Myriad Turkish friends suggest that one of the best ways to learn the language better is to inundate myself with Turkish soap operas (see the Senior Dogs Abroad post on that here) – or old YouTube Turkish films.

Well, since I have been down here in Provincetown, mostly staring at the ceiling and the sea during my grieving process, Safiye Rakkase has taken to pointing my browser to old Turkish (and Arabic) films that feature all manner of costumes and belly dancing. She is, you see, a puppet who is obsessed with fashion and all-things dancing. She thinks that by just secondarily listening to Turkish, I will get more in this tough cranium of mine. Ever since she got into the spirit of preparing for the Provincetown Sultan of Nutcracker’s ball, it’s been non-stop on the YouTube front for her.

Today, she is playing this old clip on a loop – it’s Nergis Mogol. So far, she is pretty frustrated that I haven’t even mastered another word in Turkish – nor have I loosened up enough for belly dancing. She reminds me of our trip to Urfa, where an entire band of veiled ladies from Tokat couldn’t even coax my gazelle-stomp dancing style out of me…Oh well, good thing I, like the British expat crazytraintotinkytown, partnered with perhaps one of the ONLY Turkish men out there who cannot dance!

Whether it helps you build your Turkish or not, enjoy!