Istanbul- its still good to go, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Kids threw rocks at us in Netherlands too. The tour guide shrugged and complained about immigration.

[Anonymous]

I want in 2022 and greatly enjoyed it.

[Anonymous]

I don’t know why people ask this question. Turkey is very far from Gaza. There is no connection. I’m guessing it has to be Islamophobia?

Istanbul is one of the safest cities I’ve ever visited. You can walk around at all hours of the day and night and feel completely safe. I wish I could say the same for DC or NYC!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do whatever you think best.

For me and my family, we will not go there - on safety grounds.

Do you go to movie theaters? Church? Malls? Send your kids to school? You know there are shootings at those places, right?

For an American, Istanbul is very significantly more risky than anywhere in the DMV (yes, much more risky than even SE DC.).

Do what makes you happy, but we will not recommend Istanbul. (Mind, we also do not plan to visit Ukraine anytime soon, either.). Tons of better and safer alternatives to Istanbul in that part of the world.

This is total BS.

[Anonymous]

I went last August. Hot and muggy and lots of people smoking - everywhere - in cabs, restaurants, on the street. Didn’t expect this. I had to shower 2x a day to get the stench off.

[Anonymous]

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/travel/foreign-office-warns-uk-tourists-29159894.amp

UK just issued new travel warnings

[Anonymous]

Turkish-American here.

The economy is in shambles. Inflation is out of control and the lira is very weak. Double income, university educated families (think two engineers) are often priced out simple things, especially if they didn’t purchase homes or vehicles before the pandemic and have high basic expenses. Then there is the fact that Turkey has some of the highest rates of jobs paying minimum wage. This includes skilled jobs such as nursing. So the problems get worse as you move down social strata.

Having said all of that, it doesn’t really impact tourism or safety (not saying it won’t deteriorate further, but not there yet). In fact, it makes it a great bang for your buck. Just use your common sense/city sense. I would also recommend getting out of Istanbul to visit a smaller beach town.

[Anonymous]

https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/turkiye

Canada’s travel advisory

[Anonymous]

Came across this thread, wondering how people have been there this summer season? It is a great city and I'd like to take my family there soon.

[Anonymous]

Yes, great place to visit and they would love to have more Americans (it is mostly European tourists). We just came back from a trip to Istanbul and it was wonderful. The dollar goes far.

[Anonymous]

Bump

[Anonymous]

I think it is safe enough, but I wouldn’t recommend going at the moment because it is insanely expensive. Like three times the price of Greece for the same things.

Wait till the economy normalizes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would you support Erdoğan and his authoritarian policies? Definitely not a place I'd bring my family

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.

Yes...while Trumpty Dumpty is in office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It won't be very fun. Good luck.

?? What a strange post. Istanbul is one the most visited cities in the world. I guess people like to visit boring places?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I want in 2022 and greatly enjoyed it.

Same here. I have no idea what the PPs are talking about regarding safety. Um, you live in the US, a country widely viewed as unsafe by the rest of the world.