Post Tagged with "Turkey"

Tipping etiquette around the world

A girl from America, a girl from France, a boy from England and a boy from Australia are sitting around a restaurant table in Poland. How much will they tip?

The boy from England: “Ok, we’ve got enough pooled to cover the bill. How much should we tip? I think it’s customarily 10% in Poland, right?”

The girl from France: “No way, I’m not leaving 10%, the service was terrible.”

The girl from America: “Whoa, I was planning to leave 20%!”

Photo by Cathleen Shattuck

Our monthly collaborative post is back, and this time we’re talking about tipping etiquette. Here’s what PocketCultures contributors around the world said about when to tip in their countries.

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Picture Postcards: Just Married Decorated Cars

Have you ever wondered how many countries include decorating their cars as a part of the wedding ritual? Do people do this in your country? Here is a photo of a car from Turkey by Liz at Pocketcultures and one from Kyrgyzstan from the Sons of Hedin website.

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Messenger of winter in Turkey: Salep

What is your favourite winter drink? Hot chocolate? Oregon Chai? Or simply a cup of coffee? Most Turks will answer that question with ‘Salep’, the most popular winter beverage in Turkey. When you see “Salep sold here” signs at the windows of the pastry shops, coffee houses or spot salep vendors in the streets, you know winter is already here.

A cup of salep, garnished with cinnamon by fikirbaz

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Breakfast around the world

What’s for breakfast where you are? In some countries, sweet foods are the norm. In others, breakfast is always savoury. Sometimes it’s a light meal, other times it’s a filling dish that will keep you going for many hours.

Selected from our previous posts and photos posted in our Picture Postcards photo group, here’s what PocketCultures readers and contributors around the world are eating for breakfast.

Italy

Photo by Marcello

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Daily life in Turkish Riviera and beyond

Julia Power and Barry Dawber are among the 7,000 British citizens permanently live in Fethiye, a city in the Turkish Riviera and one of Turkey’s well-known tourist centres. They came to travel around Turkey just for 6 months in 2003, instead they bought a house and settled in the Land of the Lights, or Telmessos, as Fethiye was known in the ancient times.

Fethiye in Winter

They have been blogging their day by day experiences on their blog Turkey’s For Life since 2009. In their own words, the blog “tries to focus on all of the many positive and great things about Fethiye and other parts of Turkey”. Blog’s topics include recommendations for places to see, eat and drink and things to do in Fethiye.

From time to time the couple share their impressions of their excursions to Istanbul, Antalya, Greek islands and other parts of Turkey. Occasionally they try some original Turkish recipes and share them on their blog.

The authors’ attention to detail in their surroundings results intriguing topics which even most Turks would read with interest. Turkey’s For Life is a useful source of information about Fethiye & local culture, for those who want to travel to Turkey or who are interested in Turkish culture.

Turkey’s For Life could also be followed on Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. Photos courtesy of Turkey’s for Life.

Read More:
There’s life outside Istanbul
ANZAC day: And Australian’s pilgrimage to Gallipoli
Kemal Pasha dessert / Kemalpaşa tatlısı

Gift etiquette around the world

When do you give gifts in your country? Do you choose a different gift depending on the occasion? And if you receive a gift is it polite to open it straight away or wait until later?

In continuation of our series of collaborative posts by PocketCultures contributors, we bring to you this time the different gift etiquettes across different countries of the world.

Gift Etiquettes around the world -

India

by Arwa, regional contributor for The Netherlands / India

Photo Credit – Shooz

The diverse cultures, religions, regions and festivals in India collate together to form a wide canvas of exciting colors and emotions. This diversity from the North to the South and East to the West is evident in the differing customs and traditions throughout the country, one such example of which is giving and receiving of gifts.

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