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Many people ask
me if it's safe to visit
Turkey now with all the turmoil in
eastern Mediterranean countries:
civil war in Syria and
Libya, tension in
Egypt and Israel, economic crisis
in Greece.
I answer their question with a question:
if there were trouble in Havana, would
you cancel your trip to New
York?
They laugh as though I've told a joke,
but I'm serious. It's the same thing:
trouble in Country "B" 1500
miles away shouldn't affect your travel
plans to Country "A".
I'm writing this from Istanbul in
late March 2012. It's as beautiful
and welcoming as ever. No trouble.
People here know what's going on in
Syria and other countries
the same way I do: by watching the
news and reading the newspapers. Other
than that, there's no effect.
It's important to judge travel safety rationally,
not emotionally.
The true dangers of travel, domestic
or foreign, are such things as highway
accidents, hurricanes,
lightning strikes, earthquakes,
etc. Statistically, you are more likely
to be bitten by a shark while swimming
or to be injured while skiing than
you are to suffer from an act of war
or a terrorist attack.
Here are
some statistics indicating
that travelers are more liable to
be harmed in bus, train and airplane
accidents, earthquake, lightning
strike, skiing accidents, etc. than
by political activity.
These more mundane dangers should
carry much more weight when you make
your travel decisions.
Most visitors find that they have
concerns about safety
only before their
trip, and after they arrive
at their destination they experience
the normal
daily life of the place, and don't
think of danger at all—unless
there's a headline.
Here is the US
Department of State's Consular
Information Sheet on Turkey,
with every possible warning and caution.
Read the TTP
Safety Page, and make
travel decisions you can be comfortable
with.
—Tom
Brosnahan
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