Thanks so much for watching! If anyone is fluent in Turkish and would be interested in translating my video for closed captions, please let me know! I would be so grateful

I’m an American living in Izmir too! Izmir is the best😍

Turkish language has a history for more than 1000 years, not 100 years. Atatürk just changed the alphabet and some words. Language is the same.

Actually there is a misunderstanding here. People can understand what Ataturk said because we were not speak Arabic before 1923, we were speaking Turkish in all history as today we do. But our alphabet is arabic and now we use latin words. That's all :)

Haha, thinking Turks speak Arabic is kinda like thinking Germans speak Latin :D

turkey is a paradise for vegetarians ....the vegetables are so fresh and delicious

lol, turkish was always turkish. only the writing turned from arabic alphabet into western oriented one with little changes.

I am jealous.... I wish I could go live in Turkey for a year!

The claim that Turkish language was actually "developed" in the past 100 years is pure nonsense. The first Turkish dictionary was written in 1074 (It is called "Divan'i Lugat'it Turk" and was written by Kashgarli Mahmud) Which makes it almost as old as the Anglo-saxon control on the island called Britain. (yeah Turkish dictionary is as old as England) . What happened in the republic era was to promote a puritan version of Turkish as a language of Literature, Education and Science. That is all. Language already existed.

The Turkish language wasn't developed in the last century but rather standardised just like any other language nowadays. Essentially, the so-called Ottoman Turkish was used by the elites and upper class and was heavily influenced by Arabic and Persian but the ordinary Turkish folk kept speaking simple Turkish but during those times this Turkish was considered "peasant" tongue. The same thing happened with English as well. For a time when English was dominated by Latin and French, people who spoke normal English was considered peasants until of course this was reversed. The same thing happened here, Atatürk brought the simple Turkish that was spoken by the people as the standard version of the newly founded state. The reason why the language developed so late was that the Turks were nomads at the beginning and travelled between various regions until they converted to Islam and settled in Anatolia.

100 years ago we changed our alphabet from Arabic to Latin. Language is same..

Great video Kelly. I've only been on holiday twice in Turkey but I know some people there and your comments were spot-on. Very hospitable indeed, Turkish people have big hearts. Also, indeed big differences between the western mediterranean parts and more inland and to the north or east. Fresh food and great grilled meats etc.! I some ways, Turkish behaviour in public places is almost like the opposite of that in Germany: A Turk is almost like "please bother me"; a German is more like "please don't bother me". ;-)

Great video!!! I'm in Turkey for the past month and am experiencing both the amazing food and the crazy driving, however growing up driving in NYC kinda prepared me for driving in Turkey. LOL thanks so much for your video, :)

Loved the description of the driving. I'll never forget driving down a one way street in Bodrum as a car a bit up front just stops and start to reverse at speed. The lady had missed her turn , so rather than drive an extra 2 minutes to get to where she wanted she decides to just stop and reverse. Absolute panic in our car haha. I have a house there I use regularly and love the place more and more. Love the people and the friendliness. Love the freshness of the food. Always a big disappointment eating a tomato when back in the UK.

I am going to go study abroad in Turkey for a year! Thank you for making this video, it has helped me get another good view on the country 😊

I love your video, I look forward to more information on your experiences about living in Turkey ;)

Thank you so much for the info, I look forward to hearing more of your travels .

Thank you for the video, that was pretty interesting! :) I've never been in Turkey myself, but my brother was married to a Turkish woman once. He also said that I should watch out for authentic Turkish cuisine when I visit Turkish restaurants! :D Here in Germany, where I live, in the Southwestern region, we have a lot of people originally from Turkey and even Turkish supermarkets (even in small town like this one)! :D I really like some of the less healthy foods like tahinli dut (mulberry sesame paste), helva and cemen (spice paste as a spread for bread), and of course sucuk (spicy garlic sausage)! :D Our Turkish supermarkets also have Turkish bakeries, and they have a lot of interesting stuff that has a very unique taste! ;) (btw Sucuk is even available in other supermarkets now)

I loughed very loudly when you say “the speed was only suggestion “ :)) yes really it is for us , just an advice :)

As a Turkish person, I would say this is the best brief description I have ever heard about Turkey! Such a good observation. 👏

After studying my lessons, i watched your video as reward :D:D I am happy that you loved Turkey. I wish you come back again. :)))

way to go kelly I grew up in New york city half my life, now I moved back to turkiye my native country and here every sence I m in Rize black sea region way better than the NYC exhaust fumes

Let's have more about Turkey. You had a good experience there, and we (meaning I) don't see that much about Turkey, so anything you could show us would be great.

