, i resent the perception they give that turkey is just some other middle eastern country. cause we are pretty different and it is quite easy for foreign media to dismiss any of our actions based on whatever perception they have. most of the time, they dont try to understand the delicacies of such a unique country, cause its a lot easier just to write something negative about it. you cant really know or understand a country until you see it with your own eyes. the media, for the most part, sees it the way they want to see it. and you see us, through their eyes.

i think there is a big failure on our part, for not being able to explain ourselves as much as we should have, and we just dont have the lobbying power armenians or greeks have in the US, so we cant really do a lot politically. but i am very shocked at some of the things that are written on my country by people who have never been here and dont really know whats going on.

actually, that makes me think.. i dont know so much about how we are perceived by some of you guys, and id really be interested to know, what your perception of turkey is, as well.

 

[A_Wanderer]

What is your opinion of the situation over Cyprus?

 

[Shono]

"24" is an AMAZING show, the best on TV by far. I haven’t missed an episode yet. All 4 seasons have been edge of your seat amazing.

Regrettably, as a Canadian with Irish heritage, I expect that my perceptions were incorrectly based around what I see and hear in North American media.

In Canada, the Turkish community has a level of solidarity that perhaps isn't as strong in the US. Most cultural and ethnically diverse communities have a strong representation by all its members. Cultural groups lobby and are heard by most levels of government, and there is a general acceptance of all backgrounds within most communities. Acceptance is different than understanding though. That being said, media/stereo type based perception is still a large hurdle for some Canadians to see beyond. Prejudice is prejudice and like everywhere else, some people have a tough time accepting those things which they know nothing about.

I am glad that I happened upon this post, as it has given me a new perspective.

Thanks.

 

[all_i_want]

What is your opinion of the situation over Cyprus?

i think we were right to go in there in 1974, cause the turkish cypriots were being killed by the fanatics backed by the greek junta at the time. there was a lot of killing going on, on both sides of the island, and meanwhile the greeks were trying to overtake the island as a whole. we moved in and secured the north. it was the right decision to make at the time.

today, i believe these people should be brought back together. a new country in the form of a federation of equals should be setup and cyprus should be united. and last year, in may, actually the turkish side voted FOR the unification, while the greeks voted against it. if the greeks dont want to unify, they should probably stop harrassing the north about it. also, i think it is rather unfair that northern cyprus is still subject to embargos because of a decision that was made by the other party. now, this was a UN crafted plan, no one came up with a better one, and it was rejected. i think it will be a while before cypriots will have any other chance to unite their country.

so, id say, remove the embargos and let the people in the north breathe a bit. they did all they could.

so thats my opinion.

 

[cmb737]

and turkey is not really known for its homegrown internationally known terrorist talents either

Great bit of writing, that...interesting post.

 

[AcrobatMan]

Are there discos in Turkey ?

 

[stray dog]

What is the difference between a turkish bath and a russian bath?

 

[verte76]

Well, it's morning in the States and I just found this thread! I can't say anything that AIW hasn't said. I'll comment on something Turkish I'm very fond of, the food! It's like many other Turkish things, it came out of the cooking that was done in the kitchens of the Ottoman Sultans. It's great, especially the pastries and the Feta cheese! Turkey is a crossroads, many people have come in and influenced them, their great poet, Mevlana, could write poetry in four languages. When the Sumerians were discovering agricultural stuff between the Tigris and Euphrates people were living in what is now Turkey, too. It's such a fascinating place and that's why I can't wait to go, and I was even willing to give up a U2 show if I had to pick between it and a trip to Turkey. I got lucky and didn't have to pick.

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

is that mahir 'i kiss you' guy still famous?

if you don't know what i'm talking about, then:

http://www.ikissyou.org/

 

[all_i_want]

Are there discos in Turkey ?

yep, there are discos. the coasts and especially istanbul has a rather vibrant nightlife.


as for the difference between russian and turkish baths.. i cant say, cause i dont really know enough about russian baths to actually make a comparison.

and for the mahir question, he was never as famous in turkey as he was internationally. so if he isnt BIG on the international scene anymore, which i dont think he is, he isnt so famous anymore

 

[Macfistowannabe]

Why is your day of independence on the same day when our stock market crashed?

(not the same year)

 

[all_i_want]

Why is your day of independence on the same day when our stock market crashed?

(not the same year)

we were there first

 

[Macfistowannabe]

You've mentioned being a fan of "24."

Can you bring me to light about the rivalry I sense between fans of 24 and CSI?

It seems those who like 24 hate CSI and vice versa.