BootsnAll Travel Community

Just wondering in this times of war?

thanks,
K'ur

You could be at the wrong place at the wrong time, but I don't think there's a bigger chance of being the victim of a PKK bomb in Turkey than of an ETA bomb in Spain. It certainly hasn't stopped Europeans from going there en masse in either case. I believe Turkey is the #1 most popular vacation destination for Belgians.

Other than the problem of being cluttered with Belgians, Turkey is generally safer than anywhere in Kansas.

Aussies seem to like it too, and so do the Germans. I even know a few French that find it fun and safe.

Hi,

I have no smart opinion about how safe Turkey is, so I took a look in a sort of "Travel Guidance" published by "my" Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It emphasizes there is a considerable risk of terror attacks in Turkey, with a long list of the latest attacks and quite detailed advice about the risks in different regions.

This guide does not appear in English, it seems, but you can probably find a similar service in your own area.

Turkey is a great travel country, but for the moment too risky to my taste.

Thanks guys for ure candid thoughts!

The more the better!!!

I wouldn't hesitate. And I'd bring my kids. But I wouldn't be staying in high-rise luxury hotels and I'd stay away from crowds in cities.

If you're flying from the USA, the riskiest thing on your trip may be a trigger-happy air marshal.

Turkey is an exciting country - and you'll want to come again and again.

I certainly wouldn't discourage you from reading the consular travel advisories about Turkey from a few different countries, but I wouldn't base your decision just on those. A large part of those is CYA material so that if something does happen, you can't say your government didn't warn you.

I wouldn't hesitate to travel in Turkey and to bring children. I might hesitate a bit more if I was heading to Eastern Turkey and camping along the Iraqi border, but short of that, you'll be fine.

There are plenty of Western tourists here. I live here and am from the US. It is fine. I travel everywhere here in Turkey. I think it is all safe with the exception of the Iraqi border perhaps. That is not because of bombs or terrorist attacks but because of displaced Iraqis coming over the border. The crime rate is a little higher along that border. You wouldn't even end up there anyway because that area is hard to get to.

Not only is the country fascinating, and safe, it is also a bargain compared to Europe or Russia. The first few times I visited I traveled around and explored...GREAT! But in recent years when I go about once a year is is just to relax on the sea shore so I book one of the real bargain all-inclusive modern resorts and live a week or two with great food, sun and recreation for about the price per night in a Moscow hotel. It is hard to beat for a family vacation. Istanbol is one of the truly unique cities of the world, along with only a handful of others..including my adopted home of St Petersburg Russia.
I think among Americans Turkey got a bad rep from a movie in the 70s that featured conditions in jails as suffered by an American drug smuggler. Since so few Americans travel to such places, the movie served at their sole image of Turkey.

I'll also throw my vote into the 'safe' column. It's a lovely country, and I never felt threatened in my month there. There are parts of south eastern Turkey that we avoided due to concerns, but I think that was more psychological than anything. A future trip will spend more time further east.

People silly enough to take a few kilos of drugs across the turkish border deserve to be put in a Turkish prison as a kind of Darwin award.

The rest of us presumably intelligent people have had little trouble in turkey, just so you stay out of the way of the Turkish army. Its easy,. Don't go into the border between Irak and Turkey.

Oh, and don't go to tourist bars in Istanbul with a full wallet and credit cards, and check your drink tab. Pay for each drink round by round to avoid overcharging issues at tourist bars in istanbul.

But thats normal tourist stuff. The police treat anyone who robs tourists in Turkey to what is probably drug smuggler treatment, so not many take up that profession.

quote:

Originally posted by Tortuga_traveller:
People silly enough to take a few kilos of drugs across the turkish border deserve to be put in a Turkish prison as a kind of Darwin award.

Ditto...

quote:

The rest of us presumably intelligent people have had little trouble in turkey

...and ditto.

Another vote for safe.

As a sidenote - Billy Hayes, the author of Midnight Expresss which became the movie - went back to Turkey in 2007 and apologized for the extremely negative image the movie created of Turkey. (You can google it to check up on me if you don't believe me ... I have my sources ...)

There is a two part youtube video of him talking with a Turkish journalist he met by chance at Cannes Film Festival
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHjLMnGkedU.

quote:

Originally posted by KateL57:
Midnight Expresss which became the movie

That's weird voodoo. I kid you not. I literally just got through watching Midnight Express (for the second time in my life) only an hour or so ago.

In all fairness though, I think it was all those 1930's Erik Ambler novels like Journey Into Fear that first painted Turkey as a wretched hive of international intrigue and shady characters. Sadly, I have yet to meet a Turk anything like Colonel Haki.

Oh, there could be other sources too, but as far as I understand there is kind of a consensus in Turkey at least that Midnight Express was very, very bad, even if there are others.

... my point is not to dissect it and determine what exactly is the cause of the negative image, but I just found it pretty neat that he went back ... even he, as the one who was in prison, felt the movie was too extreme or unbalanced or whatever. (And even he was safe on his visit despite being up there on the list of people who are not particularly admired in Turkey due to the movie)

By the way - not to sound too stupid - I made myself watch a few weeks ago and it seemed that they didn't even subtitle the Turkish - was this what you found as well, Not the First CO or was I just too dense to find them?

quote:

Originally posted by KateL57:
Oh, there could be other sources too, but as far as I understand there is kind of a consensus in Turkey at least that Midnight Express was very, very bad, even if there are others.

Oh, I'm not arguing with you. Just trying (and failing) to be amusing.

I spent two weeks in Turkey last year traveling around as a solo female traveler, and never felt the least bit threatened. Like the others have said, Turkey is an exciting, enriching and beautiful country, and I consider it one of my top travel experiences. The food is incredible, it's one of the cheaper places to visit, especially compared to the rest of Europe, and the people were warm and friendly. I would go back again in a heartbeat!

WhereForArt: Your post has inspired me even more to give Turkey a try! I travel by myself most of the time, and safety + comfort has always been my primary concerns.