Interview
by Jennifer Chumbley Bal
BAP-Q:
What inspired you to start this project? What is your vision?
AA:
Jennifer and I created a writing workshop with a few other American
women in Istanbul and soon realized we were all writing about our lives
in Turkey. We thought if we collected the stories we might begin to
piece together the puzzle that is Turkey.
JG:
Hammering out a book proposal, Anastasia and I chose an anachronistic
theme to play on erroneous Western assumptions about this part of the
world (and Muslim culture in general). But the Expat Harem metaphor
we’ve coined is appropriate, too. It declares our contributors
are contemporary reflections of the foreign brides of the Ottoman sultans:
wedded to the culture of the land, embedded in it even, yet forever
alien.
AA:
It was a ripe idea and the floodgates opened. We heard from more than
100 women from 14 nations whose lives have been touched by Turkey in
the past 50 years – and we’re meeting more women of the
Expat Harem every day!
BAP-Q:
In every country in the world the equality of women and men is skewed
in at least one or more of these categories: economical, social, reproductive
and human rights. What did you find were the greatest challenges for
women native to Turkey? The women expatriates? The greatest triumphs?
AA:
What’s interesting is to me are personal perceptions about equality.
Turkish women have taught us and many of the expatriates in Expat Harem
what strength there is in being a woman. Western culture seems to have
stripped the power from femininity; it has confused us into thinking
that to be taken seriously, we must dress and act like men. The ancient
wisdom of Anatolia’s goddess culture is alive and well in Turkey,
and in Turkey’s women.
JG:
One writer looks forward to having a baby in Turkey because motherhood
is so valued, and breast-feeding encouraged – whereas in the United
States she had to nurse her son in private to avoid ‘offending’
her relatives.
AA:
A challenge for Turkish women seems to be attaining the independence
many expatriates enjoy. Turkish society is so inter-dependent there
are few acceptable lifestyle options for the loner, even in the most
modern families.
BAP-Q:
In general: How would you describe the assimilation process for these
women into Turkish life? How were they perceived by Turks? How did they
perceive Turkish life in comparison to their native lands? What were
the biggest obstacles?
JG:
Each woman’s story is different, given that the tales take place
in cities and towns throughout Turkey over the past four decades, and
given that the women themselves come from six nations and four continents,
their own ethnic frames of reference are quite diverse. In addition,
they come from various professions and social backgrounds, so the context
of their experiences is therefore richly unique. Some blended in easily,
others resisted, and one even wound up in a police station in the middle
of the night! But in general, it is fair to say that those who attempted
to embrace the culture were requited in abundant measures of affection
and local hospitality.
BAP-Q:
What can you tell us about Turkey and its artistic community?
JG:
I’m fortunate in that my Turkish family is quite involved in the
arts. My father-in-law has a limitless recollection of poetry and often
recites Nazim Hikmet or other Turkish poets (in fact he currently anchors
a weekly television show in Fethiye about poetry). My mother-in-law
is an artist, and her niece and nephew are both from the Ankara State
Ballet (Fahri Güven, former head of the ballet, and Gülay
Sarg¦n, former prima ballerina). At least in my Turkish life, I see
the arts as highly respected and revered.
BAP-Q:
Your book has become a bestseller in Turkey, was this something that
you expected or did it come as a surprise?
AA:
The book’s strong performance probably has less to do with our
gender than the fact that it taps into an interest great numbers of
people have…Turks want to know what foreigners are thinking of
them, while expatriates want to see if their fellow foreign nationals
have had similar experiences. And people who have left the country (including
Peace Corps volunteers who were here 40 years ago) are eager to relive
their Turkish memories!
JG:
Also, many people – Turks and foreigners—feel deeply proprietary
about the country; many are reading the book to police our motivations
and see how closely our idea of Turkey reflects their own.
BAP-Q:
Is there an underlying theme other than expatriation that links all
of these stories? What do you hope the reader takes away from this reading
experience?
AA:
Besides exploring the land and culture, these women are exploring themselves.
They’re on journeys of self realization. Turkey happens to be
the backdrop. Their tales show how Turkish culture has affected their
lives as they navigate their way into friendship, neighborhood, wifehood,
and motherhood in Turkey.
JG:
Learning is often an act of comparison... holding up a new experience
against one’s accumulated knowledge and seeing how it either resonates
or contrasts. We asked the writers to hold up Turkish culture as a mirror
onto their own culture, and their own assumptions about the world. Hopefully
what the reader gains from this book will be the contrasts each writer
explores as they relate what they learned about Turkey and what that
lesson taught them about themselves.
AA:
Perhaps readers will understand how much another culture can show you
who you are, and how you can change, if you want to.
