I can't get this case out of my head. Just a few things that may or may not add anything.
First of all, a non scientific observation. About half of my friends on facebook are Turkish and half non Turkish. It's struck me in the last few days that the Turkish people on my facebook have been posting what I would call negative things about this case. Complaining about the police time and media attention the case is getting, that if it were a Turkish person it would not be the same. Claiming she was a drug mule, implying she was some sort of immoral woman for travelling alone, etc etc. This has been bothering me a lot. For other people in Turkey, would you say this is reflective of the view on the street from Turks? From where I'm standing, it seems people just aren't that bothered, which I find sad. Why does it have to seem like a competition between the USA and Turkey?
Secondly, regarding the missing ipad and phone. These will not be worth a lot in Turkey. Why? Because foreign-bought phones (or items that use SIM cards such as ipads) need to be registered. They work for a certain amount of time before the Turkish government stops them working somehow, and to reopen them, money has to be paid and they have to be registered. This requires a passport with a recent stamp showing entry to Turkey, and when you register the phone, the IMEI number is taken. Therefore, these items of Sarai's are not going to be worth very much once the signal is switched off. The wifi would still work and I suppose they could be used in other countries, but I'm imagining anyone wanting to steal to order (professional thieves) would know about this. Therefore, I'm going with the theory that others mentioned about the items being stolen due to information or photos they contained.
Thirdly, some people have mentioned that Sarai only met guys and not girls. In my opinion, this doesn't necessarily mean that she was on the look out for flings or the like. I don't use instagram but I do use facebook, couchsurfing and a few other sites like that. As a foreign woman on these sites, you get bombarded by messages from Turkish guys. Couchsurfing, for example, is a site for travellers, not a dating site. When I used to have a photo on there, I got constant messages from Turkish guys inviting me for coffee, to "show me around the city", take me to dinner, etc etc. I never got an message from a Turkish girl. It seems a high number of Turkish guys get excited about meeting foreign women but Turkish girls are not
. Now I've been here for almost five years, I am totally aware of this over excitement (and the implications surrounding it - usually foreign = "easy"), can spot it in 2 seconds, and know how to repel this sort of attention, but when I first came here, it was different. I also have to say that I know American friends who have got into awkward situations here, mainly due to cultural differences and being open, friendly, smily, etc. Some guys here will see that behaviour as a come on, even though in American culture it is not necessarily so.
Another point I wanted to make it that some of the discussion here has made it seem as though there are crowds of homeless men hanging out in the city walls. As someone who has walked along that route (albeit not within the walls themselves) a number of times, I haven't seen any evidence of this. In fact, Istanbul doesn't seem to have a homeless problem at all in comparison to London or New York.
Last point for now - apparently Taylan said he and Sarai split the bill. A minor point maybe, but this is totally not normal behaviour from a Turkish male. Friend or lover, no respecting man would allow a guest to split the bill.
