Take a sip of çay to explore more

This weekend was full of new experiences. Ezel from International Office in Anadolu University gave me contacts of one Turkish girl Mısra who wanted to meet Erasmus students, because she herself has just came back from the Italy.

So on Saturday we went to Odunpazari. It wasn‘t so exciting as at the first time, but now I am already beginning to feel here like at home. I love to drink çay (traditional Turkish tea) and look around all those colourful houses.

Cay is a type of strong black tea which is produced on the Eastern Coast of the Black Sea. Turkish tea is typically prepared using two stacked kettles (çaydanlık) specially designed for the tea preparation.

The preparation takes a long time. Water is brought to a boil in the larger lower kettle and then some of the water is used to fill the smaller kettle on top and steep several spoons of loose tea leaves, producing a very strong tea.

Tea is poured into small glasses with cubes of sugar to enjoy it hot. I have noticed that people here are plying board games while sitting in restaurants and they never drink alcohol or coffee, so tea replaces these drinks.

Also, Turkish tea is traditionally offered in small tulip-shaped glasses which are usually held by the rim, in order to save the fingertips from a burn, as the tea is served boiling hot. This tradition originated in the Ottoman empire.

While drinking çay with Mısra and her friends we talked why she wanted to study in Italy. The reason was simple – she wanted to learn Italian which now she speaks better than English. Her family is always supporting her and hopes that she‘ll be successful. One of her dreams is to study Master‘s degree of economics in Europe.

Her mother and father are retired. Her thoughtful and contemporary yet committed to traditions family is from Antalya.

One more sip.

This government is struggling for Turkey to become a member of the European Union. Mısra is sure that Turkey should join the European Union because it is a key to innovations, sociality, dynamicsm and the expansion of the horizon.

But as I heard from another Turkish friend there‘s also different opinion.“There’s no meaning of going here. They closed more than 100 factories, import bullies from Spain instead of using ours, so why do we need this? Firstly, the Government should solve problems which are obvious and only then think about integrating into the EU.”

Another sip of çay.

My dear new friend told me that National Turkish tea is part of her life. Moreover, this tea opens the mind and provides with more energy.

Offering tea in Turkey is considered to be a sign of friendship and hospitality, at households, shops and restaurants, usually after a meal. Despite its popularity, tea became the widely consumed beverage of choice in Turkey only in the 20th century. It was initially encouraged as an alternative to coffee, which had become expensive and at times unavailable in the aftermath of World War I. In fact, now Turkey always competes with the United Kingdom on the amount of tea consumed.

When tea was finally finished we sat for a while. We said goodbye with touching cheeks (it's a tradition in Turkey). It was so intimate for me because Turkish people do this only with close friends!

The Hush

These days I’m entering “Media Religion Culture 2012” conference in Eskisehir. Every day after presentations I have to give a pause and sum up that I’ve heard. I feel that my attitude changes mostly toward various religions.

But during presentations there’s also games or panels. Yesterday all day I played a game called “The hush”. Actually it’s more like an experiment. This game works out like this: you have to register on the website silence.thearriving.com and you’ll get 5 messages during the next day at any moment.

 

When you receive that message you should stand in a silence for one minute and look at the sky or nowhere and contemplate how awesome life is.

"All the resources of our almost miraculous technology have been thrown into current assault against silence", Aldous Huxley, "On Silence".
Sounds ridiculous?
At first I thought in this way too, but this experiment works like pause button. You can just look around, stand in silence or forgot that life crashes onward, deadlines loom, trains leave the station and of course, you‘re late to the job or university again.

Jason Anthony is a writer, speaker and this game designer. He said that sometimes people during this game starts to ask questions like “who am I” or just reliefs the stress. Jason is not sure in how many countries it works because it's trial version.

During one minute you can take a look at your life from different perspective. And it may change everything or it could be a way just to relax.

My beloved roommates

One of the most important things while staying abroad is the people around, especially your roommates. I am lucky because I‘m living with two great girls the Chinese Qianqian Pan and the American Caroline Williams. When we feel like having a chat we do, but also we give each other enough space when it is necessary. It‘s nice to have somebody to share your daily life.

 

We came here for different reasons. I wanted to experience a culture shock, Qianqian because the trip for her is really not expensive and of major class choice. Caroline has chosen Turkey from many “study abroad” programs at MSU (Michigan State University) and has always wanted to travel.

‘Plus this trip is one of the cheapest trips offered. Taking classes, travelling and eating in Turkey cost approximately the same as a stay at home for the summer. But mostly when people would ask me, "why do you want to go to Turkey?" I would respond, "why not". Lately I've had a huge desire to travel and explore as many places as I can so I thought this would be a great way to start”, says Caroline.’

It is not surprising that we all had some stereotypes in mind. My Chinese friend thought there should be more religion in the culture, like a lot of Islam.

Caroline was told that the people were very friendly (which they are) and the town is beautiful (which it is). A student thought more people would speak English though. And she really really really wished she had learnt more Turkish before coming over here.