Well done Kelly!You have very fast and briefy summarized all about Turkey..Thank you for that..

You know soo much about us, thank you for this lovely video :)

How nice!😍 I'm also living in Turkey!😊 It's a beautiful country!

Kelly wow! I couldn't believe my eyes. I am Turkish and have been following you for a long while. I have been to Germany and my bestfriend has come to USA for her masters degree in DC. We're both originally from Izmir. And I suggested your channel to her since now you live also in DC. Maybe you are at the same university. At the first glance I thought your thumbnail and the headline of another video mistakenly came up together. But it turned out you actually lived in Turkey. Haha I feel like we have special bond at this point! I would like to meet you in person. (Me, trying to get friends on youtube hahah believe me it is my first attempt and I'm feeling weird :D) Your observations are so damn true girl! I just admired your analytical and intellectual way of thinking. The most accurate description of Turkey by a foreign eye! Congrats! If you happened to be in Turkey again please let me know. I moved into Istanbul from Izmir and Istanbul has way more potential to be discovered compared to Izmir. You should definitely experience it :)

Thanks for this video! I’m moving to Izmir this spring for a year and I’m super excited !!!

Great and very descriptive review Kelly. I grew up in Istanbul and living in States now. I go back twice a year. You are so right about the food, lol 😆

Spent one week (yeah, just one week) in Istanbul, and totally fell in love with that entire country! People, language, food, culture, warmth, weather - it is like a piece of heaven. By the way, did you notice their names? Every darn name sounds like a character from Lord Of The Rings.

Really enjoyed this one. I was able to hang out with several Turkish students while in NY and yes the food is AMAZING but the people were so kind and solicitous as well. Just had great experiences with my Turkish friends. What happened to the video you had on Turkish drinks?? I didn't get to watch it before it was taken down, boo!

I'm glad to hear that you were so satisfied to live in Turkey. It's also great to hear your experiences about what you've faced up in Turkey. Especially I highly recommend to travel the other cities that would charm you when you go there like Eskişehir that is my hometown :) also İzmir just like Eskişehir, even though it's not as good as eskişehir :)) (those Turkısh who read this, don't get me wrong. ı'm just kidding but this could be a fact:)) ıf you come to Eskişehir, you are so welcome here. Just let me know you are here. I can try to help you to visit some beautiful places. Thanks for this great video. That would be pretty good to see you vlogs about living in Turkey.

3:20 Gevrek? Sen İzmirli olmusşun ablam.

Iskender is Turkified version of Alexander. (The man who first made this meal was a cook named Iskender in city of Bursa). You go to a restorant and ask the waiter; I want one and a half Alexander please.! Yes, I want hot butter on it. Thank you.

Wow that is a great video! You should do like list of your favourite Turkish food :-) Kusadasi is soooo pretty! Love your videos as always

Great video! I recently have gotten interested in the Turkish culture mainly because of how giving and friendly their people are! Are you familiar with any teach English abroad programs in Turkey that doesn't involve having a TESOL/TELF certificate? I have two years of teaching as a language assistant in Spain as well as a bachelor's degree.

Your observations are on point! Thank you for mentioning Atatürk, not many foreigners know about him. I’m glad you enjoyed your stay:)

Merhaba, Kelly! You are not weird at all! Although I never "lived" in Turkey, I vacationed there for about 12 weeks within 3 years. I can relate to many of your observations. We travelled by ourselves, most of the time by public transportation and to less touristy regions (Black Sea Coast, Ararat, Van Lake, southeastern Turkey, close to the Syrian border, even through Kurdish areas). There is a very dense net of public bus services. That way, we made easily contact with Turkish people. For us Germans, it is a bit easier, even if you don't speak the language. You may know, that many people fromTurkey came to Germany for work, starting in the 1960s - the so-called Gastarbeiter. What a euphemism! Most of them weren't treated very kindly. However, many returned to Turkey after retirement. So, when we arrived at the central bus station of a town, words made the round that there are Germans in town. Within a few minutes, a former "Gastarbeiter" showed up, offering help and of course their overwhelming hospitality. Knowing a few Turkish words are a great door opener, too, like in any foreign country. We never heard them speaking of bad experiences in Germany. Certainly a way of saving their faces. I often felt so embarrassed. It would never come to my mind to invite a stranger, just arrived at the main train station of Hamburg, to my home, to stay a couple of days. Yes, Turkish food is delicious, but stay away from Çorba soup (made of intestines). Yes, the people are driving insanely in their cars. That is why we hired a car for four days only while visiting Cappadocia. Turkish culture and history are amazing (although it really is Hethite, respectively Ottoman culture or history with Ancient Greek, Egyptian and Roman influx. Looking forward to more videos about living in Turkey. Allah ismalardik!

