Turkey

[suespud]

Just come back from a cheapie 7 days in Bitez Turkey.
Our hotel was FULL..as it was a Turkish family run hotel.
It was also the end of Ramadan, so it was holiday time too.
LOTS of Turkish families all over the resort.
We were the the only couple from the UK in our hotel.

Hotel was ok..friendly staff.
Food was plentiful if not a bit repetitive. We ate out 4 out of 7 nights even though we were half board.

A 3 course meal in the best Trip Advisor restaurant for last year in Bitez including wine and two cocktails..fillet steak..seafood to die for..was only £58 for us both !! The Lemon Tree, it was called.

We had a lovely chilling out week.

BUT...after speaking to many people running the shops and hotels..things are really bad.
bookings down 70% compared with this time last year.
Holidays have been cancelled..late bookings not being taken up.
Seemingly people from Holland are still going..but hardly anyone from UK and other countries.
The blame is being solely put at the Press.scaremongering people, about the risks.
WE felt as safe as we do anywhere else.
There is extra securities at the airports, but that has to be a good thing.

We also won another weeks free holiday in the Hotel raffle..for next year.

[The Tinker]

Glad you had a good time but I think the majority of Brits do not want to be looking over their shoulder when on holiday. The horrors of the Tunisia killings will stay in peoples minds for a long time.

Only today on Facebook is a picture of someone from ISIS on a Turkey beach - I, for one, would not risk myself or family visiting these places at the moment.

I am actually counting the days until my son comes back from Cyprus as he is holidaying there at the moment - even though there
the risk is low

[Onelife]

Hi Sue,

With regard to the press scaremongering....where are you safe these days? l was only reading this morning about two young ladies who went to the cinema for a night out only to have a nutter sitting behind them shoot them both dead. I can't honestly see how you can avoid these dispicable people. It's a sad fact of life but we have reached a point where you could be enjoying a day out anywhere and end up dead whether it be here or abroad.

Regards

Keith

[oldbluefox]

The Americans send out the Navy Seals to sort out Isis, the Brits send out the SAS but not to be beaten the Geordies send out Sue!!! Welcome back Sue!! Pleased you had a good time.

Unfortunately the Press do like to hype everything up and frighten people. We were in Germany when the IRA were active and suffered a couple of bomb blasts and a shooting where we were based. However, despite what the newspapers were printing life went on as normal and as Onelife rightly says, you can never tell what nutters there are around who will do you damage. Whilst you can take every precaution there is no guarantee what may happen next and you cannot live your life in a bubble. Personally I would say Tunisia will never be safer at the moment with all the security in place.

[Ray Scully]

Sue

It is a question of perspective. There are about 18000 deaths in the UK a year caused by accidents and external caused
I would not be surprised if the odd one was due to choking on an overdone toast crust

Ray

[suespud]

Hi Sue,

With regard to the press scaremongering....where are you safe these days? l was only reading this morning about two young ladies who went to the cinema for a night out only to have a nutter sitting behind them shoot them both dead. I can't honestly see how you can avoid these dispicable people. It's a sad fact of life but we have reached a point where you could be enjoying a day out anywhere and end up dead whether it be here or abroad.

Regards

Keith

Keith I agree.
Of course I dont for one minute think people should go anywhere near the Syrian Border or places that are obviously very high threat.

But I am in the" dont let the bastards run your life" camp.
On our local news this week..a man running round Morrisons with a machete..
and another young man in court because he was going to blow up a local college..

Be vigilant of course, but enjoy life.

I remember a few days after the London Bombings my OH had to go into London on business..I was a bit scared I admit.
But his opinion was..sod them, they will not ruin my life!!
Do we all put our lives on hold?
Are we more likely to be hit by a car or bus..than caught up in an act of terrorism....
Everyone has their own thoughts of course... But I for one will not have my life dictated to by terrorists.

Tinker..not at any point did we feel we had to look over our shoulders. In fact I felt more on edge in London a few weeks ago !!

[Dancing Queen]

The Americans send out the Navy Seals to sort out Isis, the Brits send out the SAS but not to be beaten the Geordies send out Sue!!! Welcome back Sue!! Pleased you had a good time.

Love it !!!

[Kenmo1]

Funnily enough, we spotted 2 cruises which included Turkey in the Thomas Cook window this morning, both at excellent prices. We have been to Istanbul twice and absolutely love it and we would have walked in there and then if it wasn't for the fact that Ken is waiting for a cataract op. However, our conversation as we walked home was exactly along the same lines as the rest of this thread. Where are you safe nowadays? I think PO would pull out immediately at any hint of a problem but I should imagine the more elderly people who are in a position to do 26 nights or 30 nights on the likes of Arcadia and Adonia are just not risking these areas.

