Is travel to Turkey safe?
 

We hold tickets to Turkey Oct. 18 to 29. I agree with comments made re safety of travel to and in Europe, but what is your opinion re traveling in Turkey?

As long as you stay away from Eastern Turkey you should be OK.

I wouldn't be overly concerned, but be careful WHERE you travel. The eastern and southern parts of turkey are much more dangerous because of the ongoing conflict between the kurds and govt (irrespective of what is happening in afghanistan).

Going to Istanbul or Ankara or other large cities shouldn't be a problem -- the Turks are very modern, educated and politically intelligent. They don't allow religion to make public policy, and are wonderful hosts (probably the nicest to Americans even compared to many european nations).

Don't let ANYTHING keep you from taking a cruise on the Bosphorous. Its one of the most beautiful evenings I ever enjoyed in my life!...

(corrected for atrocious spelling)

[This message has been edited by artboy (edited 10-08-2001).]

I can't speak to how safe (or unsafe) it might be right now - but my experience from about 6 years ago was that the Turkish people are among the most friendly and hospitable I've ever encountered.

If you do go - try to learn a little of the language before you go - it will just make it that much more enjoyable.

Also, a little tip: People will constantly come up to you, offering to take you to a carpet shop (usually their cousin's or brother's or some such). Do it once for the experience, and maybe more if you actually want to buy one. But - if you ever don't want to be pestered - tell them you already bought a carpet in some other city - they will usually give up on you. Otherwise they might keep trying.

Want to echo what others have said. I've been there three times over the past two years. You will be the beneficiary of pro-American sentiment added on to their awesome sense of hospitality.
If you're going on a tour, the companies know what they're doing regarding safety issues.
Beware of 10 million lira notes. The first time I changed money I didn't pay attention and got a couple of small bills on top of a packet of them. They can be very tough to break -- especially earlier in the day.

I agree with the three previous posts about the Turkish people being among the most hospitable anywhere. I often reflect upon my two visits to Turkey and how well I was treated at every turn.

Do to take a cruise on the Bosphorous as 'artboy' suggests. I did it with a friend during the day; we took the "feribot" and were able to hop on and off along the way for very little money. It was quite an experience!

And I agree with 'VolleyballFerd' about attempting to learn even a few words of the Turkish language. You will see the Turkish people really beam when they hear an American person greeting them, thanking them or bidding them farewell in their language. While that is probably true of any person for whom English is not the mother tongue, it seems to delight the Turkish people more than any other culture to which I have been exposed.

As for your safety, you should be fine in any large city or major tourist area. You might also want to bookmark the following web page and refer to it from time to time over the next two weeks:

http://travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html


[This message has been edited by bbinchi (edited 10-08-2001).]

I concur, all is very very safe here, although I would doubt that Diyarbakir would be a location you planned on visiting!

10 Million TL notes are no longer tough to break as they are worth about $6-7 these days.

I had several projects there over the past 10 years - and I agree with most of the posts - the hospitality is wonderful, food fantastic, and the sights exotic. I would use caution in Istanbul and any of the large cities like you would in NYC - there are random acts of terror - not aimed at Americans - but their own internal politics. Just be alert - metal detectors going into your hotel or a mall are the norm.

A little usd goes a long way at the exchange and all vendors love USD, and it's easier to buy their currency then sell -
I have a small bucket full of Turkish lira - great for making your children instant millionairs. Enjoy the trip!

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Askworldtraveler, EXP,4 million AA miles+++

LOL -- Diyarbakir is frequently my final destination (in a good way!) when I'm in Turkey. Have done a bit of work at Dicle Universitesi treating land mine victims.

That said, I wouldn't recommend it as a tourist spot. I remember the first time I told someone in Ismit that I had been in Diyarbakir the previous day, his eyes grew wide and he exclaimed "Oh! That is a very dangerous place! You should not be going there!" http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by artboy (edited 10-09-2001).]

Depending on how poiltical you are, you might perhaps reflect on Turkey's human rights record before travelling.

http://web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/countr...t=30&Expandall

Both the US and UK also feature in Amnesty reports.

Turkey is a major dutch vacation spot, at least 250000 dutch tourists visit Turkey each summer so as far as the tourist parts go you should be OK!

Many thanks to all who responded. It is reassuring to know that essentially all of you viewed Turkey as a safe destination. We are looking forward to going next week.

I just received an e-mail from my folks who have been in Istanbul for the past three days. They said they felt very safe. They did mention that this morning there were some moderate size protests against the US strikes, fortunately they were peaceful.

Enjoy your trip!

The protests were not really against the US. They were against war, and the killing of Muslims. There is somewhat of a difference. Turkey has had many terrorist experiences over the years (although they were always leftist or seperatist, never really fundamentalist Islam) and therefore most of the population is very sympathetic to the US.