US Navy Personnel Attacked in Istanbul

I wonder how this might affect port calls in Turkey???? http://http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30035664#

I expect the Turkish government will firmly distance itself from the actions of this nationalist youth group and make a show of appearing to punish them, and I think the US will let the matter rest there. There may be consequences for US military personnel stopping in Turkey in the next few days/weeks, but unless more incidents occur, and they start to target random American/Western tourists and not just US military personnel, there is no reason to think cruise ships will be affected.

As always, keep an eye on the news and on State Dept travel advisories.

Looks like the Turkish Gov't not going to do anything.

How terrible for our brave sailors who had their much deserved shore leave turn out so bad. First my kudos to them for not making a bad situation turn out worse by fighting back. Second how unfortunate that shore leave there will be reassessed in light of this incident.And no, I would not be surprised if the Turkish government failed to provide the U.S. with any assurances that the matter will be investigated and that security will be beefed up in the future.

Now as to the wisdom of visiting Istanbul as a tourist I think it is a matter to employ a wait and see attitude. We have been to Istanbul twice in the last 13 years. The first time, a week after 9/11 was , ironically, terrific. Strangers would run up to us in the street wanting to tell us the loved Americans and that not all Muslims are bad.We returned a few years later and while still had a wonderful time we did notice some changes. The most obvious was the large number of young women wearing head scarves --- something that was not prevalent on our prior visit. We now are going back next October and will spend a night in Istanbul before heading to Cappadocia and a night there afterward. Each person has to do what makes them feel comfortable. We plan to first of all monitor the situation. This may well be a one off incident and not the start of a larger anti- American movement. Second we will stay in the primary tourist area, the Sultanahmet --- in my experience in area where there is unrest the tourist areas tend to be a bit safer because those people's livelihoods depend on tourist dollars. I would liken this to St. Petersburg --- even if the anti-American attitudes in Russia this past summer I am not aware of any incidents involving Americans there this summer. So no, i won't automatically cancel my travel plans because of one attack , if I were to do that I would not travel at all.

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How soon we forget the riots last spring in the cities like Istanbul, Adana and Izmir. My cruise aboard the Jade had to change its itinerary from Izmir to Kusadasi because of the unrest in Izmir in the run-up to the elections. Cunard suspended its Black Sea itineraries earlier this week, and a Russian SU-24 Electronic Warfare aircraft flew over the USS David Cook earlier this week with its electronic countermeasures turned on and wiped out the ships electronic systems including its missile and defensive systems.

Its a whole new ballgame in today's world, and there are any number of scenarios were a determined group of terrorists, in the right port, with just limited access to a gangway could storm a ship. Once aboard, holding several thousand hostages, and having a suicidal mentality could make a bold statement to the civilized parts of the world. Thinking nothing like this can happen in our cruising world just makes it happening easier for a determined fanatic.

How soon we forget the riots last spring in the cities like Istanbul, Adana and Izmir. My cruise aboard the Jade had to change its itinerary from Izmir to Kusadasi because of the unrest in Izmir in the run-up to the elections. Cunard suspended its Black Sea itineraries earlier this week, and a Russian SU-24 Electronic Warfare aircraft flew over the USS David Cook earlier this week with its electronic countermeasures turned on and wiped out the ships electronic systems including its missile and defensive systems.

 

Its a whole new ballgame in today's world, and there are any number of scenarios were a determined group of terrorists, in the right port, with just limited access to a gangway could storm a ship. Once aboard, holding several thousand hostages, and having a suicidal mentality could make a bold statement to the civilized parts of the world. Thinking nothing like this can happen in our cruising world just makes it happening easier for a determined fanatic.

I would suggest "riots" might be too strong a word for the protests in Istanbul that were triggered by the government's plans to develop a park in the city and eventually turned into a chance to express dissatisfaction with the current government's gradual move AWAY from secularism -- something I would think the US should support.

At any rate, it was primarily an internal issue, not related to the US, and something that really impacted visitors very little as most of the sites that tourists visit are in a different area of the city. The brutal use of force by the police (which has certainly also been seen in various US protests recently) was to me the most noteworthy thing about the entire event.

Sure, protests can happen anywhere and can impact tourists -- just look at the several years' of protests in Athens during the current economic crisis there. But again, not really focused on the US and certainly not anti-American.

And terrorism is nothing new either. The Achille Lauro showcased that years ago. But really -- is one any less safe aboard a cruise ship in the Mediterranean than in a high-rise office building in Manhattan or standing along the route of a marathon in Boston?

We were in Istanbul and Turkey last month. Istanbul has protests every Saturday according to our Kurdish guide. The thing that disturbs me the most about the incident is that the "thugs" had to be watching the ship for sailors...there is no other way they could have known they were US sailors. Istanbul is a real melting pot full of western tourists. Not to get too political but don't understand why the US would want to support the new president...he is hardliner and wants to impose sharia law according to one of our female guides outside of Istanbul.

We were in Istanbul and Turkey last month. Istanbul has protests every Saturday according to our Kurdish guide. The thing that disturbs me the most about the incident is that the "thugs" had to be watching the ship for sailors...there is no other way they could have known they were US sailors. Istanbul is a real melting pot full of western tourists. Not to get too political but don't understand why the US would want to support the new president...he is hardliner and wants to impose sharia law according to one of our female guides outside of Istanbul.

I think you misunderstood me. I was trying to say the US should support the protesters AGAINST the government's policies.

I think you misunderstood me. I was trying to say the US should support the protesters AGAINST the government's policies.

aaarrggghhhh. I really must have been unclear. :o

What I was trying to say was that the protesters in Istanbul were protesting against the increasingly conservative policies of their current government (e.g., moving away from their secular view of government that has been a guiding light since the time of Ataturk), which is a trend the US should also be concerned about. In other words, the US conceivably would agree the protesters might have some valid points.

And also, the US presumably supports freedom of speech and in general believes people have a right to protest against policies they do not agree with.

aaarrggghhhh. I really must have been unclear. :o

 

What I was trying to say was that the protesters in Istanbul were protesting against the increasingly conservative policies of their current government (e.g., moving away from their secular view of government that has been a guiding light since the time of Ataturk), which is a trend the US should also be concerned about. In other words, the US conceivably would agree the protesters might have some valid points.

 

And also, the US presumably supports freedom of speech and in general believes people have a right to protest against policies they do not agree with.

Totally agree! Turkey has been a secular country since the 1920's. According to our guides the new government wants to change things and the young people are very worried, especially the women.

We just returned from Istanbul, and it is hard to connect the sailors' experience with my own. We were on the trams in Istanbul, in the markets, in the piazzas, in restaurants. Nowhere did we perceive anything but friendliness with locals giving us advice and directions. I use a cane. Never once was I not offered a seat by Turkish gentleman. I suspect it is just the military they are opposed to.