Fulya. Izmir
Study in school
Where were you born?
I was born in Turkey, in Afyon. It’s a city in the middle west of Turkey. This is where my grandparents live. But I grew up in another city, Konya. This is the city where philosopher Rumi lived at some point. I grew up there until the age of 14. After that we moved to Izmir.
Who are your parents?
My father is now retired. He served in the air forces. My mother studied to be a teacher. But she has been a housewife. My brother is a banker, a manager in a department.
If you remember the transition from Konya to Izmir, which city did you like more?
I like Izmir. They are different types of cities. Konya is more conservative. But the food is amazing in Konya. Especially they have very tasty dishes from meat. İzmir is more relaxed. Many people in Turkey want to live in Izmir, it’s a very liberal city.
How long is school in Turkey?
We have three steps: 4 years of primary school, 4 years – secondary school, then 4 years of high school. For the primary school you have to be in class. In secondary school, you have two options: either to come to class or to learn at home, but you still need to come for the exams. Generally, 80% of students continue to high school.
What do the other people do after the secondary school?
You can try to find a job. There also three types of high schools. The first type is gymnasium – the best one, the second one is normal high school, the last one is for professional education.
If you wanted to go to a university, do you have to go to a gymnasium?
No, you can go to any school. We have a general exam, after the high school you have to take the exam. According to the results you can choose the university. But the grades of the high school don’t count that much.
The grades in the school don’t matter, the most important is the statewide exam?
Grades are a bit important but the most important is the statewide exam. For example, if you study in a university and you don’t like it. Here (in Germany) I see the students can change easily, they have “abitur” results and they can change. In Turkey, if you want to change, you should take the general exam again. After that you can choose the new university.
You have to take the exam again, if you want to change the university?
Yes, it is not easy.
The result is not forever?
It works only for one year. The exam is not easy, you have to prepare maybe for one year.
What does it have?
It has math, physics, literature etc.
All in one exam?
Yes, all in one exam.
Do you have to write something at the exam?
No, you don’t write anything, there are only multiple choice questions.
And you get one grade?
Actually you have different kind of grades, but from one exam. If you want to study engineering or medicine, they calculate different points but from the same exam. According to this grade can choose the university. You select your choices of the universities and departments and send the choices and the grades to the government. They distribute the students to the universities according to the grades and the choices.
This is complicated.
It is also not easy for students, because they have to study for one year to prepare for the exam. And you have to answer all questions in 3 hours. Maybe you don’t feel well that day, but you don’t have a choice. You have to join the exam and the results affect all your life.
When I attended the exam, I wanted to study psychology. But when I got my results, I realized that I don’t have enough grades to study psychology, I checked other options. I selected many different departments, even advertisement and management. In the end I was accepted into Education department but it was not my first choice. In the beginning I was unhappy. I tried to change the department, but I had to study one more year for the exam again. I couldn’t do this. Luckily I like my job now.
Izmir
What’s special about Izmir?
Turkey has access to three sees: the Black sea in the North, the Mediterranean sea in the South, and the Aegean sea in the West. Izmir is at the Aegean sea. It is the third largest city in Turkey. It is considered to be the most open-minded and liberal city in Turkey, it is very European. Atatürk, the founder of Turkish Republic, is a very important person for people in Izmir.
Why is that?
In 1923 he established Turkish republic. Before that it was Ottoman empire, which was oriented more to the East, but he decided to westernize the country.
So he brought more western culture to Turkey?
For example he gave more rights to women. He gave the women the right to vote and be elected which was earlier than in many European countries. Maybe at first it was only local elections, but in any case they had the right to vote.
Near Izmir there was an ancient Greek-Roman city Ephesus. That area is famous for wine now. There are some ancient Greek and Roman ruins. There is also the House of the Virgin Marry. It is believed that she spent her last years there. The city is also famous for Rakı (a traditional drink in Turkey) and fish. You can find many places near the sea to drink Rakı and eat fish or seafood in general. In Anatolian peninsula you can find many meat dishes, near Izmir we eat a lot of seafood. Meat is not very popular in that area.
What else should I see in Izmir?
I am from Karşıyaka area. Izmir is stretching around a bay, there are several districts along the coast. Karşıyaka is one of the districts. Cesme and Alaçatı are popular in summer, there are many fancy beaches there.
If you want to go out in the evening and come back late, is it safe in Izmir?
Izmir is very safe. You can see many girls in the streets.
What about local markets?
This is interesting. In Germany most of time the market is for food, in Turkey the market is also for clothes. You can buy good clothes cheaply. Even wealthy people sometimes prefer to go there.
Does it work every day?
No just once a week, in our district it is on Wednesday. In other districts you can find a Bazar (market) on another day.
