I visited Turkey in the spring of 2014 and absolutely loved the country and its beautiful and hospitable people. I could easily blend in with the locals in Istanbul and enjoyed the sights, sounds and cuisine of the city.
My favourite part of the country is the Aegean Coast. The villages around Izmir and Kushadashi are breathtakingly beautiful, and the people, the most liberal and secular in all of Turkey. This is the land of delicious olives, ancient historic sites like Ephesus and natural wonders like Pamukkale.
During my trip, I actually crossed the Aegean and spent a few hours in Samos in Greece. The island seemed economically depressed and the faces were far more glum than the smiles I saw on the Turkish mainland.
I would have never imagined that a year later, this beautiful coast would become a den of human smuggling. It breaks my heart to read about people dying in the Aegean while undertaking the dangerous crossing to Greece, in search of a better life in Europe.
The influx of migrants (yes they lose the right to be called refugees when they leave Turkey) has destroyed the tourism industry of the Greek islands. I doubt that this influx will stop as long as human smugglers make fortunes out of desperate immigrants.
My favourite part of the country is the Aegean Coast. The villages around Izmir and Kushadashi are breathtakingly beautiful, and the people, the most liberal and secular in all of Turkey. This is the land of delicious olives, ancient historic sites like Ephesus and natural wonders like Pamukkale.
During my trip, I actually crossed the Aegean and spent a few hours in Samos in Greece. The island seemed economically depressed and the faces were far more glum than the smiles I saw on the Turkish mainland.
I would have never imagined that a year later, this beautiful coast would become a den of human smuggling. It breaks my heart to read about people dying in the Aegean while undertaking the dangerous crossing to Greece, in search of a better life in Europe.
The influx of migrants (yes they lose the right to be called refugees when they leave Turkey) has destroyed the tourism industry of the Greek islands. I doubt that this influx will stop as long as human smugglers make fortunes out of desperate immigrants.
