Homeless dogs
Population of Istanbul is nearly 20 million. Well, officially it is 12 million, but consider immigrants and natural population growth, and you will see that this city gets nearly 500 thousand new citizens annually. Yet, Istanbul is free of some problems intrinsic to many other towns. For example, there are no homeless dogs on its streets. Homeless dog is nonsense here. None of them merely exists, whereas those wandering are not homeless at all.
"Each dog is registered in municipality," they explain to me, "And is looked after. Simply, any dog is under the patronage of people living in a nearby house."
They buy him a kennel, they feed him, and they pay for the inoculations and for sterilization. That is why dogs are so big and good looking in Istanbul. Special mark is attached to dog’s ear to warn the police that the dog is not homeless. So, Istanbul dogs have even their passports!
Transport impudence
Although living in a secular country, Turks are quite philosophers in life. Rarely will a Turk tell firmly, "I’ll be at home at 6 PM." Instead, he will tell, "I will be home at 6 PM, with God’s help." Nobody can be sure about anything, that’s their point. Well, they are right.
There are only two things one can be sure about in Turkey. Firstly, in evenings you will undoubtedly hear muezzin singing from a mosque minaret. Secondly, traffic jams on Istanbul roads in evenings are indispensable.
No surprise. This city, as big as a few usual cities, has throngs of cars in it. A big fraction of them are cabs. To note, all the cabs are brand new, whereas the taxi drivers all attend to English, ethics, and politeness courses. A counter starts from 1,5 Liras when you get on a cab. Each kilometre costs 1,5 Lira too (about 1 USD). Istanbul taxi drivers know the city very well, and anytime they can drive you to any point of it surprisingly quickly ...
... except for the evening traffic jams!
There are so many cars on Istanbul roads by 6 PM that it is almost impossible to pass any bridge in reasonable time. People usually prefer crossing the Bosphorous or the Golden Horn by a ferry. It is more expensive than crossing the thing by car, but much faster. Some citizens prefer mere walking or getting on train. However, even when there is hell on roads, there is no impudence!
Turkish car drivers are pathologically good-intended!
Eastern people are usually emotionally unstable, but good-intended. I saw no caddish behaviour during the whole month I lived in Turkey. Pedestrians for car drivers are as sacred and immune as cats. If a pedestrian crosses a road despite the red light, a driver will surely let him cross, drawing Allah’s attention to the issue, though. In fact, I saw no serious traffic accident in Istanbul during that month...
Traffic police is a very significant factor having a great influence on drivers’ culture. There is no corruption or bribery. If you get caught due to rule violation, you will pay the fine. The fines in Turkey are moderate yet adequate.
Note that the police officer who stopped you is under control as well. All the data about your violation immediately is transferred to the system centre. Neither he nor you can change anything, here. So, do not even intend to bribe traffic officers in Turkey.
Corruption
Turks themselves think that their police are corrupted seriously. In fact, compared to ex-USSR police, Turkish officers are simply angels. Still, corruption and bribery are fought against intensively, in Turkey.
Gendarmerie is a major tool for that.
In Turkey, gendarmes are usually near all the historical objects, in provinces, and on roads. This special force is in general engaged in maintaining order outside the cities. Gendarmes simply can not get corrupted, for they are hired for a short period, like so much to military service.
"They do the job of the police, but they have the honour of the military," Turks say proudly.
Needless to say, police are very polite in Istanbul. Even when the Pope visited the city, making Muslim Turks slightly concerned, heavily equipped police were everywhere. However, their behaviour towards civils did not change at all. I stood near Hippodrome within 10 metres range from Turkish Prime Minister, Mr. Erdogan. His guards did nothing to prevent me from passing right in front of him. Helicopter pilots guarding the area from air, in turn, courteously waved their hands to the tourists who took pictures of their machines.
The only thing I was restricted to do was taking pictures of Pope’s limo.
"My dear, try to avoid this," a police officer guarding the embankment told me, "Pope’s bodyguards are not quite predictable, whereas we are not responsible for their actions."
Then, he let me go along the embankment without looking what is inside my bag and investigating my cam.
Harassment
It may seem paradox, but while Turkish men desperately love women, there is virtually no harassment in the country. Therefore a lady who goes to Turkey for holidays or to work should not worry unless she plans to become a sex-worker, of course. Turks are just like kids. If you behave towards them strictly and fairly enough, they will respect you. If you let allow them to do whatever they feel like, they will get impertinent. Well, all men are more or less similar to each other...
"Many women just do not want to set a strict border between admiral and harassment," a Russian lady who had been living in Istanbul for a few years told me.
There is only one rule. Do not let anyone touch you if you want to be respected. If that does not help, an angry glance, or a firm phrase is enough. Alternatively, warn that you are calling for the police. Eastern people usually are afraid of pthe police, and respect those with high self esteem very much.
However, it does not mean that you should put on the humblest clothes you have when in Turkey. Do not think that wearing a short skirt is something unacceptable. Turks have a good taste and love dressing fashionably, especially in Istanbul. Fashion shows are usual for Istanbul beau monde, and they know many famous couturiers. Therefore, short skirt is a usual thing. Let alone hippies, punks, and other young people who look similarly in London, in Moscow, and in Istanbul.
Event-tourism mentioned before is tightly linked to fashion. Every year, at least four world-wide known fashion shows take place in Istanbul. Of course, not as many people visit Istanbul to see a fashion show than come here to watch say an F1 race, but it is temporary situation. Fashion branch of incentive tourism is very promising. So, I am sure that one day you will come to Istanbul to watch defile.
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