Turkish Chatter

Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.
Turkish Chatter

Discussion group for all women with Turkish men in their lives


+5
hyatum
Guveclover
Admin
Yohan
ruby
9 posters

    Things you hate about Turkey

    ruby
    ruby


    Posts : 1164
    Points : 1651
    Reputation : 98
    Join date : 2011-07-17
    Age : 110

    Things you hate about Turkey Empty Things you hate about Turkey

    Post  ruby Tue Feb 28, 2012 7:21 am

    Ok, here are a few things I hate about Turkey

    1. Kurban Bayram - seeing the fear in the animals eyes that are about to be sacrificed in the name of religion

    2. Dogs barking during the night

    3. Turkish drivers

    Anyone else have any thoughts?

    Ruby
    Yohan
    Yohan


    Posts : 44
    Points : 54
    Reputation : 0
    Join date : 2011-10-15

    Things you hate about Turkey Empty Re: Things you hate about Turkey

    Post  Yohan Fri Mar 02, 2012 2:50 am

    Not being able to be there more Sad
    avatar
    Admin
    Admin


    Posts : 1570
    Points : 2722
    Reputation : 695
    Join date : 2011-04-24

    Things you hate about Turkey Empty Re: Things you hate about Turkey

    Post  Admin Sat Mar 03, 2012 3:42 pm

    The things I hate about Turkey, and in no particular order are....


    Awful shrieking wailing music that some Turks like to slit their wrists to....

    Turkish rap.......

    Loud music by the swimming pools......

    Dangerous drivers.....

    Terribly pavements (how wheelchair users go to Turkey is beyond me!)....

    Identical menus in tourist and local restaurants....

    Lack of variety in supermarkets.....

    God awful wine!...........

    Hugely expensive spirits............

    Tacky souvenir shops.................

    No decent clothes shops....

    No sliced meats (beef, ham off the bone etc) or sausages, pork pies, veal and ham pie, Scotch rib of beef/steaks, decent lamb, pork, nice avocados, bananas, parsnips, apricot/raspberry jam, croissants, Champagne, fresh cream, proper ice cream.....

    No decent coffee...espresso etc......

    No proper coffee shops, wine bars, shopping centres, John Lewis, M&S.......

    No theatres, cosy little pubs, leisure centres, gyms, parks, Commons, galleries, good cinemas.......

    Poor public healthcare.....

    Disregard for both human and wildlife.....

    Cheap people in tacky resorts........

    Seedy posers.........

    People after a fast buck......

    Hassle......

    Hardship and poverty........

    Terrible furniture......

    Hard beds.......

    Grotty coloured bedspreads that feel like loofahs........

    Always tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.......

    Disregard for safety.......

    Clamming up and witholding information to protect other Turks......

    Jumped-up authoritarians who show their TRUE Turkish characters and like to snarl and screw their faces up if rattled!.......

    Sudden outbursts of nuttiness............

    Sleaze and smarminess......

    Insincere compliments.......

    Their jealous and suspicious natures........





    And I'll finish that with Ertie has none of the above! tongue

    Strawbs







    Guveclover
    Guveclover


    Posts : 288
    Points : 368
    Reputation : 49
    Join date : 2011-06-05

    Things you hate about Turkey Empty Re: Things you hate about Turkey

    Post  Guveclover Wed Mar 07, 2012 3:14 am

    All of the above on Strawbs' list but my personal pet hate is Turkish TV which is uniformly absolutely dire. I can't believe that another Turkish-related forum actually actively encourages women to seek out this drivel on the internet and sit in front of it for hours!

    My personal bugbear with it is the general conduct and behavour of those men who discuss football. I never enter the room when Mr Guveclover is watching such programmes but I don't need to in order to hear them hollering over the top of one another - wherever I happen to be in the house. They seem to have no concept whatsoever of ettiquette in taking turns when speaking in a group, nor do they have any ability to regulate the volume at which they speak. They just shout and rant like uncivilised neanderthals - and they're usually dressed in clothes that your average neanderthal wouldn't want to be seen dead in either!

