What's going on in Turkey?

TV says a coup underway. Airports are shut down. Tanks in the street in Ankara. Situation evolving.

It appears that a Coup has taken place as the military have announced that they are in control and have "detained" members of the government. The situation is still evolving so it's difficult to get a clear picture. A Coup within a NATO country is very unusual and perhaps unprecedented.

A Coup within a NATO country is very unusual and perhaps
unprecedented.

Not.

Turkey :
1960 Turkish coup d'état
1971 Turkish military memorandum
1980 Turkish coup d'état
1993 alleged Turkish military coup
1997 Turkish military memorandum

Greece:
Greek military junta of 1967–74

Hard to know, Kim. BBC isn't reporting much for solid details at this point but they do say that all flights have been cancelled.

"A Coup within a NATO country is very unusual and perhaps unprecedented."
Not really. Turkey has a history of military coups, and is regarded by most of Europe as "borderline democratic" and very dubious on human rights, which is why it's application to join the EU is always delayed. Plus, if you remember your history, there were the Greek Colonels, and Portugal and Spain were allowed into NATO by the US when they were definitely not democratic, but were "anti communist".

On NPR they're saying the prime minister announced an attempted coup but stopped short of saying there has been a coup. Most people in Turkey are very surprised by what's happening. It's too early to say who's leading the coup. The military says it is in control but the prime minister and president say there was an attempted coup by the military. This may be a coup in the making - other factions may join it soon. Analysts think it's coming from within the military but they don't know the size of the faction within the military. The military has been unhappy with the president for a while.

Are there any RS tours going on in Turkey right now? If so, what a view to history!

Mike, we don't run Turkey tours in July and August, along with Greece, Sicily, and South Italy.

If anyone has access to the Periscope app, there are hundred of live video streams across Istanbul of citizens taking to the streets and protesting the coup (I think). According to media reports the military blocked access to Facebook and Twitter, but they forgot about Periscope I guess.

I was wondering about Americans there on an overnight or multi-hour layover from their Turkish Air flights, something we had considered doing. It sounded great to catch a "free" night in Istanbul, some got more than they bargained for on their reasonably priced flight, I am sure.

On BBC there is a lot of sound of gun fire by bridges.

Oh Laura, I am so glad there are not any RS tours there right now. I am, of course, sorry for anyone caught in this upheaval but I guess my first thought was to any RS tours/guides that might have been on the ground. Thank for letting us know.

So worried about my friend in Istanbul and her family... She added so much to our trip while in Turkey... We fell in love with the country and the people
Reports of shots fired and explosions in Ankara. Military firing at people trying to cross bridge...

Erdogan has been so incredibly awful on human rights that it's hard to see a military coup being much worse.

Amazing footage on Periscope of army troops in the city center of Istanbul abandoning their tanks and armored vehicle. Another feed shows hundreds of protesters at the front gates of the Turkish broadcaster pleading with the troops to drop their weapons and leave. Looks like they are getting ready to comply.

I think Philip is right on it. Military probably will be more secular than he is. Once situation stabilizes we will be able go to Turkey again, no matter who wins. When I was there first time military junta was in power (1981) but other than soldiers on the street life seemed normal (at least for us tourists).

Thanks for the correction on this history of coups in Turkey. I wasn't sure of that point, which is why I used the work "perhaps".

News coverage a few minutes ago showed a number of soldiers being led away in handcuffs by armed police. It sounds like the coup may be collapsing? Erdogan is on TV now so it appears he's firmly in control.

News reports now say that the coup was unsuccessful...what a day!

Looks like coup is over and severe punishment will be meted out by Erogan...he'll likely emerge even stronger due to this. I wonder where is the other half of the population who is against (hates) Ergogan??? They were not out on the streets, likely due to fear of reprisals.

http://www.nytimes.com/live/turkey-coup-erdogan/chaos-creeps-into-ataturk-airport/

I'm really sad about what's been going on with Turkey. It's such a fascinating country to visit and, due to the recent instabilities, many won't go there at all - maybe ever. I spent over 2 weeks just in Istanbul alone on one trip (and southwest Turkey on another) and feel really lucky to have done so. I'd still like to return to see Cappadoccia and other areas and hope it will happen in a few years or so.

It's a bit of a stretch to assume the only people on the streets last night were Ergogan supporters. According to the NY Times link you posted and other media reports opposition to the coup crossed party lines.

Michael,
That's a good point. It became apparent to me that, although many folks don't support Erdogan, they still want to respect the outcomes of the electoral process and don't want to see him removed by non-Democratic means (via coup vs. by vote). The naive me thought some people would align with the coup promoters, although that would carry way too much risk and almost no reward. The coup people told the public to stay home for their safety - Erdogan in a way put "his" people in harms way by encouraging them to take to the streets. I know it's a complicated situation (and I'm ill-equipped to fully understand it).

While the coup appears quashed the ramifications are significant with some disruptions surely in the immediate future. Per BBC news, 104 coup leaders have been killed, almost 3,000 soldiers have been arrested and more than 2,700 judges fired. Deep sigh.

Now this?

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/the-us-government-has-banned-flights-to-and-from-turkey/ar-BBuparb?li=BBnbcA1

"Democracy" comes in many flavors. Those without a balance of power in governance like Turkey's, where bad things got done. Those with a balance of power in governance like the US', where nothing got done.