Should we still go to Istanbul?

December 14, 2015 6:40 PM

My partner and I have a one-week trip booked to Istanbul over the new year. We've been receiving a lot of flak about going from both sides of our family to the point where we are very seriously considering cancelling our trip. Our parents are worried about acts of terrorism such as bombings and shootings (things we feel could happen anywhere), as well as extremely unlikely scenarios like being kidnapped by ISIS. My partner's mother has expressly asked us not to go.

Our family's scare tactics have begun to wear off on us, even though we brushed off their concerns at first.

We really don't want to cause our parents unnecessary worry. Although we've had this trip planned for about a month, it's possible for us to change things around and go somewhere else, though it would be kind of annoying.

1) Basically, should we go to Istanbul now?

2) If we decide we're still going, how do we talk to the family about this, especially my partner's mom?

About us, we are an American couple, coming from New York, with a decent amount of travel experience, but no knowledge of the Turkish language. We're especially looking for input from people who live there now, people who have just been there, or people who are traveling there soon.

posted by degoao to Travel & Transportation around Istanbul, Turkey (43 answers total)

You should go.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 7:02 PM on December 14, 2015 [4 favorites]

That is nuts. Go. Now. Istanbul is amazing.
posted by k8t at 7:04 PM on December 14, 2015 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: Not to threadsit, but while I appreciate everyone letting us know we should go (we agree! yeah!), I'd also like some feedback on the 2nd question as well. How do we convince my partner's mom not to worry so much? She explicitly asked us not to go and that makes us feel guilty about going.
posted by degoao at 7:07 PM on December 14, 2015

If you go, are you going to be able to enjoy yourselves or will you feel like you have to look over your shoulder the whole time? If you're not going to be able to have a good time, I'd pass.

I went to Istanbul in April 2014. We enjoyed ourselves though we had an experience that made me anxious at one point. While waiting for a train, hundreds of peaceful protesters started marching towards us. I think we ducked in to a pub and it was fine but even as a relatively experienced traveler, that made me nervous.

Not knowing Turkish wasn't an issue in Istanbul. I also got the impression that people in Turkey generally and Istanbul specifically wants to be considered part of Europe rather than part of the Middle East (I mean, Istanbul is partly in Europe and partly in Asia). I usually decide where to not go based on State Department warnings and there is a warning for Turkey but it appears to refer to a region near the border with Syria and yeah, I'd agree that you shouldn't go anywhere near Syria.

It seems like you two are both closer to your folks than my husband and I are. My dad is an anxious person. If I didn't visit places that make him nervous, I might not be able to leave my apartment. You can call, text and email frequently but you can't stop people from worrying if that's what they're going to do.
posted by kat518 at 7:11 PM on December 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

So basically your folks are doing exactly what the terrorists want and letting fear control them. Dont do that.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 7:17 PM on December 14, 2015 [9 favorites]

This is unlikely to be helpful to you now but my father and I have a don't-ask-don't-tell policy with regard to my misadventures. If I want to go somewhere but I think knowing about it ahead of time will make him worry, I tell him where I went when I am safely back home. My sister always has my itinerary and I register my trips with the State Department. That's what works for us.
posted by kat518 at 7:18 PM on December 14, 2015 [7 favorites]

My 78 year old midwestern aunt and her female friend from her college days went in September and loved it. They said the people could not have been more welcoming and friendly even knowing they are Americans (and my crazy aunt can totally be an ugly American!). Point your family to the state department page for Turkey. The US government is not shy about telling people to avoid certain countries and they are not telling people to avoid Turkey. They advise avoiding large gatherings or protests and areas bordering Syria, and otherwise be aware of your surroundings. Which is sound advice no matter where youre traveling.
posted by cecic at 7:23 PM on December 14, 2015 [5 favorites]

I just returned from there last week. It was completely safe. We felt entirely like we were in Europe, and virtually everyone in the city spoke English fluently. In fact, it was a little less adventurous than I would've liked! Certainly, don't go near the Syrian border, but that is a very long way both geographically and culturally from Istanbul. You will have an amazing time, and see some beautiful sights. I suspect that if you check the statistics, you are more at risk living your day-to-day life in America then you are in traveling to this particular city.
posted by HoteDoge at 7:35 PM on December 14, 2015 [7 favorites]

We really don't want to cause our parents unnecessary worry.

