My day to day interactions show people to be polite, to be friendly, but to be respectful of one's privacy...the only few times when I've encountered people who were "pushy" (near the main tourist attractions where usually young men want to be your "guides"), I found I needed to be friendly and open in response to their entreaties but also firm that I was not interested and we always parted amicably. Ignoring them, as one might do in New York, was regarded as a foreigner's rudeness.
The streets, the waterfronts, the tour boats (filled with Turks) are crowded on the weekends. People stroll. They fish from the Galata Bridge; boys dive into its somewhat suspect waters; they buy small treats; they talk, laugh, observe.
Of course, drawbacks abound. Most areas are not designed for pedestrians. The narrow sidewalks near my apartment are terrifying obstacle courses. Car traffic is horrific and the red flags of nationalism...closely identified with the ruling party's autocratic style...cover public buildings.
Yet there is a sense of a people who are moving toward their future...at least in these urban areas where I have been...who have confidence and purpose...and for whom the past is not a prison but rather a basis of pride and, well, the economic benefits of foreign and domestic tourism.
Location:Bandirma, Anatolia
