Our cherry-picking was similarly lackadaisical. When I asked Muammer about if they had had problems with insects and if they sprayed the cherries, he said that there were some problems, but the cherries were a hobby, not for profit, and so it was ok. What, precisely, do they do for profit then? I have to think that the two major sources of income for the village are the cherries... and us.
I guess overall I'm curious about the extent of the observer effect here - how different is what we've seen in this village because we are able to see it? Muammer said that the adjacent village of Upper Eşenler is considerably less open to outsiders.
Actually, let's take a brief break from the deeper musings and take a look at this geopolitical oddity.
Oddity aside, Upper Eşenler is supposed to be more conservative and less accepting of outsiders. Muammer, who's actually from Upper, intimated that his German wife isn't really accepted there. But the villagers in Lower were trying to marry us off to Turks at least twice a day.
So ultimately it seems like there are three possible reasons for the difference between the two villages. The first, that there is some bizarre fault line of political beliefs running between the Eşenlers, seems unlikely. So either Upper has a reason to dislike outsiders or Lower has a reason to like them. It's possible that Upper has such a reason, but I don't know what it would be. The most obvious reason for Lower to have an abnormal liking for outsiders is a steady stream of them paying to come in and homestay. But this would appear to be phenomenally circular logic - Lower can't decide to allow outsiders because they like the outsiders they've already allowed. Maybe it was a gradual thing - they let in one, liked him, then let in some more. Now they're a pillar of secular leftism and Western-minded openness.
This, obviously, means a few things. First, the experiences we've had in the last few days probably aren't totally representative of the majority of rural Turkey. HOWEVER, and this is big, individuals JUST LIKE US have, through the fact that they're coming to the village in the first place and being at least somewhat likeable while there, made a village open to the West.
So ultimately it seems like there are three possible reasons for the difference between the two villages. The first, that there is some bizarre fault line of political beliefs running between the Eşenlers, seems unlikely. So either Upper has a reason to dislike outsiders or Lower has a reason to like them. It's possible that Upper has such a reason, but I don't know what it would be. The most obvious reason for Lower to have an abnormal liking for outsiders is a steady stream of them paying to come in and homestay. But this would appear to be phenomenally circular logic - Lower can't decide to allow outsiders because they like the outsiders they've already allowed. Maybe it was a gradual thing - they let in one, liked him, then let in some more. Now they're a pillar of secular leftism and Western-minded openness.
This, obviously, means a few things. First, the experiences we've had in the last few days probably aren't totally representative of the majority of rural Turkey. HOWEVER, and this is big, individuals JUST LIKE US have, through the fact that they're coming to the village in the first place and being at least somewhat likeable while there, made a village open to the West.
2 comments:
Oh, I like this one especially, as you can imagine! Good job on your conversations!
Many thanks for the map and scale - definitely puts it all in micro perspective... Glad to see to that you are so lackadaisically supporting the local Lower economy by assisting with the non-profitable cherry picking. Equally glad that you have decided to not accept any of the matrimonal offers with you have been presented. At least I assume you have not accepted. My speculation is that what you saw in Lower is probably not representative of typical, but Upper is probably more representative of the feelings that Turks have towards outsiders. But on the other hand, perhaps Upper is just more lackadaisical than Lower if that is possible. I think I will go with the political fault line...
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