Turkey - security question
Jan 12, 2016, 9:40 am
#46
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Stressing a bit as I have a 2 night stop in Turkey on the way to SA coming up in just over 2 weeks. Hotel booked is about 400 meters from the bombing site. It makes me nervous, but then again, there have been just as many attacks in other western european cities.
Jan 12, 2016, 12:16 pm
#47
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I live in Istanbul as an Ex Pat, it is a minor concern but after attacks in Paris and other major cities I don't feel the risk here is greater than any other major city. The Turkish police are efficient for the most part.
More afraid of Turkish domus and taxi drivers...
More afraid of Turkish domus and taxi drivers...
No matter how relatively efficient the Turkish police may be, Turkey is in a hotspot situation/location given the domestic and regional/crossroad dynamics. Would I still visit Istanbul as a tourist this month or next month? Yes, if the weather weren't so lousy; but I would also expect a lot of people get turned off going this year in case a Paris or Bombay style attack hits Istanbul.
Jan 12, 2016, 12:25 pm
#48
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I understand that you're speaking for "people" rather than yourself, and it's a true statement because "people" aren't necessarily rational, but I'm just curious - aside from outright conflict zones, is there a contemporary example of "lightning striking twice" of this sort? I'm struggling to think of one. Personally I'm the sort of "contrarian" that a previous poster mentioned - once the magnifying glass and spotlight have been placed, I feel safer actually.
Jan 12, 2016, 12:44 pm
#49
Join Date: Mar 2001
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I live in Istanbul as an Ex Pat, it is a minor concern but after attacks in Paris and other major cities I don't feel the risk here is greater than any other major city. The Turkish police are efficient for the most part.
More afraid of Turkish domus and taxi drivers...
More afraid of Turkish domus and taxi drivers...
Airside bomb attack at SAW, and what we saw was official denial of security issues.
Jan 12, 2016, 1:02 pm
#50
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I understand that you're speaking for "people" rather than yourself, and it's a true statement because "people" aren't necessarily rational, but I'm just curious - aside from outright conflict zones, is there a contemporary example of "lightning striking twice" of this sort? I'm struggling to think of one. Personally I'm the sort of "contrarian" that a previous poster mentioned - once the magnifying glass and spotlight have been placed, I feel safer actually.
But there are situations where one attack may mark the beginning of a series of related attacks that happen in a tighter time FRA, and more directly related way than that. Some would say that Turkey has managed to rather extensively stir more than one nest of hornets within the past twelve months, and thus "lightning striking twice" may be way more likely now than during some prior periods.
Jan 12, 2016, 1:06 pm
#51
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Very true - agreed that they haven't made many friends lately. I also suppose that my caveat of Turkey not being in a "conflict zone" may also be subject to debate. It will certainly be interesting to see how things play out for the country in the coming years.
Jan 12, 2016, 5:20 pm
#52
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The whole Middle East is a huge mess again unfortunately, you can never predict what crisis may suddenly erupt in any country there, which is tricky in making travel plans several months out.
Jan 12, 2016, 5:25 pm
#53
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I live in Istanbul as an Ex Pat, it is a minor concern but after attacks in Paris and other major cities I don't feel the risk here is greater than any other major city. The Turkish police are efficient for the most part.
More afraid of Turkish domus and taxi drivers...
More afraid of Turkish domus and taxi drivers...
That said, based on what we know today, I don't think anyone needs to cancel a trip to IST. The odds are still very, very low that you'd be a victim. The major risk is to your peace of mind.
I have award tickets booked to Istanbul for late May with onward travel to Greece. I've been to Istanbul before so it's not like I absolutely have to go there.
I'm traveling with my girlfriend who is a not nearly as seasoned a traveler as me and if I change my itinerary, it would be more for her benefit/peace of mind.
I'm going to think about it for a week or two before I do anything.
I'm traveling with my girlfriend who is a not nearly as seasoned a traveler as me and if I change my itinerary, it would be more for her benefit/peace of mind.
I'm going to think about it for a week or two before I do anything.
I know people who were in a WTC tower when a van/truck bomb was used and when 9/11 happened.
But there are situations where one attack may mark the beginning of a series of related attacks that happen in a tighter time FRA, and more directly related way than that. Some would say that Turkey has managed to rather extensively stir more than one nest of hornets within the past twelve months, and thus "lightning striking twice" may be way more likely now than during some prior periods.
