Where Are You From?

For those of you who read my blog religiously, you probably noticed that last week I did not write. While I apologize for not giving you something new to ponder, I have a good excuse- I was on vacation!

My family, Ariel and I took a 10 day trip to Istanbul, Turkey. Despite the minor flight issues of getting there (especially for my brothers who were supposed to fly through London the day after the big commotion), we all arrived safely. We spent the days touring and the nights eating…well actually we ate all through the day. Turkish food is wonderful, but for someone who eats meat about twice a month, I think I have enough lamb for the next 2 years. We were also pleasantly surprised by how little the restaurant and store owners haggled us. August is the height of the tourist season and there were tons of people around.

Some people tried to scare/warn me about going to Turkey “at this time.” True, there was a war going in Israel, but we were not about to call off a trip that was planed more than a year in advance. Ariel and I did decide, however, not to speak in Hebrew. All in all the 6 of us looked and sounded like a typical American group. Everyone’s favorite question was “where are you from?” (Of course their English wasn’t the best so it usually was just ‘where you from?”). When we said America then they were usually eager to tell us about where they’ve visited or a relative who lives there now.

One time when we were in the Grand Bazaar, Ariel and I went to buy a souvenir. The store owner asked me where I was from and when I responded with my typical ‘United States’ he said to me “No, I don’t think so, I think you are from Israel.” Then he turned to Ariel and said “and he is definitely from Israel.” I was shocked at how sure he was of himself. Then I realized that on the back of Ariel’s backpack there was a “Steve’s Pack Jerusalem” label. The store owner said “well, whatever, we like all people” but I still found the interaction to be disturbing.

Throughout my trip I never felt like I was in any actual danger, but it bothered me that I was hiding part of my identity. Turkey, while very secular, is still a Muslim country and there are reminders of that 5 times a day when you hear the call to prayer, and all throughout the city where you see women with their heads covered, sometimes in full black (although those are probably tourists from other Arab countries).

We did not see any Israelis during our trip except for one or two families on the last day. Then, sitting in the airport waiting for my flight back to Israel, the waiting area was full of them. People were talking, shouting across the room and complaining about the bad coffee or late hour of the flight, all in Hebrew. I turned to Ariel and said with a smile “We’re home.”