Protests Erupt Across Turkey As Istanbul’s Mayor is Arrested

Kenko, any specific advice for people who may either currently be traveling to Istanbul/Turkey or are booked to do so soon?

The usual cautions from the US State Department:
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Turkey.html#/
https://tr.usembassy.gov/demonstration-alert-u-s-consulate-istanbul/

Oof.

No advice to offer except to wait and see.

One observation: the major cities and the west coast are fairly liberal, and the rural heartland is considerably more conservative. Erdogan's base is the conservative heartland, and he plays them like a fiddle. Does that sound familiar?

We arrived in Istanbul the day before the arrests and so far, it doesn't seem to have any impact on people in tourist areas doing tourist things. I wouldn't know anything was happening if it weren't for home media coverage. That could always change, but that been out experience for what it's worth.

We are booked for one of the April tours so I'm getting nervous. It is VERY helpful to hear from people who are there right now. Please continue to update us! Thank you

Zelanie, thanks for the update. Have you been up to the Taksim area at the far end of Istiklal Street? That's often ground zero for protests. Also, are you seeing Turkish flags with Ataturk's picture, or just plain Turkish flags?

Ok it’s been a couple of days and so far I’d say still come, it’s fine. But the protests are building, but still localized. I’ve learned a lot trying to keep track.

Friday they unexpectedly closed all the roads near city hall mid-day, which sent traffic into a panic because nobody was prepared and didn’t know what roads and bridges were closed. Earlier in the day taxis were still going by city hall and we saw the cops preparing with riot gear, etc. Old town was still open and operating but you pretty much had to walk and nobody knew what was coming that night.

We accidentally walked by a protest at a metro station but it was on the other side. Then it was like $30 and some time to find a cab that would take us to Beyoğlu. We left right at sundown.

Protests mostly are taking place at a scheduled time in the evening, like 20:30. Imamoglu’s twitter account usually has live video. You don’t want to be anywhere near that if you don’t want to get gassed.

There was a lot of energy focused on walking from city hall to Taksim but the cops’ line held. On the other side they have Taksim completely closed but there’s not a lot going on outside of that I can see. If my understanding of the area is right the other end of Istiklal street is operating as usual. Google still lists Galata bridge as closed but it never did as far as I can tell.

What we’re mostly seeing around are Imamoglu photos everywhere. Ataturk hasn’t been on a flag anywhere. Imamoglu even has ads on the message board telling people when the protests are and reminding them of his good deeds.

@zelanie, thank you for the update. Please keep the reports coming.

"Protests are still building."
They unexpectally closed all the roads.

Everything is gradually, then suddenly.
No one thinks about the tourists except the tourists.
Stay aware.

@zelanie - thank you for your updates, please continue to provide them if you can.

BBC ongoing/"live" coverage here:
Turkey says 1,133 people arrested in five days as it issues 'clear warning' to protesters

Pretty dramatic photos. The aerial footage of the crowds show vast numbers of people in the streets.

Things are heating up tonight. There’s been a solid stream of people heading south across the Galata for the past 30+ minutes.

Ataturk flags are everywhere. Most people are happy and singing, many have covered their faces since theoretically there is a temporary ban on protests.

There are a bunch of cops here in riot gear and they are bussing in more and more. My guess is they will close ranks and close the Galata behind them. We are able to see the bridge from our room so we can keep an eye out from a safe distance.

Tomorrow we fly to Tbilisi but we do have a night close to the airport next week for our return trip. Honestly what’s inconvenient for us is really important for the country.

A very ominous sign of what may be imminent— The television news media in Turkey is controlled by the government. They have mostly blacked-out any coverage of the protests. The authorities in Istanbul have now arrested more than 1,100 people including journalists. Today, a French news agency photographer covering the protests was arrested. The government asked that X pull the plug on the accounts of 700 people it has identified as political opponents. X has now cancelled those accounts.

