We travelled in
a not quite full coach. The admin firm is German but our driver Ibrahim,
handsome boy, and our guide Nazim were both local Turks. The quality of the
guide can make all the difference. No praise would be too high for Nazim:
totally literate with only the slightest of accents, no bothersome vocal bad
habits and a command of English that not only told all you wanted to know but
was capable of summarising Turkish history and politics and, moreover, making
good jokes as if English were his mother tongue. And he saw to it that we were
punctual even to the point of some pretty early starts.
The hotels varied but were always adequate but
were different each night but one. At one place we had amateur belly dancing
but on our last evening we had a company which was not only outstanding but was
tireless in its efforts. It is not easy to transmute physical energy into art
but this troupe from Anatolia had the audience thoroughly stimulated and worked
up.
If there was a weak spot in the tour it was
those lunches and dinners that we shelled out for. No one starved or lacked
adequate nutrition. But it was boring to
have buffets all the time: chopped up salad to begin with followed by chicken
or rather dry beef, plus rice and it all seemed to have been cooked and dished
up the same way. I am sure that most of us have enjoyed excellent Turkish
cuisine in England. I suppose it was to do with the costing of the tours. But
each of the hotels was large with big restaurants serving many groups, all with
these everlasting boring buffets.
If
there is a repeat next year of a similar nature, we shall be on it.
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