While I have lived in Türkiye for nearly 20 years now, I am actually an American citizen, who grew up in California with parents of Irish and Turkish descent.
Perhaps due to this heritage and having spent significant time in all three different cultures: the U.S., the United Kingdom and Türkiye, I have always felt like an alien. While it means I have never really had a true homeland, it also primes me to be an observer of all of the quirky national norms and differences between the different countries. Thus, spending the holidays in the U.K. this year has provided a wealth of insight into how in many cases the cultures clash.
The landscape: Let’s face it, there truly is a world of difference between Türkiye and the U.K., which becomes plainly evident the moment you plop down in either country. But for starters, in the U.K., all the houses and structures look alike with the classic Tudor style and brick and mortar homes, all of the gardens are landscaped and well-kept, the roads are pristine and there isn’t a single piece of trash. Türkiye of course differs. The architecture ranges significantly from small village homes, villas, apartment buildings and blocks, which are built from stone or cement and can all be randomly placed on the same streets.
The gardens: Most homes in England have uniform gardens for their neighbors and a topic for gossip can definitely be whether or not the neighbor upkeeps their hedges. Not keeping on top of the garden is considered an affront to neighbors. That said, in addition to being driven to keep up with the Jones’, the weather in England is so wet that the gardens are luscious and grassy lawns are par for the course. In Türkiye, which experiences four true seasons, having grass year-round is near impossible due to the upkeep, ie. watering, required in the sweltering summer. As for the fruit, the U.K. has spectacular berries and all sorts of forest fruits, yet Brits ache to find juicy oranges and tasty tomatoes, which Türkiye is overflowing with.
The trash: Litter, as in the lack of it, is a wonderful obsession in England. Not only is there no trash to be seen on the streets anywhere, but there is an intricate trash and recycling system in place that everyone follows. Every household has three separate bins designated for general rubbish, garden waste, and recycling and collectors come around on specific days of the week to pick it up. In Türkiye, trash collection takes place at all hours of the day and you simply place your trash in a nearby bin or just leave it on the side of the road. While a widespread recycling system is not necessarily in place, for decades, Türks have always recycled with individuals making it their self-elected job to collect recyclable goods such as paper, plastic, glass, iron and metal that they then trade in for payment.
The post: While the U.K. is trailblazing when it comes to recycling, as for the post, being in England feels like having taken a time machine back to an earlier era. You see, Christmas cards are a solid tradition in the U.K. with each household sending out and receiving dozens of holiday cards, which are delivered by the old-school post. Even better, to combat the rising lifestyle costs, this year, many people are opting to hand deliver their cards which means pulling up to people’s homes and pushing the card through the mail slot. What’s funny is that friends and family will come as far as the door to deliver a Christmas card and slip it through the slot, but then they disappear without even saying hello. In Türkiye not only is the regular postal service being eclipsed by the convenience of cargo, and mail slots through the door and even post boxes in front of the home are nearly existent, but for someone to come as far as the door and not popover is near unheard of.
Individualism: In England, individualism is often celebrated, whereas in Türkiye there is a stronger emphasis on collective identity and community bonds. Failure to launch is a foreign concept in Türkiye where children are encouraged to live with their families as long as they want and certainly alongside the elderly, who are revered with the highest respect. In the U.K., leaving home at 18 is not only encouraged, but scorned if not the case, and the elderly are mostly left to live independently or in old age homes.
Social etiquette: In England, there is an emphasis on politeness, queuing and respecting personal space. This means that in the U.K., there's a general expectation of queuing in an orderly manner. Personal space is highly respected, with people doing their best to avoid coming into contact or walking by in close proximity. Anything contrary is deemed impolite and public displays of emotion may be subdued. Whereas in Türkiye, public spaces can be more vibrant and bustling. Expressive gestures and animated conversations are common, and people may stand closer in queues or to the aghast of many foreigners, may brazenly cut in line. Such actions are not considered as offensive as they are in the U.K. and Turks tend to act out of compassion first rather than reacting negatively to such public infringements.
Communication: While in the U.K., politeness and indirect communication are often valued, in Türkiye, communication can be more direct and animated, with gestures frequently used. Warmth and hospitality are highly valued, personal space may be closer and people may engage in lively conversations. English humor is often characterized by wit, sarcasm and dry humor, whereas Turkish humor can be lively and often involves wordplay, minus the sarcasm, which in Türkiye is something simply lost in translation.
Approach to time: Punctuality is highly valued in England, and meetings and events typically start on time. If dining out reservations are made and adhered to and any delays either way would be considered a lack of respect and capability. In Türkiye, there is a much more relaxed approach to time, and events might start a bit later than scheduled. While Brits invited to a party would arrive on the dot of the expected time, in Türkiye the time given is just a general framework and it would be quite unusual for anyone to arrive or for any event to start on time.
Smoking: In England, smoking is nearly non-existent. I have been here a week and have only seen two people smoking a cigarette. The entire nation has pretty much completely kicked this unhealthy habit, and sensibly so, as a pack of cigarettes can cost upward of 13 pounds, which if you do the math is nearly TL 500. There is an initiative to stop selling cigarettes altogether to the younger generation in England, whereas in Türkiye, smoking is still quite prevalent.
Rules and regulations: While the police and military presence that exists on the roads in Türkiye is not visible in England, there seem to be a lot of rules and regulations that people must strictly abide by. From waiting at crosswalks, not littering and recycling to needing to purchase a license to watch television, the U.K. feels very controlled and orderly and you would be hard-pressed to hear someone so much as honk their car on the road, whereas in Türkiye, a car horn can be considered just part of the driving process and there seems to exist this mentality that rules were made to be broken.
