My wife and I just returned from a two week bus tour in Turkey tour with Senior Tours Canada and we enjoyed it immensely.

But I had a terrible experience at the REAL Hotel in Ankara. After dinner on April 25, 2009, a young waiter at this Hotel robbed me of 200 Turkish Lira. But it is not the amount involved—it is the principle. The bill for 3 glasses of wine at dinner was 21 Lira. I had the correct change but had been carrying around mostly 200 Lira notes. I asked him if he could change such a note and he signified that he could. So I gave him 201 Liras and waited for my change. I waited in vain. After a few minutes I began to get worried and when I found him and asked for my change he left the dining room and then returned. He held up a 20 Lira and a single Lira coin. I realized instantly what he was doing, namely, claiming that I had given him only 21 Lira and not 201.

I had never been robbed by a waiter (or anyone else) in my life so you can imagine my... more