For some, the mayor was too powerful to risk insulting. Turkey has arrested more than 100 journalists in recent months, including one for a German newspaper. So several of the reporters ate his food. The rest of us did not.

When asked to explain the false schedule, Mr. Gokcek said disabusing the Western media of “some prejudices against us” was a worthy task.

“I’m just trying to help you here, and I will continue to do so,” he added.

In the end, the trip was not a total waste of time. At the last minute, interviews were arranged with Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag and Ibrahim Kalin, a top assistant to Mr. Erdogan. Nearly all the officials said they had only just heard about the interview requests (Mr. Gokcek’s staff had insisted for weeks that the interviews had long been confirmed).

Most of the interviews began with either a photo montage or video of bloody corpses from the failed coup. One of the few parts of the promised program that happened as planned was a tour of the damage done to the Turkish Parliament building. Among the parting gifts was a hard-bound book titled, “15 July: Treason of the Century — Victory of the Century,” filled with more graphic photos.

“We know the situation is not as good as it could be, but it’s also not as bad as you guys perceive it to be,” Mr. Simsek said, in one of his milder comments during two days of interviews.

Officials pointed to France’s imposition of a state of emergency after the Paris terrorist attacks in 2015 as a response that Europeans seem to accept, in contrast to criticism of Turkey’s response to the coup attempt. Yet France has not arrested tens of thousands of people or purged 100,000 from its civil service.

Regarding the failed coup, the government said it had provided the United States with extensive proof against Mr. Gulen, who has denied involvement. But Turkish officials refused in several interviews to publicize a single piece of that evidence.