Awesome video! I'm a Turk living in Oz and I just loved it! Hope you go back again one day for another trip.

Thanks for the video, it was perfect. I am married with American and sometimes I cant explain things like afiyet olsun :) we would love you see more videos about Turkey:)

Turkish was not formed 100 years ago... Ottoman empire also spoke Turkish (Osmanli Turkcesi) written in arabic script and it is older than the Ottoman empire rooting from central empire the only changes are from orkhon to arabic to Latin script Turkish is spoken in Turkey, Azeebaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Norrhern Cyprus, Crimea, East Turkistan (China), Kyrgyzstan and it is referred to as The Turkic language of the Turkic peoples.

American citizens are Welcome

Thanks! Good coverage. Very helpful for me. How did you stay for a year? Renew Visa every 90 days?

this video was so good thanks :)

Turkish language was developed in 100 years?!!!!! are you sure?

*Proud of being Turkish* 😍👑🇹🇷

HI Kelly being that you lived in Turkey for a year did you have to pay taxes on earned income to Turkey? I'm looking to retire there an American. I'm trying to find info. on how they tax. Any info. would be appreciated. Thank you

I loved this. More /turkey impressions and experiences and opinions and points of view.

I LOVE TURKEY❤

Transitioning from the friendliness of strangers in Turkey to the efficiency of strangers in Germany couldn't have been easy.

Why did you move to Turkey and did you stay there all by yourself? How many languages do you speak? You are facinating to me, Kelly ✨

Love Turkey! The driving comment reminds me of Egypt, where a local told us that the lines on the road are “just decoration” 🤣

I traveled around Turkey for 10 days and I found Izmir to be sooooo different in comparison to the rest of the country. Really, really westernized. The East (Kapadocia, Konya) are very conservative and Istanbul is kind of in between. And yes, the food is to die for 🤤

Hi from Germany!! I love Izmir!!

Came this vid as soon as I've heard you mention Turkey in one of your Germany vids 😂 Was actually preparing for a cringe fest (especially after seeing the burqa in the thumbnail) with Arabic music in the back ground and full of wrong info. Though this was quite on point 😄 Thanks for the vid. Looking forward for #2

"Synchronised chaos" for Turkish traffic, kind of correct. Everybody cuts everybody off. But few accidents happen. In time you learn "proactive driving". Before my visit to the U.S. I asked an American "What do you think, will I manage to drive there?" He replied "If you can do here, you can easily drive in there" :)

Kelly, you are so funny :) Turkish was invented in 19th century :) that was the funniest thing I have ever heard about Turkey. Do your research, Turkish is thousands years old language :))) Thank you a lot for your video. One more thing. You are so right about aggressive driving. But all those drivers get fines :) Because by law all government employees pedestrians and drivers alike are trusted and empowered to report on them. Enjoy Turkey and thank you for sharing

Hello I’m from Turkey and your Turkish accent is soooo funny!🤣🤣 I CAN TELL YOU MORE ABOUT TURKEY!

Thank you a lot, it really does help

I've just subscribed your channel and you're so sweet and thanks for your opinions for my country, as a Turks say to you welcome to Turkey ;) And i live in california, and hello to you from here 😉👍

11:39 'everyone was hadi hadi' jskdksskm ben niye buna çok güldüm jsslhüsjaiü

I was like "when did you move to Turkey"

I just Ordered a Turkish Brand Asthma medication for my dog on a Legal on line Canada based Pharmacy. the brand I would get here in the states is simply un affordable for me right now.. Just a Little worried about quality and Safety any one Know any info on Medications/drugs made in Turkey.?

How does residence permits work ? If you rent an apartment can you apply one ?

Turkish people always speak turkish :D

Merhaba ben Türk' üm , İzmir ' de yaşıyorum

Just curious, were you single in turkey. I ask because I am a single traveler and was in turkey in 2007 with my then boyfriend but I wasn’t sure how people would respond to a single woman traveling or living alone

hi Kelly thank you very much for sharing your experience in turkey . I just came back from a year long in morocco and I'm planning to move to turkey for about a year or two , and im planning to buy a property over there , do you have any information about owning a house in turkey and also if i can apply for permanent residence in turkey. please let me know if you have any info. Thank you

interesting & funny video! I essentially grew up in Germany, to Turkish parents - there are many Turkish Germans / German Turks! I´ve been living in Istanbul for almost 7 years now and I remember when Erdogan lifted the headscarf-ban from public buildings (like schools, banks, universities, government / municipal buildings) and now - 5 years later - you can see headscarfs, hijabs, burkas everywhere. "Religious Freedom" in the worst possible case: mixing politics with religion - which was also banned by Atatürk. I digress... I agree mostly 2 things you said: - Turkish Breakfast is the best there is - "Synchronized Anarchy" as description of Turkish "Traffic Rules" is spot on! XD

I do find the evolution of Turkish interesting. It's important to remember, though, that it's a Central Asian language with very different roots than either the Arabic language or European languages, and with a very different sound.

