Commodification of culture
According to dictionary.com, Commodification means to turn something into a commodity; to make it commercial. Commodification of culture means that you are associating one or more single tangibles to represent a certain culture as a whole. For example, in Singapore, the Merlion is largely commercialized as a tourist destination and is transformed into some small souvenirs for tourists. As a result of this, when foreigners or tourist’s think of Singapore, the first thing that comes in mind is the Merlion. Some may not even know other aspects of the culture such as its traditions, values or even other physical components of the country.
There are several aspects in Turkish culture which have been comodified. Here are lists of practices or tangibles which are associated to the country:
Belly Dancing
Belly Dancing is not the only form of dance in Turkey. In the above posts, Turkish culture has a number of folk dances and belly dancing is not one of them. In fact, belly dancing has its origins from Spain and was brought into the Middle East when Jewish immigrants were travelling. When tourists visit Turkey, many of them are exposed to belly dancing performances or even classes. Besides that, Turkey has produced many famous Belly Dancers such as Burcin Orhon. Therefore, a certain stereotype was incorporated into their mind when they have been constantly exposed to this form of dancing during their visit.
Turkish Kebabs
Kebab is a type of dish which contains several forms of meat such as beef, goat or chicken. When many tourists visit Turkey, there are many side stalls which sell Kebabs to the public. With such convenience to obtain the food in Turkey, tourists might think that Turkish Kebab is the national dish of the country! In fact, Kebabs were not from Turkey. They were actually from Persia, known as modern day Iran. Therefore, many tourists get the misconception that kebabs are always made in Turkey.
Turkish delight
Turkish delight is a type of confectionary which is very popular in Turkey. It is a type of sweet made out of starch and sugar. Before this confectionary got its name as “Turkish delight”, it was actually named Lokum. When tourists arrive in Turkey, they can find this delicacy in places such as the Grand Bazaar where their tour operators encourage them to visit. As a result, many people tend to associate Turkish delight to the country. Even the movie “Chronicles of Narnia” had a small segment of Turkish delight where a small boy rooted for the side of evil because of this small delicacy!
Turkish Ice Cream
Turkish ice cream, also known as Dondurma is made out of milk, sugar, salep and mastic. This form of ice cream has been largely commercialised and can be found even in Singapore! Dondurma is usually sold by street vendors in Turkey where they entertain their customers with their ice cream tricks. Tourists who visit the country or even people who outside who have access to this gourmet wonder always associate this food with the country.
As a result of such Commodification, many people might have a misconception of Turkey as the country has much more to offer other than Kebabs, Turkish delights and belly dancing. There are much more in Turkey for us to explore and see. However, without disneyization or globalization, getting to the destination would be inconvenient and tough. Therefore, I believe that certain globalization forces are required for us to gain more knowledge and mutual understanding of a country.
Tourism in Turkey
Tourism in Turkey is one of the major income contributors for the country. In 2008 alone, tourism receipts were as high as 25 million from international markets. During recent years, Turkey has attracted the international market with their culture, spa and healthcare. Istanbul is not only an important destination for tourism in turkey; it is also an important tourist spot for the world! These tourists are usually from European countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany and Russia. However, tourists from Japan or Scandinavian countries are also common.
According to statistics given by the ministry of culture and tourism, foreign tourists increased from the year 2002 to 2005 with 12.8 million to 21.2 million respectively. The revenue generated for tourism is as much as USD 17.5 billion dollars. This makes Turkey one of the top ten destinations in the world for tourism.
Positive changes due to Tourism in Turkey
Medical Tourism – Facilities used for tourists can be utilized by locals.
In Turkey, there are more than 30 medical facilities that are credited by the Joint Commission International. The Joint commission international is a non-profit organization which gives accreditations to more than 18000 health care organizations in the world. This reflects the quality of service and commitment of health care services given to the general public. Currently, Turkey is the country with the most accreditation given by this organization. This means that the country itself has of state-of-the-art medical facilities provided to the public. When these medical facilities are built, not only can the country enjoy earning revenue through health tourism, the locals also benefits from these facilities which were developed for tourism. The locals too, can enjoy the advanced healthcare provided by these hospitals and clinics.
Here are the top hospitals which are popular for health tourism (as stated in the Health Tourism website):
· Istanbul Memorial Hospital - Istanbul, Turkey
The first hospital in Turkey to be accredited by the JCI in March 2002. It has since been re-accredited twice - once in 2005 and again in 2008.
(Above: Memorial Hospital, Used for Health tourism)
· Anadolu Medical Center - Kocaeli, Turkey
First accreditation by the JCI on February 2007. The facility is affiliated with Johns Hopkins International and focuses on cardiac care, neurological sciences, oncology, women's health and other surgical specialties.
