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Most travelers comment on the friendliness and hospitality of the Turkish people. It really is exceptional.
Turkey is not only friendly, it's as safe as Europe and North America, although no place is completely safe. Here are some travel danger statistics to put things in perspective.
If you're worried about terrorism, I think it's important to judge travel safety rationally, not emotionally.
For any foreign visitor—indeed, for anyone in Turkey—the risk of injury from a terrorist attack is very low. Almost vanishingly low.
The true dangers of travel, domestic or foreign, are such things as highway accidents, earthquake, lightning strike, hurricane, etc. You are more likely to be bitten by a shark while swimming or to be injured while skiing than you are to suffer from a terrorist incident.
These more mundane dangers should carry much more weight when you make your travel decisions.
(I had friends who would take different flights to the same destination, thinking that if one plane crashed, the other parent would survive for the children. I hastened to tell them that if they really wanted to be safe they should take the same plane, but different taxis to the airport, because the taxi ride was the really dangerous part of the trip.)
Turkey received more than 20 million foreign visitors in 2005. Those injured in terrorist incidents may equal about 0.00005% of that number. Far more will be injured in freak accidents, or accidents while driving or riding—and this percentage, too, is still vanishingly small.
The fact that terrorist incidents garner worldwide headlines— which is exactly why terrorists commit them!—does not mean they are more dangerous than the garden variety dangers travelers face every day. A bus involved in a highway accident often suffers greater casualties than one attacked by terrorists.
Indeed, one could make the argument that one should avoid places that have not suffered from terrorism because they make more likely targets! And places that have had terrorist incidents are now more secure, more sensitive to the danger, and much better protected than places that have not had such incidents.
Here's the litmus test: ask yourself if you would visit any of these places: New York City, Washington DC, London, Madrid, Bali, Israel, Ireland, Egypt. All have suffered terrorist incidents far worse than any in Turkey. If you would go to any of those places, why not go to Turkey?
The Turkish authorities are experienced and effective in working to prevent incidents. No one can stop all the maniacs in the world, but the Turks do a very good job of stopping the ones that are stoppable.
Most visitors find that they have concerns about terrorism only before their trip, and after they arrive at their destination they experience the normal daily life of the place, and don't even think of terrorism at all—unless there's a headline.
There were some tragic incidents during my trip to Turkey to view the total solar eclipse at the end of March 2006. I learned about them the same way the rest of the world did: by reading the newspapers and watching television. Had I not had access to these media, I wouldn't have even known about the incidents, even though they were not all that far from where I was.
On the days when these incidents took place, what I saw was the three million tulips (Yes! Three million tulips!) that the Istanbul city government had planted to beautiful the city in spring; the dolphins leaping up the Bosphorus on their spring migration to the Black Sea; a splendid show of Henri Cartier-Bresson photographs at the Pera Museum; and the rich repasts set out for me by Istanbul's skilled restaurant chefs.
I saw neighborhood daily life, housewives hanging out the washing, kids off to school, arborists pruning the trees in the Byzantine Hippodrome in preparation for their flowering. I'm glad I didn't miss these delightful experiences.
Here's the way I look at it: one person may be hurt in some incident, which means to me that 70 million were not! Those are pretty good odds of staying safe—plenty good for me.
I returned home from that March trip to read in the newspapers of a tragedy in Boston MA: scaffolding from a construction site collapsed, killing two construction workers. It also killed a doctor driving by in his car who had no idea what hit him. That's more deaths than in Istanbul from terrorist bombs.
Does this make Boston less safe than Istanbul?
I think it means that both cities are plenty safe enough for me.
You should make a decision that you can be comfortable with. If you believe that the fear of terrorism will spoil your trip, you should postpone it until a time when you will feel comfortable going.
As for me, I have traveled in Turkey for nearly 40 years and the worst thing I've encountered is a few stomach bugs (and those a long time ago). I wouldn't hesitate to go to any of the places mentioned above, including Turkey; and I wouldn't consider myself in exceptional danger.
Even though Turkey is relatively safe, the only crime-free place is heaven, so here are things to watch:
STREET CRIME: it has begun to grow in the big cities (Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir), particularly in tourist areas: pickpockets and bag-snatchers. Defense is the same anywhere: wear your purse/bag strap over your chest (not just dangling from your shoulder) and hold your bag close. Details...
Mugging (robbery) and rape are rare, but they do happen, so observe the normal travel precautions. Details...
Single male travelers should beware two particular scams aimed at them, one of which even happens on trains.
Women travelers should be sensitive to local customs and attitudes.
TERRORISM: it's everyone's worry these days. Statistically, it is not much of a danger at all (compared to such real big-time killers as traffic accidents), but it makes headlines, so we're frightened.
You must answer this question to fit your personal tolerance for risk. If you believe the statistics and look at it rationally, you'll probably go. If you're going to worry about safety a lot while you're there, the worry may make your trip less pleasant, and so you probably shouldn't go now.
HEALTH
Many people do come down with Travelers' Diarrhea ("the Sultan's Revenge"), and there are cases of more serious gastrointestinal ailments, so observe wise dining habits. The US Government Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website is also useful.
HIGHWAY TRAVEL
Turkey has high vehicular accident and mortality rates. Details...
TRAIN TRAVEL
A variation of the Single Male Scam sometimes happens on trains. Details...
INSURANCE
It's a good idea to review your coverage and decide if you're adequately insured. Here's how...
THE EVIL EYE
It's a very, very old good-luck tradition in Turkey. It can't really hurt you, especially if you're wearing a Nazar Bonjuk! ;-) |
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