ımpressions of turkey

we are not turkish. everyone notices it. we seem to attract attention just by being us. john is taller than everyone and i am small and fair. most think we are german and then they just give us a smile when we say we are australian

here are some of the things we have noticed that are different in turkey

• right hand drive. i am almost used to seeing someone drive in the right hand seat but still startled by the on-coming trafic. crossing the road is another adventure altogether
• car washing. they wash their cars whenever they buy petrol or stop for refreshemnts
• seat belts aren't compulsory. everytime we get into the car we spend time struggling to find the seat belt pushed down between the seats. we might be more relaxed by the time we are ready to leave the country
• multi-lingual. i have so much admiration for the people here who have taken the time to learn english or any other language. it has helped us enormously but more than that it just seems to postion them as an outward-looking culture