I have heard few things that it is not safe for a woman to travel alone or even 2 or 3 together in Turkey becuz they get kidnapped and stuff. Anyone who has been there can please verify this for me. Is it better to stay with the package group or can you go around yourself?
Re: How safe is Turkey?
well.. i was in istanbul, kusadasi, bodrum, bursa.. and i felt completely safe
dunno about a single woman though
Re: How safe is Turkey?
Could you tell me more...how are people over there and the environment.
Do you see tourists everywhere....are there good resturants and places for shopping, particular in Istanbul.
Re: How safe is Turkey?
From whom have you heard such an absurdity, i really wonder. I live in Istanbul and I've never heard a story about a kidnapped tourist or sth. else in Turkey. Ahh, god, you're talking about a country where **20 million **tourists visit every year and ever more, certain amount of West Europeans had bought houses and settled in west Turkey coasts. How come it would be dangerous for tourists ?
Believe me, you'll feel much safer in Turkey than rest of Europe. And please don't believe such disinformations.
You're welcome in Turkey and evermore being a Paki you'll welcomed more than others since Turks love Paki people. :)
Re: How safe is Turkey?
Sure there are. Actually world’s first and stil one of the biggest bazaar (Grand Bazaar) is in Istanbul. And yet, there are some other modern shopping centers like MetroCity, Akmerkez etc. Here is some information about them…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_shopping_malls_in_Istanbul
**The Grand Bazaar (Kapalicarsi) : **The world famous Covered bazaar (Kapali Carsi) is, owing to its architecture, history, location, and sheer variety of marchandise, one of Istanbul’s most significant tourist sites. The Bazaar has eight different entrances, each of them facing one of the city’s most important historic monuments. In terms of structure, the visitor is confronted by what may at first seem a bewildering a maze of 61 streets. The streets themselves are arranged on a grid-like system, are traditionally shopkeepers have tended to group themselves according to the type of goods they sell, whether it be jewellery, antiques, carpets, copper, or leather goods. The Bazaar also functions as an unofficial financial centre, with a particular emphasis on gold and foreign exchange trading. Most shopkeepers will exchange different currencies.
http://www.anzac.govt.nz/images/gguide/pan-stills/grand-bazaar.jpg
http://www.humanreproethics.org/images/kapal�%20�ar��.gif
**Egyptian Spice Bazaar : **The Spice Bazaar was built in 1660 by the architect Kazım Aga at the behest of Sultan Turhan. It gains its Turkish name, Mısır Çarşısı (Egyptian Bazaar), from the fact that it once received income from taxes levied on Egypt. The English name hails from the days when the bazaar specialised in the sale of herbs and spices, medicinal plants, and drugs. While the colour and aroma pervading the covered hallway may since have faded to some extent, a small number of shops do still stock the traditional products.
Akmerkez : The 226 independent units in the retail centre are housed on three floors and sell anything from fashionware, accessories and shoes to books, electronics, cosmetics, giftware, and interior furnishings. The top floor is set aside for fast food restaurants and a multi-screen cinema. Akmerkez opens seven days of a week. On the basis of its innovative design and professional management, Akmerkez was voted Europeas best shopping mall in 1994 by the International Shopping Centre Commission.
http://www.humanreproethics.org/images/akmerkez.jpg
**Metrocity **: Metrocity having sixty thousand-square meters of construction area offers a relaxing shopping environment under the natural sun light. It has a direct connection to 1.Levent subway station. Metrocity complex has a car park facility with capacity of 2,500 parking spaces and the shopping center consists of 136 stores, variety of restaurants and cafes.
http://www.yuksel-yapi.com.tr/images/illust.jpg
http://www.yuksel-yapi.com.tr/images/gece.jpg
Cevahir Istanbul Shopping Center : Cevahir Istanbul opened on 15th of October as the biggest shopping center in Europe and the second in the world. It has a car park with capacity of 2,500 parking spaces and the shopping center consists of 280 stores, 34 fast food place and 14 exclusive restaurants. Having three hundred fifty six thousand square meters of construction area Cevahir Istanbul has 3 subway stations in its complex.
Re: How safe is Turkey?
BTW, don't hesitate to ask more information if you need more...
Re: How safe is Turkey?
I came back from bodrum (south coast of Turkey) 2 weeks ago…We found it completely safe and the people are ever so welcoming and friendly. They’ll love u if u tell them that u r pakistani/muslim.
They show a lot of respect for muslim people and for ladies with hijabs.
I’d love to go back…and to visit Istanbul.
wow beautiful pics Galatia, thanks for sharing. :k:
Re: How safe is Turkey?
Istanbul rocks...my bro went last years with friends, he thoroughly enjoyed it.
