Turkish expats in Dubai

From one of Europe's most vibrant and diverse countries to a new life in the UAE. Turkish expats talk about their life in Dubai 2 Comments

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Semih Ozkan, 28M

My first impressions of Dubai? Artificial. In Istanbul, you feel the whole city has character, and it goes back 3,000 years. No one feels they belong here, or that they own the country, which is unfortunate.

I didn’t plan to come here, it just happened. I was working for a bank in Istanbul, and I got a call from a recruiter at Standard Chartered, and said, ‘Why not?’ I’m from Mersin, a small town in the south. Dubai’s big compared to there, but I worked in Istanbul, which is so big it makes Dubai seem small. Also, the traffic in Dubai is nothing compared to Istanbul.

Being a Turk in Dubai is easy because they appreciate our history, and that our culture dates back to the Ottoman Empire. Here, they praise you everywhere you go. I think we can thank our soaps, especially Noor, for that.

There’s a lot of good Turkish food here. For lunch, I like to eat at Mado in DIFC. I also enjoy Istanbul Flowers and Istanbul Doner. Kosebasi, an upscale chain, is opening in JBR. Next year, they’re opening a Turkish-themed hotel, the Ottoman Palace, on the Palm.

When people back home say they want to move to the Middle East, I always suggest they come to Dubai, because I think they’d find it extremely challenging to move somewhere like Riyadh or Doha. What’s hard is not having open spaces to walk around, which we have a lot of in Istanbul. That’s why you’ll usually see Turks in places like Barasti and the Irish Village, which are more open, or places like Dubai Creek; anything natural that reminds them of Turkey.

By Daisy Carrington

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Posted by: John P. O'Neil on 27 Jul ' 09 at 08:27

Hello to all you Turkish expats here in Dubai. First of all you may be wondering what does an American with an Irish name have in common with Turkey and its people? I am married to a lovely Turkish woman from Istanbul whom I met over 20 years ago when we both worked in Saudi. We have a beautiful daughter who is now 15 and is named Dilara. I actually work at the airport in Abu Dhabi and live in Dubai which is what many people have done due to the high rental rates in Abu Dhabi. I've only been in Dubai since March of this year and am having a bit of difficulty adjusting. My work contract for the first year is a single status deal meaning that I have to be here on my own which is not easy. I've been to Turkey a number of times and have always loved it there with each experience being a unique one. I just returned from a lovely week's holiday in Antalya with my wife's sisters, brother-in-law, nephew and with my daughter Dilara. My wife unfortunately could not be there due to her work obligations back in the U.S. Again, I just found Antalya lovely and charming as always and had such a wonderful time with family. I have found it hard to make friends here and would love to meet up with some people from Turkey. It's ok if I'm the lone English speaker in the crowd since I have such an affinity for the Turkish people and the culture. I can be reached at my personal e-mail address which is johnponeil55@yahoo.com so I hope to hear from some of you soon. My best regards/John O'Neil

Posted by: Mujeeb Ahmed Sheikh on 27 May ' 09 at 11:51

It's nice to hear the semih thinking and comparision with her country. Ofcoarse many things are fimilar as our native lands.

I visits dubai frequently, but not longer as I have no friend there and in my sphere time, I do roaming in different malls only just to spend the time.

Haroon

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