    I always say to Mr Guveclover that they're an utter embarrassment to the Turkish nation and remind him how lucky he is to live in a country that has quality and civilised television output - something even he concedes he has to agree with.
    avatar
    Admin
    Admin


    Posts : 1570
    Points : 2722
    Reputation : 695
    Join date : 2011-04-24

    Things you hate about Turkey Empty Re: Things you hate about Turkey

    Post  Admin Wed Mar 07, 2012 8:01 pm

    Hi Judith,

    What I can't understand is why these dopey women want to watch Turkish TV, when not only do they secretly find it deadly boring, but they haven't got a clue what the people are talking about! Razz None of those women can speak or understand Turkish, except for a few basic phrases, yet they sit stuck in front of their screens like cats watching ping-pong, just so they can feel a bit 'Turkish'! Laughing

    There's something SERIOUSLY wrong with these women afflicted by this obsession with Turkey; and try as they might to pretend they find all the shouting and hollering 'quaint' and charming - it really really isn't. It's boring, tedious, irritating and quite draining. A lot of these women who find this sort of thing interesting and entertaining must have brains the size of a pea.

    It's like the women who sit glued to their computers watching webcams of Istanbul! Just how boring is that?! In fact, I watched a programme recently where it showed people who study CCTV for work (pay is SHOCKING!) and they said it's the most BORING, tedious, mind-numbing job going - but they had to do it as there was no other work around. Actually, I think the Mistral woman watches boring CCTV cameras for a living! If she watches a Kusadasi webcam, too that must be like a busman's holiday!

    These women are all lacking and suffer from deep inadequacies. They're certainly not happy with their lives as they are, otherwise they wouldn't be surfing Turkish TV and Turkish webcams for entertainment! It's SO not normal! cyclops

    Strawbs
    ruby
    ruby


    Posts : 1164
    Points : 1651
    Reputation : 98
    Join date : 2011-07-17
    Age : 110

    Things you hate about Turkey Empty Re: Things you hate about Turkey

    Post  ruby Thu Mar 08, 2012 8:29 am

    I do have Turkish TV as Mr Harry likes to sit stuck in front of the screen watching ping-pong cat Hope no one minds me saying Mr Harry as I feel a little left out what with all these 'Mr' titles.

    Actually, the only reason I have Turkish TV is to watch the free English speaking movies and it was installed free of charge. The dish is the same size as my Sky dish. Ocassionally I flick through the channels although the most entertaining Turkish ones are those showing the reklam Laughing

    Turks always tend to raise their voices when something attracts their attention such as a mosquito buzzing around them, some have them have very irritating high pitched balls havent decended into their scrotum voices Shocked which I find highly annoying.

    I also cannot stand those stupid covers women put around washing machines and the artificle flowers presented in a whicker basket in the middle of their salon with a lacey cover scrunched up on the glass table top.

    Ruby
    hyatum
    hyatum


    Posts : 163
    Points : 219
    Reputation : 42
    Join date : 2011-07-20

    Things you hate about Turkey Empty Re: Things you hate about Turkey

    Post  hyatum Thu Mar 08, 2012 10:13 pm

    Ha, all the things you girls have listed and :

    Bathrooms are always small

    The cold water of the normal loos in winter that squirts up my butt and nearly sterilizes me

    Carb loaded diet........everything is stuffed, covered or eaten with bread or pastry (pide, lahmancun, lavas, kiymali pide, gozleme, beyti kebab...ad nauseum)

    Strawbs, I know you put this one in....but I hate it when animals are mistreated....I feel so sorry for all the stray cats and dogs and the donkeys

    Seeing gypsey children begging, mothers with babies on the streets on cold winters night, old ladies hiding under plastic and trying to sell croquet work...breaks my heart

    Mens hairstyles, shaved down the side and sort of sticking up like bog-brushes on the top of their heads, like they have been crossed with a strange porcupine species

    The ubiquitous fecking pointy mens shoes

    Cold, boiled eggs on the breakfast table and the half-cock omelets where the egg white and yolk have not been mixed properly (ffs, no-one knows how to make proper scrambled eggs, poached or scrambled) and then serve it hot)

    NIcks xxx





    Guveclover
    Guveclover


    Posts : 288
    Points : 368
    Reputation : 49
    Join date : 2011-06-05

    Things you hate about Turkey Empty Re: Things you hate about Turkey

    Post  Guveclover Fri Mar 09, 2012 12:55 am

    Strawbs, if some of these women put as much energy into really getting to know their askims as they did swotting up on all things Turkish, they might actually feel able to speak openly, honestly and frankly to them and feel comfortable with them.

