PSA: Go to Turkey
I just got back from a trip that included 11 days in Turkey (Istanbul, Kuşadası, Ephesus, Konya, Cappadocia). Like a lot of people, I was really concerned about the travel advisories - I was particularly wondering if being American would make any difference. Fortunately I listened to advice from people on this subreddit who have been there recently and decided to go. I took an Intrepid tour for 7 days and was completely solo in Istanbul for 4 days.This is an opinion from my personal experience there: the fear mongering about visiting Turkey is complete B.S. I met some of the nicest and most hospitable people I've ever encountered in my travels around the world. If you stay in the most heavily touristic areas of Istanbul (like Sultanahmet), you'll see some aggressive touting, but if you get outside to areas like Kadiköy or to the other cities I mentioned above, the people are amazing. One of my favorite moments on this trip was when a family eating breakfast in a Kadiköy park offered me a taste of their food (in spite of the language barrier). I hope I never forget that moment as a reminder of how beautiful people can be.The political situation is definitely complicated in Turkey, but as a tourist I felt very safe and comfortable the entire time. (Istanbul is a huge city so you still need to take the same precautions you would in any other large city.) And if you, like me, love visiting places with minimal Americans this a great time to visit. I think I saw about 6 Americans in that whole time. There were very few Westerners in general, with a slightly larger group of people from Australia.This probably best sums up the situation from a Turkish perspective: I asked my Intrepid tour leader how he felt about Americans being afraid to go to Turkey right now. His response: "I would say you're probably more likely to get shot in America than in Turkey." Note to Americans - our gun violence makes us look batshit crazy to everyone else. via /r/solotravel https://ift.tt/2SJVLcK
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