Nothing else comes close.
I've been there a few times. And yet, I'd love to return to Istanbul yearly, and head in a new direction to discover another lode of riches that the country has to offer. Most of those who have visited Turkey agree. But terrible myths about it continue to linger.
Hollywood's 1978 movie, Midnight Express, is a big culprit. It depicted a horrendous story of brutality experienced in a Turkish prison by an American visitor who had been caught drug-smuggling -- an extremely serious crime. The movie's credits claimed that it was based on a true story.
But long after the release of the movie and the deep prejudices against Turkey it had created worldwide, director Alan Parker acknowledged that the story was not entirely true, and that much of it was, in fact, fictional.
Even producer David Putnam now admits that the book the movie was based on is a "dishonest book."
But most of the myths emanate from neighbouring Greece, of course, which has a long and ongoing history of conflict with Turkey and which competes with its neighbour for tourist dollars.
It is true that Greece is a wonderful country to visit and revisit. But Turkey is twice as wonderful. It has more and better in every aspect you can imagine.
I've made return visits to both countries, but now make it a point to first go to Greece and then to Turkey. Thus, you can enjoy both. If you do it in reverse, which I did the first time I visited Turkey, Greece proved to be a disappointment, almost an anti-climax.
Let me hasten to address those who will inevitably challenge me by pointing out Turkey's well-recorded atrocities committed against Armenians and Kurds, for example. Many of the allegations are indeed true, though Turkey will say, I'm sure, that there are two sides to every story.
I'm no stranger to the idea that one should boycott travel destinations which have a history or current pattern of abusing its citizens. Surely, it is argued, we do not want to support oppressive regimes with our tourist dollars. It's an issue I've struggled long and hard over
But think about it. I don't know of anyone who refrains from going to New York because of the terrible deprivations suffered by those who live within its borders, for example, in Harlem.
How many of us refuse to visit the United States because of the way it has brutalized its own black and native populations? How about the institutionalized mistreatment of women in Utah? And how do we grapple with America's discovery of torture of innocent people as a weapon against terrorism? After all, "innocent until proven guilty" is not a mere adage or technicality imported from the anarchy of the Middle East.
Are we comfortable with potential visitors to Canada staying away until we start treating our native citizens like equal citizens, and not like the "untouchables" of India? Should we never visit India then, because they brutalize women and minorities, etc.?
Actually, Turkey and its people are as decent, warm, hospitable and welcoming as the best anywhere.
It is not a perfect country or a perfect society. None of us are. But it is as safe -- if not safer -- than any city or state you can cite in the United States.
Turkey's history and architecture is better preserved than any other of the same antiquity anywhere in the world. It is a country and a civilization on a grand scale. And, it is real, not inflated with marketing puffery.
The food is exotic and sumptuous. The weather is ideal. Think Mediterranean. And the shopping is truly straight out of Arabian Nights. Then there is the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, TopkapI, the Grand Bazaar, the Golden Horn, Thrace, Troy, Izmir, Ephesus, Konya, Antalya, Cappadocia, Goreme and Urgup. I know there's another world out there in the east and southeast, where I've yet to explore.
Then there's Hamams, Midas, the Gordion Knot, Halva, Ataturk, Chimera's tongues of fire on Mount Olympus, St. Peter, pomegranate juice, whirling dervishes and, of course, the carpets . . . The question that invariably comes up today is whether it's safe to be heading that way, when U.S. President George W. Bush's talk of war grows more intense by the day. Of course it is. All we need to be is sensible, do our homework and use common sense.
T. Sher Singh, a Guelph lawyer, is an avid traveller and collector of special places. See his past columns by visiting http://www.therecord.com/life/singh
Editor
Australian Turkish Media Group
http://www.atmg.org
atmgadm@hotmail.com