Category Archives: In the Field

Bizarre Warnings

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We all know that smoking cigarettes is bad for our health. We also know most of the diseases that result from this habit. In America, cigarette packages have plain black and white health warnings on them that most smokers overlook and that some non-smokers don’t even know are on there. Ironically, it’s different in Turkey and warning labels are much more bold. I say ironically because not even a tourist could miss the warning labels on cigarettes here, yet 37.6% of male deaths are caused by smoking-related illnesses according to the World Lung Foundation and Turks are known for the saying ‘Smoke like a Turk’. To clarify what I mean by bold warning labels, these packages have distressing graphics to show people what happens when they smoke. The pictures cover pretty much the entire package and they range from showing a couple on opposite sides of the bed portraying that smoking ruins or hurts relationships to hospitalized babies. It definitely shocked me and made me more aware of the dangers of smoking.

A green city with a black mark

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We made headlines last week when we met with the Deputy Mayor of Kocaeli, Turkey – the district with highest national GDP. We discussed the business sector, the environment and the construction after the 1999 earthquake. Click here to read more about our visit. 

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Kocaeli is a province involved in an odd dichotomy: it is the most industrious municipality in Turkey as well as the most environmentally friendly – at least, according to Deputy Mayor Özak Zechariah.

The deputy mayor and his translator presenting us with gift bags

Yeah, I was skeptical too.

However, after meeting with Zechariah, it was hard to argue otherwise; especially after drinking Kocaeli’s superb bottled water – bar none, one of the best I’ve ever had- which is processed right in Koccaeli. The water quality reflects the municipality’s water system which is reported to be the world’s largest privately financed water supply project and boasts 7,000 kilometers of underground water tunnels.

Even Kocaeli fish drink clean water now that the local government put restrictions on what nearby chemical, automobile and steel plants can pour into the the Gulf of Izmit, according to officials. For many years, the gulf was fair game and neighboring companies used the waters as their personal waste-basket; as Zechariah put it, “everyone used to know the Gulf of Izmit by its smell.”

But he says the government has worked hard to make the area, along with the entire municipality, more eco-friendly. Ford, Bridgestone, Toyota, Goodyear and others have major plants  in Kocaeli – and Zechariah said they have faced some opposition to their green initiatives. One such initiative is SCADA, a control system that monitors what type of waste companies are putting out; he says Kocaeli is the first and only province using this advanced system.

And he says it seems to be paying off.

“For the first time in many years, we can actually see dolphins in the gulf now,” said Zechariah.

Could it be true? Was Kocaeli really the most industrious and the most environmentally aware? I was one water in, and my skepticism was beginning to fade. Kocaeli’s convincing credentials and witching water had swayed me.

After coming home and doing some research, things got murky.

According to the European Environment Agency, Kocaeli, or more specifically Izmit, is home to Izadas, the only hazardous waste site (there are 3 total) in Turkey to accept waste from a variety of industries across the country. It has the capacity to hold 790,000 cubed meters of waste.

Zechariah failed to mention that.

While this bit of information certainly doesn’t discredit all of their advances, it does make the situation more complicated than their PR-driven facade suggested. I have to say, it leaves me wondering, what else weren’t they telling us?

The Month of God

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Today marked the first day of Rajab, the seventh month on the Islamic lunar calendar. The name Rajab is derived from the Arabic word rajaba, which means “to respect.” The two months before the holy month of Ramadan, the 9th month, are considered sacred months in which battles are prohibited. I find this fact interesting as we pack to leave for Hatay, the border region between Turkey and Syria, where many victims of Syrian political unrest seek refuge.

The Prophet Muhammed is quoted as saying, “God gave us twelve months in the year, eleven of which are ours and one of which belongs to God. What rewards God will give his servants in His month, no one knows, not even the Prophet(s).”

Some celebrations can be seen during the month of Rajab, especially by those who follow the “Twelver” sect of Shi’ah Islam. The more common practice during Rajab, however, is simply more strict observance and steadfastness in faith.

Suyu, or Don’t You?

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Back home, I never give water a second thought: I drink it from the faucet, brush my teeth with it, shower in it, put it in my drinks as ice cubes, and generally don’t appreciate it as much as I probably should.

Here, it’s kind of a different story.

We’ve been assured that the water here is perfectly fine, but Istanbul life has become accustomed to hosting a never-ending fleet of bottled water-drinkers. Restaurant tables are lined with bottles of water and corner shop floors are crowded with water jugs. The only time I’ve actually consumed non-bottled water here was from brushing my teeth.

We were joking around earlier today about how at home we guzzle water carelessly, but here, we’re careful to ensure that our water supply is constantly stocked – quite a change from knowing your next drink is just a flick of a faucet away.

At restaurants, we’ve come to expect plastic-lidded cups of water that look like glasses after you unpeel the lid. When we visited the Kocaeli government office last week, they gave us water in those containers and told us a charming legend: that anyone who drinks the water of Kocaeli will return someday.

I do hope to return someday, but I certainly miss those ice cubes!

Nargile

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Walking along the bustling street of Istiklal-the main thoroughfare between Tunel and Taksim square, one can wander off on many side streets filled with vendors, bazaars and cafés. Many of these cafés have seating outside where one can enjoy tea or coffee, play backgammon and smoke nargile. Also known as hookah or shisha, this waterpipe is used for smoking flavored tobacco. It’s very popular in India, Pakistan and the Middle East, where it originated, though it’s also catching on in other countries as well. The Mayi Nargile Café broke down the process of packing a hookah for me.

On the Front Lines

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With all the criticism that occurs around the media it’s easy for people to overlook the fact that many journalists are putting their lives on the line each and every day to report the news. Today our group met with Omer Berberoglu from Reuters News in Istanbul. Working as a producer and camera operator for several years, Berberoglu has experienced what it’s like reporting in a war zone. He showed and explained to us the various protective gear that journalists wear when working in these dangerous conditions.

