Take the Tower of Pisa, for example:
Built on unsuitable ground, the tower gradually took on a strange, tilted appearance over the years… It was born of a mistake; although its tilt may seem like a flaw, it is a bell tower that has become the symbol of Pisa, today one of the most visited cities in the world. In other words, it is a flaw, but “the world’s most beautiful flaw” is often the description of choice.
Take Istanbul, for example:
A city where magnificent works of art can be found on every street. A city that is practically an open-air museum. A city that captivates you at every turn. But if we lived in Istanbul, would we be able to say these things? For us, it would be a city known for its problems… Yes, Istanbul is a city with problems and many flaws. Yet, despite all its flaws, it is a city where millions of people live and which millions visit… Who knows, perhaps it is Istanbul’s flaws that make it beautiful…
Take Berlin, for example:
A city with a wall running through its middle… Until the 1990s, there were two Berlins, east and west, with very different economic and social lives… Today, they are one, and there is still a wall in the middle (at least in part)… A city that has turned the wall’s existence into an economic asset. A city that knows its flaw but turns it into something beautiful…
If you have qualities that make you unique, you can turn your flaws into something beautiful and economically beneficial.
To put it more plainly, your flaw can be your wealth.
So what are our flaws?
Of course, at the top of the list are the embargoes!
But does the fact that there is an embargo in this country mean no one can come here?
Of course people do come. Thousands of British people live in our country, and there are also tourists who cross over from the Greek Cypriot side, curious to see “how these people we have imposed an embargo on live.” I call this “Green Line” tourism, which we have absolutely failed to make the most of. What’s more, flights can reach our country with a stopover, just as a passenger in Adana would have to connect in Istanbul to get to Paris! Or vice versa…
Given all this—that is, when tourists are able to come to our country—why aren’t they coming?
After all, we are under embargoes and highly developed, so there is a complete contradiction here; in fact, the beauty lies in this contradiction… We also have such beautiful facilities; our sea, sand, and sunshine are wonderful; no one can criticize our historical sites, they are all perfect—so why aren’t tourists coming?
Could it be because we aren’t cheap?
Let me start with the simplest example and give you some figures, as someone who has had coffee and beer in Istanbul, Berlin, and Pisa. There, you would pay around 1–1.5 euros for a coffee in an average café, and around 2–2.5 euros for a beer in an average bar.
How much is it here?
Here, if you have a coffee in an average café—for example, in one of the cafés on Dereboyu—you’ll pay around 5/7 TL, or approximately 3 euros. If you try to have a beer in a bar, you’ll pay 8/10 TL, or around 4.50–5 euros. It’s practically robbery…
I won’t even get into clothing prices…
Yes, I may have oversimplified it, but believe me, these are the figures people tell those who might choose to visit your country…
You’ll be very expensive, and people will have to make a connection or something just to get to your country…
Talk about having it both ways!
I don’t know what else to say…
Take care…
Pay attention to your surroundings, keep them clean, and please be respectful in traffic…