Is travel to Istanbul safe?

No one can answer the question about postponing - it's your comfort level.

But as an example, I was in Istanbul and Turkey the last two weeks of September and felt perfectly safe and everyone was quite welcoming to Americans. There is no way to know if the current Israel situation will affect anything in Istanbul, unless you are flying through Israel on the way (and if so, your flight will likely not happen). The US State Department has issued a general caution for Americans to stay alert, which in my opinion is how you should be on any overseas trip. Sign up for STEP notices to get specific notices about any situations that may arise that merit additional caution. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/worldwide-caution.html

I was in Istanbul until October 9 and was very comfortable there as a solo female senior.

Thanks for your replies. I am signed up with STEP to get travel advisories.

I was there until October 10, and things appeared fine to me. A few things worth noting:

• Well before the Hamas attack against Israel, I saw many small- to medium-sized deployments of heavily-armed police (looked like soldiers) scattered throughout the city, even smack on the main tourist streets (along Istiklal St., a walking street very popular with tourists and locals alike), there were groups of armed police from 20 to 100+ at various points; some were standing around in front of what were clearly marked as foreign consulates, others just appeared to be deployed to major intersections and/or around Taksim Square. My point being: it seemed pretty evident that displays of large numbers of armed security personnel was routine, just the government "showing some muscle." That was well before the recent events in Israel/Palestine. Nobody batted an eye at the armed presence, it looked like Business As Usual.
• I saw no visible change in the presence/locations/number of security personnel in the days immediately after the Hamas attack on Israel. I observed no increase in tension, at least where I was (typical tourism areas).
• The explosion at the hospital in Gaza only occurred a few days ago, and news of that event appeared to trigger a lot of reactions across many countries (including some demonstrations in Istanbul, at the Israeli consulate). Critical details of that event now seem to have been wildly mis-reported (depends on who you believe, of course) but the facts don't seem to matter, as people tend to believe what confirms their previous beliefs. No comment here on that, but objectively it does seems evident that the event greatly inflamed public opinion, and ratcheted up tensions. I was back home in the USA when that happened so my impressions of the atmosphere were all "pre-hospital explosion."

All that said, I would probably not postpone a trip to Turkey over concerns around the atmosphere. I would certainly be quite a bit more alert about my surroundings while I was there (I try to be hyper-alert of my surroundings all the time, but would crank up my awareness even higher...I like being aware of my surroundings).

Tourism is a major component of Turkey's economy. I've always felt welcome there.

thanks for the detailed reply. i also have plans to visit Istanbul next week and am still keeping them.

Your replies are reassuring. At the moment I am planning to go ahead with my trip.

I was in Istanbul from Oct 7 and left on October 16. I concur with what David reports on the security level except that there seemed to be a bit of increase later in the trip. But that may have been because Erdogan was in Istanbul.

I am Jewish and felt safe and comfortable the whole time. No issues.The US State Department has issued essentially a world wide alert to exercise more caution due to the situation after the attack. I am traveling in Europe until Nov 20th and am not too concerned but I am trying to be as low profile as I can vis a vi being an American and Jewish, although I am obviously a tourist and have an American accent.

Everyone's comfort level is different and of course things could change . As a matter of fact I just read right after my initial post ,that they have lowered the flags to half mast for the hospital blast and are basically repeating as fact that it was caused by an Israeli bomb,when it is looking more like it was from a Gaza rocket. I would say there could be more tension than before especially if things escalate. But unless things dramatically change I would think it would be just as safe for traveling.
Have a good trip. You will love it!

We just completed a trip to Istanbul and other places in Turkey (we returned home Oct 16) and felt perfectly safe. We were getting messages from family members concerned for our safety but did not see anything at all that made us nervous.

Thank you all for your replies. They are putting my mind at ease.

I've been to Istanbul several times. Love the city. Always respected the fact that Istanbul isn't small town USA and behaved accordingly. But I wouldn't plan a trip now. All those wonderful Turks that have been so nice to American tourists are not who will target you ... if anyone does. So how someone "felt" really doesn't matter.

If I were better educated on the subject and if that education provided evidence that current world affairs wont spill into Turkey, then I would love to go again. So, I am avoiding it not because I think its dangerous. I am avoiding it because I dont know enough to know it is still at least as safe as it was 3 weeks ago. Even 3 weeks ago, one would have to take into consideration the history. In the last 10 years (last number is deaths):

11 September 2012 2012 Istanbul suicide bombing 2
6 January 2015 2015 Istanbul suicide bombing 2
31 March 2015 Istanbul Justice Palace siege 3
1 December 2015 Istanbul Metro bombing 0
23 December 2015 2015 Sabiha Gökçen Airport bombing 1
12 January 2016 January 2016 Istanbul bombing 14 (including the perpetrator)
19 March 2016 March 2016 Istanbul bombing 5 (including the perpetrator)
7 June 2016 June 2016 Istanbul bombing 13 (6 police officers 6 civilians, 1 perpetrator)
28 June 2016 2016 Istanbul Atatürk Airport attack 48
6 October 2016 October 2016 Istanbul bombing 0
10 December 2016 December 2016 Istanbul bombings 48 (39 police officers, 7 civilians, 2 perpetrators)
1 January 2017 2017 Istanbul nightclub attack 39
13 November 2022 2022 Istanbul bombing 6

