Name: Omar
Age: 23
Nationality: Turkish
During a pleasant walk around Margaret Island, I met Omar. A student and part-time photo model, he came to Hungary through an Erasmus scholarship to conquer Budapest and some Magyar hearts. Even though his scholarship lasts less than a year, part of his heart already belongs to the city. Join me to get to know this mysterious hot Turkish a little better.
What made you come to Budapest?
Firstly, I study International Relations in Turkey. This field is all about discovering new places, new cultural systems as a part of my workspace. I believe the only way to improve my experiences is to meet foreign people in their own countries. The second reason is that I have been working as a photo model for a while now. I have been participating in castings, fashion shoots, video clips, interviews, meetings, etc. These events require you to be active, energetic and know different business environments. I was planning to work with my Hungarian photographer friend. So, this is how my story began in Budapest.
How long are have you been here?
I came to Budapest in February 2015. I will leave in July. I know this seems such a short time and I am quite sad to leave this fantastic city.
Why Budapest?
Why Budapest? This is a great question. To be honest, I don’t exactly know why… I always felt sympathy for Hungary. Maybe because of the its beauty or maybe our common history. I had many choices but I decided to live in this amazing city. Now I’m sure that I made the right decision.
What are your impressions of the city?
Well, first of all the city is really cool and very beautiful. It became one of my favorite cities in the world, with its historical and unique buildings. I like places with historical, artistic designs and Budapest is a good example of that. Outstanding bridges, national parks, Hungarian bathes, churches, traditional houses, among other remarkable things. I would also like to mention the Hungarian kitchen. Hungarians like to use a lot of paprika, onion, garlic and milk-based products. It is very similar to the Turkish cuisine! We also use the same ingredients in our dishes. Hungarians also like heavy food, made with meat and vegetables. Even though I’m not into fatty food, I could definitely say that sometimes I enjoy Hungarian cuisine. My favorite Magyar dish is goulash, which is made with beef and vegetables. Finally, the public transportation is something worth mentioning. It is definitely faster and more practical than the one we have in Turkey (especially in Istanbul). This may be due to the density of the population.
What’s your impression of Hungarians?
As far as I know, the population of Hungary is around 10 million. It is a good number. Naturally, we can find many differences between nations. In my personal opinion, Hungarians are similar to Turkish people. It may be because of the short distance (less than two hours by plane) or our common history. They are familiar and I have made good friends with great personality. Moreover, Budapest is an international city. There are many people from all around the world. And I’m really happy to be a part of this cosmopolitan city full of different people (young, old, gay, lesbian, hippie, African, European, non-European, etc).
Have you suffered any kind of prejudice in your hometown or in Budapest?
I cannot say anything about suffering prejudice in Budapest. Compared to Turkey, I think Budapest is quite an open-minded city. Turkey has more traditional beliefs and religion, so prejudice is always present. To have a different life perspective or sexual orientation always comes with a price. Maybe this is not the reality in all countries but it occurs. Being gay in Turkey is a taboo and more so in the countryside. People feel ashamed if someone in their family is gay and they think it’s a choice. Of course in the last couple of years this situation got better as young generations are more open-minded and more people come out. So it’s getting softer, but it’s not the country to live as a married gay couple and have kids.
Where do you usually hang out in the city?
Budapest has many cool places to go out. That is the good side of Budapest. My first party was in Peaches&Cream Club. It was such a nice place. My second favorite is Szimpla for sure. It’s a special place with its weird but original decoration. Margaret Island is also a good place to have fun. You can go there with friends to cycle, play volleyball, sunbathe and study.
Author: Gabriel