    Instead, they pussy-foot around them and would be far more likely to ask some cyber stranger on the internet about what he might think/feel/want/like/dislike etc than they would to ask him!! It's ridiculous!!
    avatar
    Admin
    Admin


    Posts : 1570
    Points : 2722
    Reputation : 695
    Join date : 2011-04-24

    Things you hate about Turkey Empty Re: Things you hate about Turkey

    Post  Admin Fri Mar 09, 2012 12:06 pm

    Haha, Judith! Good point! These women don't ask their Turks the questions they need to know, they wait for Numpty Question Time to open and ask a fellow numpty instead! It also makes me laugh the way they think all Turks must think exactly alike. Anyone would think the likes of TL or Kus Fans was like a Kennel Club Site for a specific breed - say, Chihuahuas.

    "Hi, I'm collecting M from Turkey next week - he's got all his papers and documents - and we're flying back together so he doesn't go astray and get lost. Can any of you good ladies tell me what happens when we land (which part of the airport does he have to go through? ) and once we're here what do we about regsitering him with the vets doctor and getting him a starter bank account, and bus ticket. How about a bus timetable? Do you think they're a good idea so he doesn't het lost and can find his way back home again? And how about shopping centres? Will he become disorientated do you think? He's never been out of Turkey before and I'll worry myself sick thinking he might get lost or start panicking. Should I punch in 999 onto his phone just to be on the safe side? On the food side - what sort of things should I get in for him? What special foods do they eat? Oh, how about TV - I don't want him feeling homesick - so where can I get a big round dish and Turkish TV box? I've managed to locate a shop 67 miles away that sells Turkish cay and they've kindly agreed to post it to me, but unfortunately I haven't got a Turkish teapot (the double one - Caydanlik is it called?) so I can't make Turkish tea! Bugger! Any suggestions on how I can make Turkish tea without a caydanlik? scratch


    Four more sleep to go! Eeeeeek!!!!!!

    avatar
    Admin
    Admin


    Posts : 1570
    Points : 2722
    Reputation : 695
    Join date : 2011-04-24

    Things you hate about Turkey Empty Re: Things you hate about Turkey

    Post  Admin Fri Mar 09, 2012 12:50 pm

    hyatum wrote:Ha, all the things you girls have listed and :

    Bathrooms are always small

    The cold water of the normal loos in winter that squirts up my butt and nearly sterilizes me

    Carb loaded diet........everything is stuffed, covered or eaten with bread or pastry (pide, lahmancun, lavas, kiymali pide, gozleme, beyti kebab...ad nauseum)

    Strawbs, I know you put this one in....but I hate it when animals are mistreated....I feel so sorry for all the stray cats and dogs and the donkeys

    Seeing gypsey children begging, mothers with babies on the streets on cold winters night, old ladies hiding under plastic and trying to sell croquet work...breaks my heart

    Mens hairstyles, shaved down the side and sort of sticking up like bog-brushes on the top of their heads, like they have been crossed with a strange porcupine species

    The ubiquitous fecking pointy mens shoes

    Cold, boiled eggs on the breakfast table and the half-cock omelets where the egg white and yolk have not been mixed properly (ffs, no-one knows how to make proper scrambled eggs, poached or scrambled) and then serve it hot)

    NIcks xxx








    Hi Nicks,

    You know I've never thought about the bathrooms in Turkey before, but thinking about it they are on the small side! Having said that, the apartment we rented in Ovacik had a wetroom - be default! They'd removed the shower curtain/screen - and so when you walked into the shower room it was like a wetroom! h, it had a loo in there as well, so the whole room got soaked when we showered! I love wetrooms actually - especially if they have those huge shower heads coming from the ceiling - and other jets coming out the side of the walls - oooh, I better stop thinking about that....I'll get all wanting and I've only just redone my kitchen.

    Back on topic.......where's Musty or Abi Normal when you want them? geek

    Those little cold water pipes to clean your bottom are really nice I think - but I've never understood why they don't also attach a hot water supply to it - a bit like a mixer tap? What I have noticed, though, after an ice cold water bum spray - the person always walks out looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. It's almost like a spa treatment! Far too cold in the winter though!

    They do like their bread don't they? I like Turkish bread, actually - and I adore Lavas - but you do grow tired of it if you eat it every day!

