An Expats Experiences of Living in Turkey

By Colin Guest

Relocating from Plymouth to Kemer with his wife in 1988, Colin knows the highs and lows of life in a foreign country better than most. From the idyllic weather and heartwarming hospitality to traditions and unusual laws, he's seen it all. Now, in his inspiring autobiography, he's telling his story to help others who want to do it too.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tigerman
• Release date: May 6, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223281238

Colin Guest

Colin Guest is English, now retired and living in Istanbul. He has written eleven books, including memoirs, thrillers and romance stories. His latest book is Unforgettable Cruise, a romance story. Colin is passionate about wild animals and has adopted a tiger for the past twelve years.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Part 1

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While sat relaxed under the orange trees in our favourite café in Kemer, Turkey, my wife Jen suddenly spoke.

Can I make a suggestion?

I grinned, Sure, what’s on your mind?

Well, I’ve been thinking. Before I could comment, she went

on to say, When you finish your contract, why don’t we buy a piece of land and have a house built?

I nearly choked on my beer. What! I thought we had decided to move to Spain?

Jen gave a beaming smile. We did, but I think Turkey is far better than Spain.

Although astonished at this change of thought, I could only agree with what she said,

Well, you’ll get any argument from me, I said. I guess it means we’d better find some land to build on."

Of course, this decision would prove life-changing. I realised that right from the start, but back then I could never have foreseen seen just what an incredible–and at times painful—ride I was in for.

We came to be in Turkey in 1988 purely by accident. As an expat worker, I had been working on a contract in Jordan, when due to finding the quality of work unacceptable, I decided to resign. It was during this time I received a phone call from Jen. She informed me that a man named Jamie, the owner of a recruitment company wanted to talk to me. Our talk resulted in my accepting a married status contract as a Finishes Advisor on a five-star hotel complex in Turkey. I would be working for Lossinger, a sizeable Swiss construction company. My job would be to advise on quality control issues of all interior and exterior finishing works. It was a post I had been doing since becoming an expat.

At the time of my acceptance, all I knew about Turkey was that it was a Muslim country. It would be the ninth country I had worked in since first going to work in Iran back in 1978. On the other hand, Jen had only left England to take an occasional holiday in Spain. Still, I had no doubt she would be able to cope with living in Turkey.

Jamie handled everything for me, and on the strength of my CV alone, the company awarded me the contract without interviewing me. The pay and conditions were excellent, with the position suiting me perfectly. A major plus, the company, was offering me my first married status contract. This was a dream come true, Jen would be able to accompany me.

There were only two weeks between my arrival home from Jordan and my scheduled departure to Turkey. Given this, we did not have enough time to sort everything out. Therefore, we settled on a plan of action. Jen would follow on as soon as possible.

At the time, we were living in a house we bought in Plymouth, Devon, six months earlier. Still, with my contract being for ten months, we decided to rent it out. The income gained would enable us to modernize it. After researching various rental companies, we chose what seemed like the best, and made a contract with them.

On talking with our two daughters, Kim, the eldest had recently moved into an apartment she bought herself. She decided not to come with us, while Anita, the youngest elected to stay in Plymouth. Given this, we set her up in a lovely bedsit and paid her first three months’ rent. As Anita was working, she said she could manage okay, but unfortunately, this statement would turn out incorrect.

When I said goodbye to Jen, and the girls on the morning I left to fly out to Turkey, at the age of forty-eight, I thought it just another contract. But oh boy, how wrong would this prove to be.

It had been arranged that I would meet Jamie at Heathrow Airport and then fly out to Istanbul. I looked forward to meeting Jamie, as he had proved more than helpful in sorting everything out for me. Also, and even more important, he would hand me my flight ticket to Istanbul.

I found Jamie and his wife were waiting to meet me at Heathrow, where during a chat, he told me that my flight to Istanbul was via Zurich. Here he said, a representative of Lossinger would meet me. However, when I reached Zurich, there was no one waiting to meet me. Still, as I thought I’d been furnished with all necessary details, I did not anticipate any problems when I boarded my connecting flight on to Istanbul.

The driver who met me there said, I’m with Ucgen. I shrugged, but was too tired to make any real effort to ask who Ucgen were. I merely nodded and followed him out to his car.

The hour-long journey that followed was nothing short of a nightmare. Trucks, buses and cars were weaving in and out with no regards for what to me were standard traffic rules.

When we finally arrived at Ucgen’s office, I had no idea why I was there. Jamie had not mentioned them. After the driver led me inside, a secretary took me to an office where she introduced me to three men.

Haluk, one of the men, then cleared up the mystery. He explained that Ucgen was the name of the company I had been seconded to work for.

We are the owners of Ucgen who are building the project, he said.

No doubt I would have known all this had I met the man from Lossinger in Zurich.

Haluk introduced me to a man named Esref. He is the General Manager of the Kiris Hotel project that you will be working on. After talking with Esref for a while, he said, A driver will take you to a hotel where you will stay the night. He grinned, then added. I will be around a bit later to take you out to dinner. I’ll then explain more about the project."

I was then driven to a hotel set on the edge of the Bosphorus Strait. From my room, I could see the bustling seafront, with ferries busy loading and unloading passengers.

A short time later, Esref arrived and took me to a nearby fish restaurant. During our meal, he said, I’ll driving us down to the project site the next morning. To my further surprise, he added, It’s down on the Mediterranean coast, the opposite side of the country from Istanbul.

After a delicious meal, and an enjoyable chat, Esref drove me back to the hotel.

