By Nicholas Birch
When Serafettin Ulukent opened his holiday village in a cove on Turkey's Aegean coast in the 1980s, his first guests were German surfers, who enjoyed the brisk winds, cool beers and chilled-out beach parties. But since he stepped in one day to help 100 conservative Turkish Muslims abandoned by a tour operator, there has been no turning back.
"The surfers were fun, but these people had real money," he said. Mr Ulukent's hotel became one of the first in Turkey to cater exclusively for devout Muslims – no alcohol, segregated bathing, and a pastry cook who earns an extra £60 a month to sing the call to prayer five times a day.
A decade on, Islamic tourism is the fastest-growing part of Turkey's £10bn industry. A new Islamic hotel recently opened in Bodrum, a resort popular with British tourists where topless bathing is common. Read more ...
When Serafettin Ulukent opened his holiday village in a cove on Turkey's Aegean coast in the 1980s, his first guests were German surfers, who enjoyed the brisk winds, cool beers and chilled-out beach parties. But since he stepped in one day to help 100 conservative Turkish Muslims abandoned by a tour operator, there has been no turning back.
"The surfers were fun, but these people had real money," he said. Mr Ulukent's hotel became one of the first in Turkey to cater exclusively for devout Muslims – no alcohol, segregated bathing, and a pastry cook who earns an extra £60 a month to sing the call to prayer five times a day.
A decade on, Islamic tourism is the fastest-growing part of Turkey's £10bn industry. A new Islamic hotel recently opened in Bodrum, a resort popular with British tourists where topless bathing is common. Read more ...
Source: The Independent
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