How do we convince my partner's mom not to worry so much? She explicitly asked us not to go and that makes us feel guilty about going.

It's not really about the travel.

If you make decisions about what to do in your life based on her worry and your feelings of guilt, there is no end to it. You feel like you are causing "unnecessary worry" -- what will you do when you feel it's necessary to do things that cause them worry? Would you, for example, avoid taking a job in southern Florida because of the hurricane danger?

Some people worry a lot. They will worry if you go to Turkey, but it won't keep them from worrying if you don't go. Decide if you want to let their worries dictate what you will do with your life or not, and to what extent.

Set some boundaries about what they can and can't worry you into doing or not doing, and stick to them. This will get easier as you get more practice doing this.
posted by yohko at 7:37 PM on December 14, 2015 [12 favorites]

My university sends a specific class to a number of countries including Turkey. They always have warnings and tactics about how to avoid issues - are you able to find something like that for your MIL?
posted by geek anachronism at 8:16 PM on December 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'd go in a hot minute and I'd explain to relatives that you've researched extensively and that the actual risks to you are very, very low. Beyond that, if they want to continue to worry based on nonsense, that's their choice.

P.S. Istanbul is awesome and I had 3 different/unrelated couple friends go within the past 6 months and all had a fantastic (and safe) time. Go!!!
posted by quince at 8:47 PM on December 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

You cannot convince her not to worry - you can only control your reaction to her worrying. I know it's much easier said than done but you cannot take responsibility for how she is choosing to act and feel. I think you're totally in the right. Is there someone your mom would respect who could talk to her about this who has been to Turkey? She will not be able to understand that it is probably safer than driving your car down the highway because her mental picture of it is so scary. I help a lot of people organize trips to east Africa and I have done the talking to parents to reassure them thing. They are always worried about stuff like Ebola and child sacrifice (!!) but I tell them that those things have never affected anyone I've known and that the real problem which isn't so glamorous and isn't on the news is trauma from motor vehicle collisions, just like at home, so if they want to spend time worrying, to tell their kids to avoid motorcycles and take only registered taxi cabs. It gives them something else to focus on and hopefully reframes the issue to something that doesn't sound so foreign.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 8:50 PM on December 14, 2015 [5 favorites]

I loved Istanbul. My only complaint is that it's so bloody huge and sprawling you never have time to see nearly enough of it.

You should share the fact that the US Consulate General in Istanbul has NO current security warnings for the city, and that the only security posture changed for US personnel in the country (outside of the southeast, which is nowhere near IST), is that the consulate in Adana authorized the voluntary departure of US dependents back on 3 September, after air operations from Incirlik airbase commenced. Note that it did not "counsel" or "order" that dependents leave the country.

US DoS warnings are issued under the standard of "an abundance of caution." That is, not solely when there is a specific threat. So the bar is low, and there are still no warnings specific to the city.

If your loved ones can't be convinced with the facts, then they probably can't be convinced, and that's kind of on them. In this case, I'd go with the suggestions above to minimize drama.

You might volunteer to sign up for the STEP program to be notified of warnings (and to notify the consulate of your travel plans) as a peacemaking gesture with your partner's mother.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 8:59 PM on December 14, 2015 [6 favorites]

When I was in my early 20s in 2003 I had a trip planned to go to Vietnam and travel for several weeks with one of my best friends. My mom basically forbade me to go because of the SARS outbreak and I caved to her wishes. That was a much more realistic fear at the time than terrorism in Turkey is now, though it ended up being much overblown. My chances of having gotten SARS were tiny. I still regret it 12 years later.
posted by banishedimmortal at 9:04 PM on December 14, 2015 [5 favorites]

How do we convince my partner's mom not to worry so much?

Istanbul is one of the most heavily touristed places in the world. The entire country of Turkey is on track to host more than 40 million tourists this year.

But other people are right-- you can't convince your family not to worry. My parents were freaking out every day that I was out in Mardin and Diyarbakir back in 2011. I was perfectly safe, but there's nothing you can do to convince people differently once they have an idea stuck in their head.

