With the recent political strain between Turkey and America, Would a single female be safe traveling to Turkey

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sorusoran

don't wear mini skirts out of the touristic places and avoid to stay alone if u wear mini skirt well... and also don't go to far east where the kurds live in . also stay away from dark poor looking middle easterns . U may be safe in ege thrace and in ovaral marmara regions .

Political confilict is meaningless for personal relations of turks and americans but as i said stay avoid to dress too sexy and stay avoid to be alone with dark skinned eastern males .

violation against tourist females are rare , around 7.5 million female tourist visited turkey last year . only 102 of them was unluck , ok not too bad .

problem and violance is not because of the turks but kurds
visit thrace and then see the kurds in istanbul , u'll see the difference and get what i mean .

Ipek K

Well, the only danger you will face will be getting hit by some Turkish guys if you are good looking:).

Being a lone female traveler- especially in a metropolitan city like Istanbul- has its own risks all over the world and same apply to Istanbul as well.

Turks don't have any problem with American individuals. We simply don't approve USA's Middle Eastern Politics and Mr. Bush isn't in our all time favorites list, either. Other than that, we also don't like to be stereotyped :)

Just take the necessary precautions as a women in a big city, be careful about carrying valuables around with you, don't befriend any suspicious person and don't go into places that looks "not quite right".

Don't worry; you will be fine. There are a lot of Americans who come to visit Turkey and as far as I know, nothing happened to any of them because of their nationality.

There are also quite a number of American citizens who live and work in Turkey and I happen to know a lot of them and they faced not even one single assault or harassment because of their nationality.

I hope your friend will also guide you in details about do's and don'ts and I am sure you will have an amazing time in Istanbul.

********************************

EDIT : ALANA: The workers that Tony is talking about are the ILLEGAL workers in Turkey. They don't have any social security benefits,they can't get solid jobs because they are ILLEGAL, they will be deported if they are caught, etc... I don't know which part of ILLEGAL you don't want to understand. It seems like you are twisting the story here.

I really don't want to remind you the the situations if Illegal Mexican or Cuban workers in your country but it is about the same.

I R G _ H I Q

I personally feel your safety is no different than any other Eurasian country. First go to the state dept website to look for any travel alerts, and then when you get to Turkey inform the embassy or a local conciliate notice that you are there. As far as using extreme caution what does that mean hiring an armed body guard? Just us common since, act like the locals, and do not be "the loud American".

Oh as much as I love America when I travel I keep that fact on the DL, but I was doing this prior to 9/11. Most people do not like the American government not the people. Keep this in mind when you are traveling overseas you are an unofficial ambassador of the US, so if you do come across those who do not like the the US by your good nature you can change a mind. Go and have fun.

Qu'est ce que tu pense?

I think it's just that Americans are prone to stereotyping. Turkey is a lovely country, with lovely people. Nobody would ever want to intentionally cause you any harm there, but of course you have your criminals as in every country. I think you'd be missing out on a ton of fun if you were to be afraid of going to such a gorgeous country. Don't live your life in a stereotyped bubble!

Oekaki

Being an American is no reason for worry in and of itself. Turks are aware of the distinction between the American people and the American government. They may ask you pointed and unpleasant questions about the war in Iraq or the American support for Israel (even that is not very likely, unless you bring up the subject), but of course they won't harm or harass you just because you're an American. They tend to be very friendly toward foreign visitors, irrespective of their nationality. (Yes, even toward Greeks, mousybaby.)

Traveling alone as a female tourist is another issue. As long as you stick to touristy and/or urban areas, you will be fine. If you will be in Istanbul all the time, you shouldn't have any problems in terms of safety, other than possible pickpocketing. If you want to explore the less traveled rural parts of the country, I would advise you to dress moderately (long sleeves, long pants) and preferably have your Turkish friend accompany you. Otherwise, you may get unwanted attention from Turkish guys. That is not necessarily a dangerous thing, but we did have a couple of rape incidents recently, so it is always good to exercise caution. Millions of tourists (including Americans) come to Turkey every year, and the vast majority of them don't encounter any problems.

In short: no need for extreme caution, just use basic common sense and you'll be fine. Enjoy your trip!

Totally Blunt

Fareed Zakaria was voicing his concerns about how Arabs are treated in his country, regardless of their education level and wealth. Your country has turned tough on everybody else, but I haven't witnessed the same about your compatriots in my country. They are coming and going with the same ease, working here with the same acceptance and comfort.

