My first playmate in my home village was Ahmed, a boy whose parents hailed from Anatolia und came to Germany as so-called “Gastarbeiter”.  While living and working in the challenging environment of Iran I knew that I may always count on my Turkish colleagues next door in times of need. In 1996 a friend and truck driver had invited me to join him in driving a removal truck from my then home in Tehran to Germany via Ankara, Istanbul and Patras from where an overnight ferry ride would take us to Venice. Sleeping in the narrow cabin behind the driver’s seat proved to be no 5-star-hotel-experience, However, getting out of Iran was the main challenge. Because of allegedly missing paperwork, we were stuck for three days at the Iranian-Turkish border. The perfect cone of Mount Ararat and the Turkish border town of Dogubayazit  were always in sight. When we finally could leave dry Iran and enter Turkey, the sight of the huge Johnny Walker billboard let me feel. like entering the Promised Land – after all, I felt I was in Europe. Even when it was actually eastern Kurdistan. The drive from there , past alpine meadows blooming with red Klatsvhmohn was wonderful.  Apart from the occasional policeman who sought he is up for a salary increase the drive went smoothly. In Ankara and Istanbul we spent the night at raucous truck stops. Assisted by lots of Raki we sat around campfires, communicated, even with no common language Iin sight, with truckers from Bulgaria, Romania and Russia and tried to rescue the world.

The food in Turkey is exactly to my liking: Köfte, Iskender Kebap , Manti dumplings, Gözleme, and Kumru, a kind of Simit baked in Sesame, toasted and filled with slices of tomatoes, melted cheese and yummy sausage. So good! With access to the Turkish Airlines lounge in Istanbul you don’t even have to go to town and can instead walk your stomach through all of Turkey’s delicacies. I would say this lounge is one of the best in the world, foodwise just beaten by the SQ lounges in Singapore and Cathay’s lounges in Hongkong and Manila.

Istanbul is a place apart which I have visited on so many occasions. Not just on this truck roadtrip. Sitting with my mother quietly in a mosque at the Golden Horn, enjoying sundowners with my wife while the sun sets behind the domes of But above all -hopping  on a ferry which takes you in minutes from Asia to Europe and vice versa is one of the world’s unique travel pleasures.

Turkey belongs to Europe.