So we traveled to Turkey knowing that we probably would not be able to drink the tap water here. Since we've arrived, basically everyone here has told us the same although we do brush our teeth and make coffee with it. We've been told the tap water is safe, but tastes bad. But we notice that almost all the locals buy bottled water, too. It is everywhere. That is something we take for granted in the US, although the bottled water market there is crazy profitable. But one can find a clean, public water fountain in many different places.
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Brewer boogeying down in a unique disco
toilet in one restaurant we visited |
While that was expected, the toilet situation in Turkey was not. Larger, modern businesses function fairly similarly to those in the US with standard bathroom facilities. But what is really different is the fact that most public toilets charge a fee, usually 1 Turkish lira or about 45 US cents (kids get to use the facilities for free). And even some small private establishments don't have their own WC (water closet), but instead congregate around a public one for paying customers.
At first, this was really unexpected for me. But as an economist, it makes a lot of sense. Good, modern plumbing is not available in many rural or quickly urbanizing areas in Turkey. And many restaurants and shops are very small, so providing a toilet area could be quite expensive. So entrepreneurs step forward to provide a badly needed service. They employ turnstiles with tokens or sit by the door with a change bucket. But it could be quite expensive for every shop owner to do the same so many offer their wares without this service - and presumably offer lower prices. But we in the US expect a clean and free toilet almost everywhere, not necessarily thinking about how it's paid for - through invisible, but increased product and service prices. - Alan
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