The 'REAL' Turkey

What words come to mind when you think of Turkey..? History? The Ottoman Empire? Mountain Ranges? Hagia Sofia? Istanbul?

I bet one that tickles the tip of your tongue is terrorism. This thought is both sad and disappointing. Turkey has so much to offer, yet it is tainted by what we read, watch and hear. As the saying goes, ‘bad news sells’ (is that even a quote) and I swear journalists just can’t get enough when it comes to terrorism in Turkey; it seems to pop up more than an inquisitive mole. This has lead to a delusional British view of Islam/Turkey and ISIS; which in turn has impacted the lifeline of Turkey’s economy, tourism.

So to balance the imaginary scales of ‘good and bad British news about Turkey’ here are a few stories told by a wee cyclist.

Just a few hours after passing the Turkish border, I was hailed down by an orange road-side seller. He greeted me with a smile and a bag full of tangerines and passed it over with a “teklif” or an “an offering” in English. Despite being extremely grateful for my gift this did burden my ride significantly. About an hour later I met a couple of Swiss cycletourists (Nick and Siria[i]); my mind instantly turned to oranges. Before I had a chance to ask; Siria offered me a handful of tangerines, because they had exactly the same happen to them – I politely declined and we all had a giggle and discussed how best to rid the mountain of tangerines.

Of the three weeks I have been in Turkey; over half of that has been in local’s homes. Serdar, Seyfettin and Can have all made the list. These guys were incredible and all refused money for: nights out on the piss, countless breakfasts and dinners, BBQs, family meals and of course a comfy bed. One of the most memorable of nights was getting my host (huhmm… Can) shitfaced and him faceplanting into a whole table of diners.

On more than one occasion I have had complete strangers pay for my entire meal in a restaurant. I think the most unforgettable, was when 2 builders strolled over to the café I was sitting and following a short conversation they offered to buy me Pide (a traditional Turkish Dish). They not only came back with the Pide, but a can of coke and a cay (as always) and paid for the meal I was eating.

Mosques are a safe haven and welcome internationals; some even have a room specifically for nomads/pilgrims to sleep in, toilets and sometimes showers. In comparison, I’m not sure I can imagine the priest welcoming me in Norwich Cathedral for a kip down.

Multiple free cays (tea) or Turkish coffee offered by restaurants, grocery shops, petrol stations and strangers. Literally everywhere you go, you will be offered a free cay. It’s not surprising Turkey is the biggest tea-drinking nation in the world and drink nearly 3x as much per person as the UK.

Even just a toot of the horn, followed by a muffled cry of “Türkiye'ye hoşgeldiniz” or “Welcome to Turkey”.

These small or sometimes significant acts of kindness are what make the ride special and is just one reason why I do these ridiculous holidays. They put a smile on your face, fill you with happiness and when you’re sat; cold and wet in your freezing tent thinking ‘What the hell am I doing?’; they make you remember why you left home. It is safe to say, I have experienced more of these random acts of kindness in Turkey, than any other country I have cycled in.

Drop your prejudice. Go and experience the real Turkey.

Other facts:

On average Muslims ‘give most to charity’ ahead of Christians, Jews and Athiests[ii]. Actually they give more than double that of Christians (Protestants and Catholic).
Zakat al-mar, one of the five pillars of Islam and is the practice of giving 2.5% of total savings/wealth to the poor, Islamic people and others.
ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) consists of just 15,000 militants (US intelligence estimate), which is just (0.001%) of the whole Islamic population. These are just the extremist of that party – So it’s kinda similar to Louis Theroux episode on ‘America’s most hated family’
Islam (Muslims), Judaism (Jews) and Christianity (Christians) shares the same Abrahamic heritage, which means a lot of the practices and beliefs are similar, if not identical.
‘Allah’ is just the Arabic name for God.
Islamophobia refers to fear, prejudice, hatred or dislike directed against Islam or Muslims, or towards Islamic politics or culture.