I love Istanbul. Just go. It's awesome, and you will have a great time. I don't speak any Turkish outside of a few phrases, and I had no problems getting around Istanbul at all (Izmir was much more difficult to get around in, because far fewer people spoke English there).

extremely unlikely scenarios like being kidnapped by ISIS

The people who were kidnapped by ISIS were near Antakya, by the Syrian border, or actually in Syria.

Istanbul is much safer than most American cities, outside of pickpocketers and other scammers.
posted by deanc at 9:07 PM on December 14, 2015 [4 favorites]

Do your parents live in NYC? You might point out that people are scared of their kids visiting there too; basically anything unknown but known enough to be in the news sometime is scary for some people.

My policy is don't ask don't tell too but the ship has sailed on that one. But could you sit down with your mom and assure her that you are really hearing her fears and you'll do all you can to be safe? I think parents sometimes just want their kids to acknowledge that they are going to worry and that it comes from love.
posted by kitten magic at 9:09 PM on December 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'll add (by way of putting my honey where my mouth is, as it were) that my wife will be traveling to Istanbul solo in January. It really is a safe, vibrant and beautiful city that everybody should see.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 9:13 PM on December 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

I just checked out the Australian Government traveller warning page in case that was lower key and a good one to share with your family: nope nope nope don't let them see it
posted by kitten magic at 9:18 PM on December 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

Istanbul has the lowest murder rate of any major metropolis. It's murder rate is 1/3rd that of NYC's, another very safe city.
posted by deanc at 9:19 PM on December 14, 2015 [3 favorites]

I just had the same discussion because I had to be in Belgium for a few days, not too long after the days of a raised alert level in Brussels (you know the drill: you fly into Brussels airport and have to take the train which shuttles you through entire Brussels before reaching anyplace else...) Had to talk my mom out of talking me out of it, sort of.* Well arrived, everyone there told me that the international news had blown up the whole thing beyond proportions.

Now here's the thing: what happened e.g. in Paris was out of proportions, and it actually happened. However, not going to random other places for preemptive safety reasons doesn't fix that problem. You should go.



*My mom loves me and she's lost loved ones several times throughout her life, so she's worn a bit thin. There will always be something, when I travel, and if there's nothing, it will be the weather, the fact that I am flying in mid-September, the fact that I'm flying to Israel, the fact that I'm flying again... the only way is to soothe and persist.
posted by Namlit at 9:56 PM on December 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

I had a huge similar fight with my mother before I took a trip to Alaska solo. I went knowing she was upset and angry at me. But by the time I got home she was proud of her "Brave and adventurous" child and I have heard her brag about my trip multiple times to other people (she is self aware enough to also add that she threw a fit, I love my Mom). But yeah, there isn't anything you really can do to change her mind. Know that down the line this might not be an issue at all and if you go and nothing terrible happens you will have sent precedent for the next time you have a trip planned she doesn't approve of.
posted by lepus at 10:01 PM on December 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: 2) If we decide we're still going, how do we talk to the family about this, especially my partner's mom?

I have no specific Turkey or Istanbul knowledge, but I do have plenty of experience with an over anxious mother, who I'm usually pretty willing to indulge on these things, but not to the extent that I will change my plans.

So, aside from bringing in any useful anecdotes and hard data, which I've found to be of limited utility since what you're dealing with is really about emotions not facts, often what can be most helpful is making a plan for regular check ins. That way, they won't be spending all day worrying about you, and you won't have to worry about them spending all day worrying about you. This can be a double edged sword because it might encourage intrusiveness and if for some reason you can't check in, it can backfire, but it may still be the best way to help ease your parents's fears and your guilt at making them anxious.

Are you planning on getting a cell phone that will work there? If you weren't, then maybe part of the compromise will be getting a phone that you can use, although you may also have to set certain boundaries such as, "Don't panic if we don't get back to you right away," or "Don't call every five minutes." You should also establish in advance that you can't spend forever talking to them each day. The call will mostly just be, "Yep, we're still alive. Nothing scary has happened. In fact, this seems like the safest place ever." (Personally, I would say the last two things even if they weren't true.)

