'I don't know why I think this,' wrote my brother in an e mail the other day, 'but I have the impression that you are about to leave Berlin. Is that true
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Kreuzberg is definitely a warm place to be! What I loved when i visited, was all the families that live there. Little kids everywhere! It's great to see a place that can have great cafes and shops, but it still retains a unique cultural and familial identity.
I wonder what sort of opinions float around Berlin on the possible future entry of Turkey into the European Union?
My knowledge of Turkey is out of date: I travelled there in the late 80's. That trip was the first time I became conscious of the paradoxes of globalization. Only a small percentage of the people I met were eager for the country to westernize (outside of Istanbul). I suppose this has changed, or there would be little discussion of Turkey's entry into the EU. One overwhelming remaining impression I have from the countryside was that the women seemed to be doing alot of hard physical labour (like threshing grain with sticks) while men sat in cafes playing a board game that looked like backgammon.
I enjoyed the tea culture, Turkish breakfasts, and Oriental exoticism. Carpet touts were the main annoyance. It seemed like all roads in Turkey led to a carpet shop, though it still puzzles me that a ragged backpacker barely out of his teens could seem like a potential customer.
Sparkligbeatnik, you could be describing the Turkey of The Towers of Trebizond. That game is called "tric-trac" and it seems that the men spend all their time playing it in cafes while the women stagger by under the weight of their loads. Perhaps things have improved since your visit. I'm sure my Turkish friends would love to dispute this!
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Mehmet U
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My knowledge of Turkey is out of date: I travelled there in the late 80's. That trip was the first time I became conscious of the paradoxes of globalization. Only a small percentage of the people I met were eager for the country to westernize (outside of Istanbul). I suppose this has changed, or there would be little discussion of Turkey's entry into the EU. One overwhelming remaining impression I have from the countryside was that the women seemed to be doing alot of hard physical labour (like threshing grain with sticks) while men sat in cafes playing a board game that looked like backgammon.
I enjoyed the tea culture, Turkish breakfasts, and Oriental exoticism. Carpet touts were the main annoyance. It seemed like all roads in Turkey led to a carpet shop, though it still puzzles me that a ragged backpacker barely out of his teens could seem like a potential customer.
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