Taksim Square, where all the protests took place and may again, on the other hand, is more like Time

Fact 11. "The government seems to be under the impression that the United States is aiding them to establish the Ottoman Empire emerald isle nc vacation rentals again. Based on that belief and having been shown multiple times as the only country with "moderate islam" and "democracy" for other Islamic countries to emulate, they think that they are special.
Fact 13. As a result of the last three facts above, the people of Turkey and visitors are under possible threat from neighbors or terrorists commissioned by these neighbors with whom the country has over one thousand miles of land borders, most of which is impossible to fully patrol.
Fact 14. In the last two weeks, seven large groups emerald isle nc vacation rentals of smugglers ranging from 600 to 4000 strong, some on foot, some on horseback and some on vehicles, have been repulsed by the armed forces at various points on the 560 mile Syrian border. This probably means that other groups may not have been seen and may have sneaked throuhgh, emerald isle nc vacation rentals especially those in smaller numbers.
I'm leaving Thursday for a cruise that departs Istanbul on Saturday. I truly wish I wasn't going which is very sad. (No trip insurance and no lectures emerald isle nc vacation rentals please. I feel bad enough.) People plan trips for months, and for some even years, and to not want to go is just horrible. I know things can happen anywhere but, it just seems like the area is the wrong place to be right now.
You will have terrific food, the best tomatoes ever, excellent baklava, at Gulluoglu on your way towards Galata bridge from the cruise ship docks, incredible photographic opportunities. some hot weather, almost as many antique sites as in Rome. It is a pity that you have only two days or less here.
I started this thread to warn adventurers who may be considering going close to the Syrian, Iraqi and Iranian borders. Those borders are 600-1100 miles away. very long distances in European terms. So please do not worry. You will find some very friendly people here who will go out of their way to make your stay enjoyable.
Thanks all. Yes, I already have been helped by many with my preliminary planning. We're going on a Windstar Cruise that departs Istanbul on Saturday. My friend and I are flying emerald isle nc vacation rentals in the day before. I'm not a cruise person but my friend loves them so that's how we're going. I think I was more excited about seeing Istanbul than any of the ports on this cruise (it criss crosses between Greece Turkey). I'm hoping that once I get there I'll forget about all that's emerald isle nc vacation rentals going on.
The Turkish people and hospitality are one of the best in the world and Europe, especially in the small towns. Once you get there, emerald isle nc vacation rentals you won't want to leave. emerald isle nc vacation rentals We had the same reservations and everyone emerald isle nc vacation rentals was enchanted with our stay and we still talk about the helpfulness of the Turkish people.
Have travelled extensively and the touts in Turkey were some of the worst I've encountered. To say the touts in Turkey were annoying is an under statement. I'm glad I have visited Turkey, some sights are impressive. Having emerald isle nc vacation rentals said that, I have no desire to return mainly because of the touts.
This kind of behavior is reserved emerald isle nc vacation rentals for a specific type of foreign tourist emerald isle nc vacation rentals who looks the type and are mistakenly believed emerald isle nc vacation rentals to be real shoppers. Unfortunately our poster here was just staring emerald isle nc vacation rentals and not interested in buying or making use of the services but still walking in those areas looking like that type of tourist.
This kind of behavior is reserved for a specific type of foreign tourist who looks the type and are mistakenly believed to be real shoppers. Unfortunately our poster here was just staring and not interested in buying or making use of the services but still walking in those areas looking like that type of tourist.
emerald isle nc vacation rentals sparkchaser, you're right, the touts in India and Morocco were just as annoying. There are a few other countries I've been that would belong on the world's most annoying touts list. I've been to more than 100 countries, and I'm happy to report only a handful of countries would make the list.
I fail to see how I was in the wrong area of town. Otherchelebi is right about me staying in a touristy location. In Istanbul I stayed in Sultanhamet. Sultanahamet is where the majority of sights are in Istanbul and the area is full of annoying touts. Any tourist to Istanbul would be walking in Sultanahamet sooner emerald isle nc vacation rentals or later.
Once outside of Istanbul, depending emerald isle nc vacation rentals on where I was I did encounter touts but they weren't as aggressive emerald isle nc vacation rentals as those in Istanbul. In smaller towns/cities like Goreme, Ephesus, Punamakale, there really isn't a choice emerald isle nc vacation rentals of which part of town to be as the towns are tiny.
