Pre or post travels Best of Turkey Nov 18 to 30 tour.

I'm doing the same tour dates in November. I haven't decided on the post time around Izmir. I only have two free days before proceeding on another RS tour - Best of Munich, Salzburg and Vienna.

I plan on being in Turkey for a day before the November 18-30 tour, and for a week after. Will be in Kusadasi for several days, and then hope to visit Troy and Gallipoli, probably with an overnight stay somewhere close by, before heading back to Istanbul for another couple of days.

I am booked on that tour, as is my high school friend. We are not traveling pre or post tour this trip. We are flying directly to Istanbul from LAX, arriving Sunday pm, and then flying back the 30th via Izmir to Istanbul and on to LAX. She has expressed concern about the political situation, and safety issues. I know that Rick has lots of connections in Turkey, and is surely monitoring the safety situation. Are any of you concerned about this?

I went on this tour in September. During the tour we had the privilege of speaking with Lale. She is an author of the Istanbul guide book and co-owner of the Turkish tour company that Rick works with. During that talk she spoke about the decision to cancel the tours right after the military coup.

I would feel comfortable taking Rick's and Lale's lead. I feel confident that if they feel it is too risky, they will cancel the tours.
Having said that, only you can make the final decision.
I would feel comfortable going to Turkey, but I wouldn't go to Cairo.

I wish you good luck in making your decision. Turkey is a lovely country to visit.

I was going to stay in Izmir but decide to go back to Istanbul. They said late in season could be problematic especially for one person.
Now I have been in touch with friend of a friend outside of Istanbul.
See you in a few weeks.
Jim

FYI Airport transportation
Friend of a friend lives in Istanbul. I asked best way to get in to town...his answer
When you come into Istanbul Havalimani (Airport is Havalimani), there are a number of options to use. Taxis (Taksi in Turkish) is a total rip-off and you will pay way too much for transportation. There have also been some problems with "some" taxi drivers charging way more than they are entitled to of tourists. So try to avoid them. Your best bet is to use the airport's own bus service. It is a very comfortable tour bus that will take you from the airport, right into Sultanahmet, which is where your hotel is. It will be a long trip, but you will get to see a large portion of the city. The trip is listed as 100 minutes, and you can pay ahead of time by using this link...
https://hava.ist/en
From Istanbul
to Sultanahmet
FYI
Jim

I will also be traveling on the Nov. 18-30 trip. Is there anyone arriving around 5 p.m. on Sunday that would be open to traveling to the hotel together?

JL Barnett- My friend and I are flying in to Istanbul about 18:45 on Turkish Airlines on Sunday, Nov. 17. I have pre-booked a taxi through booking.com to Hotel Azade. I think the car holds up to 4 people., and cost me about $44 total (plus a tip of a few Turkish Lira). If you want to wait for us to arrive and join us, let me know. Anne

Anne - After some thought, I think I'll just book a shuttle. I'll be coming from Chicago and don't know what the weather might hold in terms of delays (hopefully not). I don't want to potentially delay you. Thank you so much for the offer. I really appreciate it. Look forward to meeting you. - Jennifer (jl_barnett)