Battlefield Tourist

Roanoke Times Headline:
TAPE (of bin Laden) THREATENS SUICIDE ATTACKS

I had to wait until 3:00 to catch the only flight into Diyabakir, so like normal, I had to frequent the local bar. In this case it meant the bar in the Ankara airport.
To understand Turkey a little more, its economy is a bit messed up, mostly due to the previous Gulf War as well as Turkey's own civil war against the PKK. Anyway, their money system is quite a mess. So after enjoying a few "Effies" (the local brew), I apparently ended up tipping the bartender somewhere in the neighborhood of $20... At least that's what this English-speaking Turkish woman said to me. When I think about it, it was really like $7, which was appropriate for the amount of my tab. Being confused, I went after the lady to find out what would be an appropriate tip and why. She went on to explain that I had given the barkeep approximately $20 tip. In Turkey, this is a HUGE tip and she told me such a large tip may actually offend some people (somehow I doubt it). Regardless, I certainly didn't mean to tip that much, but the turkish lira has so many zeros, it's hard to keep track of what it's worth at times.
As it turns out,this lady would be a guiding angel of sorts. Her name is Elif Ural and is an experienced fixer out of Istanbul. As it turns out, she's the forward producer employed by ABC News (US). Her job is to travel into SE Turkey and ensure all of the logistics are in place for the flood of reporters expected in the next few weeks. Thinking that I was a soldier, she offered me proper tipping advice so not to "offend" anyone. Advice well taken and a new and very valuable friend found. Turns out, both of us are heading to Diyabakir and she invites me to tag along for a while. Not problem to me whatsoever. If anyone knew what was going on, it would be Elif.
The flight to Diyabakir took about an hour. The plane was full to the brim with mostly Turks and Kurds, but most noticeably, one American. Oh well. Elif and I talked the entire time. Mostly about the war and politics. She believes, as many seem to do, that the US intentions for war is actually about oil. She also expresses other feelings about Americans that I am already aware of, and they aren't good.
As an example, she tells me about how when ABC came to Turkey the previous month for "Good Morning America", she says the arrogance and conceit was way over the top. She told me how she set up a traditional Turkish dance for the show. When the EP saw the dance, the EP apparently asked if Elif could "make them dance faster".
The general feeling I've gotten so far is that Americans are disliked for many reasons, but one that sticks out is that many here feel Americans believe they can buy anything they want and that the rest of the world is somewhat "lesser" than the United States. Although we disagreed on many issues, it did prove to be excellent conversation and a foundation for me to begin understanding how the world truly views us as Americans.
Landing in Diyarbakir was interesting. A definite military presence everywhere, but no sign of Americans. It's expected that the Northern Front on Iraq will be based from a command post somewhere at this airport. This city and airport will be very important to the Allies. So far no sign of American troops, but that will quickly change once NATO works their problems out.
Elif turns out to be true godsend. She speaks very good English and has a ton of contacts. The best part is that she has taken me under her wing, if you will. I got a ride to her hotel and she offered one of the many unoccupied rooms that ABC was already renting in preparation for the war. Altogether they have 10 rooms here, but Elif is alone, so it works out well for me also.
We also had a driver and a technical producer who met us at the airport. Tarik and Guray would be as valuable as Elif. Now the four of us made a team that would be the tip of the spear for ABC's northern front spear.
After dinner, as I typically do, I headed out into Diyarbakir to check out the bar scene. Now, it's not that I'm an alcoholic, I just enjoy checking out bars in foreign countries. It just seems like a great way to meet people. I've also heard it's a great place to get robbed, so I stay on my toes and away from any Russian prostitutes (I don't see any anyway).
Like Elif, it seems as though most locals here think I'm a soldier and my presence seems to excite them in anticipation of more following me. It seems they realize the local economy will do better once soldiers and journalists start showing up in the droves that they do. It also is clear that the people in this part of Turkey hate Saddam. The reason I'm guessing is that this area is primarily Kurdish. Kurds have been brutally attacked, not only in Iraq, but here in Turkey as well. From what I can tell so far, many of the Kurds I have met deeply support the US, more so than the Turks.
The first bar I came to, I had 4 or 5 beers, watched a soccer game, and made some friends, but I was ready to move on, and did. About a half a block down the road, singing and larger than life pictures of dancing women caught my eye. So I headed up the stairs into a decent sized room that was full of smoke and drunk men in suits.
Singing to all of these men was woman dressed in some traditional, but skimpy clothes. It didn't take but a half a heartbeat before I felt like everyone was looking at me. It wasn't the case, but it did feel that way.
Eventually, I was invited over to a table with about a dozen drunk men having what seemed to be the time of their lives. The men were very friendly and we had a phenomenal time (even though I didn't understand much of what they were saying).
During the night, I met a young Kurd named Izzet. Very nice guy who spoke decent English. We talked quite a bit and I told him his English could possibly help him with a job with one of the networks. We'll have to see. I definitely drank more than I wanted, but managed to make it back to the hotel with a promise to Izzet that I'd be seeing him again.