This equipment is not worn all the time when working in war zones, but mainly when on the front lines under the most dangerous circumstances. It takes courage to be able to report in war zones, and Beberoglu said you have to do a cost-analysis on whether or not risking your life is worth spreading the information. While this equipment is somewhat reassuring, Berberoglu said it’s not a 100% guarantee. “Rarely you get killed by bullets, you actually get killed by bombs, and if you’re bombed then you’re done. These (items) are protector vitals, it saves you some time until you’re near a proper medical station.” Berberoglu also talked about how these experiences open your eyes to a whole new reality of what it means to feel secure.

Hardened hat: This is used mainly during riots and protests to protect the head from rocks and coins being thrown.

Gas mask: There are two types, the one displayed below is used against smoke grenades. The other kind is mainly used against chemicals.


Composite helmet and flak jacket: These are both used to protect the body from bullets. The helmet protects against rifles and pistols, and the flak jacket has a bullet proof plate that blocks against guns such as AK-47s and N-63s.


Stab vest: It’s good to protect from stabbing, riots and hand guns.

The Art of Coffee-Making

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Clink, boil, clank, pour, done. The coffee-maker at Pierre Loti Cafe moved seamlessly through the process of making a cup of Turkish coffee. After attempting to capture the process on camera, I realized that it isn’t just a routine: it is an art. The speed with which he stirred or the amount of time he let the cezve sit on the hot coals are coordinated acts in creating a perfect cup of coffee.

 

Crash-course in Turkish comics

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Highly sexual, uncommonly progressive and entirely anti-establishment – Turkish newspapers are a haven for radical thought and political dialog.

Ha! Only joking.

This actually couldn’t be further from the truth. Journalism in Turkey is monitored to the point that it is now nothing more than a propaganda machine for various political interests.   Currently, there are 95 Turkish journalists in jail and Turkey ranks 148 out of 175 countries on the Reporters Without Borders index. Journalists are afraid to critique those in power, and of even those brave enough to do so face imprisonment and, in some cases, assassination.

But x-rated, anti-establishment material is still widely available in Turkey- just not in writing.

Enter comic books and papers. For years, Turkish comic books have gone surprisingly uncensored despite their overtly political messages; the highly charged and often vulgar comics make New Yorker’s famous cartoons look innocent.

This panel from popular comic Girgir is one of the less offensive images I found. Nudity and sexually explicit acts are often depicted in shocking detail.

Turkish political comics aren’t nearly as popular as they were when they were first mass produced in the 1970’s; Turkey’s most famous comic, Girgir, peaked with a circulation of 1 million in the 1980’s making it the third-best selling comic magazine in the world.

Government opposition – specifically, the military coup of 1980 – hampered the growth and added to the decline of political comics in Turkey.

But comics are very much alive and well today, much to the chagrin of President Erdogan, a favorite target of today’s political cartoonists. Erdogan is beginning (in the past few years) to attack the anti-government publications through lawsuits and fines. Recently, the offices of Penguen were suspiciously torched by unknown arsonists. However, I wish the president luck. No other leader before him has been able to squash the comic phenomena with any real success.

Why is this? For starters, comics can be cheaply and independently produced and are usually very well-liked. They are not newspapers – they do not hold any power in political spheres and they don’t claim to be factual.

But they can make President Erdogan and all of his friends look like fools. They can also talk about openly about sex, relationships and political scandals in a refreshingly blunt and hilarious way.

Not to mention, some of these comics are surprisingly informational- albeit, they are very biased,  but they are still up-to-date. By flipping through one issue of Girgir, Penguen or any other comic, you can learn a lot about the Turkey’s political climate; I learned about two current government scandals just by looking at today’s front pages.

Honestly, it’s perplexing how a journalist can be thrown in jail and a paper shut down for critiquing the wrong person, but comics can explore every Turkish social taboo with much less interference.

Pierre and Me

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As the burial place of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, the standard bearer of the Prophet Mohammed, the village of Eyüp is a place of pilgrimage for Muslims from all over the world. The famous Pierre Loti café stands at the top of the hill in Eyüp cemetery. The path up to the café passes by a  picturesque array of tombstones, most of which date from the Ottoman Era. We chose to take a cable car up to the top, from where it commands sweeping views down over the Golden Horn. The café is named after the French novelist and Turkophile Pierre Loti, who frequented a café in Eyüp-claimed to be this one-during his stay In 1876. He was a French naval officer who fell in love with a married Turkish woman and wrote an autobiographical novel, Aziyadé, about their affair (though there is some speculation that this affair was in fact with another man). While enjoying the view and fresh air, I had a refreshing snack of Turkish ice cream (dondurma) and Turkish coffee- great combo!

In Turkish coffee, there is a layer of sludge that settles to the bottom of the cup. Superstition says that one can read a person’s fortune, not from their hand, but from this same sludge that lies on the bottom of their coffee cup; the thick, dark grounds can also be read to determine when and who a person is going to marry.

We decided to test this theory out.

The group gathered around as Susanne Fowler poured out the sludge from my cup onto the saucer. We then looked inside the cup at the remaining residue on the sides to see the shapes left behind that would tell of my fortuitous future. From the shapes of a tree, turkey and rabbit it was discovered that I was on a growing (tree) journey and in my future lay travel, marriage to a farmer (turkey) and strong fertility (rabbit). To determine the first name of my future farmer husband, the sludge was poured from the saucer back into the cup to see if any trace of a letter was left behind–the majority agreed it was a P. This could obviously mean only one thing–I was going to marry a French farmer, Pierre, live in the countryside of Provence and bear multiple children. Not too shabby, only time will tell!