I find that chess is very useful when travelling alone in Turkey. ...Take yourself to the nearest teahouse. Order a glass of tea, and another or Raki, and set up a chess problem. Within seconds Turks will appear. they won t play chess with you, but it starts a conversation. I did this once and someone asked, Can I practise my English with you? His first question was: How many princesses have you slept with? So now you see the point of chess.