Istanbul- its still good to go, right?
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Anonymous
| I was looking at a trip for early 2025, and we are considering a few days in Istanbul. When I mentioned this to a european friend, she suggested not to go to visit, it has gone down hill. It would be a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 teens) who travel well. I would guess we'd get a guide there and just explore for a couple of days the big sites and get a sense of the city. Can anyone who has been there since the start of the war in Gaza speak to how it was. Thank you. |
Anonymous
| Istanbul will be totally fine. War in Gaza won’t impact your experience there. It’s a beautiful city for tourists. Do it! |
Anonymous
| Istanbul has gone down hill? Since when? 1452? |
Anonymous
| Why would you support Erdoğan and his authoritarian policies? Definitely not a place I'd bring my family |
Anonymous
So would you have told every tourist and business traveler from around the world not to visit the U.S. when X was in office? Is just going to a country necessarily supporting its president? That may be the case in smaller countries in which every transaction ultimately funds X president or X political party. |
Anonymous
| Between X et al and guns guns guns, I’m sure USA is losing its destination luster. |
Anonymous
| Istanbul is always a little rough around the edges. |
Anonymous
|
This is interesting to me because I’ve spent a good amount of time there but on my most recent trip had a few dicey encounters that made me say goodbye to going there in the near future. This was around the same time of the failed coup, increasing authoritarian crackdown, and the very scary attack on the airport (where something like 50 people were killed)— so 2016/2017. A bombing happened on the metro (which is otherwise incredibly clean and efficient and wonderful!) and a few other things, and I just haven’t wanted to go back, especially with kids.
It’s too bad because it is one of my favorite countries. Seriously, if I had to choose between there and Greece for seeing amazing ancient ruins and history and good food and stunning beaches, I’d choose Turkey every single time. But I did not feel safe, and I’ve lived in and traveled to places that people here would never deign to visit. My info is old and so maybe things have improved. |
Anonymous
| I was there twice in recent years. It's a great city. You don't need a guide, just a good guide book and walking shoes. |
Anonymous
| Just avoid all the hucksters particularly around Taksim Square who are often very aggressive in either soliciting you or pretending to be your new friend (hint: they're not). |
Anonymous
| It won't be very fun. Good luck. |
Anonymous
Comparing Erdogan’s crack downs to any recent U.S. president shows a distinct lack of knowledge. |
Anonymous
| Istanbul joins Nicaragua and Venezuela as destinations I would previously have loved to visit but wouldn't visit now because i try not to spend my hard earned vacation dollars in countries with dictators. Each of them has policies I find anti-democratic, immoral and also a possible threat to my family in a variety of ways. |
Anonymous
it is actually. https://www.ustravel.org/press/stunning-new-research-ranks-united-states-nearly-dead-last-competition-global-travelers Turkey is actually growing. My sister went a few years ago. She loved it. I plan on going in the next couple of years. |
Anonymous
|
Istanbul is the one city where kids threw rocks at us. Not kidding. We were walking back towards Sultanahmet from an old church/mosque near the city walls on the far west side of the city and taking what seemed like a direct route on foot took us through very shabby neighborhoods, and suddenly a few young boys started throwing *rocks* at us from up a hillside.
Pretty well traveled but never had that happen before. Otherwise we saw great sights and had great food in Istanbul. It was our second trip there. It's like South Africa, there's underlying tensions but as a tourist with street smarts, you should be fine. |