Turkish apple tea is actually not tea at all. It's similar to hot apple juice made of powder with apple flavourings and sugar. It's no health drink, but for people who don't drink coffee or tea it's a nice alternative.
Tea is an ever-present part of Turkish hospitality and/or trade. If you stop for ten seconds to talk to a salesperson on the market, a tea courier will magically appear dangling a tray filled with small glasses of tea. Bargaining will be done in between sips - the tea is always extra hot, which means you're stuck with the salesperson for a while. The thing is, though, that based on my (admittedly very limited) experiences, tea isn't a way to force you to buy anything, but a sign of hospitality and genuine interest in people. Turkish touts and Turkish men in general get a bad rep, but at least in western Turkey (the most westernized part of the country) even lonely women will get treated politely and kindly as long as they behave politely and kindly in return. (This includes not wearing tiny sundresses, sorry.) Outside tourist areas males are actually very shy and extremely respectful about women's personal space. Turks are keen to talk about their culture and will walk you up to their favourite sight to make sure you see it. Cynics have told me that all these men are just trying to get into women's pants, but I've never had any problems politely thanking my spontaneous guides and walking away.
Tea is an ever-present part of Turkish hospitality and/or trade. If you stop for ten seconds to talk to a salesperson on the market, a tea courier will magically appear dangling a tray filled with small glasses of tea. Bargaining will be done in between sips - the tea is always extra hot, which means you're stuck with the salesperson for a while. The thing is, though, that based on my (admittedly very limited) experiences, tea isn't a way to force you to buy anything, but a sign of hospitality and genuine interest in people. Turkish touts and Turkish men in general get a bad rep, but at least in western Turkey (the most westernized part of the country) even lonely women will get treated politely and kindly as long as they behave politely and kindly in return. (This includes not wearing tiny sundresses, sorry.) Outside tourist areas males are actually very shy and extremely respectful about women's personal space. Turks are keen to talk about their culture and will walk you up to their favourite sight to make sure you see it. Cynics have told me that all these men are just trying to get into women's pants, but I've never had any problems politely thanking my spontaneous guides and walking away.
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