Sweet response
On a recent visit to Turkey we were impressed with the extent to which women in that largely Muslim society have moved into business and the professions and are chicly attired in outfits that wouldn’t be out of place in London, New York or Toronto. I hasten to add that you do see women in more traditional Muslim dress but without the veil.
This is a major departure from tradition that the place of women is in the home, raising babies, cooking and housekeeping.
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Our Turkish guide told us there are still families where, when a young woman reaches the age of 16 or 18, the tradition is that she should marry. To let young men know she is available her parents have two signals. One may be a special tasselled Turkish rug hung in an upper window. The other involves putting an empty bottle on the crest of the roof.
An interested young man knocks on the door and is admitted. After conversation with the family the young woman serves him tea. If the tea is laden with sugar the prospects are favorable. If there’s no sugar or a lacing of salt he might as well buzz off.
If a betrothal occurs, part of the betrothal ceremony is smashing the empty bottle.
The young students we met in Istanbul and Ankara didn’t seem too concerned with old traditions. They were all learning English as a second language and were eager to try it on us:
“Hello. What is your name? How old are you?”
With European industry moving into Turkey, jobs become available for men and women and so the farm and rural traditions are abandoned by the young. They want to be swingers too.
