The morning rush hour is not as busy. About half an hour or so before the sun sets, streets become very busy, with drivers racing to get to their destination, lines forming outside the doors of popular cafes and people rushing home with loaves of that puffy, round bread sprinkled with black sesame seeds known as Ramazan pide tucked under their arms. While passing by restaurants, you can see waiters setting up tables with the first course -- usually dates, since the Prophet Muhammad is said to have broken his own fast with them.The iftar can run the gamut from plates of humble stew offered to the poor and served for free by the local municipality in the district square at long cafeteria tables under tents, to those meals that cost you a pretty penny at swank Ottoman-era-inspired, multi-course extravaganzas at finer restaurants and hotels. Most of the set menus start with a soup or an appetizer plate which consists of dates, olives, cheese, pastırma (dried beef strips), sucuk (dried spicy meat), Turkish pide and various pastries called börek. The main course consists of various delicious dishes considered to be that of the Ottoman palace. Usually, a famous dessert called güllaç, made of rose water, is served.
Central Bank of Turkey Governor Durmuş Yılmaz said that food prices had pulled 2010 inflation down by 0.4 percent and were predicted to bring it down further, according to an interview published on WorldBulletin.net (July 27, 2010). Bloomberg reports that consumer prices have risen 4 percent in the United States as of July 2010. People everywhere continue to tighten their belts. Many will admit that the economy has prevented their families from carrying on some holiday traditions at Christmas -- the holiday season that is equivalent to the major Muslim holidays. I understand from some Turks that they share the same idea of being frugal during this month. Globally, families have been affected by the downward economic spiral that has been slow to turn around.
In Turkey, people belonging to downtrodden segments or even those who receive a regular salary are finding it near impossible to enjoy traditional iftar celebrations with family members as prices have increased and times are hard. Back home where I come from we have an expression that says it all: people are “counting their pennies.” In other words, they are watching their savings, or rather if they have any left! It seems that festive celebrations and significant traditional religious holidays have taken on more of a commercial feel and prices reflect this.
There is another element of challenge to tradition associated with these festive days and special religious holidays -- namely, competition with modern life and technology. Turks seem to prefer to wake up to alarm clocks instead of the traditional drummer. Young people do not understand why they need to dress up for visitors and feel restless. They prefer to excuse themselves and go play on the computer for most of the time or listen to music with headphones. Many teenagers worldwide have lost interest in special holidays and keeping traditions alive.
In just the past couple of decades traditions which had been handed down over a period of time are being eroded. Younger generations have no clue about the rational bases of why some uphold the tradition. Particularly in the West, lifestyles and making convenience a priority have caused us to lose the value and, let’s say, magic of the season.
Tradition is based on experience and observation. It cannot always be effectively rationalized. I can only speak with regard to the tradition of Christmas. Back home, the wide availability of commercially prepared Christmas foods is completely changing many Christmas traditions. No doubt, store-bought cookie dough can save you time. It’s become possible to make it through the entire Christmas season without doing one single thing the old-fashioned way. I’m afraid that it may not be just in the West, but worldwide, that the good taste of home-cooked food is lost, and the time spent together preparing that food is lost, too. Making meals from scratch might be more labor intensive, but the time spent together preparing that food was one of the elements that made it special.
Note: Charlotte McPherson is the author of “Culture Smart: Turkey, 2005.” Please keep your questions and observations coming: I want to ensure this column is a help to you, Today’s Zaman’s readers. Email: c.mcpherson@todayszaman.com
