Rolf Potts-a few notes on wiping your ass and other funny things

Here is an email I sent out before to my fellow Istantul trainees:

Hey everyone, Megan, Nikki and I were recently talking about a certain
interesting hygenic cultural difference: toilet paper vs. the hand
&water wash. Well, it reminded me of a funny article I read
on Rolf Potts' blog. For those of you that don't know, Rolf Potts is a
hilarious travel writer (I'm actually secretly in love with him).
Check out his site http://rolfpotts.com .

[Above: Rolf is decked out for the Beija-Flor samba school parade the night before Fat Tuesday in Rio.]

Here is the link for that particular blog. Here is a preview:
"It is commonly known that travelers, when thrown together overseas
for extended periods of time, will eventually start to obsess on the
idiosyncrasies of their bowels (Tim Cahill has commented on this at
length). And, in places where toilet paper seldom exists (such as
Asia), there is much debate about just how sanitary it is to "wipe"
(so to speak) with water."

http://www.vagablogging.net/archives/003090.shtml#003090

Wanna know more about Rolf? Check out this article titled "Rolf Potts: The Man, The Myth, the Hottie" by Jen Leo.
http://www.writtenroad.com/archives/001596.shtml

This is a funny story which takes place in Beirut. It made me laugh
out loud quite a few times.
http://dir.salon.com/travel/diary/pott/2000/06/06/beirut/index.html?pn=1

He also wrote a great story titled "Turkish knock-out". I can't find
the link, but it is about how he got drugged and robbed in
Sultanahmet. It is really good.

To further exhaust the subject, I found this at www.mymerhaba.com (http://www.mymerhaba.com/en/main/content.asp_Q_id_E_106)

Toilet Habits
There are two kinds of toilets in Turkey, oriental and western.

“The oriental style toilet is the traditional toilet which has two platforms on which to put your feet and a hole in the middle in which to do your business. There is also a small tap on the wall; use this to fill the provided bucket with water, and then pour the water into the hole, essentially ‘flushing’ the toilet. How to use the oriental toilet: place your feet on the platforms, squat down and try to adjust yourself over the hole. The most important point to remember is to pull your pants or skirt out of the way, so as not to wet them. Though challenging for most foreigners to use, these oriental style toilets are actually quite hygienic.


In the large cities, western toilets are found almost everywhere, but throughout the countryside, at gas stations and road side stops, oriental toilets are the norm. There are almost always separate sections for men and women; sometimes you have to pay to use public toilets, although the charge is minimal. Generally, near each mosque there is one public toilet. However public toilets are always better in hotels and restaurants. The small water pipes coming from the back of the western style toilets dispense water and it is used as a simplified bidet, for cleansing purposes. Toilet paper is used for drying oneself, and it is worth noting that toilet paper is often non-existent in public facilities, so bring your own supply. “