TURKEY BBC2 Sunday Evening

[Dog]

Not happy about this program, very strange view of Turkey.

Yes they showed a lot of negative things that do exist/happen in Turkey but overall it did not betray Turkey in its true light.

Turkey is a massive place and you are unlikely to see what they portrayed. It was like doing a documentary on UK and highlighting problems in N. Ireland and people thieving from museums with shots of the army driving through towns giving the wrong picture along with pics of race riots in Birmingham.

They skimmed over Cappadocia - I had met the man they spoke to, I spent a couple of drunken nights at his restaurant drinking with him.

Turkey is a lovely safe place to visit and a buffer of secular 'muslims' on the gateway to the east.

You just cannot believe the history and ruins everwhere and it's not expensive. They made it sound small and it's about the size of europe.

Lovely friendly people and honest. I cannot wait to return.

[mint]

Didn't see the programme, Dog.

But, I did do a charity cycle ride in Turkey a few years ago.  I have to support your view that the people are "lovely" and "friendly".

In fact, I'd go further than that:  I found the people unbelievably kind and welcoming and accepting of us riding through their villages and countryside and bringing with us our "baggage" (cultural and all).

They must have thought we were Martians but they never let that view stop them from treating us with the utmost humanity and tolerance.

[Dog]

Where did you cycle from and to?

[mint]

From Istanbul to Ephesus with a bit of a coach ride through the very industrial bit in the middle.

This was about 6 years ago.  There was so much visible hardship and poverty but still, people gathered by the roadside to wave us on and whole classes of schoolchildren would come out with their teachers to shout encouragement.

It was all very heartwarming and I hope that EU membership would really be a good thing for that country.

[Weedon]

The tricky bit for EU membership Sweet is Cyprus.  Unless things have changed in recent years, Greece and Turkey have yet to agree on much that has happened there since 1974.

[mint]

Don't know much about that side of things, Weedon.  I was just responding to Dog's comments about the niceness of the Turkish people.

Politics and old enemities..... don't really want to go where my lack of knowledge is abysmal.

[Dog]

[quote user="Weedon"]The tricky bit for EU membership Sweet is Cyprus.  Unless things have changed in recent years, Greece and Turkey have yet to agree on much that has happened there since 1974.[/quote]

Having been to North and South Cyprus I think the Turks have on the whole looked after the place better. Very little large scale development. Planning restricted to two storeys.. Though on last visit they were allowing gambling which they were sure was there future. I tried to explain it may bring in a lot of undesirable problems.

I think the emnity is dying out as time passes. I did consider getting a house in Cyprus and cannot understand why lots of new-agers and eco-hippies do not as you can chose an empty house deserted by the Turks (they have red numbers on them) you can live in them if you look after them and just pay a peppercorn rent to the government which if I remember correctly was just £22 a year. If a legal claim is ever made you have to give it back - but it could be years - it's already been over 35. There are some beautiful sea front houses and whole villages empty. If things get much worse may just go there!

[mint]

Never been to Cyprus, Dog.  But, you clearly know quite a bit about it.

Wouldn't mind one of those houses myself, especially for the winter!

[Weedon]

[quote user="Dog"]

[quote user="Weedon"]The tricky bit for EU membership Sweet is Cyprus.  Unless things have changed in recent years, Greece and Turkey have yet to agree on much that has happened there since 1974.[/quote]

Having been to North and South Cyprus I think the Turks have on the whole looked after the place better. Very little large scale development. Planning restricted to two storeys.. Though on last visit they were allowing gambling which they were sure was there future. I tried to explain it may bring in a lot of undesirable problems.

I think the emnity is dying out as time passes. I did consider getting a house in Cyprus and cannot understand why lots of new-agers and eco-hippies do not as you can chose an empty house deserted by the Turks (they have red numbers on them) you can live in them if you look after them and just pay a peppercorn rent to the government which if I remember correctly was just £22 a year. If a legal claim is ever made you have to give it back - but it could be years - it's already been over 35. There are some beautiful sea front houses and whole villages empty. If things get much worse may just go there!

[/quote]

I have not been to the South Dog, just the North.  Came close to buying a house there, near Ozankoy in 1991.  The problems there are that there are 2 titles, government and free.  Government means that a Greek has legal title and should the division ever be sorted out then the legal owner could start legal action to re-claim the property and it was for that reason I didn't buy a property nor would I ever consider it.  Heard enough stories of brits who had bought properties there to convince me there were safer places to buy. If the British authorities have never been able to bring Asil Nadir back from there to face charges what chances would us little people have in any dispute over a property.

[Dog]

Yes the legal aspect is worrying and there are quite a few dodgy people in the North.

The houses for £22 a year are in the South.

Did you see Asil Nadir?

Look out for the convoy of big cars with blacked out windows.

[Weedon]

Been to the Jasmine Court Hotel, which I believe used to belong to Polly Peck (Nadir), maybe it still does.  I have never seen Nadir nor his convoy because the last time I visited the island was shortly after he fled there to escape the SFO, that in itself is a very strange story.  I quite agree with your statement about "dodgy people" which is why, whilst it is a very beautiful, unspoilt (it was in 93) place for a holiday, I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole for buying a house.  Anybody thinking of going there for a holiday would be well advised to ask passport control to stamp a separate slip of paper rather than the passport itself, or forget ever going to Greece afterwards with a Turkish Cyprus stamp in it. 

[Dog]

[quote user="Weedon"]Been to the Jasmine Court Hotel, which I believe used to belong to Polly Peck (Nadir), maybe it still does.  I have never seen Nadir nor his convoy because the last time I visited the island was shortly after he fled there to escape the SFO, that in itself is a very strange story.  I quite agree with your statement about "dodgy people" which is why, whilst it is a very beautiful, unspoilt (it was in 93) place for a holiday, I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole for buying a house.  Anybody thinking of going there for a holiday would be well advised to ask passport control to stamp a separate slip of paper rather than the passport itself, or forget ever going to Greece afterwards with a Turkish Cyprus stamp in it. [/quote]

 

No problems with stamping the passport any more. You can even visit both sides of Cyprus from the other now.

On one of my first trips there was a border with just one Turkish soldier - I have always found them very friendly and was going to approach him and said to a Greek Cypriot that I was going to have a chat with the soldier and nip into the North.

Greek Cypriot said not a good idea - I said why as always found the army friendly? He said because the border in front of the Turkish soldier is mined! I avoided a limp.