It will probably be useful if you set up specific agreed on check ins, like:

1. Check in when you land in Istanbul and/or when you get to the hotel
2. Check in when you get back to the hotel each night
3. Check in when you get to the airport to depart

Of course, you'll have to deal with the whole issue of time zones, but this is where either texts or emails could help bridge the gap if your parents are comfortable enough using those.

Also, give them as much info as you can. For example, give them your flight info, like actual flight numbers and travel times, so that if your flight gets delayed or something and they don't here from you, they can check and see that you haven't landed yet. Also give them your hotel information. If you have a rough itinerary, you could share that with them, although if there's anything that might freak them out more, well, that's probably a good time to bring in the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.

Of course, I could also say that you are grown adults who shouldn't have to be treated like you're still 15 and living at home, but it sounds like that's not how you want to approach this, which I understand, so maybe my experience with my over anxious mother will help.
posted by litera scripta manet at 10:36 PM on December 14, 2015 [4 favorites]

Of course you should go, don't be ridiculous.
posted by Rash at 10:49 PM on December 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

I just booked a trip to Istanbul in February. When I enthusiastically mentioned to my parents I was thinking about it they were pretty negative and said they didn't think I should go. I haven't decided yet but I'll either just not tell them about it or do the regular cheery check-in thing.

Here's the UK government travel advice page which echoes the US one and basically says it's fine as long as you're not on the Syrian border. Wonder why the Australian one is a bit more sensational.
posted by neilb449 at 11:12 PM on December 14, 2015 [3 favorites]

Turkey is a NATO member, they are on the same side as the US. Istanbul is a very tourist-friendly place, you can get by easily with English, and it is nowhere near anywhere even vaguely unstable like Eastern Turkey / Kurdish areas / near the Syrian border. Istanbul is not a hotbed of IS / Daesh activity. It's as safe or safer than many (most?) major US cities. If you were planning to volunteer with a humanitarian Kurdish organization in Koban, they may have a point. But Istanbul? They're worrying unnecessarily.

You know this already. But it doesn't sound like either statistics or anecdotes are going to convince your parents. They will worry anyway.

Show them that you are being responsible. Register with the STEP website, show them how to check your flights online, give them your itinerary and hotel details, and copies of your passports / travel insurance documents. This may help to reassure them. Or at least feel that they have some way of helping if something does go wrong.

Most hotels (and restaurants / cafes / other places) in Istanbul have wifi, so you will be able to stay in touch easily, especially if you bring a laptop or tablet with you. Sending them daily photos or short videos, or even agreeing to Skype with them a couple of times during your trip, may help to make them worry less. "Well, they were fine yesterday, so I only need to worry about what happens today" rather than "They could have been kidnapped on arrival at the airport and I wouldn't know for 10 days!"

You can't live your life based on your parents' fears. Your parents will forgive you the worry. As they did the first time you stayed over at a friend's house in grade school, when they worried that you would be homesick or wet the bed. As they did when you drove their car for the first time without one of them in the passenger seat. As they did when you moved out of home for the first time. As they did the first time you got involved in a serious relationship and they worried about you getting your heart broken. Some parents are better than others at internalizing their worry and supporting their kids exploring the world. But they all forgive you when you come back to them safe and sound with stories to tell.

Please go. Istanbul is a beautiful, fun, exciting and awe-inspiring city.
posted by finding.perdita at 12:52 AM on December 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I live in İzmir, Turkey, which is an hour by plane south-southwest of İstanbul.

İstanbul is just as safe as Paris, New York, or London. A rational person willing to go to those cities should be willing to go to İstanbul. That doesn't mean that Turkey is "safe": I judge the Australian traveler-advice page to be entirely factual, though its "high alert" across the entire country is close to meaningless. Turkey, like Europe, is currently a terror target. Turkey is currently violently cracking down on its Kurdish population. Turkey's southeastern border is dangerous. But those aren't very good reasons not to go to İstanbul.

I'm not convinced your family can be convinced it's safe. But if they can be, this should do it: Turkey is big. They see Turkey in the news and think it's all one place, but it's not. İstanbul is a thousand kilometers from the dangerous areas along the southeastern border. It's as much of a war zone as Berlin. It's as much of a terror target as London.

