Turkey - anyone worried?

Is anyone worried about Turkish ports of call on their cruises? Just given the Tunisian events and recent unrest in Turkey should there be a cause for concern? Stopping in Kusadasi at the end of August and wondering if I should be concerned as Kusadasi and Ephesus are such big tourist areas and possible target. A couple of people have told me I should stay on the ship on that day! Would be interested to hear peoples opinions. I think it is soon after the Tunisia tragedy, people are still very wary. I have a holiday booked to Sharm El Sheikh next January and am getting a lot of the same opinions when I tell people!

Nope, not worried at all.:)

 

Tunisia was an easy target because it has a porous border with lawless Libya, & the beach hotels were an easy target.

 

Turkey's grief is more as a route for terrorists from other countries heading to Syria, and around the Syrian border.

Kusadasi is way off in the quiet west of Turkey, & over 600 miles from that border. The risk of terrorism there is no greater than most of the Med ports.

And considerably lower than the risks associated with dodgy taxi drivers ;)

 

Sharm has its small risk too. But there's an awful lot of empty desert between there and the rest of the Arab world.

 

I see just so many over-hyped posts about terrorism. :(

Perhaps after Boston, Charleston, Ottawa & other atrocities folk will get used to the fact that there's a risk even if you just step out of your front door.

 

But each to their own - some folk are more risk-averse than others. And if, after figuring the true levels of risk rather than the hype, you are still concerned then for your own peace-of-mind you're best not to go

 

Just MHO as always

 

JB :)

As if a cruise line would intentionally take you to a dangerous area ........

As if a cruise line would intentionally take you to a dangerous area ........

As John Bull pointed out, just about every area these days can be considered dangerous. Istanbul is probably more dangerous than many other cruise destinations, as far as ISIS and other terrorist activity are concerned. The question is how to quantify the risk (and none of us here is qualified to do that in any useful way, even those of us who travel regularly or who have traveled recently to Turkey, so the best advice in my opinion is to check travel advisories from the State Department, the Foreign Office, etc.), and whether this risk is too high to maintain one's travel plans (and that is an entirely personal decision, but again I would make my own decision based on official travel advice and not by consulting strangers on the Internet, who for all I know are as incompetent and untrustworthy as I am in this arena).

 

Neither of the governmental sites I linked to above is currently telling travelers to avoid travel to Istanbul, and all cruise lines are still stopping there. That doesn't mean there is zero danger. It's like a plane that takes off even though it is windy or stormy. That is undeniably more dangerous than flying in perfectly calm and clear weather, but most of us get on that plane anyway.

Just went AGAIN to both Istanbul and Ephesus in early May…… everything was just the same as the previous 3 visits…….. we never felt unsafe.

 

As for Sharm El Sheik……. we did Egypt 15 day land tour right before the revolution……. never felt unsafe there either. However, I won't be going back anytime soon unfortunately. There are very few places I won't go but there are a few.

 

As for tourist areas being a target then forget Athens, Rome, Paris, London, New York ……well you get the idea.

" a couple of pepole have told me...." We're they on a cruise inTurkey and did they have any problems or did they hear this from someone else etc.etc. with all the posts here and no problems posted I do not think you should stay on the ship. Just saying..

I urge you to get off the ship and explore. Turkey is a country like no other.

Ephesus, the House of the Virgin Mary, St John's Basilica and lunch Al fresco at a restaurant followed by shopping in the market in Kusadasi is a treasured memory I hope to repeat.

Make sure you visit the Terrace Houses as well when you visit Ephesus.

Life is a risk..embrace all that is out there. Enjoy!

Edited July 31, 2015 by celebrity

Our short answer to the OP is NO! Our longer answer is that DW and I would happily jump on a plane to Turkey tomorrow (for an extended stay) if we could get away :). Been there many times, have always enjoyed the country, and have found the Turks to be excellent hosts. And the only thing that Turkey has in common with Tunesia (where we have also been on 3 trips) is that both countries begin with the letter "T."

