Job Discussion Forums

[halfman]

Anyone ever heard of this place? Advertising on tefl.com. Has anyone been to Diyarbakir and is it dangerous? Sounds interesting anyway.

[dmb]

I don't know the school. The city is pleasant to visit ..... for a couple of days. Wouldn't want to live there. Each to their own of course.

[ghost]

I like Diyarbakir - the people, many of them Kurds, are super friendly. In fact, you will probably be welcomed with open arms everywhere you go in Diyarbakir, as there are so few foreigners there.

Diyarbakir is a conservative town - and light years away from Istanbul with regard to entertainment and lifestyle.

It is much cheaper to live there, but the lower salaries are also a factor. You will get by, but don't expect to get rich there. The benefit is for quality of life and friendliness (more on that later).

If you come to Diyarbakir, you should just keep in mind to respect the local customs and not show too much flesh. Dress conservatively, and talk with prudence on certain subjects.

If you respect the above, living and working in Diyarbakir can be an immensely rewarding experience. This would also apply to other areas of Turkey which do not receive many tourists. Thinking about places like Mardin, Batman, Sanli Urfa, Sarnak.

Remember, you are close to the Iran/Iraq/Syria borders, and many of the people in those areas are more influenced by the lifestyles in those countries rather than Western Euro lifestyles.

Summers are torrid in Diyarbakir, but spring and autumn are fine. The city has quite a few nice parks. Restaurants abound, and there are so many �ay places that you are likely to overdose - but you will spend little money, because you will receive so many freebies as a foreigner there. They (the people of Diyarbakir) will be all over you. In Istanbul and Ankara we are not so special anymore.

In Diyarbakir even an overweight, middle aged, balding, socially inept individual with dubious teaching skills will be treated like a star. It is like rejuvenation for those who have been ostracised in many places to make way for the younger/more desirable crowd. Less competition for jobs. It is a teacher's market. Write your own ticket.

Foreign women should respect conservative/Eastern values, and better to dine out in company, lest you want a lot of attention from male Kurds.

Diyarbakir and Istanbul are like night and day - two cities within Turkey, but very different. Like being in a diffferent country.

Ghost in Korea

[tvik]

i asked the same question about this time last year and got a response from someone who worked in the school. you should do a search on the subject. it was reported to me that the man running the school was mostly insane. the response was long and detailed, you should read it. i was in D. in 96 and agree that the people will give you lots of attention but it might be too much to handle at times. probably difficult to get a moment alone and you'll feel isolated in terms of communicating unless you speak turkish or kurdish. the place probably has advantages as well, you'll be forced to learn more of the language. i still think about going there however, but it would be for an adventure and likely for the short term.

[yaramaz]

My flatmate was there for a week last month doing research for NGO projects (she isn't a teacher) and she said it was a nice place to visit but would be way too intense for full-time living. She was followed everywhere by men. She speaks pretty good Turkish, so that wasn't a problem, but the non stop staring and very intense attention was a bit of an overload. It's probably different for men.

(For the record, as many of you know, I lived two years in a central Anatolian city that was a bit more 'western' but still equally unused to foreigners and although I got used to the staring and stalking, I found the whole situation quite exhausting and didn't stay for a third year even though I liked my job and my life there)

[dmb]

[jamessmart50]

bargepole