I’ve had family members from Ireland go on vacation in Turkey. I would not even consider that as a destination, even with the associations with early Christianity and the Apostles (which were not on my relatives’ minds). Good on this fellow for showing them who was the boss.
My wife, father in-law, and I spent a week in Istanbul two years ago. Many historic Christian churches and other historic sites to visit. Two events stick in my mind. We went to a small family run restaurant by our hotel. I paid for the meal (very inexpensive) and when we got up to leave I put some money on the table for a tip. Our waiter called me back and was shaking his head ‘no’, but he did not speak English. Another person had to translate. The waiter was telling me that the tip was already included in the bill, and that I did not need to leave anything extra. Another night I bought a hot pastry from a street vendor. The sign said 2 lira (about $.70), so I gave him 2 lira. He looked at the coins and started shaking his head ‘no’. I am ashamed to admit that I thought he was going ask for more, even though the sign said 2 lira. Turned out the pastry I pointed to did not cost 2 lira. It only cost 1 lira, and he wanted to give me back one coin.