They say that Turkey is a police state.
All we can say is 'Long live the police state!', for they are perfect gentlemen and always ready to lend a hand.
In Bursa we watched is shock as the traffic police stopped traffic to help an old man cross the street, and when we asked directions to our hotel, a cop got into the car and took us there, in good humour.
In Pamukkale the Tourist Police called a hotel owner who came to take us to his hotel, which we highly recommend, the Hotel Meltem Backpackers Inn
telephone number 0.258.272 24 13
fax, 0.258.272 24 14.
Ask for Teo Sunny.
If you run into another hotel owner called Suleyman from the Yildizhan hotel, avoid him at all costs.
At the same time it must be said that the police are everywhere, literally everywhere. And even though it is a secular state, your religion is written in your identity papers.
We met a young man, an American of Turkish origin, and when we asked him questions about the political situation in the country he looked around in fear and simply refused to speak, saying he feared for his family living in Turkey.
An American! What must it be for the people living here?

A Kurd who works in the parking lot in Istanbul was afraid I mention his origins in front of a Turk who worked in a nearby hotel.
I am reminded of an Arab proverb I read several years ago: 'a thousand years of dictatorship is better than one day of anarchy'.
I guess they know what they want. Or what they need.

The image of Atatürk, founder of modern Turkey, handsome and vibrant, is everywhere; a convenient symbol on which to pin the aspirations and love of a people. Every bank note, town square, and postage stamp is dedicated to him.
A secular state, or a state with a secular religion?