How dangerous is Turkey (the country) these days?
 

Would love to visit Turkey, but a lot of scary sh!! in recent news. Anyone have any feel for how dangerous it really is? Has anyone actually been? Are the archaeological sites worth risking my life, or should I shelve the idea for a few decades?

If you go, bring me back some hashish.

People actually visit Turkey?

I fall asleep after I get done.

I'm going to have to know where you stand on our QB situation before I answer.

No. Not a chance.

Watching Midnight Express pretty much killed any chance I would ever go to Turkey.

I watched every second of every Chiefs game for decades but I haven't watched a single game since the trade for Smith became official. I won't watch another until the Chiefs get serious (my opinion) at the QB position.

Sure.

I mean if you count Syrians on their way to Europe...

Damn ! How......insightful of you.
OK, only thing I know about Turkey is from a friends daughter who went there for her husbands work. She seemed to enjoy it. Personally, the only way I would go to any country in the mid east is if I was being paid to. Paid very well.

EDIT: If you haven't watched Midnight Express you should.

Anybody wanting to visit Turkey has either one of two things: Balls the size of coconuts or a brain the size of a pea.

There were jokes about the brutality of Turkish prisons in the 70s.

Now, roaming hordes of covered face, cousin lovers are dulling their blades upon sandstone so it takes longer to cut the heads off of unpleasant looking, fanny pack wearing, gogurt eating people like you.

Did she tour the country or just hang out in one area? How long was she in-country? What all did she see and enjoy the most?

Why not visit Syria instead. They are hungry for tourists.

I'm sorry but it was about 4 or 5 years ago. And most of what she had to say about it was posted on her facebook page. I don't do facebook. I remember talking to her when they came back and she didn't really have anything bad to say about their stay there and sounded like they all enjoyed the experience. I think they were there for about a year. That's about all I got.

EDIT: I do remember her talking about going to a few different touristy places while they were there.

It doesn't sound like great timing

Check the US State Department Travel warnings site.

Turkey used to be a cool place to visit and was extremely secular for that part of the world. Those days have come to an end as far as I'm concerned. You'd have to pay me alot of money and a detailed promise of security to get me anywhere near that place, and I'm a pretty seasoned world traveler.

Any fanny pack wearing pale face gets there head lopped off in that corner of the world gets no sympathy from me.

Turkey's a really cool country. it's got lots and lots of old ruins, it's got Istanbul, it's got cool natural areas...I remember reading once that it has more Roman ruins than Italy does. (Or maybe it was more Greek ruins than Greece does.) I'd love to visit the country, and it was in our top three travel list for several years.

I suspect it's safe. Turks are more European than Middle Eastern, and I think they're proud that they're a secular state rather than a theocracy.

That said, I'm pretty much just avoiding the Muslim world these days. I'll wait another 20 years until it's safe again. These things always run in cycles.

Maybe as a practice run you should visit Chicago and get on the train in a Trump T shirt. Maybe around oak park.

Then don't go.

There is a travel warning from the state.

Well, I don't wear a fanny pack and I'm not particularly pale but I would obviously be a tourist. Looks like there is a bombing every month, just wasn't sure if that is isolated to specific sites or if it is everywhere.

While sites like the US State Department and CDC are good recommendations for lots of travelers, I find that I am less conservative than lots of travelers. Visited a lot of places that people consider dangerous and had no troubles. 2017 Turkey might not fall into that category, though. Just checking if anyone had been recently and could counter what seems to be some pretty terrible violence in the news.

I guess my post could be read as an insult, that wasn't my intend.

I know a few people that have been and they loved it, but were talking 80's/90's. I'd imagine that you could visit without issue.

I would also boycott them for the sole reason that their government has recently been supporting terrorist groups, namely ISIS. Not to mention they just had a pseudo Coup d'état attempt last summer. That's just me though. I'd consider that a young mans play. The older I get the more cautious I get.

What you could do is just wear a fake suicide belt and you would fit right in.

So smart about the Chiefs' QB situation but dumb about going to Turkey.


got it

If you have to ask hope safe a country is, it's probably best not to visit said county.

It's unlikely to get better during our lifetimes. Get there sooner rather than later.

Never understood why someone would want to travel to any 3rd world shithole when there are so many fantastic places right here in the U.S.

Well, I mean the government just staged a coup so they could crack down on basically everything and go farther down the road to full sharia.

So thats nice.

I've never considered Turkey to be a 3rd world country. And, I always thought about it as one of the safer Muslim majority countries. Maybe that is changing, I don't know.

Well here's a recent article.

Just a line near the top that I read, "“the security environment remains potentially volatile and a state of emergency is in place”.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/ad...-for-tourists/

I understand the desire to see some of the ancient ruins and things, but those things can be seen elsewhere. I can't imagine what Turkey could possibly have that is so unique to warrant risking a visit there.

