Fine Turks of Istanbul by Dave Fuller

One of the perqs of working for a newspaper is that you sometimes get to go on travel junkets. This past March, I was in the Azores. Two years ago, my wife and I visited the Greek Islands and Istanbul, Turkey.

World-leader Louis Cruises was our host, and we had a great time.

During our visit to the Turkish capital, our guide warned us about pick-pockets and deals too good to be true at Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, a world famous indoor flea market.

While waiting for the bus to take us back to our cruise ship, we dropped into the Fez Cafe, located about a block away from the bazaar, for cups of Turkish coffee. (We’d never tasted the real thing).

While the coffee/snacks menu looked pricey, how often do you get to drink Turkish coffee in Istanbul?

Since our waitress did not speak English, I gave her what I thought was enough Euros to cover the bill and tip, and headed back to our bus stop.

We’d walked about two blocks when I noticed a man chasing after us and stopped.

“You paid much to much,” he said, handing me my correct change.

Apparently, the menu prices were in Turkish liras, not Euros.

I took a few Euros back, but insisted he keep the rest.

While this was a small event, it ran counter to the warning we’d received on the bus. Turks, I’m guessing, are at least as honest as Canadians, if not more. And pick-pockets aren’t limited to Istanbul or Naples – in fact, they’re pretty much everywhere there’s a major crowd.

We left Istanbul, having nothing but respect for the Turks and the nice folks at Istanbul’s Fez Cafe.
Dave Fuller