Debbie´s message about her holiday in Turkey has led me to think about various things. She mentions at one point :

"Later as arranged I joined a group for a tour of the Dolmabahce Palace. It is the Palace that the Sultan's moved into when they left Topkapi. They were by then enamoured of Europe and the Palace would fit very nicely into the French countryside. Other than a few rugs there is nothing Turkish in the place. "

In case someone is wondering about the palace ... http://www.guideistanbul.net/dolmabahce.htm

I would say that exactly that European feeling is a very important part of the turkish soul. But if you haven´t read before about the complex relationship between Turkey and Europe, of its position in the middle of two "conflicting" civilizations, of the changes and revolutions happened at the beginning of the XX century, you might have found more than strange that european palace instead of an "harem" :))

I think that most of us travel to other places with preconceived ideas. Do you have a way to fight them, or have you found on arrival that you were right about your previous feelings (mind you, it can happen quite a few times ...)?

Kind regards, Covadonga de Regil Bilbao - Spain