We were recently in Turkey for 2 weeks, felt very safe and loved every minute of it. We left Istanbul for Sicily on Oct 10, and returned to Istanbul 2 days ago for our return flight to Seattle on Turkish Air. We were somewhat surprised at the level of security boarding our flight to Seattle yesterday. In addition to the usual levels of security, everyone was thoroughly patted down and all carry on luggage was emptied and inspected right at the gate before entering the jetway. Not sure if this was business as usual or not. BTW, Turkish Air is a great way to travel. We splurged on business, and were able to sleep for part of the 12 hour flight which was wonderful. Food was incredible, and the Business Lounge at the IST airport was a real treat. I can't really say if I would go back again right now. I think the perception of Americans abroad right now is a wild card.

Just saw this article about the current security situation in Turkey and Europe. It's worth a read if you are thinking about traveling to Turkey.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/18/travel/europe-travel-disruptions-israel-hamas.html?unlocked_article_code=1.4Uw.yRTl.mv8fpo8l7Q7h&smid=url-share

(Crossing my fingers that the "gift this article" feature actually works.)

Thank you marie

...We were somewhat surprised at the level of security boarding our flight to Seattle yesterday. In addition to the usual levels of security, everyone was thoroughly patted down and all carry on luggage was emptied and inspected right at the gate before entering the jetway. Not sure if this was business as usual or not...

@hhcassidy - This is longstanding practice, and yes, Business As Usual. You and your belongings get (at least) three security inspections when outbound from Istanbul: one inspection just to initially enter the airport terminal; one more inspection after check-in (this point corresponds with the single security inspection we usually get in the USA); then you get a third inspection of you and your belongings at your departure gate (yes, including a physical pat-down that exceeds what the TSA typically does).

It seems they do take security seriously. And given their neighborhood (and history), who can blame them? There were (what we would call) terrorist attacks at the airport some years ago, so they tend to be more cautious than what passes for security at home. And it's not just at the airport: we took a taxi from the airport to our Istanbul hotel (a large, well-known and highly visible international chain), and our taxi was held outside the loading area for a couple minutes, as hotel staff used a mirror-on-a-stick to inspect the underside of the taxi. Only after they scanned the taxi belly was it allowed in to pull up to the loading zone for us to hop out.

I'll echo your praise for Turkish Airlines' business class experience, it's a great way to actually enjoy that 12-hour flight. My spouse was feeling sick when we arrived at the airport. We spent almost 3 hours in the lounge, and by the time we boarded, she was feeling awesome - the massage, the quiet, dark, relaxing sleeping room, and all the food and goodies were exactly what she needed to feel better and get ready for that 12-hour flight home. Good medicine. 👍

...We were somewhat surprised at the level of security boarding our
flight to Seattle yesterday. In addition to the usual levels of
security, everyone was thoroughly patted down and all carry on luggage
was emptied and inspected right at the gate before entering the
jetway. Not sure if this was business as usual or not...

I have flown through / to / from IST maybe a dozen times in since the airport opened and that has always been standard procedure. You go through security just to enter the building as well. Still my absolute favorite airport to change flights.

Maybe it began after the horrific terrorist attack in the old airport 7 years ago. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Atat%C3%BCrk_Airport_attack

And Turkish Air Economy is the best Economy out there. Great airline.

I have also flown via Istanbul several times, even as recently as a month ago and there was never a security check at the gate. Nor did I see passengers on flights at adjacent gates or gates I was passing on my way to my gate, have to go thru security at the gate. Perhaps this last check is only done for flights to the US?

Yes, gate checks for flights to the US (every time for me) and certain other countries (mostly middle eastern - i witnessed for Iran and for Qtar). But you are correct, not when I change in IST going to Budapest. Sometimes when arriving in IST I have had to go back through the full security process for a connecting flight, sometimes not. I suspect the are responding to intelligence.

“ Sometimes when arriving in IST I have had to go back through the full security process for a connecting flight, sometimes not. I suspect the are responding to intelligence.”

Not exactly. It depends on if the security process on the airport you departed from is deemed up to the highest standards. This is not decided on a day to day basis, but for a longer period of time. Otherwise the gate assignment process would get even more complicated. Most (if not all) European and US airports are on the “safe list. Airports in other parts of the world are not, with exceptions of course!

I believe you. But i have done it both ways coming from the US and coming from Budapest. One curious trip, I came from Odesa and did not have to go through security. My daughter arrived from the US .... both Turkish Air, and she did have to go through security. We were meeting to travel to Croatia together.

Doesn't matter. I really dont mind. We tend to beat these things to death for no reason. Just go with the flow and enjoy.