The next morning, with no motorway and only a few stretches of dual carriageways, our journey took far longer than I expected. As a result, we did not arrive at the project site until late afternoon. My eyes lit when I found the hotel site was set on the edge of a beautiful, long, sandy beach. With the gleaming Mediterranean Sea, less than a hundred yards away, I knew I would enjoy working here.

Esref led me to an office and introduced me to Joe, our project manager, and Graham, a quantity surveyor, my two Lossinger colleagues. He then took me to meet the various members of Ucgen, and the Kiris Hotel project management team. Everyone made me welcome, with my delighted - and not a little relieved - to find they all spoke English.

Esref then showed me around the project that was spread out along the beach and backed by a steep hillside covered in pine trees. Although quite desolate with only a few buildings visible, it looked a fabulous location. As we walked on, I found that the project area went around a headland and into a small bay. Here, set a short distance back from the beach and sheltered from the open sea, a large, ornately shaped swimming pool was under construction. This Esref informed me, would be the main swimming area.

I thought this the best set-up I had seen, and perfect for a five-star hotel. Esref then led me around a narrow path cut out of the rocky cliff face on the other side of the bay, where I found myself in another small bay. Seeing the surprised look on my face, wearing a big smile, Esref said, This is where the dive center and disco will be built.

With the high cliffs surrounding it, and being some distance from the various accommodation buildings, the noise from the disco would not disturb anyone.

Well, I exclaimed, this is a fantastic location for a luxury hotel. With a beautiful sandy beach, secluded bays backed with pine-trees that run from the top of the cliffs down to the beach, it’s really something.

Esref smiled. Yes, I thought you would like the site, he said. We just have to ensure it looks great once we have finished constructing it.

I nodded. As for myself, I said, I will do my best to obtain the required quality.

Squeezing my shoulder, Esref replied. I feel sure you will.

On the way back to the office, Esref said, You will be staying in a small village named Kemer. It is on the other side of the headland, and the nearest place where accommodation is available. He chuckled, before adding. It is also the only place to eat and drink.

By the time, we returned to the office, the working day had finished. Joe who had been waiting for me said, I’ll drive you to the pension (guesthouse) in Kemer. You will stay there until a suitable apartment is found for you.

When we arrived, Joe pointed to a building across the road, I live there in the ground-floor apartment, he said.

The pension painted in a gleaming white stucco, looked smart, although much smaller than a hotel set on the opposite corner of the street.

Chapter 2

As we walked up a path set between a small garden area, I noticed a man sitting at a desk, set at the top of a few steps outside the entrance door.

As he introduced me, Joe said, this is Osman, the owner of the pension. To my surprise, he greeted me in good English.

Hi, You must be Colin, Joe said you would be arriving today." He then led me inside to a small reception desk, where after taking my passport details, took me up a narrow but well-lit staircase. At the top, set in the corridor that had several doors, he opened one.

This is your room Colin, he said. I hope you find it comfortable.

Although not large, it was nicely furnished, with its own bathroom. Plus, with sliding glass doors to a small balcony, the room was well lit.

After a shower and change, Joe came and took me to dinner at a nearby café. Once finished, he then led me down the road to visit his local watering hole, the ‘Mandalina Bar.

As we walked inside, Joe said, This is our local.  Graham and I come most evenings for a pint and a chat.

On walking, up to the bar, Joe introduced me to the owner, who in good English, said, Welcome, Colin, Joe told me he had a new English colleague arriving. If you need any help, you only need to ask.

Thanks, I replied, I’ll keep that in mind.

The inside of the bar was large and smartly furnished. Rough artex style plaster covered the walls that were painted in a cream colour. With soft background music playing, the bar looked both pleasant and relaxing. Set on the long granite bar top was a single pump marked Efes. This Joe said, Is the brand name of the leading Turkish manufacturer of beer. He then explained, My wife is back in England on holiday, but Graham’s wife Caroline is here. They both like Kemer, as I’m sure your wife will once, she arrives and settles in.

Well, from what I’ve seen so far, I said, everything looks great. With pine trees lining the mountains, the project in a fabulous location, orange trees everywhere and clear blue skies, I am going to enjoy being here.

Joe gave a short laugh. There may not be much here, he said, but the shopkeepers are friendly. Plus, there is a small marina, and two beaches where you can go swimming. However, the beach at the site is the best one around here. I was pleased when he went on to say, You will be given a company car, not a new one, but it will enable you to get out and around. Oh, if you like ancient historical places, there are a number within an hour and a half from here. Also, the city of Antalya is not much more than an hour’s drive. He shook his head. The road is quite dangerous, so take care whenever you go there.

I soon found I had much more than the roads to worry about. Kemer had few modern buildings, and to my shock and disgust, ongoing to use a bathroom at one of the cafes, I found it the squat type. Something I had not seen or used since being in Iran. I found this type was almost as common as the usual western-type raised commode used in England. Fortunately, I found a nearby hotel with an English-style toilet. Incredibly, the hotel staff never complained about foreigners walking in to use the restroom.

In Kemer, both the scenery and the friendly Turkish people immediately impressed me. Unfortunately, virtually all tourists were Germans, with few shopkeepers speaking English. Nevertheless, by using sign language and talking slowly, I managed to get myself understood whenever I wanted to buy anything.

At work, apart from Graham and Joe, my two English colleagues, all the other staff and workers were Turkish. Fortunately, all the office staff spoke English, and we all got on well together.

One day, however,