Job Discussion Forums

[crumpy]

Firstly let me tell you a little story:-

As I wrote in another thread, I'm on holiday with my wife in Altınoluk. A few days ago I decided to hike up to a couple of waterfalls in the hills around here. From Başdeğirmen Şelalesi I followed the canyon upwards to Mihlı Şelalesi. About 30 metres in front of me were a young Turkish family - father, mother(headscarved) and their 4/5-year son. At one point I saw the father hand the boy an empty Efes bottle and instruct him on how to throw it down into the canyon below. It was as though the father were teaching his son an important life skill! And they all seemed overjoyed when the son succeeded in breaking the bottle on the rocks below :-(

I could tell you of many more similar incidents that I have observed in the past 15 years ... and every time it makes me feel that Turkish people have scant regard for their environment. However, seeing as I have lived here so long, maybe I have forgotten how people back 'home' behave.

So, I ask this question particularly to 'newcomers', who have only been here a few years ... and so are able to make better comparisons: Do you think that most T�rks care far less about the disposal of their rubbish than, say, your own hemşeri.

[TeachEnglish]

Interesting question. I was shocked when I first came to Istanbul at the amount of trash on the streets..and I don't mean the trash walking around.. the actual rubbish. And to top it off.. the friend I came to visit would discard trash like food wrappers, cigarette packs, etc., as if it was no big deal. I was a little disappointed about the litterbugs here. I tried to join in the fun, but just couldn't do it. I continue to hold onto my trash until I find a suitable place to put it and yes, some people look at me like I am from outer space.. but it's ok..

[dmb]

I like to think of myself as enviromentaly friendly(pity I cant spell it) Can any one else remember when there used to be dust bins on Istiklal?

[tekirdag]

I recently witnessed an older man finish a bottle of water as he walked down the street and stretch up to carefully place the empty bottle in a tree... I just love that!

I've been in Turkey for...who knows how many years... and what still strikes me is how different people here can be. I mean, two guys can be near each other in a park- one with a degree and the other has never been to school. Back in Canada education is much more uniform and the government and NGOs take more care with campaigns, for example, to keep people from littering. It's a pity, really, that some people here litter because they were probably NEVER told not to do so.

[FGT]

Most Turkish people live in EXCEPTIONALLY clean households - you could eat your dinner off the floor. However, what goes on outside the home is another matter. In the building I'm in, I frequently see cigarette ends, nut kernels, chewing gum etc on the stairs. Outside the building it gets worse.

I remember a trip to Fethiye a few years ago. Coming down the hairpin bends past a famous beauty spot/point de vue, the coach stopped to enable the passengers to admire the view. The bus boy then removed a sack of rubbish from the bus which he was about to jettison down the hillside, until stopped by the yabancis on board.

It seems to be a cultural difference - we're prepared to be "economical" with washing-up/cleaning etc but can't drop rubbish in a public place. They want their households to be pristine but are more casual outside.

Each probably considers the other to have filthy habits.

[esl_teacher1973]

Wow interesting topic. It's hard to litter as a Canadian because we grow up knowing at a young age that littering is distasteful. So it's hard to break that habit, but I believe in preserving certain morals and values wherever I go regardless if others follow suit. I guess monkey see moneky do, and if we take care of our garbage other people may follow along, and before you know it Turkey will look like Ottawa lol.

[dmb]

Last year in the UK there were a bunch of new laws introduced about dumping stuff in country lanes, cigarette butts in the street, etc. Are there any laws like this in Turrkey? Are there any 'garbage police' ?

[TeachEnglish]

If there were "garbage police," just imagine how much money they could earn from bribes. Hehe

[justme]

I always try to at least drop my trash in an existing pile of trash. Failing that, I stuff it in my backpack or pockets which makes for a nasty mess.

I've noticed a few garbage cans popping up on Istiklal, and there are suddenly a bunch of them around Bakırk�y, but actually this suprises me-- I thought the reason they took them away was so people couldn't put bombs in them. Does the appearance of trash cans show a certain amount of optimism?

[molly farquharson]

they took the garbage cans off istiklal last year during the NATO summit, but they have been back for a long time.

I think Turks throw things on the streets because they know streetsweepers come along at some point and clean up. The shopkeepers clean up too.

Just for perspective, i was shocked when i went to Japan and saw all the trash in their streams and gullies. So much for their feelings for nature.

I think istanbul is one of the cleanest big cities I've lived in. However, I am sorry to see the proliferation in grafitti in the past few years.

[crumpy]

It seems that most of you feel the same way that I do.

I agree with FGT about how differently Turks behave in and outside their homes. It's the same for their cars: Many's the time, while driving, I've seen someone throw an empty cigarette packet or pet şişe from the car in front of me. On the other hand Turks often comment about why we have so much rubbish in the car's ash trays etc.

And yes ... the bus boy story happened to us. That time, though, it was my Turkish wife who told him not to dump the litter in the lay-by. But, maybe as Tekirdağ wrote, that's the point - she's a university-educated Istanbullu - not a maganda from Kahramanmaraş.

For Tekirdağ, esl_teacher1973 and other Canadians out there, I'd like to tell you another story that one of your countrymen told me:-

A film crew were in Toronto making a film that was to be set in New York. For one scene in an alley to seem more realistic they threw rubbish on to the ground. But, it was getting late in the evening, so they decided to pack up leaving the litter-strewn alley as it was, so that they could continue filming the next day from where they left off. However, it seems they forgot they were in Canada, for when they returned in the morning ... you guessed it ... they discovered that all the litter had been picked up :-))

[sandyhoney2]

[kanattas]

Keeping a pristine home vs. throwing trash in the street. Like low class Dominican aliens in New York.

It's like (not) obeying traffic rules: (not) stopping for lights, (not) signalling to change lanes, (not) obeying the speed limit, (not) having a license to drive but driving anyway:

Rules are not for ME; they are for other people.
That Turkish proverb: IF the snake doesn't bite ME, may it live a thousand years." Others? Who cares?

I do not live outside so I do not care about it.

I do not know you so I do not care about you. You could not have any negative influence on me, so I do not respect you.

It's just another form of selfishness.

[alterego]

i totally agree with kanattas. i honestly think that most turks don;t have any respect for the community they live in. and interestingly if you abide by the rules, you're somehow seen as a wimp. most of the idealized characters on tv are those who feel they're "above the law."

i hate it when people try cut in line at the airport lines, too. and they do it so nonchalantly as if it's their right. i always call a guard and ask him to confront the line-cutter. works every time.