Hi Rob Vicki and I have been to Istanbul twice [before 2000] and loved the place. We/I would happily go back. I despise g***tasaray as much as any Leeds fan but that is not the same as despising Istanbul, let alone the whole country. In 1981 a Leeds fan was killed by spurs fans. Is this a reason for never visiting London? If not, what is the difference? MOT Dave SSingapore WhitesFor whom tonight will be a sad occasion as The Dubliner, home of the Singapore Whites for the past decade, closes its door for the last time!
> Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2014 20:43:37 +0300 > From: rhe...@asd.edu.qa > To: leedslist@gn.apc.org > Subject: [LU] A Leeds fan in Istanbul > > (A bit long................please disregard if not interested.) > > Well, we went to Istanbul. > > First of all, thanks to all the people who gave me advice on and offlist > about our trip. It was much appreciated and very useful. > > As I did mention in an earlier post, I was pretty reluctant to go and even > though I had promised to go with an open mind, I was still a bit negative > when we arrived. This feeling persisted for the first day and a half, but I > was soon won over by the astonishing beauty of the city and also the > unrelenting friendliness of the people. > > Apart from the obvious reason, I was also down on the place because I love > Greece so much, and I was cross with it for being so like Greece but not > having ouzo or xoriatiki salads. When I found that cafes in Istanbul also > had tavla (backgammon) boards, and also discovered raki, my outlook > improved enormously. > > I was quite determined to answer the many people who asked where I was from > by saying "England.......well, Leeds actually." I was expecting looks of > sheepish guilt, but was met every time by cheerful faces. Some people even > replied "Ah. Leeds United!" without any hint of concern. I fear that the > murders are long forgotten over there now. > > I wasn't spending much time on the internet, but the Cellino appeal > decision was due any time, so I did have to check Newsnow every > day..............and that was where I discovered that it was actually the > 14th anniversary of Chris's & Kevin's deaths while we were there. I really > should I suppose have gone up to Taksim Square that day (even though I > don't really believe in that kind of nonsense), but I didn't find out until > too late in the evening. > > We did make our way over there the next day though, and it was a pretty > horrible experience. > > It turned out that G***tasaray were playing Fenerbahce that day. All > morning, the city had been full of those horrible faux-Bradford City > shirts, but when we got to the Square the place was seething with them. It > seems that it is a tradition for their fans to congregate in Taksim Square > before marching en masse to the stadium. I hope that that is a > long-standing tradition and not something which has developed in the last > 14 years. Whatever the case, it was extremely unpleasant to see that > particular place full of those particular fans...............especially > when I saw that several of the more "hard-core" nutters were strutting > around covered in fake blood. Again, I hope that, as unsavoury as that is, > it is a tradition that dates back to long before April 5th 2000. > > > Normally, I would have reveled in the experience of savouring the > atmosphere of a frenzied local derby in a foreign capital (as I have in the > past with, eg Al Ahli v Zamalek in Cairo, or PAOK v Aris in Thessaloniki), > but not surprisingly I did not enjoy this one. > > I did consider trying to get my wife and daughter, who were with me, to > join me in a defiant burst of "We are Leeds." But I didn't consider it for > long. > > Apart from that afternoon, though, we had nothing but splendid experiences > and met nothing but wonderful people in Turkey. > _______________________________________________ > Leedslist mailing list > Info and options: http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist > To unsubscribe, email leedslist-unsubscr...@gn.apc.org > > John 'Grampa' Sykes > Rest In Peace old lad > 28th Oct 1938 - 12 Nov 2013 > MARCHING ON TOGETHER _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email leedslist-unsubscr...@gn.apc.org John 'Grampa' Sykes Rest In Peace old lad 28th Oct 1938 - 12 Nov 2013 MARCHING ON TOGETHER
