Note: I got these pictures off the Internet, but they are very much like what I saw.
I saw Turkey in October 2008 as part of a Mediterranean cruise that also went to Italy and Greece. Our ship went up the western coast of Turkey and stopped for a day each at three cities: Marmaris in the south, Izmir (Smyrna) in the middle and Istanbul (Constantinople) in the north. From Izmir I took a bus to Ephesus.
Turkey is way richer and more orderly than I expected. From the looks of it, it was richer than Greece or Naples but not as rich as Rome. In America you get this idea of Muslim countries as being poor and disorderly.
Another thing that surprised me is that the Turkish men looked just like I imagined: thick black hair on top, thick black eyebrows, a long nose and a thick black moustache (pictured). Kind of like George Orwell. Not all of them, of course, but way more than I expected.
Marmaris looks like a Greek city: streets of white houses with red roofs down by the edge of the sea, down by the ships, mountains in the background, some of them green or blue, some of them bare and grey. Inland it reminded me of southern California with its mountains and lines of planted fruit trees. But then you would see a silver mosque or a red Turkish flag and know you were somewhere else.
Like in Greece, dogs run free and you hear the sound of scooters in the distance. But unlike Greece – or southern California – the men still hold hands with their women when they walk down the street. Nearly everyone dressed in a Western style. They had BP, Nokia, McDonald’s and iPhones.
Even down in Marmaris, Istanbul is seen as the Big City.
Izmir is about the size of Philadelphia or Melbourne, the biggest city after Istanbul and Ankara, the capital. It is a port with ships and factories and highways and apartment buildings (pictured). It seems much richer than Naples. The infrastruture looks American.
I did not spend long there since I wanted to see Ephesus, the biggest city in these parts back in Roman times, back before the rise of Constantinople. It lies in a shallow grave an hour to the south by bus. I saw it and, on the top of a hill, the Virgin Mary’s house (pictured), but I will not go into that here since it requires a separate post.
Istanbul seems as big and modern as New York. You would think you were in Europe if it were not for the huge mosques and the loud call to prayer. I wanted to see the Hagia Sophia, the large, beautiful church from Byzantine times, but we missed the tour bus, so we went to the Grand Bazaar (pictured) instead – thousands of little shops under one roof. No set prices: the shopkeeper names a price that is five times too much and you must talk him down to something reasonable. My wife loved it.
– Abagond, 2009, 2016.
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This looks beautiful! Now I’m inspired to visit.
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*sigh* I’d love to travel. For now, school gets my undivided attention (and wallet).
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Yes when you travel, you realize that the media hold up Anglo Saxon countries and downplay not only black countries but also non- anglo saxon ones,
I was amazed myself being a world traveller how some places like England have a very poor quality of life( like lack of proper heating in homes,no dryers,few people have garages, or air con but the media will never show you that. It’s very expensive but can be very third world compared to America and the Caribbean
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I know many Germans who vacation in Turkey every year and they all seem to really like it there. Never been there myself.
Nicia, interesting comment. Most of the Europeans I know have been shocked at the poverty they see in the U.S.A.
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Yes,in England,the mentality is those in power have contempt for the common man. So while they don’t have peasants working the land for the king in dysmal conditions,today the “aristocracy” is the businesses.
They are greedy to the point where they sell second rate items or services at very high prices so that the average Brit has to work like mad to pay for basic necessities.
Any good quality items are overpriced so that only very wealthy can afford it.
Taking the public transport in London for example.. It costs 10 dollars for a day card. A single 1 way ticket(even if it’s the next stop) costs 8.00 dollars.They are frequently late,breaking down often and are overcrowded.
If you live on the slight outskirts,it’s even more money 20.00 to get into downtown London.
Restaurants serve very little food (sometimes not fresh)for 20.00. Coffees cost 2.50 to 5.00. (refills are unheard of here)
Most English people express shock that I moved here from North America, as a substantial number are leaving in droves.
My own Dad left the UK to visit North America and never came back to England.He called my Mom, said,” Bring the kids, I’ve found paradise”. And never came back. The lifestyle that we lived in N.A was equivalent to say, famous footballers’ lifestyles in the UK.
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One reason foreigners are shocked by American poverty is because at some level they think Hollywood gives them a true picture of America.
But it goes beyond even that. When I come back from overseas – even from a Third World country – I am shocked all over again by American poverty. It is like, “Oh. Right. I forgot”.
One of the worst times was when I came back from Indonesia. Indonesia is much poorer than America and yet it does not seem to have the level of crime, violence and disorder that America does.
