Travelling alone to Turkey @18

Old Sep 10th, 2017, 11:59 PM
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Travelling alone to Turkey @18

Hi, I am travelling to Istanbul from Norway this December and will be staying there for 4 days. I will be meeting my boyfriend who I have been in a relationship with for a bit over a year now. This is my very first time travelling to Turkey- and I will be travelling alone. I have already booked my plane tickets, but have not yet applied for my visa since Im planning on doing it after I turn 18, which will be on October. I have read that they have sharpened their border control after the attempted coup last year, and I am therefore nervous since me travelling alone just months after I turn 18 might seem "suspicious". Do you guys have any tips for me about my trip to Turkey- in general? And do you guys think that I should say that I am going there to meet my boyfriend?
khylegarcia is offline  
Old Sep 11th, 2017, 12:17 AM
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Is he Turkish and have you met each other in real life? What do your parents think? If you were my daughter I would say NO WAY.
Turkey is on the list of the 10 most dangerous places for solo women travellers.
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Old Sep 11th, 2017, 12:53 AM
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Search for Otherchelebi great reports about situation in Turkey right now.
Some threads are currently running.
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Old Sep 11th, 2017, 03:55 PM
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Tough call!

I'm a woman who travelled to Turkey alone for 25 days in 2012. I never felt unsafe while there, but Turkey is undergoing changes that make it more difficult -- much more difficult, IMO. If I were to return -- and I would love to return! -- I would do so with very careful attention to safety issues and signals. I would certainly think carefully about where, exactly, I would go, and would consider staying only in Istanbul. But please take note: When I went, it was not only a safer place, but I was already a very experienced solo traveler.

I trust that otherchelebi will chime in when he can. In the meantime, read his latest reports with great care:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...y-traveler.cfm

Good luck with your decision!
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Old Sep 14th, 2017, 12:16 PM
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Hi khylegarcia, As far as I know, there is no reason you need to be worried about traveling to Istanbul currently. Please watch any news and my threads here to see if things change by December.

Do not be paranoid about when you turn eighteen. That is not something any passport police will consider.

Your risks will be:

- if you appear as someone who may be looking to join ISIS or traveling to Syria or Iraq.

- If your BF has any connections to any organization which has been critical of the Turkish government.

- If neither you or your boyfriend have political or direct involvement in human rights activities, or have written articles or columns critical to Turkey or Turkish government.

- If you or your BF are Islamic fundamentalists.

Otherwise, come and enjoy this lovely and lively city, spending time preferably at Nisantasi, Cihangir, Besiktas, European side of the Bosphorus and/or at Kadikoy district.

If your boyfriend lives anywhere in or around Fatih district, do not stay with him, preferring to stay at a hotel not in that district and not meet him anywhere at or near Fatih.

Do not discuss religion, race or politics with anyone including friends and family of your BF.
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Old Sep 14th, 2017, 12:24 PM
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Also, do not offer reasons for your travel and if asked, say as a tourist and to meet some friends you met at or through school, family or wherever you met your BF. Never tell any untruths or appear evasive, Act comfortable and sure of yourself. I have never heard of an 18 year old tourist being turned away. If they ask why come in Winter, you can say because of the cheaper cost.
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Old Sep 19th, 2017, 11:31 PM
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I must say Turkey is quite safe for Solo traveler if you are just a tourist. But still your safety is in your hand. Try to be in the tourist places. Avoid any political discussion with anyone.

Be safe and Happy 18..
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Old Sep 20th, 2017, 08:05 AM
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I went to Istanbul with my sister when I was 18 -- which was many years ago -- and we were followed by men everywhere, propositioned, and more than a couple of times manhandled and touched by strangers on the street. This may have changed radically.

Although the negative experiences were not so much it would prevent me from returning to Turkey, the present political situation is too complex, with too many risks for me to feel comfortable recommending going to an 18 year old new to travel, unless you are staying with your boyfriend's family.

Never lie to border authorities.
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Old Sep 20th, 2017, 08:08 AM
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It totally changed.there was not a trace of hassle either towards my girls (wife and daughters) or commercially promptedd. We were stopped several times by people who wanted to get a picture of our last one because they found her cute with her bleue eyes and blond hair.
I agree she was and still is cute, same as her mother btw.
Turks are great people and will not bother you anymore than an American or a Belgian would.
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Old Sep 20th, 2017, 08:24 AM
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Passing along this article without comment for anyone who might find it interesting

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/en/o...-tourists.html
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Old Sep 20th, 2017, 08:41 AM
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>

Were they ever alone or was this something you observed when they were with you? Because that's an entirely different situation. I had the same thing happen to me in another supposedly Westernized largely Muslim country and the same thing didn't happen to people on the tour for women who were with men (when we did something on our own outside the group). It was very interesting how people who claim they are so religious mistreat women.
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Old Sep 20th, 2017, 09:10 AM
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Amazing how much rank bigotry gets posted on Fodor's.

At the time I went to Turkey it was an almost aggressively secular country. That same trip, I went to Egypt and Lebanon, and both my sister and I left the Middle East wondering if the more conservative public culture of the Muslim countries meant that we were sexually harassed far less -- to a notable dregree -- than we were in Turkey and to some extent Greece. Turkey, however, was outstanding with regard to be sexually harassed.

Special issues for young solo females aside, the real issue here is, to my mind, how much good judgment it takes to travel to Turkey today. It's understandable to me that a young traveler eager to visit her boyfriend would be looking for all possible angles to get her visa approved, but it flags questions about judgment, for which advice over the internet is no substitute.
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Old Sep 20th, 2017, 03:00 PM
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We are fortunate to have otherchelebi's expert opinion.
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