In this week’s edition of #SliceofGasant, columnist Gasant Abarder writes from Istanbul that he was quite gobsmacked by how cold the locals were. Like, who hurt the Turkish?
There is that old chestnut: when in Rome, do as the Romans do. I’m altering that phrase somewhat to say, when in the former Roman-conquered city of Constantinople – which is now Istanbul – do as they do.
But I can’t. I like to smile at strangers, make small talk, and greet. The Turkish locals will tell you, we don’t do that here. I appreciate there may be language barriers but I have been to cities like Toulouse or Beijing, where not a word of English is spoken, where I wasn’t treated in quite such a stoic, cold manner like the locals do here.
I write this only because a few weeks ago, I complained in this very column about how poor service is in Cape Town and how sometimes I get followed around stores by security guards. But after spending two days here in Istanbul, I realise just how lucky I am and that we’re not that bad actually in terms of being friendly and helpful. Here the store assistants tail me like a cyclist in a peloton.
It’s not my first visit here. I was feted about a decade ago while on a trip with Cape Town Tourism as a journalist. We had a great tour guide who helped every step of the way and I have fond memories. Now, going it alone, it is hard.
Don’t get me wrong. This is a beautiful city with plenty to offer and the rand goes further than most places you travel to. But as a friend warned, because their currency, the Turkish Lira, has tanked so much, prices are inflated – especially meals.
Ten years later, it isn’t quite the romantic version I had in my head. There seems to be more desperate chaps walking around offering bulk packs of fong kong socks and watered-down fragrances on the street. There are also more stray cats and dogs than I remember seeing last time.
But the Turkish do look after their street animals very well. Katie Melua wasn’t exaggerating about there being nine million bicycles in Beijing. There are more than nine million stray cats and a few hundred stray doggos in Istanbul. But the locals and tourists alike treat them with kindness and feed them.
I can’t quite escape the feeling that in a period of 48 hours, there were just too many in this ‘mixed economy’, as it is described online, who were out to make a quick buck – without too much worry about the perception it can create about their city and its people.
The chaps selling their wares are quite hard and aggressive. The lady at McDonald’s shouted at me. A guy posing as a tourism advisor tried to make a 12 000 TL profit off me as commission for trying to buy three tickets for a Europa league football match. The three match tickets were priced at around 3 400 TL.
To each their own, but this latter experience really disturbed me. This guy was wanting me to fork over around R7 500 – 80% of which would be his commission. Here’s the thing that is most sinister: to attend a football match in Turkey, you need a possolig card. The match I wanted to see was three days away. The passolig card would only be ready in 30 days. He didn’t mention a word of this to me.
There are a few lovely people in Istanbul. Shaheen, from the restaurant who makes the most delicious doner kebabs, the lady at the Saturday Bakirkoy market, who went out of her way to show me to the nearest ATM, and the two Palestinian gentlemen selling abayas at their store in Fatih.
Istanbul is a great place to visit and I found the most amazing travel agency in JD Travels, who saved me tonnes of cash and gave great tips with their deep knowledge of places to go and where to shop. Without their input, it could have been worse. But luckily, I’m a Saffer. We can survive anything and a well-placed vloek word in Afrikaans really helps.
If you’re looking for the next overseas destination, come visit. The history and sheer beauty will blow you away. But use your Saffer intuition and streets smarts when walking these streets. As the locals here say, güle güle, until next time.
Also read:
The looming cull of teacher jobs by our government is a national disgrace
Picture: Roman Odintsov / Pexels