BAP-Q:
What do you think about how Turkey is represented in today’s world?
What do you think can be done to extend the reach of Turkish arts and
culture across the world?
AA:
Turkey has a dark and contentious reputation, with conflicts like historical
ethnic and geographic rivalries dominating news coming out the country.
Although it has a rich creative heritage, that’s not the first
thing people think of. A fictionalized Oliver Stone movie from the 1970s
comes to mind, or a sad report they heard on NPR. Many of the writers
in our anthology have had to defend their choice to live in Turkey since
friends and relatives back home were worried for their safety –
and their sanity!
JG:
Many of us have been accused of being ‘blinded by love’
when we say Turkey can be a genteel place. So it’s been edifying
to hear feedback from readers of the book, people who tell us “My
experience in Turkey was wonderful, too.” And for those people
who may have been wondering about Turkey, for them to see that all these
women, unrelated to each other, have had a similar warm reception is
compelling evidence of the true nature of the land.
AA:
In this same way, extending the reach of Turkey’s art and culture
is a matter of enticement: Enticing people to learn more, and making
the introduction as accessible as possible. In Tales from the Expat
Harem each writer acts as a guide into her world, and the Turkey that
she knows. Readers will go along with her to meet an art gallery owner
in Ankara whose ancestors were fortunetellers of the sultan; they’ll
whirl through the streets with Gypsy dancers; they’ll be invited
into the ritual bath of an Anatolian bride.
BAP-Q:
What is your favorite thing about living in Turkey and the least favorite?
AA:
For me it’s the same thing: the close observation of my life by
family and neighbors. For an independent Western woman it can be disconcerting
to feel every move is watched – and reported! What time I went
to sleep, who came over to the house, things like that. But on the flip
side, this very scrutiny is what makes me feel safe and cared for, especially
since the motivations for this are not malicious, or even necessarily
having to do anything with me. People-watching seems to be a national
pastime. If I need help from my family or neighbors I know I can count
on them, and perhaps they would even know I needed help before I told
them myself. One tale in our book is about that very phenomenon: an
ill Australian is rescued by her neighbors who notice she hasn’t
left the house in days.
BAP-Q:
What have you learned most about collecting these stories?
JG:
That Turkey has had a magical affect on a lot of different kinds of
women. We didn't seek only positive stories about Turkey, but that's
mostly what we received. There is an overwhelmingly positive feeling
for the country in the collection.
BAP-Q:
Do you have any recommendations or advice for people planning a move
to Turkey or another country?
JG:
I’m a proponent of the integrated, adventurous expatriate life.
Immersion is the only way to do it. Don’t lock yourself away in
a compound. The more effort you put into learning the language, the
sooner you’ll be able to navigate the culture and express yourself.
AA:
Take extra care to supply yourself with what you need to be happy, wherever
you are. Feeling light-hearted and productive is important when you
suddenly are surrounded by so many new situations. You’ll need
that inner strength in order to remain flexible about things you can’t
control or don’t understand.
JG:
Turkey is a much more social culture both in one’s home life and
business life, so one should adjust her priorities accordingly. More
time and effort is taken to build and sustain relationships. Rather
than self-centric, the society is group-centric so letting go of ‘self’
may certainly help! A typical business day starts with breakfast in
the break room and conversations about everyone’s weekend. Businesspeople
would be well advised to take the extra time for these social niceties.
Schedules, appointments, deadlines are quite relaxed, so don’t
take offense when people aren’t on time. And when appointments
start late, don’t dive into business. It’s always tea and
talk first.
AA:
Try to get up to speed on what life might be like in Turkey. When we
were brainstorming the anthology’s concept we imagined it could
be a cultural primer for newcomers to the country. It will be wonderful
if people actually use it that way. Women about to wed Turks have said
the book made clear which aspects of their relationship have to do with
the culture and which are individual to the couple.
BAP-Q:
Do you have any projects planned for the future?
AA:
We’ve been asked by our Turkish publisher to consider doing a
male version of the anthology. That would elicit a very different set
of views on the country…
JG:…and
there are certainly more stories from the Expat Harem, like a Golden
Girls edition with contributors who have lived in Turkey for 30 years
or more!
AA:
Currently I’m at work on a collection of my own cultural essays
Berkeley to Byzantium: The Reorientation of a West Coast Adventuress,
a travel memoir charting the peaks and valleys of my life, from mean
elevators and subways of Manhattan to the gilded palaces of Asia Minor
-- and Southeast Asia, where I lived for five years.
JG:
I’ve just left my position as a development officer for an international
school in Istanbul to focus on my writing. My next book project is a
comical transcontinental confessional about my Turkish adventures called
Midwest Goes Middle East: Adventures of an Expat Drama Queen.
