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Many people ask
me if it's safe to visit
Turkey now.
Here's what I tell them:
I think it's important to judge travel
safety rationally,
not emotionally.
Headlines and news
bulletins make
a strong impression, and decisions
in Congress and Parliament are important,
but they actually make very little
difference to life on the street in
Turkey.
As a foreign visitor (and an American),
I have never felt uncomfortable
traveling in Turkey. Whatever differences
there may be between governments, Turks
were always polite and welcoming to
me as an individual.
I write this on October 20, 2007,
from the glass-enclosed rooftop terrace
of the Hotel
Niles in Istanbul overlooking
the Sea
of Marmara. The weather is
gorgeous, and today foreign visitors
are everywhere enjoying this beautiful
country and its welcoming people.
Here's the salient point: for any
foreign visitor—indeed,
for anyone in Turkey—the
risk of insult or injury from any sort
of political event
is very low. Almost
vanishingly low.
The true dangers of travel, domestic
or foreign, are such things as highway
accidents, hurricane,
lightning strike, earthquake, etc.
You are more likely to be bitten by
a shark while swimming or to be
injured while skiing than you are to
suffer from political activities.
These more mundane dangers should
carry much more weight when you make
your travel decisions.
Most visitors find that they have
concerns about the political situation
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.
All that having been said, you should make
a decision that you can be comfortable
with. If you believe that
uncertainty will spoil
your trip, you should postpone it
until a time when you will feel comfortable
going.
As for me, I have traveled in Turkey
for nearly 40 years and the
worst thing I've encountered is a few
stomach bugs (and those a
long time ago). I wouldn't
hesitate to go to any of the
normal tourist destinations, and I
wouldn't consider myself in any
danger beyond the normal ones incident
to travel.
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.
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
Safe
Travel in Turkey
Travel
Details
TurkeyTravelPlanner.com
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