Sankirtan in Turkey
While attending the Russian Vaisnava Festival I had the pleasure of meeting a devotee named Krishna Prema Dasa that goes back and forth across the Black Sea to do business in Turkey. Some months ago he was bringing in a trunk of Srimad Bhagavatams to distribute to the many people who speak Russian there. He had the books under other cargo and was hoping to slip by the Turkish authorities but was stopped by their customs agents. As the trunk was heavy they demanded to know the contents and he told them it was Korans. They broke open the trunk to see it was not Korans and threatened to send him to prison for a long time. The official in charge came to the scene and prepared to make an arrest. Then the official decided to look into the Bhagavatam and read a few pages to know what was the content. After reading he concluded that Srila Prabhupada's books were in the spirit of the Koran and would be beneficial for the people of Turkey. They all became friendly and told Krishna Prema Prabhu to take his books and go.
Yours sincerely,
Mishra Bhagavan Dasa
