Turkey - Bursa - figurative storks and whirling dervish on the roof - Ata photo
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1. The dynamism of Istanbul is awe-inspiring
2. The moonscape-like region of Cappadocia
3. Ephesus - surprisingly complete, spectacular Roman ruins
4. The pure white travertine terraces of Pamukkale ("Cotton Castle")
5. The landscape of the coastal Ölüdeniz
6. Safranbolu, well-preserved Ottoman village
7. Kumpir - baked potato with yummy fillings
8. Locals are very helpful, keen to protect tourists
9.Reassuring public safety (not specifically for oppositional journalists)
10. Interesting, in the same time tense coexistence of old and new, conservative and independent minded
1. Many streets are dirty, locals just littering and spitting on the floor. Regardless of cigarettes, a small piece of paper, people throw it away from their hands without a second thought, they don't have a sense of being environmentally friendly.
2. Turks often making a fool of the unaware, naive tourists- the average fruit-seller would try to con you for sure
3. The Turks believe that their cuisine is the best in the world - what a mistake
4. Rooky taxi drives and unscrupulous retail sellers
5. Women are considered second-class beings (not in Istanbul or Izmir)
6. Ankara is ugly
7. Bumptious, ill-mannered Russian vacationers in all-inclusive resorts of Turkish Riviera
8. Turkish car drivers are careless about pedestrians - watch out even when it’s a green light.
9. No queue culture- Huge disregard for laws of any kind, driving, walking, queuing, public space - in elevators a Turk would not let you step out first because he wants to be there ‘first’.
10. Unimaginative clothing - Fashion is absolutely terrible. Girls love wearing T-shirts which have random English sentences on them like “why bother” or even just “YES!”… the word “yes” printed on the middle of a T-shirt - They have a TV show where about 10 women come on every week to show their outfit, and there are judges, and one gets voted off every week for being worst dressed. It's like X Factor but for clothes.
11. Very few people can speak English beyond Istanbul, and Turkish Riviera
12. Almost everyone smokes - We seldom met a Turk who doesn't smoke
