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(S//SI//REL) SID Around the World: Walking the Streets of Turkey
FROM:
(S//SI//REL) Special US Liaison Advisor, Turkey (SUSLAT)
Run Date: 02/12/2007
(S//SI//REL)
is an NSAer working in Ankara, Turkey.
He gives us a feel for what it is like to live there...
(U) Troy, King Midas, the Gordion Knot, Byzantium, St. Paul and
the churches of Asia, Constantinople, the Ottoman empire, the
Crusades, Gallipoli -- all of these places and people describe
Turkey. Today's Turkey embodies all of these things both ancient
and modern and more -- it represents the gateway and bridge
between Europe and Asia, between the "first world" of Western
Europe and the "third world" of the Near East.
(U) There are a lot of things I can say about living in Turkey: it's a
country that has European traffic standards but routinely ignores
them; the Turks have a world-class cuisine but you can only get
about 4 or 5 different dishes in 90 percent of Turkish restaurants;
and it is a world-class shopping venue with unique works of Islamic
art alongside cheap knockoff imports from Pakistan and India.
(U) Despite these seeming contradictions, (or perhaps because of
them) Turkey is a terrific place to live overseas. Turkey exists
solely because the Turkish people keep it going. Turkish drivers
may honk at you for stopping at a red light (and thus keeping them
from running the red light) but they'll also form 5 lanes of traffic on
a road that is only marked for 2 lanes, if that's the only way all the
cars can go forward. (After driving in Ankara, anyone can handle
DC rush hour traffic in their sleep.)
(U) Valens Aquaduct in Istanbul, built in the 4th century AD
(viewed from a bridge over the Golden Horn)
(U) As I mentioned, Turkey has a world-class cuisine, even though
probably 90 percent of Turkish restaurants offer no more than 4 or
5 traditional turkish dishes: kofte (meatball); pide or lahmacun
(cracker crust pizza); manti (ravioli in liquid yoghurt), gozleme or
borek (cheese or meat wraps), and kebab (grilled meat and
vegetables.) But the fruit and vegetables are truly fresh, readily
available in season, and cheap; the bread is always fresh and it's
real bread -- not the chemically preserved commercial product
common in the US.
(U) I'd almost forgotten what real vine-ripened tomatoes or
watermelon tasted like, until I arrived in Turkey. The citrus fruit is
so fresh that you can keep it only for a day or two before it rots.
The fruits and vegetables are so cheap in season that the vendors
are almost giving it away on weekends -- the produce is picked
ripe that day and if it isn't sold, it won't keep long enough to try to
sell the next day.
SERIES:
(U) SID Around the
World '06 - '07
1. SID Around the
World : Sugar Grove,
West Virginia
2. SID Around the
World : Living in
Thailand -- A Single's
Perspective
3. SID Around the
World : A Glimpse of
Utah
4. SID Around the
World : Misawa and
Tokyo
5. SID Around the
World : Colorado
Springs
6. SID Around the
World : Life in...
Central Maryland??
7. SID Around the
World : Walking the
Streets of Turkey
8. SID Around the
World : Jumping Into
Yorkshire's Village
Life with Both Feet
(U) But besides great food, Turkey offers some of the best
shopping for world-class handicrafts: procelain, ceramic, copper,
and handwoven textiles, including legendary Anatolian carpets and
kilims. Islamic art in a variety of media is produced in Turkey for
sale, and many of these pieces are produced using unique Turkish
techniques such as "ebru," the Turkish art of watercolor painting.
(U) Hagia Sophia, in Istanbul, built in the 6th century AD
(U) There's a reason why everyone from wealthy Britons and
Germans to the Russian mafia buy vacation properties and second
homes in Turkey; come to Turkey and see for yourself!
"(U//FOUO) SIDtoday articles may not be republished or reposted outside NSANet
without the consent of S0121 (DL sid comms)."
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DERIVED FROM: NSA/CSSM 1-52, DATED 08 JAN 2007 DECLASSIFY ON: 20320108