elaine

My parents and I will be traveling in Greece and Turkey in September. We had planned on flying to Istanbul on about Sept 8th and then driving down the western coastline to Efes. Does anyone have any current info about travel problems, or issues with food & water in Istanbul? I'm wondering if we should stay away from this area due to the earthquake or if most of the "tourist" sites are ok to visit and the hotels are safe to stay in. I've heard reports of much of the population sleeping outdoors and some food & water shortages as well as power cut off in some areas.

Paulo

It's a bit too early to have a picture of what the situation is more likely to be around Sept 8th, Elaine. <BR> <BR>There are no reports on damages to Istanbul monuments yet. Of course, a closer look might tell differently. Only a few buildings in Istanbul crumbled ... that I know of, all in the Asian side. In principle, I would guess that the situation in the Istanbul you're going to visit (airport was hit but is operational) should be pretty much "normal" in a couple of weeks. There ay be problems on your route to Efes. I would guess you're planning to drive east to Gebze, take the ferry to Yalova, then to Gemlik, Bursa, Bandirma, Canakkale, etc. In the resort area of Yalova, the buildings were "sucked" into the ground 7-9mts. Right now, traffic in the area (specially from Yalova east) is caotic. The ferry appears to be in service, though. <BR> <BR>Paulo <BR> <BR>

Monica

Hi Elaine, I was just starting to review the Rick Steve's web site and there's an article about Turkey. It states that Rick Steves is in Turkey to do some filming; not near the earthquake site; that he'll go to Istanbul this weekend to check the area out and will file a report; says to check the web site on August 24th for his report on Istanbul. <BR>www.ricksteves.com <BR> <BR>I hope this helps.

Monica

Here's the address for the article. Gives more information than I mentioned. <BR> <BR>http://www.ricksteves.com/turkey/ <BR> <BR>

Robin

Elaine: <BR> <BR>Here's a story in today's (8/19) London Times about situation in Turkey. <BR> <BR> <BR>Tourism takes a battering <BR> <BR>BY RICHARD DUCE AND ADAM SHERWIN <BR> <BR>AS DUST from the earthquake finally settles over Turkey's cultural capital few, if any, British tourists will be there to see the start of painstaking rebuilding work. <BR>There are relatively few British travellers in Istanbul during the hot summer months and the numbers are expected to dwindle further as tour operators yesterday began to cancel trips to the city by the Bosphorous. <BR>While the main tourist areas around the Blue Mosque and the Topkapi palace were left undamaged and the main airport remains operational, holiday firms are offering refunds or alternative holidays to tourists who planned a break in Istanbul. <BR>A spokesman for the Association of British Travel Agents said: "Although the tourist areas are unaffected and the airport is open, people are best advised not to travel to Istanbul at the moment. They will be offered their money back, an alternative or the chance to travel later in the year." <BR>The loss of business will be a blow to the troubled Turkish tourism industry, which has seen bookings fall this year after terrorist incidents involving the PKK Kurdish separatist movement. As a result, travel to this corner of the eastern Mediterrean is among the cheapest available through travel agents. <BR>Tourism is worth £5 billion a year to the Turkish economy and a million Britons a year visit a land that is home to two wonders of the ancient world. That figure is down this year and one expert put the number of British tourists visiting Turkey on package holidays at about 750,000. <BR>Most head for the Aegean resorts of Bodrum, Marmaris and Fethiye, although few will make the effort to see the nearby Temple of Diana at Ephesus or the Mausoleum of King Mausolus at Halicarnassus. <BR>South coast resorts were spared the devastation. There were reports of short-term power cuts but no long-lasting problems and all flights into Dalaman airport, which serves the southwest coast, were operating yesterday. <BR> <BR>