Table of Contents
My Welcome Experience of Insecurity
?? Interesting enough, the first experience that I had with Turkey didn't talk well of it. As you might be wondering… it was in a touristic place.
?? Imagínate que mi primera experiencia que tuve en Turquía no hablaba bien de sí misma. Tal vez ya adivinaste donde ocurrió… fue en un sitio turístico.
Taxi drivers
?? The day before my arrival to Istanbul, my girlfriend shared me her advice about taking a taxi from Taksim to the hotel and she clearly stated “It should cost around 20 TRY (3,63 USD)”. Great! Now I have a price reference. She said that Taksim and the hotel were ‘close' which I didn't know how much that actually means in a 15 millon people city (and growing).
?? El día anterior a mi llegada a Estambul, mi enamorada me aconsejó tomar un taxi desde Taksim al hotel y dijo claramente “Debería costar alrededor de 20 TRY (3,63 USD)”. ¡Genial! Ahora tengo una referencia de precio. Ella dijo que Taksim y el hotel estaban ‘cerca' lo cuál no sabía cuánto podía ser en una ciudad de 15 millones de habitantes (y creciendo).
?? I finally arrived to Taksim (at 12am) and there was tons of taxi drivers offering a ride (naturally). I asked for one, I gave him the address and he replied with “40 EUR (43,95 USD)”. There was something wrong here. WHY IT WAS SO EXPENSIVE?! I remembered that a week ago I paid a taxi around 15 EUR (16,48 USD) for a 10-minute trip in Berlin (and you know, it's Berlin!). This taxi driver insisted on the 40 EUR but instead I offered “40 TRY (7,27 USD)”. He didn't accepted so asked for another taxi driver.
?? Finalmente llegué a Taksim (a la 12am) y habían algunos taxistas ofreciendo una carrera (obviamente). Pregunté a uno, le di la dirección del hotel y después respondió “40 EUR (43,95 USD)”. Algo no andaba bien. ¡¿POR QUÉ ERA TAN CARO?! Recuerdo que hace una semana pagué por un taxi 15 EUR (16,48 USD) en Berlin y la carrera duró unos 10 minutos (y tú sabes, ¡es Berlín!). Este taxista insistió en los 40 EUR pero yo ofrecí “40 TRY (7,27 USD)“. Él no aceptó así que pregunté a otro taxista.
Let's try again
?? The next one, also offered a similar fare but I wasn't interested. He replied (with a terrible but yet understandable English): “Ok, I make you this deal. Let's go with the taximeter”. That sounds better! The price should be then proportional to the distance, so I accepted. He grabbed my suitcases and placed them in the taxi and we drove towards my hotel. Everything was nice except that I was taking too long. Why? I thought it was ‘close'.
?? El siguiente ofreció una tarifa similar pero tampoco estaba interesado. El contestó (con un terrible pero entendible Inglés): “A ver, te haré esta oferta. Vamos con el taxímetro” ¡Eso sonó mejor! El precio debería ser proporcional a la distancia, así que acepté. Él tomó mis maletas y la metió en el taxi y nos fuimos hacia el hotel. Todo parecía estar bien excepto que nos estábamos demorando demasiado. ¿Por qué? Creía que era ‘cerca‘.
I was beginning to feel some insecurity
?? I arrived to the hotel (which was actually a room at airBNB) and the taximeter showed 50 TRY (9,09 USD). After I paid, the receptionist showed up to pick me up. I explained that we took a little long and that I paid such quantity to come here, since we already talked before by cellphone. With my story, the friendly smile from the receptionist disappeared. Did I said something wrong?
?? Llegué al hotel (el cual realmente era una habitación en airBNB) y el taxímetro mostró 50 TRY (9,09 USD). Después de que pagué, el recepcionista llegó para recogerme. Yo expliqué porqué me había demorado tanto y que había pagado esa cantidad de dinero, ya que habíamos hablado anteriormente por teléfono. Contándole esto, la sonrisa amistosa desapareció de su cara. ¿Fue algo que dije?
