I would turn this aroud and say that PharmBoy (and the rest of the Western World) would be MUCH better off without the Muslim world.
Don’t you guys read the newspapers? Jesus, get a clue, will ya??
My husband was in Turkey for a short while (work, not tourism). He said the countryside was lush and beautiful (he was on the Mediterranean coast at Izmir) and the people were amazingly hospitable and he would go back there in a minute. Though if his experience is any indication, you will be doing your socializing with women. The sexes did not mingle in these hospitable encounters. Not saying that would necessarily always be the case or that this account has much applicability to living and working there, but he was very enthusiastic.
Istanbul is one of the most gorgeous cities you’ll see in your life, Maryangel. It’s also more western than you’d think: it’s pretty “European” in its attitudes, without losing the charm of the Orient.
Don’t hesitate - go ahead and do it. 
Is there something in the water today?
PharmBoy, official warning. Bigoted crap like that WILL get your posting privileges revoked if you keep it up.
Is that understood?
It’s pretty amazing that after only 45 minutes of this thread I have heard more ignorant, biggoted, close minded comments than in my entire time travelling through Turkey and Tunisia.
To respod to ParmBoy’s pseudo-rhetorical question, yes, I do read the paper. Fortunately, I am able to get past the funny pages, to the parts of the paper that discuss the world outside my door.
Maryangel, as long as you get information about the country (which you’re doing), you should be fine. You have the link to the state department page and are gathering information. I’d talk to people who have been there (maybe the former au pair?). You’ll also want to find out where the US Embassy is, just in case you need them.
How did you get this opportunity? Can you talk to previous tutors for this family?
I could say awful things about the Turks, based on history; they tried to conquer Slovenia at one point, but fled the castle in Ljubljana (one of the suburbs is called “flee the castle,” it’s the direction the Turks took off in).
I’d beware the coffee. I don’t know if you drink coffee, but Turkish coffee is a strange brew and you’ll likely be forced to drink it; it’s finely ground coffee beans, boiled in a little pot, served in tiny cups, with sludge on the bottom. I’m not sure of the sweetening protocol in Turkey, but in Yugoslavia it was served with whipped cream (no sugar) and depending on the circumstances sugar may or may not have been provided. The sugar there was a more coarse form than what we see here. You must allow the sludge to settle to the bottom before drinking and when you get toward the bottom of the cup, be very, very careful.
Let us know what you decide!
I felt like joining up today.
I’ve been to Turkey and I must say I was surprised.
I spent two weeks in the plastic tourist town Alanya with my girlfriend last year. Alanya is sort of a cross between a sleazy British costal town like Scarborough, Beirut and Miami Beach. Not exactly our first choice, but it was actually the only place we could afford to go on holiday with our measly budget.
Turkish people are the nicest people you’ll ever meet, we actually became friends with some kids our age. They took us along to nightclubs, private parties and picnics. My girlfriend still keeps in close touch with one of the girls. An old man in a store gave me some weird nuts for no reason; he claimed it was ‘Turkish viagra.’ I thought that was pretty cool and I like to think it worked.
Alanya is a tourist town so I guess it’s a lot more liberal than other places in Turkey including perhaps Istanbul. Still there were a couple of positive things that really shocked me:
- Almost everybody spoke English.
- Lots of women, including my girlfriend sunbathing topless.
- Porno mags sold openly in stores.
- Lots of gay Turkish men in denim shorts, leather motorcycle caps and white tank tops dancing and kissing openly in the middle of the street (I had lot to drink, but I swear to God I’m not making this up)
- I didn’t see a single woman dressed in a burka.
- Didn’t see a single cockroach either.
- Excellent food, neither of us got sick.
- The professional beach lions that hit on my girlfriend were annoying yet at the same time very polite. Now Greek beach lions on the other hand, they can go to hell.
- No pickpockets.
- Stepping in camel shit is no big deal, it doesn’t really stink and you can scrape it of easily.
Some negative things too:
- Not to generalize an entire nation, but seriously they all drive like fucking maniacs. I witnessed the bloody aftermath of horrible car accidents on two separate occasions; I had never even seen a dead body before coming to Turkey. Italian teenagers on scooters are a bunch of wieners compared to Turkish drivers. I feared for my life.
- Everybody listened to Eminem.
- The people who work in the exchange offices will try to stiff you every single time.
- I saw some scary looking men with greasy mullets and Miami Vice style suits packing guns in their belts, they were hanging outside a night club. Perhaps they were plain-clothes cops or something, but to me, a teenager with an overactive imagination they just screamed mafia. It was sort of creepy.
- The apple tea they serve in stores is awful, it gave me an allergic reaction and I broke into hives. Don’t drink it.
- Lot’s of poverty, some people in the outskirts of the town lived in stone huts.
One thing you have to seriously consider though is the heat. Can you stand 50 degrees Celsius ever day? I couldn’t.
Turkey is a pretty strange country, but I enjoyed myself.
Hüsker Düde, welcome to the borads. That was very informative and in line with my own impressions. I have to say Turkey is a land of contrasts. You will me people who are totally westernized in their mentality (and even more open than Americans in many ways) and you will also meet a few who are quite anti western. I would suppose these would abound more as you go to more rural places. Not surprising because the same thing happens in America. Some of my European friends who have visited small town America have been very surprised by the ignorance and provincialism. Before that they thought America was all like New York.
