As we come to the end of 2025, I would like to once again remind society of my thoughts on collective consciousness.

As we come to the end of 2025, I would like to once again remind society of my thoughts on collective consciousness.

This year, the introduction of a 7-day visa scheme and the use of Greek names for the islands were recorded in public memory as an example of a lack of principles. The concept of a principled stance—something our nation has never been particularly good at, yet something that nations which do not sever ties with their past are expected to uphold—is clearly demonstrated by so-called “principled” nations, especially the Greeks. It is evident that they have erased Turkish names from former Ottoman lands within their own borders. We have abandoned the Turkish names there, and we also know very well that they have no tolerance—and never will—for Turkish place names even on land and sea territories within Turkey.

While Greeks insist on calling Istanbul “Constantinople” and the Dardanelles “Dardanelles,” there is, unfortunately, a group racing to call the island my ancestors named “İstanköy” as “Kos,” and the island my ancestors called “Kilimli” as “Kalimnos.” As long as Greece insists on using Greek names within Turkish territory, we are obliged to be just as “principled” and to adopt a similar stance. The meaning of this is to force a neighboring country that has its eyes on my homeland to abandon such ambitions. However, this cannot be explained to people among us who have lost the meaning and essence of these issues.

From Greece’s own political perspective, the visa option it offers may be appropriate and even commendable in terms of social consciousness, but it is not appropriate for us. Nevertheless, many politicians and media outlets interpreted this, in a state of helplessness, as a “visa gesture for Turkey.” If there is to be any talk of goodwill or gestures, the only ones who have made a gesture are the Turkish people themselves—those who, instead of sharing their money with Turkish tourism operators, agreed to spend it with Greek tourism operators, even though there are countless tourist destinations within their own country.

Meanwhile, domestically, hospitality and guiding services must be carried out in accordance with the Ahi tradition, by respectful, well-educated individuals or institutions who truly understand tourism and who are loyal to the customs, traditions, and values of the country they live in. In addition, pricing and accommodation options in tourism facilities must be improved, and inspections must be properly conducted.

Records show that Turkish tourists, who spend an average of four or five days a year in Greece, have spent around 250 million euros there. From the perspective of Greek politics, this results in two gains. First, to raise the number of tourists coming from Turkey and the amount of foreign currency transferred from Turkey to the highest possible level. Second, Greece has gained an opportunity for cultural propaganda.

Those who constantly fail to appreciate the beauty of their own country, who seize every opportunity to criticize it, who exaggerate what they eat and drink abroad on social media, who then go on to insult and belittle their own land, and who never tire of praising the Greek islands—sadly, we are in a pitiful state. Greeks have found the opportunity to impose their culture on these admirers and to draw them into their own ranks.

When Greece adopted a hostile stance toward Russia during the Ukraine War, the Russian people did not forgive the Greeks. In 2022, the number of Russian tourists visiting Greece dropped sharply to around 35–40 thousand. Do you know why? Because the Russian people understood that every euro transferred to Greece through tourism would turn into a bullet fired at Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine. In my opinion, Russians—who love to travel—will keep Greece off their list for a long time. When it comes to national sensitivity in tourism, Russians are a nation worth taking as an example.

So what does the increase in the number of Turkish tourists choosing Greece, and the parallel regular transfer of hundreds of millions of euros from Turkey to Greece through the tourism sector, mean? Let us explain it this way: According to Turkish tourist data, Turkish tourists have covered 3% of Greece’s defense expenditures. Put differently, the annual “gift” of Turkish tourists to Greece amounts to the cost of at least three F-16 fighter jets.

This serious weakness of society must be curbed. From the perspective of today’s social psychology and sociology, this seems almost impossible. Our society—and Middle Eastern societies similar to ours—continues to shop at Starbucks and similar brands despite global calls for protest and boycott. Those who say things like “this is not my problem” or “what business do we have there” are in a state of exhaustion and are practically in a vegetative state.

Transforming this social indifference into a principled stance is not easy at all. Here, the opposition has a great responsibility. Our education system should not merely be revised; it must be rebuilt from scratch. Village institutes, community centers, and similar structures must be reopened in line with today’s conditions, and education must be redesigned with national consciousness at its core.

Frankly, with this education system, the cadres being raised are turning into politicians, journalists, media commentators, and groups who have lost their sense of national consciousness—people who present Greece’s visa-based tourist lure to the public as a “visa good news.”