Turkish Coffee, Nescafe and Tea.

Back from a trip south. Antalya. One of the prime destinations for sun worshipping Russians. This resort town has become the source of a great deal of folklore for young Turkish men. This is where one of them, or their brother, or their brother’s friend at some point had an encounter with a sexually available Russian girl and told all. These Russian ladies, have an effective stranglehold on the imagination of young Turkish men. Why? They are blonde. They are tall. They wear revealing clothing. Bottom line, they are easier than Turkish women who aren’t usually very tall, typically brunette’s and quite a bit more traditional. At least that’s the story. I have yet to meet a man who has had an encounter with these mythical easy Russian girls. We shall see. This is but one strand of the tangled relationship men and women have here in Turkey. Perhaps it isn’t any less tangled than what goes on in Canada on the surface but it’s certainly different. It’s important to point out though, at their core, Turkish men are just as traditional as the women. This I’ve tested gently. More on this for another time.

The “Fiesta Bar” at the resort we stayed at had an espresso machine. “Jackpot!” I thought! Finally a decent coffee! After dinner we hurried over and ordered 2 cappuccinos. The bartender dutifully proceeded to press the button on the Nescafe automatic coffee machine. That’s right, Nescafe.  It turns out; the espresso machine wasn’t at all in use and hadn’t been used for some time. What gives?

Turks apparently where the first to actually process coffee beans as a drink. We would be going back now 5 or 6 hundred years for that one. Look it up. The person who told me that though said it was due to trade with the Ethiopians. Hard to believe the Ethiopians didn’t show Turks how to drink coffee.  Anyways the Ottoman Empire embraced coffee as their own and when they were subsequently driven out of Vienna they left a few bags of beans behind. From this, the Vienna coffee house was born. Turks are partly responsible for the current popularity of the drink no doubt. It just isn’t that popular with them.

Surprised? I was. Turkish coffee heated in a pot (traditionally over coals) then served in tiny cups and sipped in small doses is easily found and widely available. “The Café” as a Canadian would know it, is in fact a very recent fixture on the Turkish scene. Starbucks arrived on Turkish shores, specifically Istanbul in 2002 and have largely been responsible for the sprouting of local chains in response. Say what you like about Starbucks, they effectively raised the stakes on coffee here in Turkey. Filtered coffee, as it’s called here, was an unknown quantity and remains so for most folks. I served some at a breakfast I hosted recently and was asked “can I put milk in it??”A guest was also worried I wouldn’t have Nescafe. Yes Nescafe.

Turkey was a closed economy until the mid 1980’s. What exactly did this mean?? Things foreign where not allowed in. Domestic industrial development was favoured. Those of us old enough to recall the Cold War will remember a time when stories about arriving in the Soviet Union with blue jeans would make you a hero in the eyes of a local. I went to Cuba and gave some perfume samples to my tour operator who may have been made the happiest woman in the world by this simple gesture. This was effectively the state of things in Turkey for some time where a great pleasure was an innocent pleasure. Nescafe somehow, elevated itself to one such commodity where it was smuggled into the country, kept under the counter and sold with a whisper for three times the price.  When the economic reforms finally took hold and Nescafe was on the shelves legitimately the damage was done. Nescafe had successfully captured a space in the Turkish imagination just like those Russian girls vacationing in Antalya. Nescafe, or Nestle managed to effectively market it for the refined     taste. People bought in. The stuff initially wasn’t cheap either and had the cachet of being from away. You want to be ordinary, have a traditional Turkish coffee. You want to stand out, offer your guests Nescafe.

Interesting when a culture some how convinces itself something awful is actually something good. Canadians know a thing or two about this. The Nescafe phenomenon here in Turkey reminded me completely of Tim Horton’s. How did Tim Horton’s become viewed as the provider of an exceptional cup of coffee? Once, 7 years ago, I said out loud in front of other people that I didn’t like Diana Krall. Oh The looks on their faces! I never got invited to their parties again. Maybe things are just good because so many people say they're good.  A friend of mine said a few years back  ”people like things that are shit. Just look at how long M*A*S*H was on T.V. “ Indeed. Chacun à son goût.


Tea is unquestionably King and absolutely something no Turk would do without. Turks drink an amazing amount of tea. It can be bought just about anywhere and is consumed with or after every meal. Street vendors and truck drivers have portable propane burners so they can prepare tea while on the job. Sit on a park bench in Istanbul and you can be approached and sold a glass of tea. There are tea gardens “Çay Baçhesi” places built just for serving tea and socializing. Many of them are situated near the sea or other places with beautiful views. Pastry shops have historically occupied the role of café but served tea instead. They are still all over town. (One pleasant surprise has been what excellent bakers Turks are.) I have yet to pay more than 1.50 Lira for a glass of tea which means the drink remains widely accessible for just about everyone. 

