In the Press – MeinReiseleiter in the Media

Das Erste
Weltspiegel - foreign correspondents report. On Sunday, 17 January 2016, 19:20, by BR on
Das Erste

Turkey: Istanbul after the
terrorist attack

Mehmet knows Istanbul like the back of his
hand. The 47-year-old has been a tour guide in the beautiful city on the Bosphorus for more than three decades.

Since Tuesday of this week his
world has been turned upside down - since the devastating suicide attack in which ten German tourists lost their lives.

A colleague of his was standing only
a few metres away from the explosion.

Only by luck did she escape unharmed.
Mehmet Yagci is married to a German woman and speaks fluent German.

Over the years, genuine friendships have developed
with many of his German clients.

Now he mourns, together with his compatriots,
the victims of the terrorist attack.

Mehmet sees himself as a mediator
between cultures and has specialised in religious tourism.

His great concern is the future
of Turkey. He observes an increasing Islamisation of his homeland.

For Mehmet, the attack attributed to the so-called "Islamic
State" is an indirect consequence of this development steered by the current government.

(Author: Michael Schramm, ARD
Istanbul)