Maureen

[The Tinker]

Tinker..not at any point did we feel we had to look over our shoulders. In fact I felt more on edge in London a few weeks ago !![/quote]

Oh dear - what area did you visit? We stayed in Greenwich to visit the O2 last weekend and, hopped on and off the bus, did not feel threatened by anything or anybody.

[GillD46]

Earlier this week, we were looking at Cunard cruises for a late deal in August, and the REAL bargains, all involved Istanbul, either as an embarking/disembarking port, or a call in the middle. It seems passengers don't want to travel there right now - no more do we I'm afraid. So we booked the Western Med. Cowardly? Perhaps, but it doesn't feel right at the moment.

[suespud]

Tinker..not at any point did we feel we had to look over our shoulders. In fact I felt more on edge in London a few weeks ago !!

Oh dear - what area did you visit? We stayed in Greenwich to visit the O2 last weekend and, hopped on and off the bus, did not feel threatened by anything or anybody.[/quote]


We were staying in Windsor, but got the train in from Slough. We were in Picadilly/Covent Garden/etc..

Didnt feel threatened as such, just felt on edge. It wont stop me going to London, but the concentration of people in such a small area makes me think the threat is there, as much as high risk places.

[suespud]

Earlier this week, we were looking at Cunard cruises for a late deal in August, and the REAL bargains, all involved Istanbul, either as an embarking/disembarking port, or a call in the middle. It seems passengers don't want to travel there right now - no more do we I'm afraid. So we booked the Western Med. Cowardly? Perhaps, but it doesn't feel right at the moment.

Gill I was in TA's yesterday, sorting out septembers holiday and they were saying people are changing hols from Turkey to Spain etc at huge costs. Prices for Spain are rising.

Lots of people are scared of the situation.
I dont think its cowardly, each to their own.

[The Tinker]

I guess a lot of people are also thinking that the ban on Tunisia could easily be escalated to Turkey and they don't want their holiday plans cancelled at the last minute - therefore, book somewhere relatively safer.

[Raybosailor]

Not easily scared me but our son worked for a company that had civilian staff working in camps Bastion and Kandahar and he had to make several visits there which terrified Cheryl. Our son said it was a jolly as he had first class flights to Dubai which was the only airport that flew to these places. On his third visit he sent me a photo message of a Taliban missile that had landed in the yard about 100 feet from his office window, fortunately it did not explode but Cheryl never got to see the image until his visits there had finished.

My grandson should have gone out to Tunisia five days after the massacre but the tour company cancelled all holidays and they finished up going to Majorca on the same day but the standard of hotel was nothing near the one in Tunisia. He was glad that the tour company sorted him a holiday out at such short notice as it was a big operation for them.

Like others have said you can be in the right place but at the wrong time no matter where in the world you are.

[Raybosailor]

Earlier this week, we were looking at Cunard cruises for a late deal in August, and the REAL bargains, all involved Istanbul, either as an embarking/disembarking port, or a call in the middle. It seems passengers don't want to travel there right now - no more do we I'm afraid. So we booked the Western Med. Cowardly? Perhaps, but it doesn't feel right at the moment.

Wouldn't bother me Gill if the price was right, I think the Queens would look quite good with a MK8 4.5 inch gun fore and aft lol.

[GillD46]

It's a sad state of affairs that's for sure.

[The Tinker]

Wouldn't bother me Gill if the price was right, I think the Queens would look quite good with a MK8 4.5 inch gun fore and aft lol.[/quote]

That reminds me of when we sailed to Boston - we had an aft cabin and opened the doors to a guy on a jetski with a gun pointing towards the ship - guess the coastguards operate differently there!

[Raybosailor]

Life is full of risks Gill, and you never know what is around the corner for you, it is obvious that you have traveled extensively and how many times have you felt at risk ?. Don't let these people win by running away and changing your plans, there are on average 33 people killed on Britain's roads every week which is the same amount that were killed on the beach in Tunisia and that was a one off.
Greece, Turkey and other countries in that area are struggling to keep their economies going at the moment without the lost tourism trade and who knows what is going happen to all the staff in hotels and tourist venues of Tunisia.

[Holiday Planner]

My husband is working in Istanbul at the moment, and is only coming home about one weekend in 3. He feels safe and says the locals are friendly and helpful. I plan to go out for a holiday once he has his work visa sorted (he only has 10 days left on his 90 day visa so he may be home next week for a while!) As has been commented, nothing is ever truly risk free. We cruised on MSC Splendida last November on the same itinerary as that which was caught up in the museum shooting in Tunisia just 3 months later.