Thank you for your vlog it is most helpful and informative. God bless from U.k

Why am I watching this video once in a few years again and again? Could it be because I am an Izmir guy living in BC, CA? or just bc it is lovely. Whatever, thank you Kelly for your kind comments and for you shared your experiences with us.

Seafood in Izmir is the best

Hey im half american and i live in Turkey of course half Turkish

EXCELLENT video full of good information. Thanks

OMG you called that a "Gevrek" which is such a agean thing ♥️ the whole rest of Turkey calls it "Simit", hearing you calling it gevrek made my day 😊

İm Turkish:D

I think you mean niqab. Burka is something completely different. Hijab covers the hair, leaving face revealed. Niqab shows only the eyes. Burka is mostly only worn in Afghanistan.

Those women from villages don’t wear burqa. The thing on their head isn’t even hijab. It’s just traditional.

How much do schools cost in turkey ?

The funny fact: Turkey means chicken in America But in Turkey they call the 🦃 Hendi which means India But we Arabs call the 🦃 Romi which means Rome I think no one wants that poor chicken 🦃 😂

As far as food goes, there's a lot of great stuff in Turkey, but one small, humble and UTTERLY AWESOME thing is often overlooked: Ayran! Okay, it's a drink, not a food, but I think I could make a whole diet out of it, it's so yummy... Also elma çay (apple tea) and baclava (although, heresy ahead: I have to say Syrian baclava is way better than the Turkish one).

Dear thank you for the informative video, I’m looking to spend some time in turkey between 3 month to a year but I can’t find an agency to help me find a suitable rent, can you point me to a one? Where to start to find a studio or small apartment for long term?

Nice video. Did you get a chance to visit Ankara? I'm from DC area, too. :)

Lol the Turks sound like the drivers in southern Italy 😂😂

Also we have camels for transportation :)))))

I've been watching your videos about your Germany experiences and really wondering if you made some Turkish friends there, because there ara millions of working class Turks there for decades now. And I saw this video this morning and I was totally surprised and made me smile :) Yine bekleriz :))

Just one correction, Turkish is a language for over 1000 years old. Ataturk didn't develop the language, he only adapted latin alphabet and removed (reduced) the Farsi elements that was adopted during the Ottoman Empire, going back to its Asian roots :)

I’m an Arab from Kuwait 🇰🇼 I have a Brazilian friend came to visiting me in Kuwait & yes he thought Turkish are Arabs 😂 he thought Pakistani are Arabs too lol I think most of western think that all Muslims should be Arabs which is wrong. The majority of Muslims aren’t Arabs, actually we Arabs are mixed between Muslims & Christians.. Anyway I have been to Turkey before it’s a nice country similar to Lebanon but what I hate it about turkey is their taxis they don’t respect the tourists & trying to steal money from them it’s happened with me twice 🥺 Food is amazing. the Turkish people hardly speaking English & when I talk to them in English specially in the tourists restaurants they answer me in Arabic which I found it amazing lol 😆

short giyen kizlar tek izmir de yok türkiyenin bir cok yerinde var

Which job did you have in Turkey?

Actually it's our third alphabet. Turks had been using Gokturk alphabet when they were living in central asia. When they came to anatolia they contact to arabic and persian peoples and then in centuries somehow they started using arabic alphabet. But great leader Ataturk thought arabic alphabet not so relative with Turkish language and then converted to latin alphabet. At 1923 in Turkey literacy rate was just 3.8%, and then Turks had been using latin alphabet that in decade literacy rate is improve to 38%, 10x higher rate.

We never speak arabic, never and we always can wear shorts everywhere, whenever we want, not only Izmir! These two are annoying but the rest is OK.

You saw more women in hijabs and niqabs in time because of the Syrian refugees flooding in :)

Nice and high quality post. Congrats.

I’ll tell ya what! I’m a Turk living in America! :D Well... I was born in America. Parents moved here from Macedonia (Turkish minority there). Nice to see your perspective 🙂

You kept out of politics, so you enjoyed your stay. I signed several pleas, "Free Deniz Yücel." This means I should stay away from Turkey for several years.

Izmir, in ancient times known as Smyrna

You are so lucky to have had the experiences you have had.

Actually traffic in İzmir very orderly relative to most cities especially Istanbul.