Turkish Cultural Personalities

1. We speak Turkish

2. We are usually louder than northern Europeans, usually the same volume as other Mediterranean people.

3. Most Turkish people are very warm and friendly. Depending on where one is from we may even seem too friendly

3.1. They are willing to help out, they like cracking jokes, they are very hospitable.

4. We are very patriotic. Depending on your own background and ideas it may seem like we are overly nationalistic or like we have a healthy amount of love and respect for their country.

5. We love our families and keep our relatives in our lives.

5.1. We kiss twice from cheeks

5.2. Extremely family-oriented. Even a second cousin could be as close to you as your brother/sister in some instances. You’ll feel really loved by your Turkish family.

6. Amazing cooks - although it is mostly women that cook.

7. Lack of long-term/strategic planning

8. Disrespectful towards strangers, whether it’s in lines, in the traffic or in public life

9. There is an “I am better than you”/show-off attitude. People will do things to show off to other people, or because of how it’s perceived by the society. Again, a behavior that is not affected by socio-economic lines

10. Turks will never admit to not knowing something. They will have an opinion on everything even when they are clearly not informed on the subject. Whenever there is a news of a plane crash somewhere in the world, I see Turkish people commenting on it on Eksisozluk (an online Turkish forum) as if they all have a PhD in aerospace engineering from Harvard.

11. We are Caucasian but there is a lot of variety in terms of looks, there is no single "typical Turk".

12. Most people are fairly conservative when compared to Western attitudes on issues like religion, LGBT rights, gender equality etc, but very forward-thinking when compared to most countries in the region.

13. Passionate (about soccer, politics, history, whatever it may be)

14. Fascinating, diverse history that is influenced by many cultures (Greeks, Armenians, Kurds, Arabs, Tatars, former Yugoslavs) etc. that manifests in daily expressions, literature, dances or customs.

15. Kind of related to the first point, there is a lack of respect for private life. Friends and family, and sometimes even strangers, will voice their opinions on your private life. Gossiping is huge. (-)