The tour guide who claimed Atatürk took milk baths in a 'golden hammam'!

About a year and a half ago, a Syrian immigrant named Mustafa G., despite not being a licensed tour guide, organized an Istanbul tour for his fellow citizens.

He took Syrian Arabs who, like him, had immigrated to Turkey, on a tour of the Bosphorus.

To do this, he first arranged for a Syrian bus driver.

While a Bosphorus tour normally cost 50 dollars per person—which was 800 liras at the time—he did it for only 90 liras.

When they passed through Karaköy and arrived in front of Dolmabahçe Palace, our fake guide took the microphone and said, “Mustafa Kemal lived in debauchery here after founding the Republic. He would specifically take milk baths in a hammam made entirely of gold.”

Then, they entered the Bosphorus Bridge to cross to the Anatolian side.

Mustafa G. took the microphone once more and introduced the Grand Mecidiye Mosque in Ortaköy as the “Hagia Sophia Mosque.”

All these moments were recorded on video by a passenger on the bus and shared on social media…

Naturally, all hell broke loose.

Because it is a crime under our laws for someone who does not have a tour guide license and is not registered with the Istanbul Chamber of Tourist Guides to act as a guide.

Moreover, portraying Atatürk as a leader who lived in debauchery and slandering him, and showing the Ortaköy Mosque as Hagia Sophia, angered people, especially professional guides who have dedicated their lives to this profession.

The Chamber of Guides filed a criminal complaint against Mustafa G. as soon as the video hit social media, but that complaint took its place in the digital void of the prosecutor's office computers.

In other words, it led to no results.

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Mustafa G. is not the only example…

Thousands like him are running rampant in Istanbul and all tourism regions.

Almost none of them have accurate information about the regions they are touring…

All they do is provide false information and then stop the bus in front of a souvenir shop or a contracted restaurant…

They take a commission from every item sold or every meal eaten!

Furthermore, all these earnings are off the books…

Since these illegal guides are unregistered, they do not pay a single penny in taxes to the state.

Most importantly, because of the misinformation they provide, thousands of people get absurd impressions about our country.

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While this is the case, the Ministry of Tourism, which should be taking deterrent measures against illegal guides, is signing off on regulations in its new Draft Law on Tourist Guiding that will almost make “illegal guiding” legal.

According to the draft law accepted by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey's Committee on Public Works, Reconstruction, Transportation, and Tourism, the conditions for becoming a guide are being significantly relaxed.

Exceptions are being introduced to the foreign language requirement.

So much so that passing exams conducted by public institutions and organizations that are not specialized in the subject will be enough for candidates to become guides.

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Tourism professionals and guides who have been earning their living from this sector for years are showing great reaction to the new regulations.

However, there is not a single industry expert who knows the subject in the Committee that accepted this draft law.

So, why is the ministry doing this?

The answer to the question is simple:

They will bring in as many unemployed partisans or refugees as possible and give them jobs in the sector!

Just like they made party-affiliated lawyers into judges or prosecutors.

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If you are saying, “With so many problems in the country, is this what caught your attention?”; yes…

Because I do not want to witness guides referring to Istanbul as the “capital of Syria” two days from now!