Leaving Hot Turkey Cold Turkey

Turkey has been a place of marked contrast to me. Like the sweet juicy nectarines, perfect figs and hot peppers coming out of the parched, arid land. And like the amazing ruins and remnants of cultures past, and the beautiful historic small towns with slower paced life, contrasted with the ugly concrete buildings and modern push in the bigger cities. It is good, it is bad, and many times in the same minute, the same block.
The varied sights, tastes, sounds, and cultures make it a very intense, intriguing and unforgettable experience- I think an experience that will get realized in a deeper way for me as time goes on. Whether you want to get to know the people and how they live here, or just experience things on your own, this country has so much. But whether you’re one to socialize or not, the people of a country will make or break a trip. It’s people that you interact with and who show you the soul of a country, and it’s people you depend on to help you when in a bind.
When I’ve really needed help, some Turks couldn’t have been bothered. When I was clueless as to where I was when getting off a bus, and would point to a name on a piece of paper, some people would just say something dismissively in Turkish and walk on. The language barrier is huge here, and I have missed out on what I’m sure would have been great conversations with very nice people, but it doesn’t have to be a problem in getting around. I’ve gotten by in many countries on hand signals and writing before, and there have been times where if I ask them to do this here, they scoff- they don’t want to make the effort. I could wonder and speculate on the reasons why this happened- like why certain cultures seem to be able to differentiate between governments and the people of that country better than others. But really, the possibilities are too many, and it would be wrong to guess and to concentrate on this.
Because the refreshing contrast to those times are the many people I’ve met that have gone out of their way to help me. Like the Egesels- Cem, Basak and Dogu- who allowed me to stay with them for 3 days in Canakkale. They treated me like a son. And they spared no expense to show me the incredible food and music of Turkey, and make sure I was comfortable in the next town. I will be eternally grateful. And the Tercis- Tuba and Kursat, along with their friends- who showed me around Izmir and took me to the university where they teach. We had great talks and I will always remember them. And Yesim and her husband, who showed me around Istanbul and invited me into their home. It was nice to see that side of Istanbul- the side where people were living, getting by, day to day. And the man who went more than a mile out of his way in Konya to show me to a music shop I couldn’t find. He did it out of pure kindness, and was happy to do it. And Caglar, his family, and Murat in Rize, who called me into their bar, where we played Turkish songs. They gave me dinner and a ride to the bus station, and were just happy to meet a traveler and share some music, an amazing experience. And the lady who took me in her prepaid cab to find a hotel in Mardin, as she could tell I was lost and not prepared. We stopped at 3 hotels, her talking to the people for me, until we found a decent priced one. We had a great talk on the way, where she explained the people of her town to me. These are only a few experiences out of many where I got a look into the benevolent soul of this country.
This, I feel, I hope, is what most of the people are like in this country. It’s hard to tell when you only spend 5 weeks somewhere. I would think it dangerous for anyone to make a blanket statement about my country after only 5 weeks. Turkey seems to me, for the most part, to be a country of inclusiveness, adaptation, and acceptance. Not only in the dozens of cultures that have been through here in history, but in day to day life as well.
So I leave Turkey, not loving it, and not hating it, or... maybe it's better to say I leave, loving it and hating it- I think that’s how you should leave most countries. (I am, by the way, still completely in awe and in love with the music). If all you did was hop from one comfortable tourist site to the next, you would think everybody was out to help you (of course because of your money), and that traveling in that country was easy, painless. But if you make the effort to go a little out of the way, the experience will be a little less rosy; However you will come out with deeper experiences, better friendships, more meaningful lessons, and a more realistic view of that country.
-And probably end up liking the country and the people more and more after some reflection. I think that’s what will happen with me and Turkey.