I have been itching to write this series of blog entries ever since my trip ended in early May. However, due to the constraints of finals and more traveling, it was not until now that I could start writing this series of blogs. Before telling you about my trip, I want to make a few general observations and reflections before the trip.
My desire to take a trip to the east came from flipping through other people’s guidebooks and seeing cool pictures. I thought to myself that it would be really neat to see these places. I was completely unaware of many realities about the east. As I prepared for my trip, I asked Turkish friends and people I respect here about their thoughts of this trip. The reaction I received by almost everyone was that I was crazy and that I should not go to the east. According to them, it would be much better and safer to see the beautiful places in the Mediterranean and Aegean Region. In fact, I had several friends who chose this option instead.
Many of you may be unaware of this, but there are huge regional disparities and differences in Turkey. In general the east is populated by Kurdish people and tends to be more conservative. During the conflict between the Turkish government and the PKK, dolmuşes were stopped and everyone inside was executed by the terrorists. This had not happened for a number of years, but certainly there was something to be concerned about. The east is also considered in general to be more conservative, clinging to the traditional Islamic norms that are reminiscent of the Middle East more than Turkey.
After consulting a friend, he told me I should ask one of my professors about what traveling to the east was like and if it was safe so that I could get a good gauge of things. I took his advice and consulted my Political Economy professor, the department head of the political science department. I respected her and felt that perhaps she could give me the best guidance. I explained to her that I was going on this trip with three girls (2 Americans and 1 Turkish girl) and asked if it would be okay or what potential dangers I could face. She proceeded to tell me that it might be difficult for us to stay in the same hotel room. In Eastern Turkey, due to their conservative nature, she thought they would even go far as to ask us for a marriage license when we were booking our rooms. She strongly felt that I should bring another guy so that we could share a room and keep the girls from being embarrassed by how the hotel staff might treat them in the East. I discussed this option with the girls and told them what I found out, but because we already had four people, we thought it might be too much to bring another person. Furthermore, despite the fact that I had a Turkish girl with me, she said that I might need to bring a Turkish guy to make arrangements. She said that because Elif is a girl, they might not listen to her due to the belief the prevailing sexist beliefs in that part of the country. She also explained that most people go to the East on a tour from Cappadocia or something and that it might be easier and safer to do it that way.
On another side note, while discussing these different issues with her and others, I found at that there is a prevailing belief in the Western part of Turkey that the East is rugged, undeveloped, and unsafe. Furthermore, it seemed to me that they considered the people in the Eastern part of Turkey to be very conservative (so much so that it might cause problems for us on our trip). Interestingly, all of the people that I spoke to that gave me these warnings and felt so strongly about us not going to the East had NEVER been. These were the main things I knew about Eastern Turkey beforehand and you should consider these ideas and how they changed as you read my Spring Break account.
Isn't it interesting that even a professor of politics have unrealistic ideas about the community of her own country? Were people conservative? A big NO to that! I was in Van this summer and it was Ramadan. All the Cafes were open and people could go out and eat comfortably. It is hard, sometimes even in Istanbul, to do that in Ramadan but the east! No! To conclude, I hate 'Educated Turkish Person Mind'. They make too many assumptions!
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