But there are situations where one attack may mark the beginning of a series of related attacks that happen in a tighter time FRA, and more directly related way than that. Some would say that Turkey has managed to rather extensively stir more than one nest of hornets within the past twelve months, and thus "lightning striking twice" may be way more likely now than during some prior periods.
Jan 13, 2016, 12:53 am
#54
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I agree with the other posts, Turkey has a much more of a security problem than most other countries. They are for example doing much more for Syrian refugees than the whole of Europe and the US combined, they have started issuing work permits to refugees. That alone is probably doing more for our colective security than anything else.
Jan 14, 2016, 9:42 am
#56
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Yes. People tend to overreact to terrorist attacks in non-war zones, primarily because they don't have a good sense of examining the litany of risks that exist in life that may result in injury or death. For example, people who focus on feeding their young children organic food thinking it will prolong their life while ignoring the drowning and choking hazards that are far more and immediately threatening to the well-being of those children.
Jan 15, 2016, 5:33 am
#57
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 399
I understand that you're speaking for "people" rather than yourself, and it's a true statement because "people" aren't necessarily rational, but I'm just curious - aside from outright conflict zones, is there a contemporary example of "lightning striking twice" of this sort? I'm struggling to think of one. Personally I'm the sort of "contrarian" that a previous poster mentioned - once the magnifying glass and spotlight have been placed, I feel safer actually.
Jan 15, 2016, 6:53 am
#58
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Feb 11, 2016, 5:13 pm
#60
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Los Angeles Times:
Turkey, travel and terrorists: Five things to know
Turkey, a growing travel destination in recent years, has been a repeat terrorist target in recent months. Before you book that Turkish trip – or cancel it -- consider these five points.
The U.S. State Department is increasingly nervous. On Feb. 4, the agency warned Americans against travel to southeastern Turkey because of “an increased threat of terrorist attacks,” perhaps from an international terror organization, perhaps from an indigenous one.
But not all the trouble is confined to the southeastern area near the Syrian border. On Jan. 12 in Istanbul, a killer in his 20s with Islamic State ties detonated a bomb-rigged vest, killing 10 German tourists and himself at one of the city’s busiest tourist spots, the Sultanahmet District.
<snip>
Turkish officials have said that the bomber had entered the country as a Syrian refugee. His attack followed multiple terrorist killings last year, including an Oct. 10 bombing in Ankara that killed more than 100. On Jan. 14, just two days after the Istanbul bombing, came a car-bomb-and-gunfire attack on a police headquarters in Turkey’s southeastern Diyarbakir Province, killing another five people or more. Government officials blamed that attack on Kurdish separatist terrorists, whose history of clashes with Turkish government troops is long and bloody.
<snip>
Despite a slowdown at the end of the year, American travel to Turkey was up in 2015.
<snip>
The Russians are backing away.
<snip>
Turkey now has enough Syrian refugees to fully populate the cities of San Francisco and San Diego.
<snip>
It’s more than 500 miles from Istanbul to the Syrian border.
<snip>
The U.S. State Department is increasingly nervous. On Feb. 4, the agency warned Americans against travel to southeastern Turkey because of “an increased threat of terrorist attacks,” perhaps from an international terror organization, perhaps from an indigenous one.
But not all the trouble is confined to the southeastern area near the Syrian border. On Jan. 12 in Istanbul, a killer in his 20s with Islamic State ties detonated a bomb-rigged vest, killing 10 German tourists and himself at one of the city’s busiest tourist spots, the Sultanahmet District.
<snip>
Turkish officials have said that the bomber had entered the country as a Syrian refugee. His attack followed multiple terrorist killings last year, including an Oct. 10 bombing in Ankara that killed more than 100. On Jan. 14, just two days after the Istanbul bombing, came a car-bomb-and-gunfire attack on a police headquarters in Turkey’s southeastern Diyarbakir Province, killing another five people or more. Government officials blamed that attack on Kurdish separatist terrorists, whose history of clashes with Turkish government troops is long and bloody.
<snip>
Despite a slowdown at the end of the year, American travel to Turkey was up in 2015.
<snip>
The Russians are backing away.
<snip>
Turkey now has enough Syrian refugees to fully populate the cities of San Francisco and San Diego.
<snip>
It’s more than 500 miles from Istanbul to the Syrian border.
<snip>