The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has overshadowed the situation in Ukraine in Turkey

Even the rampant inflation in the country is no longer so worrying

Moving even within the same city is always a troublesome task. What can we say if you have to move to another country. Our correspondent, having lived for a year in the resort of Antalya, decided to move to the center of Turkish life, the largest city in the country – Istanbul. The city is multicultural, multilingual, with its own characteristics, which we will tell you about.

Turks, at least the ones I’ve encountered, are friendly towards foreigners. Many people try to help if they see that a visitor is confused. Some are almost ready to take you by the hand to the right address and praise you very much if you know at least two words in Turkish. Sometimes this is even too much, because I myself understand that I have mixed up all the cases, but I hear: “How beautifully you speak!” Then the conversation usually turns to the complexities of the language, and we agree that everything is being done slowly.

Another point that may surprise you is gullibility. In one pet store I bought a large pack of cat food and a tray. The food was in the warehouse and had to wait, and I didn’t have any time. The seller promised that he would bring it himself. At the same time, he immediately gave me the tray, saying that I could pay for it later along with the food.

However, there are also the opposite situations: when sellers see that there is a foreigner in front of them, they may try to raise prices twice as high. So, it is better to discuss the cost in advance.

As for accommodation, in Turkey it turned out to be quite difficult to connect housing and communal services. To turn on the gas, you need to leave one request; electricity for foreigners is connected only in the office, and this may be on the other side of the city. The situation is similar with water. Plus, the rules vary from city to city. If in one place you need to first connect utilities and only then obtain registration at your place of residence, then in another city everything may be the other way around.

The country has skyrocketing inflation. Prices are rising literally before our eyes. What cost 10 liras a year ago is now 60. In mid-November and at an exchange rate of 3.11 rubles per lira, the cost of food in stores is as follows: meat – from 400 liras per kilogram (1245 rubles), chicken – about 150 liras per kilo (467 rubles), milk – 30 (93.5 rubles), bread 10 liras, tomatoes – 35 (109 rubles).

There are things that are quite difficult to get used to. Public transport is well developed in Istanbul, but sometimes you have to use a taxi. You can call a car using the app, but the slightest rain, and the driver either cancels the order or asks for prices five times higher, or even in dollars. Another way is to vote on the road, which has not been practiced in Moscow for a long time.

And, of course, cats. Bowls with food and water are at every entrance, food for cats is literally everywhere. At some sites, not just houses, but entire cities were installed for them. So, cats here feel more than impressive, which cannot be said about dogs. They do not get specialized food, but everything that is left from the table: bread and sweets. Almost all of the stray dogs I have seen are significantly obese. Some people’s legs give out because they simply cannot stand up. It is not yet very clear what to do with these poor fellows.

Today, Turkish citizens are preoccupied with the war between Israel and Palestine. All day long the news shows destruction in the Gaza Strip, statistics of civilian deaths are published. Against this background, it seems that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is rather treated in no way here. Of course, the Turks have an opinion on both crises, but still the problems of the Muslim world concern them much more.

Living in Turkey has its pros and cons. For now, they are rather frightened by constantly changing laws, requirements for the stay of foreigners and rampant inflation.