Europe travel tips Pomp and Circumcision

Fifteen years ago I paid for a poor family's circumcision in order to include it in a TV show and I was eager to do it again. A circumcision is a big deal in Turkey. It's a wonderful, full-blown family festival — a cherished celebration that they say is like "a wedding without the in-laws." But putting on such a party can bring economic hardship on a poor family. I told Lale, who helps run our Turkey tour program, that we'd happily pay for one if it would help out a struggling family — and if we could film it. Talk about win-win (unless you're the little boy, I suppose). This clip shows our crew scrambling to capture the scene as the boy, dressed like a little prince, approaches on his horse.

I apologize if the tone of this video about how we filmed a circumcision party in Turkey seemed disrespectful of a topic I didn't realize people were so passionate about. I now understand that caring people feel very strongly about it. And your comments has given me a better appreciation for this issue, which is clearly important to many people. Thank you.

For twenty years, I have made TV shows about European culture. I have shown controversial aspects of many cultures, from force-feeding geese for foie gras in France to bullfights in Spain. In each case, I've heard from people — whose opinions I respect — who are passionately against what I've shown. They have wanted me not to put these things on television. But in my role as a travel writer and TV producer, I have made a decision not to make judgments about institutions that are important to a culture, whatever my own personal feelings about them might be. It's not my job to censor them from you, my viewers. These things exist, regardless of whether I (or you) agree with them or oppose them. And as travelers, we all have the opportunity to see them, learn from them, and then draw our own conclusions.

- Rick Steves

Europe travel tips Pomp and Circumcision
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