All quiet on the Western front

Tuesday 18 June 2013

In the news headlines recently there have been some dreadful scenes of the clashes between demonstrators and police in Istanbul and other major cities across the country. Some visitors are understandably questioning whether it is safe to travel to Turkey.

We've been here before. We know how big the country is, we know what to expect when we get here and we have never been put off travelling to and around Turkey. 

The Turkish tourism industry has been here before too. A number of unexpected and unpredictable events in the past have resulted in making foreign visitors nervous to travel to Turkey. These have included the Gulf War, major earthquakes, 9/11, attacks by PKK terrorists and most recently the Syrian war. Slowly but surely the tourists return.

Here on the western coast of Turkey though, where we have been travelling for the past month,  we have seen nothing of the troubles  - the beaches are beautiful, the harbours are bustling, the town centres and markets are buzzing and the people are as hospitable as ever.

Bodrum castle and harbour

Kırdak beach - quiet bay south of Fethiye

Gümüşlük

Mazı beach

Boats on Bafa Lake

Sarsala bay

Our friend Annie, an avid Radio 4 'The Archers' follower, told us that a recent storyline saw the characters cancelling a trip to Turkey in favour of one for Montenegro. After our recent trip through Montenegro we know which country we would go to faced with that choice! Turkey is a fantastic holiday destination and we are finding it hard to tear ourselves away and get 'on the road again' heading for Greece.