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Understanding the significance of 'neighborhood' culture.

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Terry Cullen

Nov 21, 2023

Turkey

Categories:

Neighborhood, Culture, Coffee, Community

The Daily Sabah, a Turkish newspaper, describes neighborhood culture in Turkey, and what it means to the neighbors who live there in this article dated August 24, 2021.


A Turkish neighborhood, a mahalle, is where people form bonds with one another and develop lifelong friendships. The closeness of relationships within mahalles is one of the defining features of Turkish culture and your participation in that culture can go a long way to improving your quality of life. There is a name for it, mahalle kültürü, neighborhood culture.


There are customs that go with the responsibility of being part of this culture. The mahalle is likely to be the place where you buy your food and wood for winter heating. Your neighbors will come to your aid if you need assistance and often stop by unannounced for a visit.


Should you find yourself living in mahalle, here are a few suggestions to help you feel like you belong and are a part of your neighborhood. One is to lend a helping hand. The Turkish have a word for that too, imece. There is an expectation that you will pitch in and help the community when it's needed. Another is to be neighborly. In Turkey, that could be sharing a cup of their world-famous coffee (or tea) and playing a game of backgammon. Still, another is to be prepared for your new friends to drop by unannounced, often bearing food. Always be gracious, invite them in, and never forget to return the dish replete with food. If you ever have any questions, need help, or have a problem to solve, go to your local market, the bakkal. You can get anything you need, really, well because that’s where your neighbors shop too. And finally, do not sweat the small stuff. Life may look a little unruly to the outsider, but you will soon come to understand that it builds powerful and long-lasting bonds between people. That special bond that brings a neighborhood close together is called mahalle arkadaşı.


The social bonds of many western culture neighborhoods have been lost. The only commonality neighbors may share may be economic status and geographic proximity. And yet many people yearn for that social connectedness that brings us a sense of identity, companionship, security, to name but a few.


Local groups can emulate the suggestions above, promoting the helping hand of imece, having coffee groups, game nights, food events, and creating a hub of community around neighborhood markets. Keeping it informal, adapting it to your local culture and neighborhood preferences, and doing it regularly, consistently, may help to recreate a sense of community and build social bonds that strengthen all of us.



It is not difficult to do, and it can be quite fun. And it is no doubt, a powerful experience. We all want to feel like we belong. It is time to pull out the ibrik. This could work for you.


Originally published October 29, 2021.

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