laptop

Why ever not? You might contact RS and inquire about whether there are in-room or front-desk safes at the hotels you will be staying at. But I've traveled extensively in Turkey--four most recent trips with my laptop--and I just leave mine in my pack in my room when I'm out and about.

In my opinion, there's less casual theft in Turkey than you'd find elsewhere in Europe or in North America.

Shelly,

You could certainly take a Laptop if you don't mind hauling it all over Europe. I've avoided travelling with one so far, as I use a Backpack and there's no way I wanted the extra weight of my somewhat heavy Laptop.

I'm not sure whether Internet access will be readily available at all locations in Turkey that you'll be visiting? Hopefully someone that's been to Turkey will be able to provide that information. It will certainly be good for journalling or photo storage, but you may only have sporadic net connections so E-mail or Blogging may not be as useful.

Another point to consider is what the impact would be if the Laptop was lost, stolen or damaged during the trip. That's another reason I don't travel with mine. It's very expensive and I can't afford to replace it. I'm considering buying an inexpensive Netbook for the next trip, as these are not only smaller but also less expensive.

Happy travels!

Leaving for Turkey on Thursday w/my Acer One notebook. I've checked out a few hotels we're
going to be in and about half of them have internet
access/WiFi so we'll see. I'll be using it to store
photos and check email.

It only weighs 2 pounds and cost under 400 (and
would be much lower now six months after I bought
it) so if it is stolen it's not that big of a deal.

Only prob. is my total stupidity w/anything tech.!

One thing to consider is what you think you want your laptop for. If it's just quick checks on your email, you might well find that you don't really need it. Most Turkish hotels catering to tourists have a shared computer you can use to check email. Also, internet cafes are still plentiful and very cheap--in contrast to Western Europe where they are vanishing rapidly and very expensive when you can find them!

On the other hand, if you are planning to use your computer for photo storage or for substantial web surfing, you might be better off with your own computer. I would check and see what Internet services are available at the specific hotels you'll be staying at. If it turns out they don't have wifi or ethernet capability, you'll be toting along a less than useful brick with you.