My best friend was there fairly recently, and didn't have anything bad to say about it (I think that was pre-attempted-coup, though). Of course, he's also kind of insane. In addition to working in Dubai for a few years, he has visited places like Yemen, India and Nepal. While the idea of Nepal doesn't seem all that bad (I'd love to see the Himalayas), I wouldn't go to Yemen without a ****ing SEAL team, and as for India, the mere thought of going to a country where everybody smells like some of the scumbags I get stuck sitting next to on the train occasionally is enough to make me want to puke (his post visit stories backed that up, too).

The last place he visited was Cuba. Yes, it's as bad as you think it is. He stayed a some airbnb, and the lady who ran it requested he bring her a skillet, because it's apparently next to impossible to get anything made of metal.

I don't know why he does these things, but he's survived them all so far.

At this point, there aren't many places outside the US I'd feel comfortable visiting. I've always wanted to go back to Europe, but not the way things are now. And one thing I learned from my Navy days is that there's no really no way for me to go anywhere and not radiate being American.

Almost all of those countries are safer than large urban areas in the United States

I had a colleague who was traveling back from China with his wife and four young children. They happened to be having a layover in Instabul. During the coup attempt. They had a couple of tense days to say the least.

Certain parts of those large urban areas, sure. It's not like every block in Chicago is a shooting gallery. I'm not dodging bullets every day on the way to my office in the Loop.

Most of the violence is contained to a handful of really shitty neighborhoods, like Englewood and Back of the Yards, which are both somewhere on the far south side (never been there, never going there). I have lived in a couple of bad neighborhoods on the north side in the past, but they're garden spots compared to those hellholes.

If you have to do this. You should probably just stay away.

Heh used to write those, as for Turkey wasn't a big fan, insanely dirty, smelly just overall unpleasant. I've been to some hell holes but that takes the proverbial cake.

Have you ever been in a Turkish prison?

I probably wouldn't go in a Trump T-shirt, but I think you'd probably be fine.

I'd steer well clear of the Syrian border right now. I'd also probably not be in the business of criticizing Erdogan.

Turks Boo Moment of Silence for Paris Attack Victims

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I am honestly shocked anyone would even be asking this question.

My friend's description of India was horrifying. Insanely crowded, filthy, trash everywhere, animals roaming everywhere, and apparently people would just piss in the street instead of finding a restroom. All of that, plus a pervasive, overpowering stench that just never goes away.

Considering some of the other shitholes he's visited, when he says India is the worst and it's not even close..... Jesus.

Did a little research for you , hope it helps

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Then again, it's the middle east. That chick at the 17 sec. mark was probably about to take a dump on the beach.:D

IN case you don't know what they were chanting, it translates to "Martyrs never die".

In case anyone was curious for context.

Because the context makes it even worse.

Don't let anyone scare you away from going. Just do your research before going. Take cabs at night or whenever you visit someplace that may require you to pass through potentially dangerous neighborhoods. In other words use common sense. Turkey is still a highly visited country for tourists.

Good advice, also avoid any place that has more than 10 people gathered. Although I would avoid taking cabs as suicide bombers use those on a regular basis. Maybe spend as much time as possible at the beach, standing by yourself in the water about 30 feet offshore.

Am I the friend you're talking about, because you just described me.

I will say, though, that while India was far and away the most challenging place I've visited, it was also one of the most interesting. I'm glad I went and I'd go back. I was there half a lifetime ago, so I wonder how it's changed since then.

I can run down to the motel and ask if you want.

Somehow I doubt if it got any better.

If you can ignore the smell of burning bodies coming from the car bomb in front of your hotel you could probably find some good deals and enjoy some amazing babaganoush.

Missed some good football. Too bad.

Missed some bad football too.

wtf? Frazod is here?

Am I in a time warp?

Make Istanbul Constantinople Again!

Where the hell have you been? I've been back for a month now - immediately after the glorious mod regime change, ironically. :)

I just don't post in DC anymore.

Got burnt out. Got sick of thread after thread after thread of negativity so I left. It's the off season so I got bored.

Didn't know (still don't really) about any regime change.

How ya been man?

I'm pretty much the same. Perhaps a bit mellower now. Hope you are well.

You should check the list of moderators at the bottom of the main page. You'll notice that the two assholes who used me as a ****ing chew toy before banning me are absent. I would have never returned otherwise.

Lol, I'm guessing phil and flop?

Must have been some shit. Might have to look for that thread.

Glad you're back.
I take it you're liking this version better?

Good luck - it's three years old. :D

And yes, I'm very pleased with the new direction the place has taken.