Every Tuesday and Friday afternoon Maybachufer, a street that runs along the banks of the Landwehrkanal in eastern Kreuzberg, hosts the Türkenmarkt, or Turkish Market. The Turkish represent the largest ethnic minority in Berlin, primarily due to a sharp increase in immigration in the 1970s, and nowhere in the city is their religious, cultural and culinary impact felt greater than in the southern district of Kreuzberg. Twice a week, Turkish and German vendors alike set up their stalls on the sidewalks of the narrow Maybachufer. Shouting, laughing and constantly hawking their goods, the vendors are loud, amiable and know at least three languages: German, Turkish and English. The market is close and chaotic, more in the fashion of a bazaar than a farmers’ market. The vendors sell meat, cheese, bread, vegetables, fruit, olives, clothing, bicycles, textiles, etc…The Türkenmarkt is not only a prime example of Berlin’s multicultural composition, but also speaks to the entire city’s penchant for loud, fast and chaotic social interaction.
