. . . ISIS, Iran, Iraq, Ebola, strange food, spiders, snakes, bedbugs, needles, ghosts . . .“

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I’ve long admired Rick Steves.

Didn’t know a lot about him except that he seemed like a down-to-earth, mild-mannered guy, with a good head on his shoulders who has built a solidly reliable tour company. His advice is practical and honest. The travel industry’s version of Mr. Rogers. He’s a big advocate of independent travel and getting off the beaten path. I’d guess he’s from the midwest.

[NOTE:  According to Wikipedia, he was born in Edmonds, WA – and still lives there.]

Rick Steves is a lot like me – except he’s built himself an empire. And me … even though I call myself, “creative queen” I’ve never wanted to rule an empire. I’m too hands-on and too much of a perfectionist.

[NOTE: He has 253,080 followers on Facebook.  I have a grand total of 455 Facebook friends on my personal page and 678 likes on my WOW! Travel Club page.]

I’m referencing him in this blog is because he published a great article about Turkey. It’s an article I wished I had written!

He begins with this: “Turkey is changing fast. And it’s modernizing fast. For a recent vacation, I hit the road in Turkey, with romantic memories (a few years old) of horse-drawn carriages and villages with economies powered by hay, dung, and ducks. While that rustic old world is tougher to find, the deep traditions and warm hospitality of the region are as endearing as ever, especially if you venture past the predictable sights and tourist zones.”

And he ends the article with this: “Turkey is so rewarding as a destination because it gets me out of my comfort zone and challenges my norms. Experiencing the friendly charm of Turkey, I am like that balloon lifting off the wild Cappadocian field — free, at least for a while, from the bonds of my culture and ready to experience the world from a different perspective.”

I could have written (wish I had written …) that last paragraph! It pretty much sums up my philosophy: that the best travel experiences are those exhilarating ones that lift us out of our normal routines and plunge us headlong into something new and different.

Which brings me to the subject of Turkey! We took a calculated risk several months ago, chartering a luxurious 88-passenger yacht for a unique voyage to some hand-picked little islands in the Aegean Sea. We love this vessel – the Tere Moana – having recommended it to a corporate client who simply re-commits to a chartered voyage year after year because it’s an incomparable reward for their best customers and top performers. Since all of our WOW! Travel Club adventures to date have necessarily been small groups of less than 20 people, chartering this gorgeous vessel would give us an opportunity to deliver the “WOW” experience to a larger audience! And who could resist the charms of exotic and eclectic ports of call such as Santorini, Symi, Patmos, Ephesus and Istanbul?

So we plunged headlong into something new and different!

Well, it turns out that some people are nervous about going to Turkey. Some have even been honest enough to tell me so. It’s good for me to know … and I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. It’s a Muslim country and we Americans are force-fed a daily barrage of negative, fear-filled messages about Islam.

I agree with Rick Steves’ comment: “The greatest risk to our society today is not Islamo-fascist terrorism, but the people who use that term to scare us.” He wrote an op-ed piece in the Seattle Times  in 2006 that is still relevant. He postulates that terrorism is stoked and perpetuated by our military industrial complex – in order to maintain a military budget that is greater than the rest of the world combined. (At the time he wrote his piece, the military budget was $400 billion. Currently it’s $786.6 billion!)

Anyway …. I digress! If you’re freaked out about ISIS, ISIL, Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda and Muslim girls wearing headscarves – please, stay home. But if you’re the least bit curious about how a progressive, democratic, secular Muslim state can function … how a country larger than Texas can bridge two continents … how a culture can thrive for thousands of years by assimilating invasions by Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Ottomans …. and how a people can be no different than us in their desire for peace, justice and a decent quality of life – please, come with me to Turkey and the Greek Isles in June!

 

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Okay, okay … I got on my soapbox there. But sometimes I can’t help it! I just so love the world – the diversity, the exoticism, the uniqueness of its places and people – that I want everyone to see it and experience it and trust that I’ll keep you safe, blow your mind, open your heart and deliver you back home with memories and indelible impressions to convert you to a rabid international traveler!

I suppose that makes me a fundamentalist …. does it?

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If you’re interested or just plain curious, please call or write or go to our website to learn more about this once-in-a-lifetime experience. watch Rick Steves’ current TV series featuring one of his favorite destinations, Turkey.

 

 

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