My wife and I have been planning a trip to Turkiye in the next couple of weeks but with the situation in the middle east we are a little concerned. Any thoughts on the safety of Americans in Turkiye with the conflict? Our plans were to stay in the western third, going from Istanbul through Ankara as far east as Cappadocia, then head to Konya and down to Antalya, along the coast, then back up through Selcuk and eventually back to Istanbul to fly home.
We've read all the state warnings here about possible terrorism which is most countries in Europe. It's really how things are in the middle east and thoughts about Turkiye being dragged into the conflict.
Thanks,
Craig
Posted by
Citizen of the World
2059 posts
Having been to Antalya, Istanbul, Cappadocia & Selcuk- I would not be overly-concerned about safety in visiting these locations in Turkey— particularly with your itinerary which is on the established tourist trail and will have many other international tourists as well. The government needs the revenue from tourism and has an interest in protecting that sector of the economy.
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
2734 posts
No one can speak for your own personal level of risk-taking, so that is going to be up to your best analysis of the known situation and what you're comfortable with. All travel (flying, driving, etc.) is "risky" regardless of political conflicts and it is not possible to predict whether Turkey will engage in the conflict or if/when that might ever happen. As Kenko noted you will be in a highly touristed part of the country, and my personal experience traveling there as an American was very positive.
Make sure you register for STEP notifications through the State Department. It timely notified me (while in Turkey) that there had been a suicide bombing near the US Embassy in Ankara (I was not in Ankara at the time). The registration makes sure they know that you're in the country in the small chance there is need to get you safely out of the country.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thanks. We have registered for STEP and were notified of the protests across the country last week. Understand flying is always risky. We postponed our trip last year to this year, and now we're a little hesitant about the goings on and what countries might get dragged into the conflict.
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
20301 posts
Go. Enjoy. Stay and visit tourist activities. Turkey is pretty much neutral. But there are significant differences in culture and that's educational.
Posted by
1531 posts
We are in Turkiye rt now Cappadocia this am, konya tonight. It's crawling w tourist from Europe and Asia. Things seem fine
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Where are you from? What's the weather like? Are you on your own or with a tour?
We were going to go on our own.
Posted by
11 posts
I recently read and recommended Suzy Hansen’s Notes on a Foreign Country book to get the historical perspective. I think that all travel has risks but that you should go if you are healthy enough.
For contemporary independent news reporting in English from Turkey, Suzy recommends: https://www.duvarenglish.com/
It seems like they are having their own issues with violence against women, inflation worries and concerns about war in the Middle East.
Posted by
1531 posts
We are w a tour, our guides company is EurAsia
We are from Iowa and the weather is much like it would be at home rt now, daytime 65-75 F
Nights 40 to 50f
Even random gas stations have one clerk who speaks Tourist English
FYI even in the crush of people at the Blue Mosque and in the grand Bazaar, none of our group reported any pick pocket attempts, and not all of my group is ahem city savvy
Posted by
68 posts
My son has lived in Istanbul for 10 years. I have visited three times, most recently this past August. Although Turkey seems close to conflict, it continues to feel safe to me. (I was there one week after the airport was bombed in 2016.) But yes, we all must assess our own tolerance for risk.
When I worry about safety in Turkey my son always reminds me that he has a better chance of being shot in the US. . .
As gross as that sounds, it feels true.
Posted by
Missouri
43 posts
My husband and I just returned from a week in Istanbul and it felt completely safe. We did not seen any evidence of conflict during our time there.
Posted by
Amman, Jordan
175 posts
We were in Turkiye in late October last year, and it felt very safe. There were some protests that we avoided, but that was easy to do. Turkiye is pretty far from the conflict. I am in Amman (much closer), and other than the missiles flying over us in early October, it's still felt safe and "business as usual". I would definitely keep your trip.