Red Tape

When a person applies for something in Turkey...say a bank account, residency, a loan, an apartment, etc. the form usually requires that he/she list his/her "father's name" and "mother's maiden name." Even if the applicant is a grown adult. Even if the applicant is 70 years old and his/her parents have passed on. The requirement has always seemed odd to me, because in the States, once you turn 18 years old, guardian/parent information is not necessary on anything.

Well, today, over three years since moving to Turkey, I finally got my own bank card. Until now, my husband had to hand me cash for everything. While that arrangement made it easy to watch our spending, it also became inconvenient when I needed groceries but had no cash to buy them. 

Today, before going grocery shopping, I had to activate and retrieve a pin number for my shiny new card. I called the bank and got halfway through the process when the person on the other end started asking me confusing questions:

"Evlenmeden önce Annenin soyisim ne ve Ikinci karakter soyisimde ne?"

Yeah, you didn't get that either?!?!?

So, I opted to wait until 9a.m. when I was told the English speaking employee would arrive to call back.  

When I finally got to the heavily accented speaker he asked me this question:

Him: "What is the second character in your mother's name before she was married?"

Me: (Really??!?) "Um... I"

Him: "What is the fifth character in your mother's name before she was married?"

Me: "N"

Him: "No ma'am that's not right."

Me: "Huh?"

Him: "I said fifth character."

Me: (counting on my fingers ...N-I-X-O-N) "Yes, sir, the fifth character is N."

Him: "No, it's not."

Me: "My mother's maiden name was Nixon. N-I-X-O-N. That would make the fifth character N." 

Him: "Nixon. The fifth character would be O." 

Me: "Okay, well, it would be N. But if you've got O, then we'll just say O."
Him: "Well, that's not correct anyway."
Me: (For REAL!?!?) "Well, then there must be a mistake because my mother's maiden name was Nixon."
Him: "Well, that's not what we've got so maybe you should have your husband call since he set up the account."
Me: (Grrrrr....) "Okay."

I did not get to use my shiny new card at all today.