 

Hank

We booked a fly/cruise just over a week ago from Istanbul to Piraeus with about 5 ports in each of those countries - some good deals going at present.

 

Lots has happened around the world, both terrorism and other violent crime, shootings etc., but the chances of being in a particular place at a particular time is very, very slight. Regarding terrorist targets, I do think twice about Fridays or Ramadam now if they can be avoided, as these are the usual times when things happen. I also think there is probably a bit more chance of attacks happening when there are groups of people on trips, rather than independent, as they often target groups. Having said that, we are going on the ship's excursion to Troy on a Friday because it is an easy way to do it!

 

If the foriegn office advise against travel, you and the ship, cannot go, as your travel insurance would be invalidated. Ship's always reschedule ports if they think there is any sort of risk anyway.

 

The place I really think I am in danger and worry about when on holiday is on a British motorway - I find that really scarry at times!

Edited July 31, 2015 by tring

We arrived in Istanbul on 7/16 and our shipped departed on 7/19. During our time there we never felt unsafe or in danger, even at night. It's a beautiful city, and the people we encountered were lovely. We asked one of our guides about street crime and he said it's not much of a problem because there are security cameras everywhere and they serve as a deterrent. Heck, even the stray dogs are safe there, as the government vaccinates and sterilizes them, and then tags their ear to indicate they've been treated.

 

If I stayed away from every place that is "in danger" then I guess I'd have to sell my house and move away from Charleston for fear of my church being next on someone's hit list.

Edited July 31, 2015 by waterbug123

..............

 

The place I really think I am in danger and worry about when on holiday is on a British motorway - I find that really scarry at times!

 

We do fine on the British Motorways as long as we have had enough alcohol to help us drive on the wrong side of the road :):D

Thanks for some very useful responses. I think you have cemented my opinion that it would be a shame to miss such a beautiful port, especially as I have never been to Turkey. I think if it was just me I wouldn't have given it a second thought but because we have our 3 year old girl with us I wanted to put it out there to get some other opinions, I am aware of the travel advice, its just good to hear other people's thoughts sometimes. SO thank you all very much! :)

 

Out of curiosity, texancruzer I am interested to know why you wouldn't revisit Sharm?

Edited July 31, 2015 by Sophistikatie

[quote name=

Out of curiosity' date=' texancruzer I am interested to know why you wouldn't revisit Sharm?[/quote]

 

We did an absolutely perfect 15 day tour of Egypt the November BEFORE all the unrest. The country is beautiful, the people were friendly and genuinely wanted us there, and it is truly the trip that we compare all the others to…… BUT ~

 

We are still friends with our guide (he was Amazing !) on Facebook. He has indicated that things are still VERY difficult in Egypt. People are on edge, supplies are low and security is everywhere (sort of "in your face")

 

So while there is probably not going to be any problems for you, that is not exactly my idea of a relaxing enjoyable vacation.

 

And besides…. I still have way too many places on my "bucket list" to check off :D

We'll be back in Turkey this fall and we will be cautious as we are in any big city but not concerned. We live in a suburb of Chicago & news reports might be scarey (as is the case in most big cities). Unfortunately there are gang related killings in a poor part of town but it's absolutely safe in 99+% of the rest of the area. Again, caution as to where you go.

We do fine on the British Motorways as long as we have had enough alcohol to help us drive on the wrong side of the road :):D

 

 

Like it!

We booked a cruise that begins in Istanbul for the summer of 2017. I am a little concerned now, but not enough to cancel.

 

Turkey is different because it's part in Europe and still very part of the Middle East. There are the battles with Isis and also the issue with the Kurds. When most of us discuss Turkey and tourism, it's confined to Istanbul, Ephysus, and other close by areas. I am going to assume that if Istanbul moves from okay to iffy that Azamara would move our original embarkation port to Athens.

 

There are State Department warnings right now about travel to Turkey. The UK warnings are even more specific.

The British Foreign Office also warn that Spain is on high alert for terrorist attacks, but it doesn't stop millions of tourists every year. In fact, they have had an increase in visitors this year due to incidents in Tunisia and other places. It is the number1 destination for Brits taking their summer holidays.

