part 9
A final word on the elephant in the room: the safety factor in Turkey.
I booked my trip to Istanbul days after the Ataturk Airport bombing and the failed coup played out on TV 6 weeks before my arrival.
I had trepidation.
On arrival, I found things to be as safe as a Midwestern main street.
Being out late at night, exploring back alleys and having almost no Turkish language skills didn't matter -- I was in a very safe urban environment.
I went to more than a dozen mosques and received warm welcomes.
Not for a
second did I feel ill at ease for being a Westerner.
Quite the opposite, I
found hundreds of people who spoke flawless English and hosted me like I was a
long lost relative.
And I'm not just talking about carpet shop touts or Grand
Bazaar salesmen.
I'm talking about everyday people, who maybe saw my camera and
new I was a tourist -- and politely suggested I go over one street to see an
ancient synagogue...or I venture two more blocks downhill for a spectacular
vista of the Golden Horn that only locals know.
This was the Istanbul Turkey
that I found.
The tradition of world class kindness and hosting started at
Hotel Niles and carried over through hundreds of locations that I visited.
I
would recommend staying at the Niles and visiting Istanbul to everyone I know.
http://www.hotelniles.com
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