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Would You Visit Istanbul? Am I Crazy for Considering it? (1 Viewer)

chet

chet

Footballguy
My family and I are planning a trip to France in February to ski with some friends. My wife suggested stopping in Istanbul for a couple of days because neither of us has ever been there before.

In light of Turkey's downing of a Russian fighter, are we crazy to contemplate going there with our children? We'd stay exclusively in Istanbul and would tour the city with a private and licensed guide.

 
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February is light years away based on how the world is going right now. Impossible to say either way IMO.

 
What these guys said. I'm going to Europe in about 10 days and am not worried. More concerned about traveling being difficult.

 
chet said:
My family and I are planning a trip to France in February to ski with some friends. My wife suggested stopping in Istanbul for a couple of days because neither of us has ever been there before.

In light of Turkey's downing of a Russian fighter, are we crazy to contemplate going there with our children? We'd stay exclusively in Istanbul and would tour the city with a private and licensed guide.
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With all the great European cities to visit she picks Istanbul??

I'd skip Europe all together and spend it on some beach in the Caribbean

plenty of time to visit France & Turkey later

 
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Istanbul is one of the big cities I'd love to visit- looks amazing. and as others say, Feb should hopefully be a safer time to visit than today... but you can always play it by ear a bit, no? love how skiing in france was a relevant detail to this.

 
El Floppo said:
Istanbul is one of the big cities I'd love to visit- looks amazing. and as others say, Feb should hopefully be a safer time to visit than today... but you can always play it by ear a bit, no? love how skiing in france was a relevant detail to this.
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:lol:

 
Istanbul has more in common with a large Western European city than, say, Baghdad - even when the riots were going on it was localized within the city and easily avoidable - that said, a cruise may be the easiest way to do it if you are interested. That way you have local guides, etc., and presumably excellent security.

 
The State Department warned that groups like ISIS, al-Qaeda and Boko Haram "continue to plan terrorist attacks in multiple regions."

It also warned of the possibility of individuals carrying out their own attacks.

"These attacks may employ a wide variety of tactics, using conventional and non-conventional weapons and targeting both official and private interests," the department said in issuing a travel alert that expires on February 24, 2016.

The alert does not instruct Americans to avoid travel, but it does urge U.S. citizens to "exercise vigilance when in public places or using transportation."

"Be aware of immediate surroundings and avoid large crowds or crowded places. Exercise particular caution during the holiday season and at holiday festivals or events," the State Department said in the alert.
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I'd rather be wrong by going someplace else , but thats me

 
If there is even the slightest hesitation or question then why would you even consider it. I see these news stories people getting snatched up in other unstable countries hiking, vacationing, etc and I think what the hell were you doing there to begin with.

 
HellToupee said:
The State Department warned that groups like ISIS, al-Qaeda and Boko Haram "continue to plan terrorist attacks in multiple regions."

It also warned of the possibility of individuals carrying out their own attacks.

"These attacks may employ a wide variety of tactics, using conventional and non-conventional weapons and targeting both official and private interests," the department said in issuing a travel alert that expires on February 24, 2016.

The alert does not instruct Americans to avoid travel, but it does urge U.S. citizens to "exercise vigilance when in public places or using transportation."

"Be aware of immediate surroundings and avoid large crowds or crowded places. Exercise particular caution during the holiday season and at holiday festivals or events," the State Department said in the alert.
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I'd rather be wrong by going someplace else , but thats me
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I'm just glad they plan to have all this terrorism hoopla wrapped up by the 24th of February. It'd be nice if maybe they'd shoot the lock off their wallet and authorize some extra overtime to get it done prior to the Super Bowl though.

 
coyote5 said:
HellToupee said:
The State Department warned that groups like ISIS, al-Qaeda and Boko Haram "continue to plan terrorist attacks in multiple regions."

It also warned of the possibility of individuals carrying out their own attacks.

"These attacks may employ a wide variety of tactics, using conventional and non-conventional weapons and targeting both official and private interests," the department said in issuing a travel alert that expires on February 24, 2016.

The alert does not instruct Americans to avoid travel, but it does urge U.S. citizens to "exercise vigilance when in public places or using transportation."

"Be aware of immediate surroundings and avoid large crowds or crowded places. Exercise particular caution during the holiday season and at holiday festivals or events," the State Department said in the alert.
Click to expand...
I'd rather be wrong by going someplace else , but thats me
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I'm just glad they plan to have all this terrorism hoopla wrapped up by the 24th of February. It'd be nice if maybe they'd shoot the lock off their wallet and authorize some extra overtime to get it done prior to the Super Bowl though.
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The 25th starts their big slave auction gala

 
A friend of a friend was killed there a couple of years ago. It was in the news.

