Originally Posted by
GUWonder
About the last point above, trying that if you have a heavy regional accent from the US may well be a failure.
I'm not so sure about that. I've seen a lot of New Yorkers and Southerners in Muslim countries get asked what country they're from.
It has something to do with linguistics and the differences between English and Arabic languages. Evidently, it's difficult to tell the difference between Brits, Americans , Canadians, Aussies and Kiwis.
Plus, it helps if you look indignant when asked if you're American... BTW, I only use this ploy when I really don't want to get into a 2-hour discussion on how the US messed up the world.
Originally Posted by
GUWonder
About the second to the last suggestion, it is rather less applicable to Istanbul than say some other parts of Turkey.
Under normal circumstances I would agree, but Istanbul is a powder keg right now and people are looking for reasons to get violent.
Originally Posted by
GUWonder
Given we are talking about Istanbul, might it not even have more open prostitution and strip clubs per inhabitant than Amsterdam?
I've heard anecdotal stories about this, but I never saw anything resembling Amsterdam. Granted, I never ventured into the "underground" areas where this is supposed to occur. And the reports I've heard is that the prostitution scene is really not for tourists anyway.