Judging a Book by it's Cover

This picture makes me smile because it's such a great example of what we, in Turkish, call "coy-loo" (village-ee). Every culture has a variety of "tensions" within it: modern vs. "the old way," religious vs. non-religious, liberal vs. conservative, educated vs. non-educated, etc. What I find fascinating about Turkey is that many of the cultural "tensions" are very obvious because they are literally worn on the outside.

This sweet little lady was at the park the other day (and I totally pulled one of those, "Eli, stand right here so I can take your picture," sort of switch-a-roos).  Take a look at her outfit. She's got on three different busy patterns, thick stockings, and open-toed sandals. At first glance, a visitor to Turkey might assume she's a). HOMELESS b). A LITTLE OFF HER ROCKER or c). OUT OF CLEAN CLOTHES. The reality is that this is probably how the people in her village (or rather, former village) dress. And she's not alone. This is how hundreds of thousands of women in Ankara dress. It's a very stark contrast to the more modern women in the culture.

I will also go ahead and assume that this lady is a religious lady based on the way she has her headscarf tied. In the majority religion here, a woman's hair, throat, and neck are considered sexy and should be covered so as not to tempt men with them. See how she has her headscarf tied tightly under her chin, covering all of her hair, throat, and neck? I'll often see "village-ee" women wearing headscarves tied in back at the base of their necks, or very loosely in front (like my friend, Fatma), exposing some of their hair, throat, and neck. In those cases, it's possible that the women may not be very religious, but just meerly wearing the headscarf to stick with the dress that is similar to their village.