At a material level poverty in America is better – you are not going to starve to death and will probably have colour television. And yet you will often be missing some very simple things that poor people in some other parts of the world take for granted. Like a father, safe streets and decent schools.
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Like a father
You hit the nail on the head.
American poverty, crime, and other anti-social behavior comes from fatherlessness (motherlessness doesn’t affect poverty or crime substantially) caused by the decline of marriage. Even having a divorced or never-married father is way better than none at all, from a statistical standpoint.
In Germany there’s less crime for this reason. Although the birthrate is low, the birthrate among married couples is almost at replacement-level. Many people don’t have children at all, but most of those who do, get married or at least cohabit. That keeps the father involved and keeps the society from falling apart.
We also need to remember that happiness is affected disproportionally by income-disparities. People are happiest and safest when the vast majority is middle-class. The growing income-inequality (caused mostly by the decline of marriage) is making everybody miserable. You can see it in the black community especially, but it’ll hit the rest of the States like a ton of bricks soon.
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So essentially, marriage is the answer to most of society’s woes? If that is what you’re saying then I can’t agree with that. There are a lot of marriages that churn out some pretty screwed up children. I think the problem is personal responsibility, if you have children, love, protect, and nurture them, prepare them for the world, plain and simple. I do believe a child is better off with both parents but I don’t believe marriage is the answer as it really isn’t for everybody. Society needs to catch up instead of pushing patriarchy/ pro-whiteness while talking out the side of its mouth about equality.
I too was surprised at American poverty, but then again most countries are very image conscious and the U.S has a lot hanging on that. It’s weird how it works, the whole “third world” label. There are countries that fall into this category where people don’t have to lock their doors at night, who aren’t starving, who are fishermen, farmers, carpenters, small business owners, who’s children are tackling more advanced subjects in school than some of their counterparts in more developed countries, yet these aren’t considered the places to be.
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No, marriage isn’t the answer to all of society’s woes. But it’s the main facilitator in keeping biological mothers and fathers together with their children (that’s the whole point). And that has a huge impact on crime and poverty (which was the point of my post).
The patriarchy is not a “white thing”. Where in the world do you get that idea?
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I know its not a “White thing”, I should have used an & instead of that /. Without getting too wordy, “motherlessness doesn’t affect crime and poverty substantially” because we live in impersonal patriarchal societies. The freedoms most women enjoy today clash with how things used to work, so the father led family unit needed to keep things as they were is falling apart and society(in terms of family) holds onto the idea that old is gold, hence the poverty and thus the crime. As I said, I think it comes down to personal responsibility. Ah crap, I tried not to be wordy lol.
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There isn’t actually a correlation between poverty and crime. The only correlation is between crime and fatherlessness. It’s just that fatherlessness is more common among the poor.
I’m with you on the personal responsibility but I’m very pragmatic. If the father-led unit (through the natural institution of marriage — even without civil marriage) is needed to keep fathers around (and it seems to be so), doesn’t that mean that patriarchy is necessary? Everywhere patriarchy breaks down (such as in the inner city), society quickly collapses.
But I’m waaaaay off on a tangent now….
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“You would think you were in Europe”
That’s probably because you were. 😉
Constantinople is a city on two continents. The Haga Sophia and the Grand Bazaar are in the European part of Constantinople.
Turkey still occupies a part of Europe.That region is known as Thrace. Althoug Thrace as a region expands the Turkish occupied part of Europe.
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Touche!
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I’m not sure about that, I believe poverty (which I believe is relative) tends to breed crime, even if they’re pretty much crimes of survival like theft and such. The inner city doesn’t make a good example because it is in fact part of a larger patriarchy and receives all the messages of such, so not following that mode of existence will no doubt be a yet another disadvantage. I think it’s a complicated matter as it involves prescribed gender roles, religion etc. Anyways I’ve blabbered enough off topic stuff, I’m watching Brokeback Mountain at the moment, I want to see what all the fuss was about.
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Türkiye’ye gittim
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Seni seviyorum
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Gen,
You are right that poverty breeds crime but my point is that the correlation is indirect. Poverty weakens marriage which leads to fatherlessness which leads to crime. Which is why throwing money at single mothers does not lead to a reduction in crime; they tried that for years and it just made crime rates worse. You’d have to give each single mother about $40.000 more per year to mitigate the negative effect of fatherlessness.
The inner city is an example of matriarchy, not patriarchy. Families are centered around women and men just float around causing trouble, killing each other, and reproducing.
Okay. Now I’m REALLY off-topic.
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Turkey is a great place for vacations, especially in summer. I really love the beach there
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