Land of the Free (stuff)

In Malawi you would occasionally get a "maprizey," typically something like one free tomato if you buy  5 or an extra handful of rice. I love this type of thing.  However, I was never prepared for Turkey's maprizey culture. I love it even more. You get free bread with dinners (it's €1 in Greece), restaurants bring out free appetizers, free tea at the end of meals. Jake and I were walking through a square where they were passing out free Turkish flags, of course Jake eagerly went running to collect it (I seriously think I should start checking to make sure he hasn't secretly cancelled our tickets home). The hotel owner loves Jake so much that he made him a free omelet this morning saying that Jake's smile "brings him much positive energy and luck for his business." They bring out free popcorn or other snacks if you just order drinks, or free shots at the end of dinner. Sometimes they just wave you through instead of charging you for tickets. And, as the final and best maprizey of Turkish culture, the townspeople make free fried donuts for everyone to celebrate the anniversary of a loved one's funeral, which is pretty much every day. Can you imagine a bag of 5 donuts every day there was a funeral? Personally, I can think of no better way to honor the life of a loved one then with free donuts. Although, this tradition also explains the abundance of free outdoor exercise facilities.  

Our lemon cheesecake does a very good job expressing the way I feel about Turkey right now