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The Charlotte Observer
April 27, 2004, Tuesday
Turkey hosts layers of history _ and Chevy Chase commercials
By John Bordsen
What's it like to live in a far-off place most of us see only on a
vacation? Foreign Correspondence is an interview with someone who
lives in a spot you may want to visit.
Robert Stewart, 39, works for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at
Incirlik Air Base in Turkey. He describes himself as an "Army brat"
born in Baltimore; Stewart has been in Turkey for two years.
Q. What do you see when you look out your window?
A. Where I work, there are palm trees going out to a miniature golf
course and swimming pool. If I turn right I can see the Taurus
Mountains across the flight line.
Incirlik is outside of Adana, not far from that little dogleg of
Turkey that turns south toward Syria. It's a kind of a delta area,
very flat and with lots of farming. Then all of a sudden mountains
rise up that ring the area. If you drive about 45 minutes south, you
get to the Mediterranean Sea.
Q. That's quite an historic area, isn't it?
A. Not far from here is a little outdoor museum where they found a
Hittite summer palace, with tablets that had cuneiform writing. There
were some statues, too. The Armenians were once in this area _ it was
called Lesser Armenia _ and there are castles all over from that time
and when the area was controlled by the Byzantine Empire.
A city close to here was a Roman town, then a Byzantine and then an
Armenian town. There are temples and archways that are Roman; up on a
hill is an Armenian fortress. History is physically kind of mixed
together here.
Adana has a famous bridge built by Romans that's still in use. It's
just a little two-lane cobblestone bridge crossing the Seyhan River.
Q. Do you get many tourists or archaeologists?
A. I don't see any. I've gone out to some of these sites, and it's
only locals, who come running out to me with handfuls of copper
coins. It's probably not legal for them to sell them or for me to buy
them, but I did get a silver coin. It looks like it was manufactured
recently. There's probably a good business in making and selling
fakes.
Q. Is the local population all Turk, now?
A. It's predominantly Turkish. We're in south central Turkey, but
everyone considers anything east of Ankara, the capital, to be
"east." The population speaks Turkish, and some have Arabic or
Kurdish as a second language.
Q. What's to do there in your spare time?
A. You can go exploring. You can go up in the Taurus Mountains. There
are summer pasturages called yaylas where farmers take goats and
sheep. It's a little cooler and drier in the mountains, so on
weekends people go there to escape the lowland heat.
Q. What's the weather like now?
A. Chilly and rainy. We had a bit of snow recently; it didn't stick
but was strange to see. During the day now, it can get to 55 or 70,
be sunny or rainy. In summer, temperatures can get to 120, with 90
percent humidity _ or worse.
Q. What's the best thing to see around there?
A. Cappadocia, which is a couple of hours north of here. It's a very
dry, desert area. Over the centuries, people have dug into limestone
cliffs and built houses and apartments in them _ there's actually an
entire underground city. And every time some invader passed through,
the population went to live underground for a bit. It's pretty
famous.
Antakya _ ancient Antioch _ has St. Peter's Grotto, one of the oldest
churches in Christianity, it is said. It was discovered by crusaders.
There's also a great museum with many mosaics.
Q. It's said that Turkey is a very secular Muslim society. Is that
true?
A. My friends are Turkish through and through, but they drink beer
that's brewed in Turkey, and a drink called raku, which is like
pernod or ouzo. You mix it with water and it turns white.
Turks are proud and respectful of Islam, but some _ especially in the
cities _ see no harm in bending the rules a bit. They can't eat
"pig," but "pork" is OK. Some of the best pork ribs I've enjoyed were
barbecued in Istanbul.
Q. What's the food like?
A. Very Mediterranean. Like Greek food. They'd argue over who
invented which dish, and I wouldn't want to be there when it happens.
Lamb kabobs and meat with yogurt over it. There's fish in the coastal
cities. That kind of thing.
Q. How's the local radio?
A. Turkish pop stars do Turkish songs. You go to a party and realize
everybody knows these songs. When one's on the radio or a musician
starts playing it, the entire room will start singing along. Must be
old classic made new.
Q. And local TV?
A. There are little night-time soap operas, and American shows with
subtitles. A lot of variety shows with Turkish singers and musicians,
and news shows kind of like "60 Minutes." Very modern.
I was watching Turkish TV the other day with some folks in Izmir and
we saw this commercial with Chevy Chase! He comes home to this
all-American family, enters the kitchen, and _ in English, with
Turkish subtitles _ asks, "Honey, what's for dinner?"
"I'm making biber," his wife says. That's a Turkish dish with green
peppers, and Chevy looks confused.
Cut to the family at the table and she comes in with this dish and
with Cola Turka _ Turkey's answer to Coke _ and the family starts
singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in English.
My friends asked, "Do Americans really sing at the table like this?"
Well, the joke is, after a swig of Cola Turka this family starts
singing a Turkish folk song. And at the end, when Grandma and Grandpa
drive away, the wife throws water after them _ an old Turkish custom.
And when Chevy turns to face the camera, he's sporting a Turkish
moustache and speaking in a Turkish accent. We thought it was great.
