After two weeks in the British Isles, we (Toni and Barbara Turk) arrived in Istanbul the afternoon of June 28, 2002. Our first interaction at the airport in arranging transportation to our hotel revealed that Americans aren’t coming to Turkey in any great numbers at the present time. Probably this is a result of September 11, 2001.

Our hotel was the Armada Sultanahmet. The hotel lies inside the old city and is located within easy walking distance of several major sites – the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia and the Topkapi Palace. As we settled into our room we were greeted with the call to prayer from the minerates of the Blue Mosque. It added a mystical touch to the beginning of our visit.

Anxious to get out among the people we left our hotel in the early evening and began walking into the old city. We met a couple of young men who were completely fluent in American English. One of them took leave from the other and showed us through the Blue Mosque. With our interested concurrence we were then accompanied to what we were assured was a reputable carpet dealer – E_inci Fine Rugs & Kilims. For a couple of hours Süleyman Koçak and his partners explored our carpet interests with us. We decided upon five carpets. The centerpiece was one with a genealogical theme woven into a "Tree of Life" design. Another selection was a family "Prayer Niche" runner with eleven niches woven into it. Arrangements for shipping were made. About 8:00 p.m. we moved to a neighboring store to look at fine Turkish jewelry. After an hour we decided to come back the following day to complete our shopping. It was getting dark and we needed to find our way back to our hotel for our first night in Istanbul.

Toni Turk in front of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul Turkey July 2002

Saturday and Sunday were spent touring the historical mosques, palaces and museums of the European and the Anatolian (Asian) parts of Istanbul. Sunday morning included a Bosporus cruise from the Golden Horn to the entrance of the Black Sea. On our tours we were accompanied by tourists from countries from as far apart as the United Kingdom and Australia. We were impressed with the number of Polish and Russian tourists. There were also Japanese, Germans and French in great numbers. The Turks generally seem to speak English, and appear able to switch into the other languages as commerce might require.

Saturday evening we returned to the jewelry store of the evening previous. During the course of the day we had the chance to do some comparison shopping in other rug and jewelry stores and felt validated with our first incursion into shopping Friday night. Our young guide had indeed directed us to reputable dealers. As a result of our confidence in our jewelry dealer, we made some beautiful purchases that reflect the heritage of Turkey.

Saturday was a special day to be in Istanbul. On that day Turkey beat South Korea in the Soccer (Football) World Cup to clinch third place. The people were jubilant! Turkish flags were out in an abundance similar to that experienced with American flags in the US after September 11^th. On Sunday the national team arrived back in Istanbul and all of Istanbul turned out to greet them. It was a heady time to be in Turkey.

Monday, July 1^st, had been reserved for the Sabah reporter Burçu Yakar and her editor Emre. As a result we were unstructured in our time during the day and took the opportunity to move among the people on a casual basis. The evening was capped by a three hour dinner meeting with Burçu and Emre along a pedestrian way in the Taksim section of Istanbul. Those were choice hours in which we had a chance to learn about Turkey and its people. We gained a real appreciation for the friendship of Turkey and felt a tinge of regret that America’s fears have caused our ally to suffer as well.

Turkey is predominately a Muslim nation, but it is also a democracy. All religions, including Christian, Muslim and Jew, exist amicably. Mosques, churches and synagogues exist in tandem. Practices sometimes associated with the Muslim faith such as polygamy aren’t a part of the practices of Islam in Turkey. What is impressive is the relative degree of fashionable modesty among the Muslim women.

Our experience was a positive one. It is easy to look at present-day Istanbul and envision the past. It is all around you. You get a real sense of the opulence of the Ottoman Empire. That opulence continues at the Hotel Kempinski where we had breakfast on Tuesday, July 2^nd with Christina Türk. Christina is a German transplant who works as the hotel’s Travel Trade Sales Manager. She is the point of contact for the envisioned TURK SUMMIT, which her hotel is considering hosting. The Hotel Kempinski is the finest that Istanbul has to offer. It ranks with the best in the world. What a wonderful opportunity TURK researchers are being offered.

It is my recommendation that any gathering of TURK-surnamed individuals be orchestrated through a reputable travel agency that can manage the tour incentives being offered from the Turkish Tourism Office. Burçu and Sabah and Christina and the Kempinski are wonderful resources. Having met them I am impressed by their professionalism and their interest in helping such a gathering to succeed. Istanbul and Turkey are waiting with their hospitality, history, and outstanding shopping values. We did not have a chance to explore the leather and tile values, but the Turks are also known for the quality of their work in these materials.

We left Istanbul the afternoon of July 2^nd. We arrived home on July 4^th. Since this was a holiday there were no UPS deliveries, but on the 5^th our carpet purchases were delivered to our door. Our time in Turkey was flawless and we left with more than we had hoped for from our short visit.