Alternative travel guides

In the spring, I had a short holiday in Turkey. When my tickets arrived, I noticed that the envelope from the travel agent contained a copy of Sympathie Magazin: Türkei verstehen. It is one of a series of over 50 slim guides to cultures around the world. Some focus on particular countries while others deal with world religions or topics like globalization.

These guides have been produced since 1974 by the Studienkreis für Tourismus und Entwicklung e.V. I discovered the series some years ago, but the post from my travel company reminded me of what an excellent thing it is. They are a bit different from standard guide books as the focus is not on restaurants and hotels or the flora and fauna of a country, but on the everyday life of the people. They are used widely in education and training.

I recently ordered a whole set of the guides, which arrive in a smart box, and I look forward to dipping into them before I set off on my next travels. I’ve been impressed by the ones I’ve already looked at and like the approach, which promises to foster respect for other cultures. I may be old fashioned, but I hope that the tradition of producing these modest informative guides does not die out.

They also deserve to be translated into languages other than German to reach a wider group of people.