Brewing tea here is quite different than what Canadians would be accustomed to. Milk is never served and not even thought about. Tea here is about colour and strength. To prepare a proper Turkish tea one requires a double boiler teapot. The bottom pot bears the hot water, the top the brewed tea. It is usually kept on the stove to stay hot. The brewed tea is remarkably strong by itself. 4 tea bags where used in a smallish pot in four fingers of water for 5 people. To serve, pour a small amount of brewed tea in the bottom of the glass (almost always glass. How else to judge strength and quality?) Then add the hot water from the other pot to adjust strength. A host will come to the table with both pots in hand and serve accordingly. It is entirely appropriate to send tea back in a restaurant that is too dark for your tastes or too light. You know you’ve got a lazy host and a crappy glass of tea if it’s cloudy. This means, rather than bothering to brew more tea, your host has simply added water to the already used tea leaves. Very bad form! It is also quite important to change the glass after multiple uses. It gets smudged after all.  Tea glasses tend to be smaller than in Canada. The idea behind that is your tea doesn’t have a chance to get cold with smaller servings. Good restaurants don’t charge for tea after a meal. If they do it costs them in the tip. Sugar cubes almost always accompany a glass of tea. I’ve seen people drop three cubes into one little glass.  Some places, Like Konya in Anatolia, produce very hard sugar. The people there are known to keep a piece of sugar inside their cheek while they sip tea that will melt the sugar slowly.

Coffee will be second banana to tea for the foreseeable future.  That being said, the Starbucks on Baghdad Street has been recognized as one of the top grossing stores in all of the Starbucks Empire. The place is huge and packed all the time. Other local chains are also able to boast similar success. The café is hot right now in Istanbul. They are a good fit for a city full of young people and the long patio season. The nightlife has a killer vibe because of them.

My favourite story about Turkish coffee is the role it can play in a traditional marriage proposal. When a man wishes to marry a woman, its expected that he go to the family and ask the father for the young woman’s hand.  The family sits together at the table with the suitor and the would-be bride serves Turkish coffee. If the suitor’s coffee is salty, he knows he’s got no chance and is spared the embarrassment of getting shot down. If his coffee is sweet, he’s in.

Cleanliness is next to Turkishness.

Back at last! A short trip back to Canada to square away my work visa (what IS the matter with Ottawa anyways???) and now one week of classes under my belt at a brand new Istanbul University. I am now Mr. Roy to some aspiring Mariners who need to learn how to speak English. This teaching gig will be a veritable gold mine of material for a blog. Turkish boys 17 to 24. Trust me, they are not men. Nor are they Devo. They are boys. Now on to more pressing matters. This business of hygiene.

   We in Canada have been guilty of passing judgment on those Europeans for being, lets say, relaxed about their personal hygiene. The pecking order usually involves the English being the worst of the bunch (ah heck lets throw the Scots in too) particularly for their low priority placed on dental care. The French wear perfume so as to not reveal their stench, and no one seems to shave their armpits. Turks are no different. We in the West (yes they view themselves as not in the West) are not bad. There are some serious areas for improvement, but for the most part not as bad as others. Other areas of the world are viewed much less charitably. Lets just leave it at that.

What of these areas for improvement then?? Where do these Turks get off thinking us squeaky-clean Canadian’s are not as clean as them?? Well, I have to say, they most definitely have us on one front and it all begins with the toilet.
“The toilet? You mean those Turkish toilets I read about in my ‘Let’s Go Europe’ book?” Not exactly. Those same toilets are still up and running. You never know when you’re gonna run into them. It’s pretty much luck of the draw. I feel though that everyone should use them at least once. It’s character building.Usually, there is a little tap down next to where you are squatting that has a little bucket with it. You may pour water from the tap then splash away from the bucket in the hope that you will take care of what toilet paper normally does. If you’re lucky, some even have toilet paper. These “ à la türque” toilets are slowly vanishing . Turks of my generation cannot fathom how the older generation ever coped with them. No modern times mean modern toilets. Just like ours in Canada, except for an ever so simple enhancement.

This could be one of the greatest contributions to global bathroom practices ever introduced! Its beauty lies in its simplicity and its universality. A small hose (some more upscale types have it built into the porcelain) is attached to the toilet and the tap for it is just to the side of the bowl. Once you’ve made your effort, simply turn the tap on and a blast of water cleans the starfish for you. Toilet paper is now used for drying mostly. The feeling is one of refreshment. Your backdoor is clean! I don't care if it costs thousands of dollars, I'm having this installed in home home back in Toronto.
 Every household has this built into their toilet. Every restaurant bathroom. Everywhere. Imagine then growing up with this and learning that they over there in the West DON”T wash their asses after they go? What are they?? Animals??What else do they not do?? It turns out, plenty!Turkish men shave their armpits. I am told, that they are inspected once a week, (the armpit hairs) during their mandatory military service to ensure they are not getting too long. The practice then is maintained back in civilian life. The cleanliness benefits I’m not so sure about but I do understand that it takes care of additional odor. The cab driver I had the other day discounts that theory but then again it was hot out. So imagine if you will, the hairiest gorilla of a man (like the guy I saw at the gym today!) that you’ve seen this past summer. Back, chest, arms. Dark curly hair and lots of it.  Now think about how a man such as this would actually bother to shave his armpits. Someone I know asked if the armpit hair grew down to my legs not knowing that it stops at some point. I am also told, that it doesn’t just stop at the armpit hair. I can only rely on hearsay because given certain customs of modesty, Turkish men change at the gym with towels wrapped around themselves. Its just like Grade 8 Gym class all over again. There was that one guy who was too shy because he hadn't "matured" as quickly as the other guys. To hide his shame, he would find a quiet corner and wrap up in Star Wars towel his mom bought him. Then change. All men are like that here. 

