A vast country full of beautiful sand beaches and coves. A wide choice of varied destinations for families, couples or singles. This is a paradise for the beach lover. Historically blessed with a wide range of historical sites in every region. Interesting culture. Plenty to see and do.

Water

Did you know that Turkey actually exports water to the less fortunate Middle East?. This is not a barren land but a land rich in agriculture and self supportive. Many parts of Turkey are very green particularly the North Coast in the Trabzon area.

Camels

I think there is a 50 km square patch of dirt somewhere in Eastern Turkey that resembles a desert. Go to the Middle East if you like deserts. Camels can be found in Turkey and are mainly there for the tourists. I hardly ever used to see any camels until tourism started becoming popular in the early 80's. There is however camel wrestling if you are into that kind of thing.

Turkey's Churchill

Turkey's National Hero. Find out about this famous world statesman - Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

'Bilmemek ayip degildir, ogrenmemek ayiptir '

' To not know something is not shameful, to not want to learn something is shameful '

.....and therein lies a lesson for all of us.

Türk Müsünüz?

Hey hos geldiniz. Buyurun, Birmingham Ingiltere nin ikinci buyuk sehiri. Yapilacak çok seyler var. Gelin bir bakin.

Midnight Express

Midnight Express is hardly the most accurate portrayal of what actually did happen. The actors made up of a cast of Armenians and Greeks speaking awful Turkish and beating the feet of a child (something which has been illegal in Turkey since Ataturk's days). Like all films it is exagerated beyond reality and as the report of this link quite rightly points out - Hayes must be a complete idiot. Drugs kill people. Turkey takes a hard line on it. Personally I would have thrown away the key !.

Litter

Turkey is a beautiful country. Don't spoil it. Please take your litter with you and dispose of it sensibly.

Driving in Turkey

Turkish Laws are not strict enough on this one and too many drivers bought their licenses with free tokens from the Sabah Newspaper (Only kidding). Seriously, be careful on Turkish roads. Arabanizi daha Dikkatli kulanin arkadaslar. Türkiyede trafik kazalarinin sebep oldugu ölüm orani çok yuksek.

Things that annoy you

Pushy shop owners for one. buyurun buyurun, alin alin, hallo hallo, my turn now......nice gold....nice bracelets......funny dog poo......Now they can seriously piss you off. Thankfully, learn a few words of Turkish and tell them you work in Istanbul and they will lose interest.

Nosey people. Ne kadar kazaniyorsunuz? (How much do you earn?). None of your goddam business !. Why do people always want to know that?

Possessions. Mal, malim, maliniz. Who cares what you own or what car you drive?. Enjoy what you have and don't brag about it. More important...be happy !

Cyprus - The Great Divide

Fantastic lobbying on the part of the Greeks in highlighting Turkish atrocities of the 1974 Invasion of Northern Cyprus. However, there are always two sides to the coin and the Greeks Cypriots made a rod for their own back too. Many Turkish Cypriots mysteriously dissapeared as well as Greeks and there are graveyards on both sides of the island that testify the wrong doings on both sides. The difference is that the Turks are willing to forgive and live and let live. They don't talk about it day after day years after the event and stir up National hatred for the Greeks. Many Greeks near the border of Turkey do a weekend shopping trips to Istanbul. Speak to them and ask them how safe they feel in Turkey. How welcome are they made?

This Kusadasi Web Site is dedicated to Metin Erol 1937 - 2000. God Rest his Soul.