A four-wheeled philosophy

Living in a country other than one's own is synonymous with challenges and, often, many existential questions for which one tries to find answers. (Okay, perhaps not everyone  asks so many questions; this might be a professional "glitch" of mine). When you live in a country other than your own, some things inevitably seem different to you and catch your attention with their originality, uniqueness, or even their strangeness. Many things in Turkey seem interesting and unusual to me. At the very top of these, which has caught my attention since the first day I arrived, were the inscriptions written on the rear windows of cars.

There are many messages in these writings. Some are quite long. Sometimes you can only see certain names on the rear or front windshield. At first, my biggest problem was not being able to understand them, but over time I began to grasp them. Yet, I still asked myself: Why are there writings on so many cars? After I began to understand Turkish, I started to comprehend the meaning of these writings, and that was when I realized that philosophy in Turkey "On 4 wheels" I realized I was walking on. Even if the Ottoman Empire and later the Republic of Turkey did not produce famous philosophers whose works would influence political and cultural movements worldwide, I believe ordinary people can take their place.

Upon researching, I learned that these short texts Turks write on their cars have been the subject of scientific studies. These works, which represent a means of expression for the Turkish nation and contain important defining cultural aspects of this people, are referred to in various sources as vehicle folklore or vehicle literature Over time, car inscriptions have become the subject of books, articles, and even films. While some civilizations or peoples have felt the need to express themselves in writing on cave walls, later on house walls, walls of official buildings, trees, or old doors, Turks have found it appropriate to express themselves through the cars they use every day. 

The extremely rapid urbanization process in the 1960s caused many Turkish citizens to migrate from villages to cities and forced them to change their lifestyles at the same speed. However, as we all know, such changes do not happen very quickly. For this reason, Turks who want to keep up with the rhythm of cities and the new changes in their environment express their bewilderment through messages written on cars, while at the same time feeling the need to personalize themselves. The urban lifestyle and the challenges imposed by any city can lead to individuals being excluded or marginalized due to their rural background.

These people realized that their own cars could be an excellent means of expression to respond to real city dwellers. Most of the messages, which are mostly provided by truck drivers, consist of slogans and aphorisms. Turkish vehicle folklore can be divided into various categories according to the subject of the messages. Messages written on automobiles are used to convey messages to society that people cannot express directly. Among the most popular messages are those that make religious references: "In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful" (Bismillahirrahmanirrahim), "Mashallah," and "May God Protect." Furthermore, what I find extremely interesting is that Turks choose to "immortalize" their spouses or children by writing their names on the rear windows of their cars. One of the most frequently encountered names is that of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey. His signature, "How happy is the one who says I am a Turk," "We are following in your footsteps, Atam" etc.  Movie titles, lines from the most popular films: "Even if we break up, we are together," "Gone with the Wind," "Mission Impossible," "The Love Boat"; mostly arabesque song lyrics like "I cannot live without you," "My friend's love," "It's hard, my friend, it's hard," "Why has your hair turned white, my friend?," "God, recreate me," "I have no peace in this mortal world!," "If dreams came true," and so on.

However, the love messages strike me as extremely interesting: "My gazelle-eyed one," "If beauty is temporary, why hasn't it passed from you?," "That's how you look!," "If you're going to give the zakat of your beauty, give it to me, I am poor," "If there is no room in your heart, I'll go standing," "Even if you want to, you can't forget," "Love is a bus, you must know how to board it; you must know how to get off before reaching the last stop." 

Among the messages that helped me understand the Turkish people better were the warnings, and even threats, that caught my attention on the backs of cars: "First gather your mouth, then the steering wheel," "Don't pass me, you won't survive," "Caution! Humans have no spare parts!," "Either be civilized or get treated," "If I'm at fault, sue me at the ECHR if you dare," "Don't drive under the influence, drive a gasoline car," "If I'm at fault, call me, let's chat." I often smiled when reading these types of messages, but they also frequently made me think deeply. We also see messages on wedding cars where young people about to get married do not hesitate to announce their marriage to everyone. A message I have encountered a few times recently on wedding cars was "Get well soon!"

Beyond the fact that the thematic direction of these messages is quite diverse, we can view some of them as an act of public protest against politicians, injustices, unrequited love, or the general state of the country. With global climate change, Turks have increasingly begun to use messages with ecological tones, which serve as a real manifesto for environmental protection.

The psycho-social, identity, cultural, or ideological landscape of the Turkish nation can be observed very well in traffic. The creativity that Turks display in expressing their positive or negative emotions, protesting, or sending messages to society is worthy of admiration.

Turks also want to make everyone aware of certain things they cannot say or protest through the 'deep' and 'meaningful' inscriptions on their cars.