Israelis talk turkey in Turkey

February 6, 2009 - 1:40 AM by David

The port of Antalya, Turkey - hey, where can we find some falafel around here?

Israelis love to travel abroad, but most Israelis don’t have alot of spare money – that’s why God created created Turkey. A short plane flight away, with beautiful beaches and hiking and affordable resorts, Antalya, on the south coast of Turkey, has become in the last decade or so a magnet for vacationing Israelis. In fact you can often hear more Hebrew there than at the Ramle shuk.

I’ve been there a couple times in the last seven years, and it’s the perfect vacation destination if you don’t want to travel too far from home, but still want an out-of-country experience. After all, how many times can you go to Eilat?

But since the Gaza war, and the agressively anti-Israel protests throughout the country as well as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s vicious outbursts against the IDF actions, tourism to Turkey has dropped off drastically. Now, the Turks are trying to convince us that they’re still the nice folks we always thought they were.

According to Yediot Aharonot and Ynet, hotel managers and workers in Antalya called on Israelis this week not to cancel their vacations at the Turkish resorts,

“There are no security problems here and we have no connection to the political issues,” said Mr. Erdogan of the popular Spice Hotel. “You are welcome here anytime. As far as we’re concerned nothing has changed… Antalya is a safe place and Israelis are as welcome here as any other guest.

“We really miss the Israelis, you have nothing to fear from,” he added.

“The years-long relations between us and Israel must not end in one day, and certainly not over political statements,” said the manager of the Limak Limra Hotel in Antalya.

“We are not at war with Israel and we have been working together for so many years. Leave politics aside… what you see on television and hear on the news isn’t the reality here,” he stated.

According to the report, Israelis make up only 5% of tourism to Antalya but unlike European tourists – who usually vacation during the summer, Israelis visit the region all year-round, and therefore their absence is especially felt in wintertime.

That’s why the hotel operators in Antalya are offering amazing deals -like $199 for a flight and three nights at a number of all-inclusive resorts – and, of course, Israelis aren’t going to pass up a deal like that.

Evidently, hundreds of families booked their special discounted deals to Antalya since they were first published by various travel agencies less than 48 hours ago. Shai Dagoga of the Flying Carpet travel agency told Ynet that most of the packages have already been booked.

“This stems from the price, of course, and in the reality of 2009, cost is something that cannot be ignored. But the greater change is the result of the hotels’ willingness to show that they’re interested in the Israeli guests, and that their attitude towards us hasn’t changed – that they can be hospitable.”

Dagoga estimated that Israelis will continue visiting Turkey even after prices go up a bit. “People know that there’s no substitute for Turkey. The hatred that people say exists towards us there is no different than in other places… I don’t see this destination going to waste,” he stated.

Pragmatic or foolish? Or maybe it’s just part of returning to the surreal kind of normalcy we live in around here, where your neighbors are likely to be fair-weather friends.

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