Taxis in Turkey |
Wednesday Jan 31 2007
Bio
Thinking about the place of elders in other cultures, I’m reminded of my days in Turkey. Although I wasn’t, by American standards, an elder (I was in late middle age at that time), I was considered so by the people in that culture.
My first experience was in Izmir, Turkey, where I was teaching English at Ege University. Some of the time, I took a dolmus (share taxi) to and from the university. I had no problem getting a space in the taxi going to the university because we lived at the beginning of the route, but coming home was a different matter.
The first few times I was waiting at the taxi stand, I noticed that the taxis coming by were full and so I backed away from the stop. Then one day, a full taxi stopped and one of the riders got out and waved me in. I was startled and, apparently, showed my confusion because one of the other riders (an English-speaking one) said:
“That
man is giving up his seat for you as a gesture of respect. You are a
teacher, an elder and a guest in our country. Any one of those calls
for respect—but being all three demands the greatest respect.”
I was deeply humbled.
The next day, the taxi starter (the person whose job it was to hail cabs) at the stop across from the building where we lived asked me for the times of my departure and return. From that day on, there was always room for me in taxis going my way. That taxi starter had passed along the message and all the drivers took care of me while I was there.
Have you experienced any other demonstrations of respect for elders while in another culture? If so, please post a comment…we’d love to hear from you.
Written by admin at Wisdom in Action
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