(Above: Anadolu Medical Centre)
· Acibadem Healthcare Group
Affilitiated with Harvard Medical International, the Acibadem Healthcare Group is composed of five JCI accredited hospitals located in different locations in Turkey, including the Acibadem Bakirkoy Hospital, Acibadem Bursa Hospital, Acibadem Kocaeli Hospital, Acibadem Kadikoy Hospital, and the Acibadem Kozyatagi Hospital.
(Above: Acibadem Healthcare Group )
· Medical Park Healthcare Group
The Medical Park Healthcare Group is composed of four JCI accredited hospitals located in various areas in Turkey which includes the MPHG Antalya Hospital, MPHG Bahcelievler Hospital, MPHG Bursa Hospital, and the MPHG Goztepe Hospital.
(Above: Medical Park Healthcare Group)
· Florence Nightingale Hospital Group
The Florence Nightingale Hospital Group is composed of three JCI accredited hospitals located in various areas in Turkey which includes the Sisli FN Hospital, Gayrettepe FN Hospital, and the Kadiköy FN Hospital.
(Above: Florence Nightingale Hospital Group)
· Dunya Eye Hospital
First accreditation by the JCI on July 2006. It is one of the top eye hospitals in Turkey and is one of the best in the world in terms of success rates for its more than 1000 cataract operations per month.
(Above: Dunya Eye Hospital)
(Above: This is the comparative price of healthcare provided in Turkey to the United Kingdom. )
Preservation of culture
Due to tourism, many government and non-government organization have been set up to prevent the erosion of the tangibles of cultures such as historical ruins and ancient buildings. Turkey is a country rich in historical and cultural value with many ancient artifacts to showcase it. Therefore, many organizations have been set up in the country to preserve these ancient wonders. In Turkey alone, it is estimated that there are 27000 historical ruins, some of which go all the way back till prehistoric times. One organization set up for the preservation of buildings and landscape is The United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This organization dedicates itself to the preservation, protection and identification of world natural heritage sites. In the organization “World Cultural list”, there are currently 9 heritage sites which are located in Turkey.
These sites, as stated in “All about Turkey”:
- Great (Ulu) Mosque and Hospital (Darüssifa) of Divrigi in Sivas (1985)
- Archaeological Site of Troy (1998)
Tourism as a force of peace
Tourism can be used as a force of peace as travelling to another country can broaden a person’s mind. When tourists travel to Turkey certain stereotypes are clarified and these visitors get to know more about how the local Turks live. Also, travelling involves an educational element to it. It creates understanding people and cultures through cultural exchange activities held by educational institutions. This increases mutual understanding and reduces prejudice for the involved parties. Let’s take the International Student Exchange Programs as an example (also known as ASSE). This is an organization created to enable students who are interested to be engaged in cultural exchange programs to schools from another country. This organization currently holds exchange programs to various countries including Turkey. Such activities involve internship, Intercultural child programs and visiting a country’s university campus. By engaging in these activities, students not only get to learn more about Turkey’s culture and traditions, they also get to foster friendships in the country and therefore, strengthening bonds which leads to mutual understanding and respect.
Negative Impacts of Tourism
Physical influences causing social stress
Due to the rapid rise of tourism growth in Turkey, there has been an inevitable change in the environment in the country. There are currently some environmental issues faced by the country such as water pollution, air pollution in city areas and deforestations. Due to some tourist developments made in the country, more transportation and energy is used. Some generated waste from this industry has even caused water contamination to the waters of the country. These environmental degradations can be found in tourist resort areas in the country such as Antalya. Currently, the Ministry of Tourism has decided to embark on a “sustainable tourism” project where further tourism investments and new investments would not be allowed. Tourist developments such as water establishment plants have been created to minimize water wastage where some of the waste water is utilized for irrigation while the remaining, which have been thoroughly cleaned are released back into nature.
Ethical Issue
Many tourists who visit the resorts in Turkey are mainly women aged between 20-30 years old from the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe. Based on stories shared in the forum “Marmaris Fans”, there have been many unfortunate stories where resort workers “charm” these tourists and use them for marriage. When they get married to these women, they are entitled to a green card equivalent or a European Union citizenship in their country where they can work and earn money for their families back home. However, the story does not end in a happy marriage. Once these men were granted their citizenship rights in the victim’s country, the marriage would most likely end in divorce as these men were not “in love” in the first place at all. Their main goals were to get an easy access to a European citizenship by marrying these women. For more information, please visit the forum: http://www.marmarisfans.com/ Therefore, there have been some ethical issues faced in the country due to the growth of tourism in resort areas.