    I know what you mean about the animals - but most Muslims see animals different to th way we do. They think dogs are dirty and shouldn't be allowed in the home, although Monsieur Strawberry is the total opposite and loves dogs - so they're not all animal haters. But generally their culture is such that animals are deemed to be dirty and they don't see them as pets. Total opposite to Venice - loads of people had dogs - and they even came into the restaurants.

    I remember seeing a chicken's head in the street in Ovacik one day, and I found that very upsetting. I could just visualise the man having slaughtered the chicken and then slinging its head across the road. So barbaric! It's as though many of them don't seem to realise that animals have feelings.

    What I particularly hate is when shopkeepers keep a young dog or puppy for the summer season to ingratiate themselves with tourists. I find that REALLY distasteful! And then once the season has ended they sling the dog out.....I've seen it done with kittens too......


    The beggars on the streets - you get them in most countries really. The trouble is you never know who the genuine ones are, and who are the fakes - or the ones forced to beg by gangs. I do think they should bring a law out banning children from begging, but I can't see that happening or being enforced in many countries.


    Oh, the other hair design thing I hate are those funny eyebrows where they put patterns in them! I think they look REALLY stupid! Turks really are into porcupine hairstyles, funny patterned beards or goaties, and eyebrows with chunks taken out! It looks terrible in my opinion. And if they wera those awful jeans with the waistband round the middle of their hips with the crotch just above their KNEES - I think they look like jokes! I saw one boy (about 18) walking along the other day and if he was a girl he'd have been a Size 6. He was quite short, but really really thin with legs like matchticks. And he had skinny jeans on that showed off his underpants (he had to keep pulling them up as they were too big for his skinny frame) and the crotch came down to his knees. You could tell he was really uncomfortable walking in them - they must have been SO restrictive - and what was so hilarious was the way he was trying to pose and swagger - and his legs looked the length of a Sausage Dogs! Sexeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! haha

    The cold boiled eggs...........I think that's all part and parcel of a Turkish breakfast (which I don't mind actually) but if I want a proper boiled egg and toast breakfast - they have to be hot! And Turks don't do hot do they? Have you tried that dish they do of cold chips, cold battered aubergines, peppers etc all covered in garlic yogurt? It's actually MEANT to be eaten cold! Shocked I'm ashamed to admit that I actually quite like it! I've only had it twice (Mr E makes it sometimes) and even though it goes against all my usual taste in food - it's actually very tasty! Sounds disgusting - bit I do have strange tastes sometimes! Razz

    Talking of scrambled eggs and menemen, there's a member/manager on another site who actually made menemen without eggs! haha Some achievement, eh? tongue

    Strawbs
    hayleyvemehmet
    hayleyvemehmet


    Posts : 246
    Points : 318
    Reputation : 18
    Join date : 2011-06-02
    Age : 57

    Things you hate about Turkey Empty Re: Things you hate about Turkey

    Post  hayleyvemehmet Fri Mar 09, 2012 7:42 pm

    With regards to the tea im sure a kettle,teapot and a strainer is fine :/ but really most people can adapt to a teabag as its so much bloomin easier Smile i would say when my hubby came here i didnt do anything special for him like that.i took him to meet a few turkish friends i had and that was his lot.just did all the things you have to do and got on with it.before he took his bike test he had to catch a bus and was more than capable of getting around.If their english is good enough then its *simples* .but going back onto the subject i have to say i hate the spitting and snorting the men and some women do!
    Turkishheartdrop
    Turkishheartdrop


    Posts : 1065
    Points : 1157
    Reputation : 29
    Join date : 2011-06-06
    Age : 47
    Location : Huddersfield

    Things you hate about Turkey Empty Re: Things you hate about Turkey

    Post  Turkishheartdrop Fri Mar 09, 2012 8:38 pm

    Thats right Hayley..............you can make cay in an english teapot........its only tealeaves LOL...........teabags dead easy tho........
    curlyboop
    curlyboop


    Posts : 97
    Points : 117
    Reputation : 6
    Join date : 2011-10-29

    Things you hate about Turkey Empty Re: Things you hate about Turkey

    Post  curlyboop Sun Mar 11, 2012 11:01 pm

    I don't necessarily hate this but it was weird - the way they cover cigarettes with flower cartoons on television. I thought I was watching some eccentric movie until I saw it done on the Simpsons. LOL! Strange because they left in all the profanity and pretty much everything else.