Re: How safe is Turkey?
this was covered in another thread about travelling to turkey…
advantage is we blend in so then dont know we are tourists..
tourists were asking me for directions so i had to tell them i dont know!!
istanbul has been a meeting place for centuries so u will see plenty of tourists and the locals are very friendly and used to us… shop till u drop in the grand bazaar!!
bursa i did not see tourists.. it felt like i was in russia coz the people were very white looking, tower blocks, and russian style english writing… people were friendly and helpful though.. this guy got off the bus with me and walked me to where i needed to go… that was nice of him…
other places kusadasi/bodrum are resort towns on the coast so more west europeans than locals.. istanbul is better for shopping though.. not much selection in coastal places..
Re: How safe is Turkey?
yes.. there faces would light up whenever i said i was from pakistan…
someone told me this is because at the end of WWI when the ottoman empire collapsed and turkey was bankrupt.. the indians in the subcontinent felt so bad for their fellow muslims they raised money… and the women even took their wedding rings/necklaces/bangles off to send to turkey.. this helped found one of the major banks… so the people of turkey were very touched by this that they never forget and treat us so well … 
Re: How safe is Turkey?
Great feedback…Thanks for the replies everyone. Just wondering everyone who has replied here, how many of you are women? I would like to hear from a gal who has experienced going alone.
My parents are freaking out 
and I need to know if you will send your sister(s)/friend alone and they will stay in hotels for 2 weeks.
Also, I have searched the hotels…some are really crappy and some are awesome depending on the star. So which one would you prefer.
Also need to know if all food is Halal over there. and NOt like half half like Malaysia.
Thanks 
Re: How safe is Turkey?
Dear Jal_Pari;
I'm a Turk who lis iving in Istanbul. First of all, Istanbul is a metropolis which has a population of more than 10 millions. So there's some chance of that you may face bad people. However, despite Istanbul is much safer than other European cities (London, Paris, Rome), i've never met someone asking for these cities if they're safe.
Anyways, If you tell me the hotel's name where you'll stay, i would do a search for you, inform you about if it's good and safe.
Food is halal. There's no problem for that. (BTW, how come food can be half halal ?)
I'm waiting for your other questions.
Re: How safe is Turkey?
this is the hotel I stayed in
http://www.megarahotel.com/ … goto the section on megarahotel, not megarapalace… it was very good quality for decent price in very good location of sultanhamet historic district walking district to main sights (haga sofia, topkapi palace, blue mosque)
i would recommend my sister goto istanbul but i doubt she’d go alone.. the taxi drivers i found a bit pushy at times.. when i got to izmir they lied and said the bus was broken so i would have to take a taxi for $150 dollars to kusadasi.. when in fact the bus was boarding on the other side of the building..
also saw a documentary about how russian girls are kidnapped/sold and taken to turkey to work as prostitutes… best to go with a friend.. or the hotel i recommend has free internet so keep in touch daily to let people know where u are and ur plans for each day..
Re: How safe is Turkey?
I was going to travel to turkey last summer but this seriously put me off. My friend went on with her husband, she said she was crying at the airport because of the way they were looking at her and treating her husband, just becoz she was wearing a hijab and he had a big beard. ( shes saudi )
Re: How safe is Turkey?
^^ strange...I don't have a beard and neither does my brother...but my sis wears a hijab (a proper one - not one of those hankerchief ones) - we had no trouble what so ever....they actually thought we were saudis at first.
What part of turkey did she go to?
Re: How safe is Turkey?
look lady. a woman is afraid only because she is made to feel that way, in any establishment.
u should walk fearless, without inviting trouble.
if u are good, Allah is with u and u are protected.
it also does not hurt to walk along a friend..
Re: How safe is Turkey?
What part of turkey did she go to?
she went to istanbul, since tht incident i have made many turkish and when i told them abt this they said its not becoz she was wearing hijab or her husband had a beard but becoz of the fact of them not being turkish. They have a very strong sense of nationalism and i think they put "turk" before islam, but thts wot ive heard from my turkish friends. And yeh, i dont know y, but they love us, koi to hai is duniya mein jo hamsay itna pyar karta hai, i remember my cousin going there 2 years ago and he said they loved him when the words "im paki" came out of his mouth, and he got even more popular becoz his name was tayib, which is the name of their president or prime minister.
Re: How safe is Turkey?
advantage is we blend in so then dont know we are tourists.. tourists were asking me for directions so i had to tell them i dont know!!
They know, and they can tell.
The touts is Istanbul are pretty savvy even if you are not asking for directions.
Re: How safe is Turkey?
Turkish people are extremely nice and friendly. The public officials/workers (police men, airport workers and customs ) are very gruff. Some of the events reminded me of old cold-war era movies shot in Eastern Europe.
Re: How safe is Turkey?
when i got to izmir they lied and said the bus was broken so i would have to take a taxi for $150 dollars to kusadasi.. when in fact the bus was boarding on the other side of the building..
They expect you to haggle and haggle you should. It's actually a lot of fun. :D