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Is Turkey safe?



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queenert




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Sep 19 2014, 12:23 pm
Yeah, yeah…cue the first-impression-to-post-title posts…
Smile

We have a 10 hour stopover in Turkey…is it safe to do a little touring? Any recommendations of what we should do?

Thanks muchly!
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monseychick




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Sep 19 2014, 12:34 pm
I dont have time to read entire thread..


Just stick to chicken, or go vegetarian..
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Scrabble123




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Sep 19 2014, 12:38 pm
queenert wrote:
Yeah, yeah…cue the first-impression-to-post-title posts…
Smile

We have a 10 hour stopover in Turkey…is it safe to do a little touring? Any recommendations of what we should do?

Thanks muchly!


I know people who were recently there. They toured. Thing is that they were women so there was no way to identify them as Jewish. You should call the foreign travel advisory. I would definitely say to avoid any areas near the borden of Syria and Iran. There is always a threat of terrorism there, but again, you should contact someone who is familiar with travel there (such as the US consulate), and decide if it is safe for Jewish people who look Jewish and which areas are best and safe.
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Ruchel




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Sep 19 2014, 1:15 pm
I can put you in touch with locals
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doctorima




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Sep 19 2014, 1:21 pm
monseychick wrote:
I dont have time to read entire thread..


Just stick to chicken, or go vegetarian..


Huh? I think this was posted in the wrong thread.
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morah




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Sep 19 2014, 1:32 pm
I would take care not to look obviously Jewish (either very natural wig or wear tichel like a hijab, dh wears a baseball cap). There is a lot of beautiful Jewish history in Turkey, and I would love to see it one day, so I would say go for it if you have the opportunity, but be careful. They've been rather openly unfriendly lately.
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Scrabble123




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Sep 19 2014, 2:12 pm
doctorima wrote:
Huh? I think this was posted in the wrong thread.

She was being funny...
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grace413




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Sep 20 2014, 3:07 pm
I wouldn't. The situation is very volatile and could change from the time you get on the plane til the time you land.
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etky




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Sep 20 2014, 4:57 pm
grace413 wrote:
I wouldn't. The situation is very volatile and could change from the time you get on the plane til the time you land.


Agree. Turkish Airlines is a great airline and it's safe until it isn't. And that could be at any time, especially with talks bt. Israel and Hamas set to resume on Erev Rosh Hashanah.
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Ruchel




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Sep 20 2014, 5:16 pm
Spoke to locals. It ranges from h-ll no to "sure come". :/ I feel like you can never get a clear answer on a location unless it's a hot zone. That said we've avoided Turkey for many years despite wanting to see Istanbul. That's us. I so wouldn't go. if you do, don't wear a magen david and put a cap on kippa. Tzitzis in though much fewer identify tzitzis over kippa/magen. There have been open threats of "any Jew daring to show up"...
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Mrs Bissli




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Sep 20 2014, 6:14 pm
10 hours should give you enough time to tour the central Istanbul. I would say contact the community first via email and see if they can arrange synagogue visits. There are 4-5 that are open to visitors and are quite beautiful, except the security is understandably tight and you'll need to fax your passport copies in advance. Ferry ride across town is also fun. Food wise it's a bit of challenge now, used to be easy but the family who used to run unofficial resto kind of backed out, so now it's a bit harder unless you know people in the community. (I can put you in touch with some folks if you need.) I was supposed to go to a wedding there over the summer, didn't work out because of my work schedule but friends who went there had fab time. It is a beautiful city. Definitely don't miss Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia (which is not a functioning church anymore), I didn't have time to go the entire Topcapi Palace. To be honest I wasn't that impressed with Grand Bazaar, probably because I was afraid of getting lost or pickpocketed, and the concept of ancient indoor mall wasn't that novel after mahane Yehuda and the Old City.

P.S. Istanbul is NOWHERE near Iraqi/Syrian border, if you check the map!!
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zaq




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 21 2014, 1:27 am
doctorima wrote:
Huh? I think this was posted in the wrong thread.


No, dear. The poster was being funny.
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DrMom




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 21 2014, 2:48 am
With the current govt in Turkey, I wouldn't want to spend a penny there, as much of it goes into anti-Israel activities. (Personally, I wouldn't fly through there either for the same reason.)
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etky




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 21 2014, 3:23 am
DrMom wrote:
With the current govt in Turkey, I wouldn't want to spend a penny there, as much of it goes into anti-Israel activities. (Personally, I wouldn't fly through there either for the same reason.)


Not just anti-Israel activities. Turkey is a key supporter and abetter of jihadi terror that targets all 'infidels'- individuals and regimes - in the immediate region and in the West, while posing as a US ally and NATO member.
Many people that we know who've happily flown Turkish in the past have decided against it now for ideological but also practical reasons. During the war this summer Israel had to retrieve passengers stranded in Istanbul after Turkish refused to fly them to Tel Aviv (when other airlines had resumed flights after the brief hiatus). Israelis were also advised then to keep a low profile while in the Istanbul airport. This type of situation, or worse, can develop again. Sure, it's not as risky as flying to the Far East through Amman on Royal Jordanian or on Qatari Airways via Cyprus and Qatar like some people we know (mostly young adults after the army) but still.
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