Between the lines

By Chitralekha Basu (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-10 17:48

China was Ozkan's destiny. "I always wanted to work in China," says Ozkan, stating the obvious. His chance came when Istanbul-based Flex Travels decided to set up shop in Beijing in 2007.

"They wanted me because I spoke Mandarin rather well. In fact, I had a fair knowledge of both Chinese and Turkish cultures," says Ozkan - a combination that was hard to beat. Besides, Yan Ting was waiting for him in Beijing.

Flex Travels has gone from strength to strength since Ozkan's arrival. The company that handles travel plans of around a 1,000 Turkish tourists visiting China annually, opened business with Greece, Iran and Israel early this year. The number of outbound tourists from China is substantially larger, around 5,000 a year.

Sitting in their cosy 10th-floor office in Sanyuanqiao, the size of which belies the volume of trade they handle, Ozkan and his colleague, marketing director, Gokhan Sisman, talk animatedly about the custom-made trips they design for their Turkish clients.

For instance, while the Terracotta Warrior is the obvious tourist attraction in Xi'an, visitors from Turkey, mostly Muslims, also like to pack in a visit to the Great Mosque, one of China's oldest, built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

A particularly demanding client from Turkey recently wanted to find out what he shouldn't be eating while in China, wanting to steer clear of food that might not agree with the Turkish palate. An hour's research on the Internet later, they came up with a long list of "non-edibles". These included preserved egg, snake or turtle soups, durian, bean curd with oyster sauce among others.

Ozkan particularly loves taking the ladies from Turkey through the serpentine alleyways of the hutong around Tian'anmen. "They find out how to prepare Chinese dumplings, which is very different from the way the Turkish variety is made. They are eager to take tips in dressing styles and make-up from Chinese specialists. And the 50-somethings often make it a point to visit Chinese traditional hospitals."

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