Job Discussion Forums

[whynotme]

the drummers will be your nightmare.

[Baba Alex]

[ghost]

You will have trouble buying good earplugs in Turkey - they do not exist.

The ones on offer in the Pharmacies are very skinny and tiny, and do not do the job...they are not effective at all. It is somewhat astonishing that a country with as much noise pollution as Turkey (noise pollution starts at around 70 decibels) does not promote the use of earplugs, or sell effective ones, for that matter.

When ghost taught at a famous Kolej on the South coast, the students ghost taught (in the Primary section) were so noisy, that poor ghost was compelled to ask its sister (based in Boston, U.S.A.) to send it two boxes of U.S. standard (soft/spongy) earplugs, which ghost made good use of during its time in Turkey - everywhere it went....in the classroom (the Primary Sections were outrageously noisy)....Internet cafes, and other places where people congregated were always extremely noisy.

Teachers would be well advised to do the same...bla, bla, bla....

Ghost in Taichung, Taiwan.

[molly farquharson]

I like the drums, actually. I become aware of them and then go back to sleep. The drummer in my neighbourhood is a young guy, about 18, and I am impressed that he continues the tradition and is not too "cool" for something so old.

I first came to Turkey during Ramazan and had no idea what the drums were for. Where I lived then the drums set off the car alarms. I did wake up for that.

In general, though, I think Ramazan is kind of a drag, as so many people are tired and definitely a little cranky at the beginning. I was thinking this morning that in a few years Ramazan will be in the summer and wondering how people on vacation deal with it.

[Mark Loyd]

Your 18 year old is not keeping up the tradition but merely making money.

[ghost]

One noticed that during Ramazan, many Turks do indeed eat/drink during the daylight hours, and this is unique to Turkey (of the Muslim countries) with Lokantalar open and many TURKS eating (and not being ashamed to do so) in those places.

Ghost saw this in Antalya, Ankara, Eskisehir, Trabzon, Istanbul, and one can conclude, therefore, that the faith to go 'by the Islamic doctrine' is not fully adhered to .......

Did not go to the Eastern parts of Turkey during that time, but one suspects that people would refrain more from eating/drinking during those times.

Ghost in Taichung, Taiwan

[ghost]

One noticed that during Ramazan, many Turks do indeed eat/drink during the daylight hours, and this is unique to Turkey (of the Muslim countries) with Lokantalar open and many TURKS eating (and not being ashamed to do so) in those places.

Ghost saw this in Antalya, Ankara, Eskisehir, Trabzon, Istanbul, and one can conclude, therefore, that the faith to go 'by the Islamic doctrine' is not fully adhered to .......

Did not go to the Eastern parts of Turkey during that time, but one suspects that people would refrain more from eating/drinking during those times.

Ghost in Taichung, Taiwan

[Mark Loyd]

Of course it used to be in the summer and will be again.

Of the Islamic countries and tell us what countries these are.

[Baba Alex]

[calsimsek]

Ramazan moves along the calander every for 10 days. So the start of next Ramazan will be 10 days before this years.

Don't forget that around anywhere between 10-15 percent of Turks are Alevie (?) and while they are Muslims, they don't fast. neither do the 10-15 percent of non religous Turks

[justme]

I used to kind of like the drums-- it was strangely comforting in my insominia, coming closer and closer then farther and farther...

But we don't have them in Bizimkent On the other hand, I don't think I'll miss those shady guys coming to the door asking for money. It always seemed like they were casing the house.

Isn't there some kind of drummer mafia? Or can just any old kid pick up a drum and have a go?

I heard in the old days, they used to fire cannons to wake people up. The drums are preferable, I think...

At my school they have food during Ramazan, but it's served with a dirty look. And it's not just the Alevis, non-religious, and yabancılar who aren't fasting-- it's also the menstruating women, the diabetics, people with other health problems, young children... Alevis have a fast, but it's at a different time of year and it's way more grueling-- nothing from sunup to sundown, and when you break fast you can only eat vegetables and drink ayran....

[whynotme]

[yaramaz]

[dagi]

btw, do only religious people participate with Ramadan? Or is it s.th. a lot of people do regardles how religious they are?

[justme]

In my experience (again limited to a few parts of Istanbul and the people I've talked to), people kind of do Ramazan in their own way. Some of them all out, starting the fast on the Saudi schedule and keeping to it meticulously while engaging in arguments about whether or not kolonya is unclean and can be used while you're fasting. Others drink during the year but not during Ramazan, and maybe fast or not. Others, while not very religious, fast on some days out of superstition because one of their wishes came true. Others do it to lose weight. Some just like the pide. Some risk their health to fast when they're sick, or don't take medication even though the Koran says it's okay to eat when there is a health concern. Some fast to piss off their nationalist parents. Some break fast to defy their religious parents. Some get angry at people for not fasting in front of them, while others say it's a personal choice and still others say abstaining while those around you indulge makes your fast twice as good because it increases your resolve to God. Some fast on Fridays. Some wait for iftar to go anywhere because there's no traffic. Some enjoy the big, free iftar meals put on by their schools.