Rotarians happily admit being wrong
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Doğan News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 28, 2009 00:00
DİDİM - The Aegean town of Didim is hosting six American Rotarians under an extension of the International Rotary Exchange Program.
While paying a visit to Didim Police Chief Sunay Öztürk, FBI agent and Rotarian Ted Abegg presented an FBI coat of arms to the police chief, who in turn gave Abegg a Turkish police hat. Abegg made a speech during the visit and said that once they came to Turkey and Didim, they understood that they had been misinformed about Turkish police in the United States.
"When we told our friends that we were going to Turkey, they were shocked," said another Rotarian, musician Keith Deisner. "But we came here and our thoughts about Turkey were completely changed. When we go back, we will tell our friends that Turkey is not an Islamist country as they thought."
Another member of the group, Laura McCloskey, agreed with Deisner, adding: "There is a wrong image about Turkey in the American media. We are shown always the wrong side of Turkey, not the modern side."
The Rotarians toured historical sites around Didim and also joined in a traditional village wedding ceremony in Çomakdağ village of the Milas district of Muğla. Abegg and fellow Rotarian Nicole Thompson said they were impressed by the traditional dress of the bride and groom. Playing a traditional Zeybek folk dance, Abegg said, "I could hardly contain myself when the wedding started. I wanted to dress in these traditional clothes."
Thompson said that she had never seen such a joyful wedding ceremony: "The music and ambience were perfect. Southern Turkey is not only sand, sea and sun, there is incredible cultural richness."
Çomakdağ Kızılağaç Village Association Chairman Hasan Yıldırım said that around 10,000 tourists visit the village each year. "We have a traditional four-day and four-night wedding ceremony that has gone on for 500 years," he said. "This tradition of ours is at the service of tourism. We act out this wedding ceremony for three hours to show tourists our tradition."
"When we told our friends that we were going to Turkey, they were shocked," said another Rotarian, musician Keith Deisner. "But we came here and our thoughts about Turkey were completely changed. When we go back, we will tell our friends that Turkey is not an Islamist country as they thought."
Another member of the group, Laura McCloskey, agreed with Deisner, adding: "There is a wrong image about Turkey in the American media. We are shown always the wrong side of Turkey, not the modern side."
The Rotarians toured historical sites around Didim and also joined in a traditional village wedding ceremony in Çomakdağ village of the Milas district of Muğla. Abegg and fellow Rotarian Nicole Thompson said they were impressed by the traditional dress of the bride and groom. Playing a traditional Zeybek folk dance, Abegg said, "I could hardly contain myself when the wedding started. I wanted to dress in these traditional clothes."
Thompson said that she had never seen such a joyful wedding ceremony: "The music and ambience were perfect. Southern Turkey is not only sand, sea and sun, there is incredible cultural richness."
Çomakdağ Kızılağaç Village Association Chairman Hasan Yıldırım said that around 10,000 tourists visit the village each year. "We have a traditional four-day and four-night wedding ceremony that has gone on for 500 years," he said. "This tradition of ours is at the service of tourism. We act out this wedding ceremony for three hours to show tourists our tradition."