Stay safe, KT. Glad you and yours are OK.

Good to hear from you KT. Nice to see your article in The Foreign Correspondent.

Thaks Leman. It turned out to be very topical :p

Glad your all ok over there.

Quote from: Steve J on 16 July 2016, 08:44:29 AM
Glad to hear he's fine . We're due off on holiday there in 3 weeks so are watching things closely...

Steve,

I appreciate last nights violence is concerning, and obviously I don't know what part of the country you are going to, but Mrs Orcs and I went to Kalkan via Dalaman airport last month.  Various people questioned why on earth we were going due to bombs etc. I replied that it could happen anywhere - and two days later it did in Brussels airport. It has tragically happened again in Nice.  So you are not truly safe anywhere.

We found (as we have before) that everyone is polite friendly and helpful.

It was very sad to see how few tourist were not there. Rows of restaurants, with NO CUSTOMER S at 13.00  One place we ate said  the best day the previous week he had sold 38 meals.  We went on a days Canoe outing and their were only 4 paying customers. Despite this  We were well looked after, treated like life long friends and at the BBQ midday were constantly asked if we wanted more to eat. They did not try to skimp on anything despite the total takings for his days work (plus 2 other staff)  and the  BBQ  being less than £50.

The advice on the government website has not changed much since we went, and is mainly common sense - 

Obviously you need to watch what happens now, but if you can see to going, the normal people of Turkey could do with our support.

Orcs

Glad everyone is okay.

Quote from: KTravlos on 16 July 2016, 09:39:37 AM
We are ok. Onur, Doruk, Emir and Mehmet have reported in safe.

Very glad to hear this

While ISIS and TAK bombs are a threat, they are a calculated risk no more high than the chance of getting hit by a car. I am not going to lie and say its safe. But it is also not Syria (As long as you stay away from the East of the country. That is a full out war there).

I think the political game is going to quite. The coup was a last hurrah of a losing part of the old winning coalition, and the old army Kemalists and Goverment have cut a deal. So barring extraordinary things, I expect political stability for the next decade. Its not going to be nice, but it will be relatively peaceful.

Of course if IS is defeated in Syria-Iraq it might enter Turkey, so things might get bad. But we are taking 3-5 years down the path, and beyond the rare bombing, western Turkey is safe.

We fly into Bodrum and then off to Altinkum/Didim. Given recent events and having lived in nigeria for 5 years, I know that no-where is safe. Cycling to work each days is way more dangerous than going to Turkey! I know our family will be more concerned than us when we are there, so it's more a case of assuring them that things will be fine.

Just seen that 15,200 education staff suspended/sacked by the Turkish government . Hope all ok with K Travlos?

No idea. I did get a recent op-ed publication in Turkish Review, which was one of the publications sacked by the Goverment a couple of months ago. I will tell you guys when I know. Let us see how things go until after the next weekend.

Fingers crossed

Glad to hear you and yours are ok and let's all hope it gets sorted out quickly.

MickS