Of course, she went over there by herself and was off the beaten path. Not the best decision making obviously

 
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I have a trip early next year that includes Paris and Brussels. Travelling as planned.

Over 2 million people in Paris survived the terrorist attacks two weeks ago. You'll be fine.

 
It's beautiful city and you can typically get a direct flight from Paris to Istanbul; it's only like a 3 hour flight. Spend a few days there, you can kill a day alone just checking out the grand bazaar.

Enjoy.

 
TLEF316 said:
A friend of a friend was killed there a couple of years ago. It was in the news.

Of course, she went over there by herself and was off the beaten path. Not the best decision making obviously
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she was a friend?! I remember that in the news... terrible. sorry for you loss.

 
Arizona Ron said:
It's beautiful city and you can typically get a direct flight from Paris to Istanbul; it's only like a 3 hour flight. Spend a few days there, you can kill a day alone just checking out the grand bazaar.

Enjoy.
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I was over there for work for 2 weeks in April 2011. Stayed in the same hotel as Allen Iverson while he was playing pro ball there at the tail end.

Went to the Grand Bazaar with a co-worker the Saturday of the middle weekend. Had the scariest looking trio of Istanbul residents try to convince us to "come to their shop for special deals for Americans!" waving us down an aisle with no other people in sight. When we walked in the other direction without even hesitating, they followed us and started shouting at us, at which point we sprinted to the exit at the street. Went and had dinner, and went out to check out the bars near the Blue Mosque that night. Like a lot of European cities, you have people outside the bars calling you to come in, "Free drink!," etc. Well, one group didn't like that we walked by them, following us down a street when we made a right to get away from them, wrapping up the chase with "F*$#( you you F*($#*)$# Americans!" We immediately ducked into the first bar with an open door near us. Bar had "No Smoking" signs in Russian with about 10 people inside...smoking. Scariest looking people I've ever seen, felt like I was on the set of Taken. Had a beer and basically waited out the people chasing us prior, and got the first cab we saw back to the hotel.

I know my experience doesn't gel with what a lot of other people have told me about having great experiences in Istanbul, so I chalk mine up to bad luck but would say just be at least aware of your surroundings if you go there.

 
chet said:
My family and I are planning a trip to France in February to ski with some friends. My wife suggested stopping in Istanbul for a couple of days because neither of us has ever been there before.

In light of Turkey's downing of a Russian fighter, are we crazy to contemplate going there with our children? We'd stay exclusively in Istanbul and would tour the city with a private and licensed guide.[/quote

I agree that you should be fine as long as you don't try to smuggle 2 kilos of hashish out of the country by strapping them to your body. Prison environment is inhospitable and there is an infamous prison guard named Hamidou. Trust no one.
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Instanbul is one of the great international cities, the crossroads where the East meets the West. Lots to do for a couple of days.

Do read up on the seemingly obvious scam where you are invited into a bar and forcefully cannot leave until you settle your single drink $1k bar tab.

 
Flights to Europe on Turkish Air are really cheap. When I was pricing tickets recently, a non-stop from SF to Istanbul was about $150 cheaper than any other option including Aeroflot.

I'd love to visit someday. From Russia with Love and Topkapi are two of my favorite movies. But now probably isn't the optimal time to go.

 
Great city, very westernized. With a guide you should be more than fine. Have patience, though, as it is a very populated city and traffic jams can be awful.

Istanbul is clearly the top spot to visit for a first visit to Turkey due to its history. If you want to extend your trip in Turkey or come back for another visit, spend some time in Izmir. It's like Turkey's Southern California to Istanbul's NYC.

 
TLEF316 said:
A friend of a friend was killed there a couple of years ago. It was in the news.

Of course, she went over there by herself and was off the beaten path. Not the best decision making obviously
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Sounds like a great idea, whats the downside?

 
A world-class city on par with Rome, Paris, London. I got married in Istanbul to a Turk and have Turkish friends and family. I've been to Istanbul several times and always look forward to going back. Great people, great food, great nightlife, great scenery.

That said, we are keeping a close eye on things. We plan to go to Antalya next summer for two weeks but haven't committed yet, in part due to things being a little messy right now (before the Russia stuff).

 
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