My best memory of Somalia (prior to the disintegration of the government and take-over by warlords) was walking along, looking at the architecture and running into an old (perhaps 90?) man making tea in a tiny alcove in the alley behind his house. I had my walking bag full of fruit, peanut butter sandwiches, and lemon water and he asked me to have tea with him. I shared my food (he really seemed puzzled but appreciative about peanut butter) we had a great conversation (I was in the Navy and had covered a bit of the world and he had never been out of Berbera so he had lots and lots of questions, mostly about women.) That was a superb day and I'm sure it wouldn't have happened had I been in the company of another American. Whenever I went to a foreign port I would get away from tourist areas and waterfront bars. It was always better to go to where the local people lived, use public transportation, walk, and meet them. My American paranoia required me to always have a rather long and razor-sharp knife on me but, other than cutting fruit or my toenails, it was almost never necessary. People are better that we are taught they will be.
I was in Turkey in the summer of 2015 and It was great.The language is difficult though, but I liked the people away from tourist areas. Only one man who misunderstood manners for weakness had to be cautioned strongly not to grind on my wife in a train. He saw his error and moved quickly away.