A lot of foreigners have erroneous ideas about the US, such as the NYC and Washington DC are "dangerous" cities, more than Istanbul. Tell that to that US female tourist killed there last year. Washington DC isn't particularly "dangerous" to any tourist. It has a somewhat higher crime rate in some categories than other US cities, emerald isle nc vacation rentals but it isn't related to tourists. I think there was some history (many years ago) about DC having the highest murder rate in the US, but that was basically due to poorer, high-crime fringe neighborhood areas that were nowhere near the downtown or where any tourist would be. And it was quite a while ago. St Louis, Seattle, Philadelphia, emerald isle nc vacation rentals Atlanta and Kansas City have higher violent crime rates than Washington DC, as do many other cities. They aren't in the top 10 cities in aggravated assault rates, either, nor murder. Now Detroit and New Orleans are worse than DC, actually. NYC isn't near the top in crime rates, either.
BTW, I found the touts in Istanbul very charming and hilarious! I sat with one for 30 mins chatting with one carpet seller, as he was once madly in love with an Irish girl in London, but the families would not let them marry. Probably a pile of B*ll**, but a very entertaining tale none the less
The advantage of staying in this area is that you can go back to rest in your hotel during the day between visits to the major sites such as Topkapi Palace, Basilica Cistern, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Hippodrome.
The disadvantage of the area are the touts, the touristic food, the lack of local color and culture and the lack of night life except for and with tourists, in addition to the distance emerald isle nc vacation rentals to the nice areas of the city where the more modern regular people live, eat, shop, sit at cafes and socialize.
Taksim Square, where all the protests took place and may again, on the other hand, is more like Times Square in NYC or Leicester Square in London although it never empties with life going on 24 hours and some fast food restaurants and small shops staying open very very late.
Thanks so much for this post!! emerald isle nc vacation rentals I had started a thread a few months ago regarding the safety emerald isle nc vacation rentals of Turkey. We're honeymooning in Istanbul this October and both my and my FI's family were really concerned about our safety. At the time, most people in the thread thought it was crazy to be concerned, but now it seems like things are escalating and the worries are only getting stronger. Its good to hear that we still won't feel like we're in any danger in Istanbul!
Have travelled extensively and the touts in Turkey were some of the worst I've encountered. To say the touts in Turkey were annoying is an under statement. I'm glad I have visited Turkey, some sights are impressive. Having said that, I have no desire to return mainly because of the touts."
Well siad, the touts in Turkey were horrible, possibly the worst ever. I don't beleive for one second that you ask for a tout to approach you by looking emerald isle nc vacation rentals like a ?type? of tourist. Touts are just out to make money and take tourists for a ride. Turkish touts are horrid.
Have a friend who was living in Istanbul for a major bank (she's not Turkish and took a job offer in Istanbul a little over two years ago). She has left because of the troubles emerald isle nc vacation rentals there and asked for a job transfer. emerald isle nc vacation rentals From what she says, the situation isn't good and could get out of hand at a moments notice. Turkey will be hurting for tourism dollars given that people are scared to go, I certainly wouldn't consider a visit and think it's irresponsible to say it's alright to visit Turkey at this time.
The tourists aren't going to be in the residental areas away from the protests.................. Protests (if any), violence (if any) will occur in the city center, Taksim Square and central areas of the city.
I have also been considered to be rather objective and unbiased emerald isle nc vacation rentals in the information and analysis I have given in over 5,000 posts on Fodor's and Trip Advisor, as well as my blogs and reviews, including those on Amazon.
I am a very socially and politically concerned individual following the national press in Turkey and the major international papers in US and UK as well as the social media on what goes on not only in Turkey and in the Middle East but in as many locations as draw my interest.
For more of my detailed political, literary, social and philosophical views you may wish to follow me on twitter. But those will be slanted or biased because twitter is where I divulge my thoughts on people and events rather than trying to empathise with the visitors to Turkey or assist them in their plans and risk management.
If you go to Trip Advisor, you will see some threads of one or two visitors who had bad experiences in Turkey and tried to blame, emerald isle nc vacation rentals tauts, inconsiderate people or taxi driver scams; but you will have many multiples of those who cannot stop saying more about the friendliness of the people they met, the food, the sights, emerald isle nc vacation rentals the quality of the services.....
emerald isle nc vacation rentals If you prefer to decide on say-so and views of people you can judge from their previous posts, or lack of previous posts, emerald isle nc vacation rentals you could be apprehensive during your visit and not enjoy it. But remember, most destination have negative things written about them mostly for very personal reasons.
A note : My younger daughter's in-laws are here now from Detroit. We drove down from Istanbul to Alacati-Cesme together, had some quality time at excellent cafes, restaurant and bars last night. Father in law swam in the