There are State Department warnings right now about travel to Turkey.

Are there? Where? What do they say? Here is the page with the full list of current travel warnings and alerts. There is nothing there for Turkey. The country page for Turkey doesn't warn against traveling to Turkey, either. Yes, they mention the history of violent attacks and the continuing risk of incidents, but it takes more for them to issue an alert or warning, and it takes more for cruise lines to divert their ships.

 

To be perfectly frank, ISIS would love to carry out an attack at Ephesus and kill lots of Western tourists and destroy lots of idolatrous archaeological treasures. So yes, if you go there, you are absolutely a target. A target that they have a very low chance of hitting.

I urge you to get off the ship and explore. Turkey is a country like no other.

Ephesus, the House of the Virgin Mary, St John's Basilica and lunch Al fresco at a restaurant followed by shopping in the market in Kusadasi is a treasured memory I hope to repeat.

Make sure you visit the Terrace Houses as well when you visit Ephesus.

Life is a risk..embrace all that is out there. Enjoy!

 

Well said. Turkey has more Roman ruins than Italy and more Greek ruins than Greece. From my experience, Turkey has a large secular population in spite of the advertised 90+ % Islam information. We found it easier to get alcohol in Turkey than in Texas. We have spent free time in Konya, a very conservative city, being the only Westerners in the city center and never felt at risk. For the record, I thought the police in some South American countries to be more heavily armed than in Turkey.

I just returned from my Med cruise that began in Istanbul, and I felt completely safe. Istanbul was a very interesting city. As someone else said, if the cruise line feels a port is unsafe, they will avoid that area. It's a huge liability and bad for business if they put all of those guests in danger. The only problem we had with Turkey was before we ever left the U.S. - my friend had a brand new passport, so they questioned her as to why she was going to Turkey (they were nice about it). They even asked her if she planned to go to Syria..she said "no, I'm just going on a cruise to Greece!"

I would advise to enjoy Turkey while you can. The future may not be so kind. I would say the same for visiting Israel. If you haven't been there, it great.

I spent two weeks in Turkey in March & April and never felt unsafe. Tourism is a big part of Turkey's economy and they want to protect that income.

 

There is a huge police and army presence in the big cities; policemen and/or soldiers on many corners with automatic weapons. It's a little unnerving to see them, but they're there for the protection of Turkey's citizens and guests. That said, they do get a little trigger-happy with the tear gas at times. We were told that if we heard a large group chanting or singing, we were to immediately turn around and head hastily in the opposite direction as the police are quick to break up "demonstrations" forcefully. We did happen onto a peaceful demonstration at the university in Istanbul and the police were massed on the other side of the square with riot shields and armored cars. Needless to say, we scrammed immediately.

My husband was worried at first. The media hype in the US is over the top. After we settled down and read some of the posts here, we decided to go and enjoy.

I have always been the type to not worry about safety when on a cruise, thinking the cruise lines would not take us to dangerous ports. Now, with shootings in churches and theaters in the US we can see that something bad could happen to us at home. We are going!

Kind of like worrying about what is going on in New York City when you are in Niagara Falls. The Syrian border is the other side of the country from Istanbul and Izmir. We plan to visit in May 2016 and I am looking forward to enjoying this amazing country.

I have never felt at all unsafe in Turkey; it is one of my favourite places on earth. We had a cruise stop in Iskenderin which is very close to the Syrian border. It was in 2011 when our stops in Egypt and Israel had been cancelled and reinstated twice and there was a lot of trouble in Syria even then. But all was good and safe and I love the Turkish people and the country.

Not being rude, but at the moment I have a very worried sister-in-law as her son is going to do a semester at a university in Illinois and is soon to leave. We seem to get constant reports of shootings in the US and my brother-in-law once had a gun pulled on him by a cabbie in New York.

Then we read about people who seem genuinely scared to come to Australia as they are scared of our wildlife. Quite bizarre to us!

I am a fatalist and I think the media have much to answer for.