Too long doesn't sound good
?? The receptionist and the taxi driver began arguing, like complaining! The taxi driver was concerned about something. Since they were talking all the time in Turkish, I couldn't understand anything. Finally, the taxi driver was pissed off and wanted to give some money back but the receptionist insisted to take the money and go away. In the end, the taxi driver left.
- Juditova: What happened? Why were you arguing?
- Receptionist: How much did you pay?
- Juditova: 50 TRY.
- Receptionist: From where you were, you should have paid 10 TRY (1,81 USD)!
?? El recepcionista y el taxista empezaron a discutir, ¡cómo si se estuvieran quejando! El taxista estaba preocupado por algo. Ya que hablaban en turco todo el tiempo, no podía entender nada. Finalmente, el taxi estaba molesto y quería darme el dinero otra vez pero el recepcionista dijo que se fuera simplemente. Al final, el taxista se fue.
- Juditova: ¿Qué pasó? ¿Por qué estaban discutiendo?
- Receptionista: ¿Cuánto pagaste?
- Juditova: 50 TRY.
- Receptionist: Desde donde estabas, deberías haber pagado 10 TRY (1,81 USD)!
Unexpected
?? It turns out that the taxi driver was driving around for extra kilometers just to make the taximeter to increase the pay amount. What the receptionist was arguing with the taxi driver (as he told me later) was that he collected this money by deceiving another human being. Just because he was foreigner? This money wasn't going to make him rich or me poor. But he said to him “Does your family will welcome this money in your house?“
?? Resulta que el taxista estaba manejando unos kilómetros extras y dando vueltas innecesariamente para incrementar el costo de la carrera. Lo que el recepcionista estaba discutiendo (que después me explicó) fue que obtuve ese dinero engañando a otro ser humano. ¿Sólo porque era extranjero? Ese dinero no le iba a ser ni rico ni pobre. Pero le dijo “¿Tu familia recibirá este dinero en tu casa?”.
‘Haram‘ or sin
?? As I learned later, this is called ‘haram‘ which means sin. Deceiving, stealing or trick someone with money is considered by the turks to be the worst scum and such person is practically worthless as human being. Of course, this gives a bad image of insecurity to the country. Although there are exceptions among them, you will find this ‘cultural honesty' in most places you visit.
?? Como aprendería posteriormente, esto se llama ‘haram‘ que significa pecado. Engañar, robar o estafar a alguien con dinero es considerado por los turcos ser la peor escoria y dicha persona es prácticamente inservible como ser humano. Por supuesto, esto da una mala imagen de inseguridad al país. A pesar de haber excepciones sobre esto: encontrarás esta “cultura de honestidad” en muchos lugares que visites.
Beyond Insecurity, there is Safety: the other side of the coin
?? This blog post was all about insecurity but in Turkey is not like that everywhere. Check out the previous blog post about the safety of this country. I felt very secure in many places and for many reasons. Click on the button to find out more.
?? Esta entrada de blog es acerca de la inseguridad pero en Turquía no es así en todo lugar. Mira mi entrada acerca de la seguridad en este país. Yo me sentí seguro en muchos lugares y por muchas razones. Haz clic en el botón para aprender más.
voyageLlama's Index of Content
Click on the following link to browse likewise content in the blog in voyageLlama. This index will help you see what you are looking for in a bird's eye view:
Keep Reading!
- Culture Shocks in Portugal, silly and unusual but awesome Differences
These are my intriguing culture shocks in Portugal that you have to know before visiting this lovely country. Click here to read. - 001 – What is Audioviajes? Introduction to the program with JuditovaWelcome to the first episode of Audioviajes, the voyageLlama podcast. Juditova presents the show and reveals some themes from the following episodes.
- 001 – What is Audioviajes? Introduction to the program with JuditovaWelcome to the first episode of Audioviajes, the voyageLlama podcast. Juditova presents the show and reveals some themes from the following episodes.
- Culture Shock: my first contact in few weeks in GermanyAt the beginning of my exchange student year in Germany, there are culture shocks with the new foreign culture. Click here to read more.
- Night Life in Germany and the Elusive Obvious
The elusive obvious is something in front of you but you can't see it. I realized this in the night life in Germany. Click here to learn more.
[…] Insecurity in Turkey, some exceptions to the culture […]