How is Erdogan's crackdown on opposition affecting tourist sites and tourist activities?

He has been cracking down on the opposition for 10 years. Nothing new there. For the most part, tourist activities are going on as normal. The main effects I can think of off the top of my head:

• Don't discuss politics (or at least be very cautious about it)

• Several historical sites, most notably the Hagia Sophia and the Chora, have been returned to being mosques.

  • A lot of great tour guides, including our amazing guide from 2015, have left the country because of the crackdowns.
  • As advised by the US State Department, steer clear of any protests or demonstrations. (You probably won't see any, but one never knows.)

Good to remember those tips.
We’re going in early October and was thinking of canceling, but, we feel it’s now or never.

I wouldn't cancel your plans for October. I have always felt very safe in Turkey.

Honestly, I would worry more about potential spillover and/or terrorism from conflicts in Israel/Gaza/Iran/Lebanon/Syria than from Erdogan cracking down on the opposition. Turkey itself has not been directly involved, but there's a lot of instability south of Turkey these days. Of course, terrorism could happen anywhere, including here in the US.

We have our hotel booked but didn’t get our flights yet. We’ll be in Croatia for 6 weeks and Istanbul will be near the end of that trip. We’ll fly out of and into Zagreb.

We’re going in early October and was thinking of canceling, but, we feel it’s now or never.

I wouldn't consider cancelling. I visited Istanbul last June and didn't feel unsafe or encounter anything that caused me concern. I found the people to be very friendly and welcoming, there are police officers patrolling everywhere and lots of tourists.

I have been to Istanbul three times, most recently August 2024. My son has lived there for 10 years. I've never felt unsafe there - be aware of pickpockets, etc, but that happens everywhere.

It's always interesting to me what the American media reports about Turkey. Not much, but usually on the sensational side of things. If you see demonstrations you can always steer clear. Istanbul is a big city and defies adequate description! Enjoy your trip! I'd go there in October in a heartbeat! It's fascinating!

I wouldn't want to be responsible for any outcome based on my advice, so I generally just refer people to the state department. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Turkey.html.

In Turkey right now. Agree about the return of two biggest mosques turning from museum areas to active worship areas.

Alcohol is taxed heavily. A can of Efes beer in the state liquor store is fixed at $2.20 or so, in the restaurants and bars, between $5 and $6. Cocktails $10 minimum with watered down alcohol. What this means is you rarely see locals socializing over a beer with their friends at a café. Most tourist areas are unaffordable for lower and middle class locals, which is so unlike most of Europe.

We talked to the owner of a gaming device store in Istanbul who says local kids can’t afford to shop there anymore.

I think the crackdown is most notable in the slow erosion in quality of life for the average Turk. So sad and different from when we were here last 25 years ago.

One way Erdogan's policies has affected Turkey is inflation. At New Year, you had to pay around 35 lira for a euro, now the exchange rate is approaching 50 lira per euro.

(Edit: To put the exchange rate in to perspective, 5-6 years ago it was pretty stable with a euro being worth around 6-7 lira.)

Another impact is the government has raised the admission prices to the attractions it controls. The Galata Tower, for example, cost about $10 just a few years ago. Now it’s more than $40. The same dynamic has hit admission fees for Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, the Basilica Cistern etc. etc.

And where do you suppose all that extra cash is going?

Why would you sell something for less than it's worth? Especially something owned by the public. And if the post above about inflation is correct (it is, I checked), then all they are really doing is keeping prices current with inflation and maybe balancing supply and demand a bit. Heck, if it were Barcelona you might be praising them for reducing over tourism through pricing. But the official price is 30 euro which is less than $40 and was much less than $40 before the dollar dropped 6% against tge Euro. https://muze.gov.tr/urun-ekle?catalogNo=WEB-GLT03-87-009 is the Turkish government site for tickets.

Where is the money going? I have no idea, you tell me what you know please.

Wrong again Mr. E. The official price is Euro-based and is €35 which is more than $40.

I believe you are wrong (link above), but it doesn't matter. Still the result of several years of double digit inflation and maybe charging what the market will bear, even if it were 35 euro.. And again, since you implied the money was going someplace nefarious, please fill us in. None of us wants to unwittingly fund bad things. This guy is certainly no saint.

Fifteen years ago we decided not to go up the tower because it was unusually expensive for what it was. Two prices were listed: one much lower price for Turks or perhaps only Istanbul residents, and a much higher price for non-residents.
So the high price for visitors does not seem to be a recent event due to inflation.

EDITED TWICE

Elizabeth, I didnt really responod appropriately to you. I apologize. I love the idea of making the tourist subsidize the locals. The more the better actually. Hopefully the double digit inflation has affected the tourist price and not the locals price.

Elizabeth, for someone else, I did the math. And this might help those who are considering a return trip; so its not about that one ticket cost. Maybe a little less cost-shock if you knew how bad inflation was. If a "few" years ago is not less than 4 years since they established the 10 euro ticket price, then the cost today would be about 32 euro, or an estimated 37 euro by years end, when adjusted for inflation. Thats over 300%. One should expect other parts of visiting Turkey to have gone up as well. For tourism, its really is about inflation. I dont have a PhD in economics so I wont get into the cause of the inflation. No idea.

No. Elizabeth’s point was simply that the admission price hikes can not be wholly attributed to inflation.
And now you’re arguing ( once again—arguing ) a different angle.

Cheers!

Oh Mr E. I never saw whatever post you are talking about that you wrote. My point is in response to the people who thought the price was high due to inflation, when in fact this monument had what we considered a high price 15 years ago before the current inflation. I rarely read your posts, so I wasn’t writing to you. Sorry you misunderstood.

Elizabeth, I should apologize to you. You are one of the local brilliant ones. I like that they discount for locals and make the tourists pay the difference. Again, sorry and I cleaned up my post a bit.

I think visiting a country is a privilidge that that country has extended to me and in return I accept it as it is ... if I want to go. But those poor Turks are getting hammered with inflation. Most every year double digit and some years over 50%. It staggering. But lets just hope its the tourist paying it. Thats great.