Well, searcing on Turkey due to a comment by sailor led me here.
A few comments:
(a) Do disregard the uninformed frothing at the mouth in re Islamic world and the like. Even the Arab world, rather more conservative than the Turks in general, is hardly so bad to live in for women, although certain moments of pan-Mediterranean machismo can make things tedious for women.
(b) Do verify that you have return ticket and all that, in case of trouble. Earthquake or political. Unlikely, but this is not Kansas. All in all Turkey is not in imminent danger politically.
© While the new government can be described as ‘Islamic’ that is hardly terribly accurate. The ‘Islamic’ party largely won on a reform platform to clean up corruption and is quite moderate in content.
(d) On race: should not be a problem at all. While there are some color / race issues to be found in the region, they are quite modest in general. It may be of interest for you to know that there are small communities of … for lack of a better term, mixed race turks from Ottoman days. Descendants of slaves and mercenaries in large part. Part of a vastly under-studied ‘African diaspora’ in the MENA region. Your being a Western woman is rather more likely to be of interest than your race.
(e) As sailor noted, there is a contrast between the more comsopolitan coastal areas and the rural interior.
(f) Make sure you have a contract with a dollar or euro denominated salary. The lira is quite unstable and there is significant currency risk.
(g) Avoid Raki.
(h) Get used to the coffee, it’s a pleasure. Those who claim otherwise are heathens.
Hi Maryangel,
If you go to Turkey, you will come back with incredible stories about the people, land and culture, not to mention a bunch of beautiful pictures. Turkey is a very picturesque country. Picture this:
- Fields of large yellow sunflowers gazing in one direction and fields green chick peas.
- Shopowners beckoning you inside for apple tea, with surprisingly very little pressure to buy anything. (I actually liked the apple tea they gave me.)
- Children grinning and posing for pictures at the Grand Covered Bazaar.
- Ancient monastaries and convents carved directly out of the mountain in Coppadoccia.
- An occassional woman wearing shorts! They were mostly tourists.
- Being at awe that the Blue Mosque sits next to the St. Sophia Cathedral.
- An occassional bit of chivalry for a lady tourist from the local men.
- Lots of eggplant dishes on the menu.
- Crystal blue waters at the southwestern beach resorts.
- Riding down and stopping along the Silk Road and letting your imagination run wild with what it might have been like back-in-the-day.
- Grumpy camels for tourists to ride in a circle (camels, I believe aren’t native to Turkey).
- Sitting in a dinner/show, watching tanned belly dancers shake their booty, but keep the rest of themselves still (how do they do that???).
- Feeling the wind on your face while riding a boat down the Bosphorus. If you’re pretty enough, ask the captain of the boat if you can ride on the empty rooftop of the boat. You get the best view.
- Noting that Ataturk has a bigger memorial than Lincoln or Washington.
In a conversation with a Turkish woman I befriended, she explained that Turkey has been trying to be “more European,” having been started by Ataturk. She also said you can read the sediment at the bottom of your coffee like tea leaves.
Some cautions you should take are:
- Don’t swim in the Bosphorus. It looks beautiful but it’s quite polluted.
- In Istanbul, check to see if the cab driver has reset the counter, or they’ll rip you off and there’s nothing you can do. A $1 cab ride could easily cost you $10. This was told to me by the folks in the Embassy in Ankara (very safe city) and a cabby almost did that to me. We argued, until I broke out in a panick, and he gave me a free ride.
- Register with the Embassy in Ankara to let them know you’re there, in case anything happens.
- I’ve had begger children “attack” me if I just smiled at them. It was kind of scary, because one of them took hold of my hand so tightly it hurt.
- Mafia, or something like it, do have a presence at some clubs. A friend of mine stayed at a hostel, where he befriend a Russian and an Australian. They went to a club and discovered that the drinks were $500 each, racking up quite a bill. When they couldn’t pay, they were taken to a back room where guns were pointed at them, until one of them pulled out some plastic. The bill was about $3,000+.
- People don’t believe in deodorants/antiperspirants, including the cab driver. Remember that Seinfeld episode? The stink stays with you for a bit.
That said, IMHO Turkey is one of the most friendly countries I’ve visited. But then again, I didn’t live there for an extended period of time and I was an obvious visitor of their country (I’m of east Asian decent). My thoughts are quite positive about the land and its people. I envy you going.
I’ve never lived in Turkey but I’ve been to Istanbul several times and the south of Turkey once - and very much enjoyed it. I highly recommend that you go - you can always set a time limit (ie. 90 days and if I really want to leave I will leave, but I’m gonna give it a full 90 days) if you are worried.
There are some very beautiful, upscale places in Istanbul that will remind you of Europe (if you’ve ever been) and some horrid places that will make you feel you’re in the poorest parts of India (or somewhere). Still, while it is a muslim country it is pretty open, people are friendly, people drink, I didn’t see any fanatics, traffic is crazy and people will try to rip you off but keep it in context - that $3 taxi ride might cost you $5. Wow.
Go! If nothing else - go and use it as a springboard to see the world.
Istanbul is very cosmololitan, and a beautiful city. Go there, you don’t ever regret it!!!