A tour leader finds that, beyond the areas devastated by the earthquake, the country is open for business and keen that visitors keep coming
Though such displays of foreign sympathy and generosity have been widely welcomed in Turkey, there is concern that the quakes may cause tourists to reconsider their Turkish holiday plans this year. In my own case the earthquakes occurred in theweek that I was to lead a winter tour ofand Cappadocia. Prior to the disaster, we had arranged for two of our guests to continue on a private tour that would have taken them right through the area destroyed by the earthquake.
It was made clear there was no raised danger to guests in Istanbul or in the volcanic hinterland region of Cappadociato Turkey for a decade, I am practised at pondering the wisdom of visiting in times of Turkish trouble, regrettably frequent in this otherwise exceptional country, be it on account of Islamic or separatist terrorism, security clampdowns, civil unrest, attempted coups or refugee crises. But this was my first experience of how we should respond to a natural disaster.
I was quick to commiserate with my contacts in Turkey, many of whom had lost friends and colleagues, and were clearly in shock. Guide, archaeologist and lecturer Yunus Ozdemir, who runs our tours, revealed that he had lost five students who had been training as tourist guides in Adiyaman, one of the worst-hit cities.
Even at a time like this, our Turkish hosts proved typically hospitable – as obliging, attentive and keen as ever to serve us. That may be because Turkey’s current turmoil is also economic, with’s unorthodox fiscal policies widely blamed for a rapidly devaluing lira and soaring prices, not least for food and other staples. And with Brits alone making 3.8 million visits to the country in 2022, many Turks are highly dependent on tourism for their livelihoods.
For some years we have run tours to Turkey, not only in the warmer months but in the winter when the queues, considerable for much of the year, are blissfully absent at major sites likeand Cappadocia’s Open Air Museum. Another draw is that the winter weather, though obviously unpredictable, can be lovely for exploring. As it happened, we enjoyed a succession of bright and dry days, in contrast with the vicious cold which had gripped the country, to fatal effect, at the time of the worst quakes.
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