Well, same here. Although now I always carry the dictionary and use body language, sometimes it tires me out. Anyway, one stereotype fits perfectly – the Turkish men try to come closer to the European women. But I‘ll write more about the stereotypes and how they work in other blog entries.

The worst thing is that everybody stares at us. Chinese student also doesn’t like it. ‘I didn’t think that it is because they rarely have Asians around. People here like looking at people, no matter whether I am in a group or in person. There is always someone looking at us or at me and it is kind of uncomfortable.’

Odunpazari – place to feel connection with Eskişehir

When I decided to go to Turkey for three months everybody was saying that I was crazy. But that’s true – I wouldn’t choose to be a journalist though. Well, I can speak English, Russian, a little bit of German and Spanish. So what? Wouldn’t I survive?

I heard a stereotype that here in Turkey people are afraid to speak in English or they just don’t know this language. Actually, it is not true or maybe I’m lucky?

Every day I combine English words with body language, some words from Turkish dictionary and a lot of smiling. It works surprisingly well.

But sometimes you have to make more research. Going to Odunpazari was a great lesson for me. Despite the security I managed to get on the tram without a ticket. I thought I can buy it inside. Before entering a tram I met two women who hardly spoke English, but it was enough for me to learn that I boarded illegally and where I should get off. These two ladies also spoke Russian, because they emigrated from Kazakhstan. They were amazed that I was here alone (not for a first time). After a small talk, I got a ticket and soon I was relieved. No more journeys like this.

I got out at Ataturk Lisesi bus stop and then I understood that my only friend is a map, otherwise I should find a native guide.

Odunpazari is famous for narrow streets, twisty paths, nice houses and museums. It is the first area of Turkish settlement in Eskisehir. Firewood (“odun” in Turkish) was sold in an area close to Yediler Park, and that is why the district was called Odunpazari (Bazaar of firewood). This historical district makes you feel spirit of the past and the DNA of the city. And I succeeded at this. These authentic streets made me feel so special. But it was not all about the museums I visited, but the people I met.

Sometimes you don’t even need words, you just feel connection. As I was standing near the Odunpazari Mosque looking at the entrance door, trying to take in the environment, suddenly a bunch of men came and started gossiping while looking at me. I thought I almost got used to this kind of attention here, but this situation really made me feel uncomfortable. I was not entering the mosque, so what did they want from me?

They started to speak with me, so I repeated the word “English” several times. There was a man who could speak in French and then from nowhere came my new friend Mustafa (quite common name in Turkey). He gave me a scarf, long skirt because women show bear skin in minimum in the temples and sacred places and we finally started talking about the old town. Mustafa knew a little bit of Russian and English so our dialogue was an ingenious mix. He said that he had been staying in Ukraine for three years. I can’t imagine how he managed to survive there for such a long time with this kind of Russian skills.

Nevertheless, we made a lot of touring. We visited glass museum, a complex of buildings (kursunlu kulliyesi), Alaeddin mosque, Atlihan bazaar of handicrafts (a place of gathering for local people to discuss all social, political and economic agenda as well as a hostel to accommodate tourists). We saw a lot of authentic works. Here you can see or buy many products made from white stone called luletasi.

As we were wandering around the narrow paths of bazzar Mustafa’s look suddenly changed and he started asking me whether I had a boyfriend in Turkey. I was open (you have to be if you want to know yourself and other people better), but I didn’t like that smile which appeared on his face. “And in Lithuania?”, he asked. Well, this time I haven’t made the same mistake second time and said that I’m here waiting for him, but Mustafa still wanted to show places. I had no choice but to say that I wanted to wander around only by myself. On the other hand, this was true.

As I saw him disappearing in the crowded old town streets dotted with the houses adjacent to each other and surrounded by the lush gardens, I could breathe the sultry air and finally make my way into this maze of Odunpazari life.

The houses in the old town mostly face the street and are adjacent to each other, and the gardens. The front sides facing the street have bay windows and consoles. The houses generally comprise of a sofa (hall) and other rooms surrounding it. There are 17 neighborhoods. Now the Odunpazari houses are like the district full of a new living space with varying food and accommodation alternatives.


When I got tired, I’ve chosen a small blue house with a café and a hostel. I tasted ciborek. It’s special food originating from the Crimean Turkish cuisine associated with Eskisehir. It looks similar to patty, but it’s filled with meat. It’s really popular on the Baltic Sea beaches, but here in Turkey ciborek is much tastier and not so fatty. Here you can feel that you are getting authentic product because you can watch how they are making it. As in all Turkish meals you are getting a lot of peppers for sure.

What I mostly loved about the old town was that you can actually see people making food, outfit, ebru paintings, jewellery from glass and different stones just in the streets. For example, a woman was knitting sweater and next to her sitting a husband was just chilling.

You can choose two ways to get back home to Eskişehir (if you are staying near Espark) – to get a tram or walk through the street named Hamam yolu where a huge variety of clothes, shoes shops and cafes of course.

Maybe dogs resting all over the town in the shade, tiny streets radiating authenticity or old men playing Okey and inviting for a cay (tea) but after a while it make you think it’s life.