Food
An important part of life in Turkey is breakfast. We have a big breakfast. There is a very popular pastry, called Boyoz, that we eat for breakfast. Izmir is famous for this pastry. You can find it anywhere, it’s kind of a street food. In the morning, people like to eat Boyoz and egg. The origin of this pastry goes back to Sephardi jews who were exiled from Spain in 15th century and fled to Ottoman Empire to find refuge.
What else do people eat for breakfast?
Eggs and boyoz or Simit and cheese is a standard quick breakfast. For a long breakfast, people eat cheese (like feta), olives, different kinds of marmalades, pastries, sucuk (Turkish salami), kaymak (cream) with honey and, sometimes, also with walnuts – you can put it on bread, vegetables, tomatoes, cucumbers, pepper. Generally we don’t eat fruits at breakfast.
We eat white bread, it’s like baguette, but thicker. Many bakeries have only one type of bread – the white Turkish bread. Another popular street food is Börek, it’s a kind of pastry or a cake with different fillings, like cheese or meat. Another famous thing for breakfast is Menemen – it’s an omelet with green pepper and tomato. First you cook green pepper, sometimes with onions, then you add tomatoes, at the end you put eggs.
Are the eggs mixed with milk?
No there is no milk. You mix the eggs but not too much, a little bit. We start with salty things first, then the sweet ones, marmalade, kaymak with honey. We eat a lot. Also, of course, the Turkish tea. There is a traditional way of brewing in special pots. All around Turkey we drink tea. In Germany there are beer gardens, in Turkey there are tea gardens.
Coffee?
Yes, we drink coffee, but not as much as tea. We drink tea during the breakfast. At the end we drink Turkish coffee.
What do you eat for dinner?
Breakfast and dinner are the most important meals in Turkey. Lunch is not as popular. We invite each other either for breakfast or for dinner.
We start dinner with soup.
Every dinner you start with soup?
Yes, generally every dinner. It is important to have hot meals for dinner. Green salad with olive oil. In winter – pickled vegetables. Main dishes consist of rice, vegetables, meat, bulgur. At the end – some desert. People drink a lot of tea. You finish the dinner and after that you also drink tea with some sweets, maybe nuts. Some people also eat fruits. All night we eat something.
When do you start the dinner?
Generally at 7pm. In traditional families, the women cook. Nowadays it changes, but the change is not big.
What are the popular holidays in Turkey? Do you celebrate New Year?
New Year – yes. There are also two religious feasts. Ramadan feast (after Ramadan fasting), we also call it Sugar feast, it lasts three days. We eat sweet things, like Baklava. The second one is the Sacrifice feast. We sacrifice cows or sheep. After that we give the meats of those animals to the poor people who can not afford to buy meat. It is a feast for everybody. The feast is four days, during which we eat meat. There are also some National holidays such as the Republic Day (October 29), National Sovereignty and Children’s Day (April 23), Victory Day (August 30), Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day (May 19), for Izmir, Liberation of Izmir (September 9).
When is the Sacrifice feast?
Every time it changes. Every year it gets back by about 20 days. For example, last time it was at the end of August. This year it should be around beginning of August. During this time all families try to get together. I like this kind of feast and traditions. In this way we can meet our relatives who we haven’t seen in a long time.
Are there celebrations in the streets or it is more a family holiday?
There are no big celebrations in the streets. But at that time people try to dress well. You can see it in small cities, because people try to wear beautiful dresses. If you visit somebody, then during Ramadan you will be offered sweets, while during the Sacrifice feast, you will be offered meat. We do celebrate National holidays in the streets.
What is the daily life for women in Turkey?
A big fraction of women work. We can say that they are a part of business life. Another group of women prefer to stay at home and take care of households and their children.
Gün
Also, there is one particularly popular tradition for women, usually housewives, to gather sometimes, maybe once a week or once a month. They prepare some dishes and collect money.
What do they use this money for?
They use it for them.
Who do they collect the money from?
From themselves.
So they get together and give each other money?
Yes, for example, if I host a gathering, then this time I get the money. The gathering is called gün, which means “day”. But the exact purpose of this meeting is to have fun and to socialize.
So many women get together and give money to the host?
Yes, that’s right. It used to be not so much money, maybe you give a euro. Now it’s more, maybe you give 100 TL (about 15 euros) every month. For example, my mother has three “Gün” this year. These are for different groups of women. One group has about 15 women, the other groups are smaller, maybe around 6 women. They dance, chat, eat. You should be prepared for that, you cook a lot.
So when you host you get quite a large amount of money, when you go to somebody you need to give the money. Where do you get the money from?
Usually the husbands give the money to go to “Gün”. The most important is that these are social events to meet and to talk to each other. They eat and drink coffee, tee. Sometimes I joined together with my mother, it is very enjoyable. When the meetings were in our house, we had a lot of very tasty dishes left afterwards.