    Can someone explain why this is done? Cos Turkish people tend to smoke A LOT. It's not like they haven't seen a cigarette before or it is forbidden in some way.
    Guveclover
    Guveclover


    Posts : 288
    Points : 368
    Reputation : 49
    Join date : 2011-06-05

    Things you hate about Turkey Empty Re: Things you hate about Turkey

    Post  Guveclover Mon Mar 12, 2012 3:40 am

    Ugghh, Turkish tea is another thing I don't like about Turkey. It's so bitter, no matter how weak you make it. It makes you shudder! Mr Guveclover won't even drink it now after becoming so accustomed to decent tea.

    When my parents in law were alive, they only ever used to ask us to bring over one thing for them when we went to visit - teabags!

    They loved nothing more than a few hundred tea bags and they used to use them vary sparingly to eek them out, make them last and savour every last drop. They used to let their favourite neighbours and friends have a brew now and then too and they were always very envious. I think it used to make them feel quite special!

    Never mind tea towels, shortbread, chocolates, perfume, aftershave, face cream, digital photo frames, mobile phones or the like. Their pleasures were simple - a nice cup of decent tea and that's something I've never been able to find in Turkey.
    avatar
    Admin
    Admin


    Posts : 1570
    Points : 2722
    Reputation : 695
    Join date : 2011-04-24

    Things you hate about Turkey Empty Re: Things you hate about Turkey

    Post  Admin Mon Mar 12, 2012 8:17 pm

    Well I'm not really a tea drinker, I'm a coffee drinker. I have to drink two cups of coffee as soon as I wake up, and it has to be good strong espresso, no sugar, but with some milk added. Having said that, I do think a nice cup of good old Assam in a nice china cup, on a hot summer's afternoon is very refreshing, but a box of teabags would last me about a year if it wasn't for Mr Strawberry - maybe longer!

    I've tried Turkish tea, just to see what it's like, and I'm not keen to be honest. I don't like sugar in my coffee or tea, so cay with no sugar is probably even worse than with! Mr Strawberry has also become very accustomed to English tea, and hasn't drunk Turkish tea for years now. And it's so darned fiddly with that silly double teapot - though I had to laugh when a Senior Numpty bemoaned the fact she couldn't make Turkish tea as she didn't have a Turkish double teapot!! haha What a gorm!

    Another thing I don't like is that Apple Tea they drink - which isn't tea, anyway! It's so sweet and cloying, although it could be quite refreshing drunk cold with ice cubes, I suppose....Apple Frappe! tongue

    And as for Turkish coffee - if you like drinking sludge - it's right up your street!

    Strawbs

    Turkishheartdrop
    Turkishheartdrop


    Posts : 1065
    Points : 1157
    Reputation : 29
    Join date : 2011-06-06
    Age : 47
    Location : Huddersfield

    Things you hate about Turkey Empty Re: Things you hate about Turkey

    Post  Turkishheartdrop Tue Mar 13, 2012 7:28 pm

    Aw true numpties drink and eat anything even if it makes them heave............just so long as its from tukiye....LOL......
    Pollypecker
    Pollypecker


    Posts : 293
    Points : 316
    Reputation : 4
    Join date : 2011-06-20

    Things you hate about Turkey Empty Re: Things you hate about Turkey

    Post  Pollypecker Fri Apr 13, 2012 8:49 pm

    I want to start seeing lots of places so I would hate to live in turkey for the reason it is so difficult to travel anywhere from there and its so expensive as well Shocked we forget how lucky we are to go to anywhere in the world at fairly cheap prices but in turkey its so difficult to get to any other country without having to take long coach trips to airports with extra flights to istanbul or izmir and then changing at amsterdam to get to london to get to spain or france ffs! Its a real rattrap in turkey, you are stuck to travel and that is one thing I would hate so much, specially as you would need to pay about 4 times more to get a flight than anywhere else in the world just to go to europe!