April 27, 2004, Tuesday
Turkey hosts layers of history _ and Chevy Chase commercials
By John Bordsen
What's it like to live in a far-off place most of us see only on a
vacation? Foreign Correspondence is an interview with someone who
lives in a spot you may want to visit.
Robert Stewart, 39, works for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at
Incirlik Air Base in Turkey. He describes himself as an "Army brat"
born in Baltimore; Stewart has been in Turkey for two years.
Q. What do you see when you look out your window?
A. Where I work, there are palm trees going out to a miniature golf
course and swimming pool. If I turn right I can see the Taurus
Mountains across the flight line.
Incirlik is outside of Adana, not far from that little dogleg of
Turkey that turns south toward Syria. It's a kind of a delta area,
very flat and with lots of farming. Then all of a sudden mountains
rise up that ring the area. If you drive about 45 minutes south, you
get to the Mediterranean Sea.
Q. That's quite an historic area, isn't it?
A. Not far from here is a little outdoor museum where they found a
Hittite summer palace, with tablets that had cuneiform writing. There
were some statues, too. The Armenians were once in this area _ it was
called Lesser Armenia _ and there are castles all over from that time
and when the area was controlled by the Byzantine Empire.
A city close to here was a Roman town, then a Byzantine and then an
Armenian town. There are temples and archways that are Roman; up on a
hill is an Armenian fortress. History is physically kind of mixed
together here.
Adana has a famous bridge built by Romans that's still in use. It's
just a little two-lane cobblestone bridge crossing the Seyhan River.
Q. Do you get many tourists or archaeologists?
A. I don't see any. I've gone out to some of these sites, and it's
only locals, who come running out to me with handfuls of copper
coins. It's probably not legal for them to sell them or for me to buy
them, but I did get a silver coin. It looks like it was manufactured
recently. There's probably a good business in making and selling
fakes.
Q. Is the local population all Turk, now?
A. It's predominantly Turkish. We're in south central Turkey, but
everyone considers anything east of Ankara, the capital, to be
"east." The population speaks Turkish, and some have Arabic or
Kurdish as a second language.
Q. What's to do there in your spare time?
A. You can go exploring. You can go up in the Taurus Mountains. There
are summer pasturages called yaylas where farmers take goats and
sheep. It's a little cooler and drier in the mountains, so on
weekends people go there to escape the lowland heat.
Q. What's the weather like now?
A. Chilly and rainy. We had a bit of snow recently; it didn't stick
but was strange to see. During the day now, it can get to 55 or 70,
be sunny or rainy. In summer, temperatures can get to 120, with 90
percent humidity _ or worse.
Q. What's the best thing to see around there?
A. Cappadocia, which is a couple of hours north of here. It's a very
dry, desert area. Over the centuries, people have dug into limestone
cliffs and built houses and apartments in them _ there's actually an
entire underground city. And every time some invader passed through,
the population went to live underground for a bit. It's pretty
famous.
Antakya _ ancient Antioch _ has St. Peter's Grotto, one of the oldest
churches in Christianity, it is said. It was discovered by crusaders.
There's also a great museum with many mosaics.
Q. It's said that Turkey is a very secular Muslim society. Is that
true?
A. My friends are Turkish through and through, but they drink beer
that's brewed in Turkey, and a drink called raku, which is like
pernod or ouzo. You mix it with water and it turns white.
Turks are proud and respectful of Islam, but some _ especially in the
cities _ see no harm in bending the rules a bit. They can't eat
"pig," but "pork" is OK. Some of the best pork ribs I've enjoyed were
barbecued in Istanbul.
Q. What's the food like?
A. Very Mediterranean. Like Greek food. They'd argue over who
invented which dish, and I wouldn't want to be there when it happens.
Lamb kabobs and meat with yogurt over it. There's fish in the coastal
cities. That kind of thing.
Q. How's the local radio?
A. Turkish pop stars do Turkish songs. You go to a party and realize
everybody knows these songs. When one's on the radio or a musician
starts playing it, the entire room will start singing along. Must be
old classic made new.
Q. And local TV?
A. There are little night-time soap operas, and American shows with
subtitles. A lot of variety shows with Turkish singers and musicians,
and news shows kind of like "60 Minutes." Very modern.
I was watching Turkish TV the other day with some folks in Izmir and
we saw this commercial with Chevy Chase! He comes home to this
all-American family, enters the kitchen, and _ in English, with
Turkish subtitles _ asks, "Honey, what's for dinner?"
"I'm making biber," his wife says. That's a Turkish dish with green
peppers, and Chevy looks confused.
Cut to the family at the table and she comes in with this dish and
with Cola Turka _ Turkey's answer to Coke _ and the family starts
singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in English.
My friends asked, "Do Americans really sing at the table like this?"
Well, the joke is, after a swig of Cola Turka this family starts
singing a Turkish folk song. And at the end, when Grandma and Grandpa
drive away, the wife throws water after them _ an old Turkish custom.
And when Chevy turns to face the camera, he's sporting a Turkish
moustache and speaking in a Turkish accent. We thought it was great.