It is absolutely unfathomable to ever wear your outdoor shoes in a Turkish person's home. No no, you'd be offered slippers immediately when you arrived. Every home has slippers for guests. I visited a home on the Black Sea the other day that had slipper for the patio. You'd then enter the home without foot wear at all. (The house by the way was absolutely spotless.) This caution around outside kooties is taken to new heights with the machine that wraps your shoes up in plastic at the gym. Insert foot into plastic and wham-o! Instant foot wrap so that you don't soil the floor with the unmentionable things you must have walked in in the 10 paces it takes you to get to the change room. My daughter's school is the same way. If you need to walk up the stairs, please wrap your feet in these plastic do dads.

Yeah I'd say they are over all a cleaner bunch here. They're certainly more fussed about things than your average Canadian. I'll be sure to point out other items as we go along.  Canadians still come out number 1 for dental hygiene though. Turks take in tremendous amounts of sugar daily through tea consumption. Unless that changes, Canadians may not wash our asses but we have better smiles!

Turkey. The Undiscovered Country.

Ah! Here I am! a blog of my very own! Perhaps my writing will be viewed as something so extra ordinarily gifted that I'll win an award or something. Or perhaps not. In any case, friends have encouraged me to chronicle my experiences here in Istanbul over the next 10 months and the very human need to share and externalize has finally bubbled to the surface.

I choose then to begin with the beginning. I am in Turkey. Istanbul her largest city. On the Asian Side. From here then I would like to dispel all of the most common misunderstandings about this place that I've encountered from people prior to my arrival. This may be one of the least understood countries in the world for Canadians. History of this place is not really taught in schools and regrettably, the most exposure anyone has had of this place was through that movie "Midnight Express". From there people have filled in the blanks with assumptions and guesses to allocate Turkey a place in their mind should mention of it ever come up. Well time to fix just a few things...

1. Turkey is NOT an Arab country: Though there is a shared history through the Ottoman Empire and some cultural and linguistic spill over as a result, Turks are not Arabs. To suggest otherwise to a Turk could result in a heated reprimand. The opposite is also true. Turks are Turks. They speak Turkish.

2. Turkey is a safe country: With the exception of separatist activity in the Kurdish region(more on this issue later), this is by and large a safe place to visit. I would also highly recommend being on high alert as you cross the street in a land where the car always has the right of way and the drivers are basically insane by Canadian standards.

3. Turkey is a secular country: The religion of the majority is Islam. You can hear the Ezan (call to prayer) from Mosques all over town, you can see women covered head to toe just as easily as see one in a mini skirt, people fast during Ramaddan and they don't fast. It's up to them. Most folks go out and visit relatives during Bayram how most Canadians see family at Christmas. The country though is officially secular. Its in the constitution put into place by the modern republics' founder Attaturk. This is definitely not Saudi Arabia. One can order a drink in a restaurant and buy alcohol at the corner store. In this respect Turkey is actually more liberal than many parts of Canada.

4. Turkish people are NOT mean: What can I say?? Turkey certainly has her share of thieves and tricksters and yes maybe you should be a little more careful on where you place your wallet when you head out to Taksim, but Turks are a very warm people. Hospitality is central to how they view themselves and I have to say I feel as though I've been warmly embraced by most of the people I've met here. Turks (at least in the part of Istanbul where I live) do not get too much contact with foreigners, so when the opportunity presents itself, they become very gracious. They seem to seize most chances to speak English and will always try it out if they have any to share.

5. Turkey is fun! : The beaches here are awesome, the food is fantastic and it is easily 1/3 cheaper than Greece.

Turkey is a pretty complicated country. Its nothing like say Finland where everyone is Finnish and thats that. There are a multitude of layers that make up Turkish identity which I'm still trying to understanding. In many ways it is just as modern as any other Western country and in other ways it is well, not Western. Maybe not even modern. What's clear though it is still in its early days. Seems an odd thing to say for a country and a people with thousands of years of history behind them, but modern Turkey has only really existed since the 1920's. The Turkish experience with democracy has been..well...unique, and reconciling with her nieghbours, like Armenia for example, hasn't really been an option until the early 1990's as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union. All these things are about to change it.

My hope is to share with you as best I can antidotes about my stay here as well as focus in on some of the quirky differences I've encountered. My next post will be about hygiene. Yes hygiene. Trust me, you'll find it quite compelling.

Thanks for reading!

David