    Pol x
    Turkishheartdrop
    Turkishheartdrop


    Posts : 1065
    Points : 1157
    Reputation : 29
    Join date : 2011-06-06
    Age : 47
    Location : Huddersfield

    Things you hate about Turkey Empty Re: Things you hate about Turkey

    Post  Turkishheartdrop Sat Apr 14, 2012 7:32 pm

    yeh..........its hard to travel out of turkey even with a british passport....LOL......crazy prices for flights and difficult to get about.........takes aaaaaaages..........never thought of that till you said it Pol but good pont you made....dead as a dodo in winter as well.......same old same old in summer.....
    avatar
    Admin
    Admin


    Posts : 1570
    Points : 2722
    Reputation : 695
    Join date : 2011-04-24

    Things you hate about Turkey Empty Re: Things you hate about Turkey

    Post  Admin Fri Apr 20, 2012 7:25 pm

    That's another thing about Turkey that turns most people off - it's so difficult (and expensive) to travel outside of Turkey. I'd feel stifled being stuck in a country where a simple trip to , say, Italy or Spain involved HOURS and HOURS of travelling; several stops - and mega bucks!

    Another thing that is off-putting about Turkey is how boring it is. Even the summertime can become boring - there's only so much beach you can do or old stones and ruins you can stare at! Sleep But in the winter it's deadly boring! I know some of the larger towns have shopping centres and cinemas etc, but you can't compare them to the ones we have in London.

    I suppose we are very spoilt in London. Besides being so close to the airport and being able to travel anywhere we want to, we have so much to entertain us here. Museums, galleries, theatre, luxury cinemas, sports clubs, leisure centres, wonderful shops, great cafe culture, pubs, wine bars, clubs, music venues such as Ronnie Scotts, stadiums etc.....and that's without all our beautiful parks, canals, the river - and not forgetting the wonderful palaces and buildings you can go and visit. We also have every cuisine available to us : French, Italian, Thai, Indian, Spanish, Mexican, Japanese, Portuguese, Korean, Turkish, Russian...you name it and London will have it. And not only do we have immense choice, but the food is sometimes actually better than what you can get in those countries! Shocked Whereas in Turkey you only have Turkish food, really. You can find a few British restaurants (fish & chips - usually not very well cooked or authentic) and there's a few Indian, Chinese, Italian etc - but I never found one that could compare to London or abroad.

    The other thing I didn't like about Turkey was the lack of choice and how supermarkets didn't stock the sort of things I like. The beef in Turkey is not nice (they drain all the blood in the Halal method and they don't hang it long enough) so it's always usually tasteless and on the tough side. I remember expats fantasising about all the things they couldn't get out there : beautiful bacon, pork sausages, roast pork with crackling, breaded ham, pork pies, veal ham and egg pie, Scotch eggs, black pudding, decent steak, cold meats in the deli counter - such as salami, Parma ham....gravadlax, decent smoked salmon, tender Spring lamb, top class steak mince, fresh cream, mature English cheddar and Stilton, French/Italian soft cheeses, fresh milk, decent tea and coffee, lovely squash drinks such as Ribena, decent wine, proper chocolate, fresh cream cakes, Cornish pasties, steak and kidney pies, sausage rolls................oooh the list goes on and on.......... Exclamation

    And the PRICES they charge for imported wines and spirits are ridiculous!

    But besides all that - you also have the problem of not being able to get a work permit. So you're doubly bored!!! And getting poorer by the day................

    Does anyone know what the inflation is in Turkey? I know the fuel there is the most expensive in the WORLD! Exclamation Oh, and you have to pay LOTS of money to buy a dustbin on wheels!

    What on earth makes people go out there I wonder? Suspect There's just nothing to do out there - unless you want to gaze at lots of crumbling stones!!

    Strawbs
    Turkishheartdrop
    Turkishheartdrop


    Posts : 1065
    Points : 1157
    Reputation : 29
    Join date : 2011-06-06
    Age : 47
    Location : Huddersfield

    Things you hate about Turkey Empty Re: Things you hate about Turkey

    Post  Turkishheartdrop Sat Apr 21, 2012 8:03 pm

    you dieting at the mo Strawbs...........
    avatar
    Admin
    Admin


    Posts : 1570
    Points : 2722
    Reputation : 695
    Join date : 2011-04-24

    Things you hate about Turkey Empty Re: Things you hate about Turkey

    Post  Admin Sat Apr 21, 2012 10:16 pm

    What makes you think that, THD? tongue

    Strawbs
    Guveclover
    Guveclover


    Posts : 288
    Points : 368
    Reputation : 49
    Join date : 2011-06-05

    Things you hate about Turkey Empty Re: Things you hate about Turkey

    Post  Guveclover Sun Apr 22, 2012 4:44 am

    I haven't spent anywhere near as much time as you have in Turkey Strawbs, but I must agree with all your observations in your last post.