I am really tired of giving the same answer, but I would be more concerned about going to New York.

Take the precautions you would take any place you are going for the first time and enjoy!

greetings_losers

"but as a single white female" My my my... I'd tell you you'd be fine but I wont. Actually you would be fine but if you travel somewhere with this mindset you will be more preoccupied of your safety than of your travel. Istanbul crawls with foreigners, as long as you dont tie a band on your forehead reading AMERICAN WHO SUPPORTS BUSH, you'll be fine. Tho I wouldnt recommend you to do the same thing in Italy, Greece or France as well.

gugu

Turkey is full of single-white females. LOL.
All the Turkish girls are "white".
We don't like to categorize people but that's the truth, we are white. Meaning=you will not be noticed.
Could you be so kind to tell us, please, What kind of research did you make to conclude that it is not safe?
Because if it is that unsafe for Americans, then what the heck are those thousands of happy Americans doing in Turkey?

Trotsky vs Kerensky- ÐÐµÐºIÐ¾!

Wow, I can't believe I will be seeing a white female tourist! Hallelujah! Oh dear Lord I've never imagined of seeing a white walkin' around in the streets of Istanbul!

Geronimoooooooooooo! C'mon girls sing with me, dear Lord praise Turks yea! Then I saw a white woman datdatdatdat now I'm a believer datdatdat! Not a trace -yeah- of doubt in my mind datdatdat

Matt

I am an American single man that has been living near Istanbul for 1 year. I know a few American girls also living here alone. They always feel completely safe here, but are also careful which neighborhoods they stay in. As long as you are in the common tourist districts and "upper class" areas of Istanbul, you will be safe. Just have the same caution you would have when traveling to any other large city. There are many dangerous areas, and of course these areas are even worse at night. So, just don't go to those areas. There's nothing to see there anyway.

My advice is to also stay in Sultanahmet (the area with most of the historical stuff) during the day. Same goes for Taksim (Istanbul's time square).

Areas like Levent, Etiler, Ulus, Bebek and Ortakoy are very safe.

Just be careful not to wander in unknown areas or "get lost" and you will be fine.

TEAL'C

I agree with Ipek K and Totally Blunt's answers.

Turkey is a safe country, of course. You will be fine, don't worry.

We just don't accept certain people's arrogance, regardless of their citizenship or origins.

In addition to Totally Blunt's post, yes we would like also to know how would be the safety of a " single Turkish female" in Downtown Chicago, Harlem or in a remote county of Kentucky ( you know it well, all these american-made movies which depict crimes and rapes occuring in the US).

Yes, I would like to know who will feel safer : The "single white american female" in Turkey, or the " single white turkish female" in the US... Which one?

â™¥ â˜¼ â™« Ibrahim â™« â˜¼ â™¥

So you think we are not White?...

The education level in the USA is even lower and more pitiful than I expected...

Fatma

We will protect you.

â™¥BarÄ±ÅŸ Awarenessâ™¥

I understand exactly what
you are asking, and from
what I can see only few you
answered you correctly.
Comparing the crime statistics
of the country you are from
to the country your going
is not much help, especially
when you are aware that
crimes committed against
tourists for racial reasons
in the USA do not even exist.
I am sure you know you should
always exercise extreme caution
in what ever country you travel to.
Besides if American tourists were
victims of hate crimes in Turkey,
I am sure we would of heard
about it by now.

BTW, since when has Harlem
considered a tourist attraction?

ADD :( Harlem FYI, is now a
business district..for those
who want to make it a tourist
attraction...nothing to see except
industrial complexes,..
Just think not even 20 years ago
it was a drug invested, decaying
condemned section where murder
was considered a national pastime
...so insinuating that
African Americans would vacation
there would be an insult to their
intelligence.
It doesn't surprise me though coming
from someone who further humiliates
them self by implying that a country's
economic struggles can be deduced
to an individual's plight..
Unfortunately, the only realistic but
sad truth that has come from your
post is the mistreatment of the
workers in your country.

Add: Armenians are the highest
percentage of people
denied work visas in Turkey.
Statistics show that Armenians
are lowest percentage of the
illegal immigration problem in
Turkey, so I am baffled why the
exploitation of the "illegal" Armenian
workers in Turkey is most often
what aTurk is so eager to point out.

What is that good treatment?

mousybabie

I would tend to say "no" but it would be worse if you were a greek lady. be sure to stick close to your friend

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