Life in Türkiye: First Impressions and New Adventures

Welcome back to another post! Today, we’re sharing our first impressions of life in Türkiye. As of writing this, we’ve spent nearly two weeks in the country: a period already filled with adventures, cultural surprises, and meaningful experiences.

We began our stay in Ankara, Türkiye’s capital, where we’ve been settling into daily life. We live in Bahçelievler, a lively neighborhood located near the iconic Anıtkabir mausoleum. It's just a short 7-minute metro ride to the city center, which gives us easy access to everything from shopping and dining to museums and parks. While Bahçelievler is generally a calm residential area, it also has bustling streets filled with cafés, restaurants, and bars: a perfect mix of peaceful living and vibrant city life.

Our home for the summer is a student dormitory, which has been a unique and enriching part of the experience. Although many students have left for the summer holidays, we’ve still had the chance to meet several Turkish students. These everyday encounters have given us insight into Turkish culture and helped us adapt to local customs. We share our rooms with fellow volunteers, which has been an adjustment from living alone, but so far, it’s worked out well! We are also served breakfast and dinner at the dorm, which is another difference from our home countries.

For breakfast, our dormitory serves a traditional Turkish kahvaltı, featuring items like cheeses, olives, bread, butter, and hard-boiled eggs. We've also had the chance to try a variety of local foods and drinks, including Turkish coffee and tea, salep, the ever-popular kebab, a range of soups, and many other delicious specialties.

Furthermore, we had the opportunity to visit Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey, which beautifully showcases the country’s diversity in both landscapes and climate. During our two-day stay, we explored several mosques and even had the chance to go for a swim.

Some of the cultural differences we encountered included the predominance of Islam, as Turkey is a mostly Muslim country. However, the level of religiosity varies a lot among different Turks. We also noticed differences in everyday habits, such as how people often cross the street wherever they like. Additionally, certain public demonstrations that are common in our countries, like LGBT pride parades, are restricted or prohibited in Turkey.

Overall, we've truly enjoyed our time here so far, and we're excited to see what the coming months have in store. See you in the next post!