    To me, Turkey is the sort of place you'd go to if you were a real sun worshipper and just wanted to completely relax and zone out on a sun lounger beside a pool, read and sunbathe for a week or two. I say beside a pool because I don't rate the beaches I've seen there that highly. They've all either been awful, measly strips of gritty sand or if they have been nice enough beaches, they've been absolutely choc-a-block with people and umbrellas crammed on like sardines. I'm sure there are some lovely beaches in Turkey but they're not generally to be found in tourist areas which is not true of a country like, for example, Portugal which, by comparison, has some lovely quiet sandy coves in tourist areas that are clean, safe and and not particularly crowded.

    There is culture to be had in Turkey too but it's all very samey. I agree that one set of ruins looks much like another. Besides, once you've had your fill of that sort of thing, what really is left to do there besides sunbathe and swim?

    During my well documented extended stay in Turkey I was driven to distraction with boredom - to the extent that I even became excited at the prospect of our periodic dolmus trips to Soke and Aydin to sort out the various bits and bobs we needed to attend to for Mr Guveclover's settlement visa. And if you've ever been to either of those places, you'll know that they're really not worth getting excited about!

    When we used to visit Mr Guveclover's family in their home village I found their surroundings so awfully depressing. They live in the west of Turkey, not far from Soke, so hardly in the back of beyond by Turkish standards, yet I found it a souless, soul destroying place. I can only imagine what women who travel to villages in the far east of Turkey face! The village his family live in is a fairly large village and has a population similar in size to our own home town in the UK. However, the contrast was startling. Our home town is bustling, characterful, colourful and vibrant in comparison with intersting buildings, lots of shops, cafes and restaurants, a library, a beautiful park with colourful, well manicured flower beds, hedges and lawns, a leisure centre with a pool, a recreation ground and playing fields a youth centre for children and a cinema - and that's all in a very bog standard little town! Where Mr Guveclover's family live everything looked drab, dusty and shoddy, there were no proper roads, no proper shops (well not the sort of shops that I'd recognise as shops, which enticed you in with colourful and interesting window displays), and certainly no public amenieties whatsoever.

    I think the UK has so much more to offer than Turkey in terms of what is on offer in our towns and cities, our transport links, our public amenities and public services, and opportunities for children. I couldn't care less if it's not 50 degrees celsius every day in the summer here. "Outdoor living" is vastly overhyped in my view and with the dangers posed by too much exposure to the strong rays of the sun, I think it's extremely wise to limit your time in it.

    The other thing that drove me to distraction whilst in Turkey was the way that you can't get any sense out of anyone in a bank or a government office there. The way that the bureaucratic systems work out there is almost prehistoric. Whilst there, we spent a lot of time and money traipsing to various places whilst trying to collate documents etc for the visa and it was so frustrating how totally useless the bureaucratic systems were. We were frequently misdirected to the wrong places by the Police, and other government officials who clearly had no clue what they were doing, or talking about. Officials were more often than not miserable and discourteous too - the concept of customer care had clearly not arrived there! I don't know how that country operates, I really don't. It's little wonder it has no proper procedures in place for collecting taxes effectively and that corruption within the public sector is rife there. I know that I am talking from my experience of being there a number of years ago now but from what I hear, I have every reason to suspect that very little has changed in the intervening years.

    It always astounds me that so many women speak about living in Turkey with such smugness. If they like it there and have mananged to make a life for themselves there that works for them and they're happy with it then that's great. However, lots of people like me count their blessings that they live here rather than there. An abundance of ripe fruit and sun would not induce me to relocate to Turkey. And as for the prospect of being trapped in a resort setting for 8 months of the year, well that makes me feel quite pale

    The overwhelming boredom, lack of opportunities, public amenities and services, decent shops, things to do and the general feeling of being away from civilisation means that whilst it is perfectly OK for a short holiday, I could never live in Turkey - not even with a substantial lottery win under my belt.


    Sponsored content


    Things you hate about Turkey Empty Re: Things you hate about Turkey

    Post  Sponsored content


      Current date/time is Fri Mar 29, 2024 6:20 pm