I have some friends in Turkey right now and they tell me that protests are continuing, but very localized. Also, the police seem to have been chastised about their tactics and they're toning it down (at least in front of the cameras). Hopefully, Erdogan will take it to heart. Where are you staying, Sultanahmet? Beyoglu?
I think we are staying in the Sultanahmet neighbourhood? Near most popular historical attractions.
It's kind of hard to find maps that show where the protests are taking place (unless they are all taking place on Taksim Square), but I think we're on the other side of the "river" from the protests.
We've decided that unless the Canadian government issues a no-travel advisory, we're going. *crosses fingers*
I definitely think you should go. Most of the small hotels in south Sultanahmet are privately owned by families/individuals and your money isn't going to some big conglomerate. The protests are very far away from Sultanahmet, you'll see why when you get there. But do go over to Beyoglu and the Galata Tower at least once. You can take a tram.
I'm a little worried about the Tumblr gals, some of the more hysterical stuff people are reblogging are pictures that are a few years old and not from Turkey. I saw one that was a famous shot from Iran and another from Gaza. So hard to check the source! Most of my friends are journalists, so they're a little :/
Isn't Beyoglu where some of the demonstrations are taking place?
We're going! The main tourist neighbourhood should be safe and we really want to go, so we're preparing our bags and leaving on Sunday.
Re: Tumblr
People don't always check and double check sources before reblogging. An inconvenience of social media. And Turkey isn't a well-known country in North-America, I think. I thought information was thin in the main newspaper here. I had to check BBC News and the Guardian for more info.
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It's kind of hard to find maps that show where the protests are taking place (unless they are all taking place on Taksim Square), but I think we're on the other side of the "river" from the protests.
We've decided that unless the Canadian government issues a no-travel advisory, we're going. *crosses fingers*
Reply
I'm a little worried about the Tumblr gals, some of the more hysterical stuff people are reblogging are pictures that are a few years old and not from Turkey. I saw one that was a famous shot from Iran and another from Gaza. So hard to check the source! Most of my friends are journalists, so they're a little :/
Reply
We're going! The main tourist neighbourhood should be safe and we really want to go, so we're preparing our bags and leaving on Sunday.
Re: Tumblr
People don't always check and double check sources before reblogging. An inconvenience of social media. And Turkey isn't a well-known country in North-America, I think. I thought information was thin in the main newspaper here. I had to check BBC News and the Guardian for more info.
Reply
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