These are the things that happen in an information blackout before there is violent suppression of peaceful demonstrators.

I would expect areas of Istanbul to be completely sealed off by the police and security forces very soon.
There may be a curfew imposed beforehand.

Until now, police have reportedly been using tear gas, pepper spray, water cannons and rubber bullets on peaceful demonstrators.

This is a good reminder for US citizens to register for STEP notifications when you travel. I know some people don't consider them "timely" enough compared to watching the news. For me it's an additional layer of protection so if a serious situation merits contacting citizens visiting a specific country, the State Department knows you are there. I myself got notifications while in Turkey in 2023, it was a situation far from where I was but I was thankful to hear about it.

Zelanie I think you can register mid-trip if you haven't already. Be safe and good luck for the rest of your travels.

www.mytravel.state.gov is the U.S. State Department’s website CL mentioned for Americans to register for notifications.

Thank you. The scary thing is that I’m much less confident that the State Department will bother to lift a hand if we do encounter any trouble, especially since we know what side El*n is on.

I’ve registered before but hadn’t this time for that reason.

Oh, and Kenko, I really appreciate the information. Thank you.

Reading your posts with interest, Kenko and Zelanie, even though we won't be traveling to Turkey. So RS has two related tours: Best of Istanbul, and Best of Turkey. Teresa, you mentioned that you're scheduled for one of them next month. I'm wondering, because we can't see dates of tours already in process, if either of them are currently in the country/city.

This:
"A very ominous sign of what may be imminent— The television news media in Turkey is controlled by the government. They have mostly blacked-out any coverage of the protests. The authorities in Istanbul have now arrested more than 1,100 people including journalists. Today, a French news agency photographer covering the protests was arrested. The government asked that X pull the plug on the accounts of 700 people it has identified as political opponents. X has now cancelled those accounts."

Ominous indeed. Keep us posted and stay safe, please. :O(

I called the Rick Steves office late last week and we are still a "Go." Yay. Personally I hope we still get to go as planned.

My son lives in Istanbul. He said the protests have not reached his neighborhood (Cihangir) . . . yet.
Emphasis yet.
There are reports of Whats App blackouts, but so far we've been able to communicate.

BTW, my son does not engage in the protests.

Fortunate for later spring/ summer tourists, but unfortunate for the people Turkey, I think Erdogan intends to thoroughly crush these protests. He picked this time because he is emboldened with little chance that the US or Europe will dare challenge him. He feels that he holds the cards. So maybe it will be calm again for tourism season.

In a televised speech earlier today, Turkish President Erdogan blamed opposition political parties for the peaceful protests saying they are “disturbing the peace of our citizens with provocations.”

Later in the day Erdogan stated the protestors are “evil.” He went further and stated opposition political parties are starting a “ movement of violence.”

What violence? In the few instances when some rocks or flares have been thrown at the police by someone in the crowd, it’s being done by “ pre-determined provocateurs” who have infiltrated the crowds of protestors, AP News was told by an opposition member of Turkey’s Parliament.
Once they throw these objects, the police then appear to be justified in firing water cannons and tear gas at the thousands of non-violent protestors.
Usually, however, there are no objects being thrown before the police discharge the tear gas and water cannons.

Within Turkey, the television news media is controlled by the government and unless people can receive news from external sources, it will be difficult for them to see what is going on.
Today, the Disk-Basin-Is union of Turkish media members said at least eight reporters and photojournalists were arrested at their homes this morning. The union called the arrests “an attack on press freedom and the people’s right to learn the truth.”

In addition to the now-jailed Mr. Ekrem Emamoglu, another popular leader in the opposition CHP political party is the Mayor of Ankara, Mr. Mansur Yavas.
Mr. Yavas was a potential contender in Turkey’s 2023 Presidential election, but the party chose a different nominee.

Tonight, AP News is reporting the city of Ankara has announced that Erdogan’s government has now launched an investigation into Mr. Yavas for “misuse of public funds.”