But if you want us to convince your mother-in-law, you have to give us an idea of her and her reasons. What news does she watch? Does she travel? What does she think about traveling to Tokyo or Mexico City?
posted by daveliepmann at 1:25 AM on December 15, 2015 [3 favorites]

I met a guy recently in Chile who had some amazing stories about his travels - in the last three years I think he'd been to at least a dozen countries, and his mother was convinced he'd been safe at home in New Orleans the whole time except for a trip to Paris for work. He said she got too nervous when he travelled and it was easier on him to fake "a couple really busy weeks at work" than say he'd gone to Iceland. His Facebook page was scrupulously kept clear of any mention of his travels, his entire family was in the dark (they lived in another state which helped), and he was thinking of getting a second passport with no giveaway stamps to take on a family trip to Canada. I would go this route before I started cancelling trips for someone else's anxiety.
posted by the agents of KAOS at 1:33 AM on December 15, 2015 [2 favorites]

I was in Istanbul October 1-18, lodging near the Çapa-Şehremini tram station. Two days after the Ankara bombing, there was a large demonstration on the street below my window, blocking all 3 lanes of traffic in one direction. There was no hint of danger, and everyone left peacefully after about 25 minutes. Apart from that, the city seemed normal to me — that is, busy, beautiful and fascinating. As others have recommended, go.
posted by ck49 at 1:40 AM on December 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

I work in international health and travel frequently to low income countries. My mother is an extreme worrier. I send her a copy of my itinerary (flight schedules, accommodation etc) and that seems to placate her somewhat. So that's one thing that might help your MIL feel at ease. Plus if you activate international roaming on your phone. Calls cost a fortune so I avoid them but texts are usually less than $1 each.
posted by emd3737 at 1:42 AM on December 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

When I am abroad, I find I can solve the worrying-other-people thing and manage the inconvenience of travelling with no data connection with either a local 3G SIM or a pocket wifi/mifi thing. I am renting one on my upcoming trip to Istanbul (March!) with All Day Wifi.
posted by mdonley at 3:25 AM on December 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

Go to the American Consulate website and see if they advise you not to go. If so, don't go. If they say it's fine, go.

Don't give in to your in-laws wishes because you'll always resent this. They'll forget about it tomorrow, but you'll always remember the time you "gave in" and "let them win." Next time they want something from you, you'll remember this but they won't.

They will always live in fear. You can't.
posted by Piedmont_Americana at 4:02 AM on December 15, 2015 [4 favorites]

My mom and dad went as part of a Greek Isles "river cruise." In Istanbul for 4 days first. The only unpleasant thing that happened was my dad's wallet was stolen. So my only advice is to SECURE THE HELL out of your on-person valuables.

Otherwise, their Istanbul trip was wonderful.
posted by kuanes at 4:05 AM on December 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

Yes, go to Istanbul. The whole of Europe and Asia is a target for terrorism, not just Istanbul. And right now the politics that put Turkey in the news headlines (Russian planes, Kurdish tensions, Erdogan being... Erdogan) are not centered to Istanbul itself. So go. you will want to be aware of any tensions, avoid demonstrations, not hang around embassies. I just browsed a bunch of expat blogs from Turkey, all of which are aware of stuff like the US Consulate advising people to stay away from their complex, but none seemed to say that things were any worse than they ever have been.

Istanbul is a city with something like 15 million people and it still has a village feel to it. They live there everyday. It is one of the friendliest places I have ever been. You would be better off worrying about earthquakes.
posted by zaelic at 4:26 AM on December 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

We went to Istanbul in November 2013, shortly after some of the major protests in Taksim Square. It was amazing. I would go again tomorrow.


Our families were not as wary as yours sound, but still plenty wary. We sent them a brief email most nights, but warned them that if wifi is spotty etc do not freak out if we miss a night.

Something about Turkey completely wigs out a lot of Americans. The media we are given just does not support that a stable, democratic, Muslim country can exist. Istanbul, since it's so big, does have a lot more hucksters and aggressive carpet vendors, but still - Turkish people were above and beyond the most kind and hospitable people in a foreign country I've visited. I did not ever feel unsafe telling someone I was American.

I understand feeling guilty. It's hard to make a choice knowing that we are disappointing or upsetting someone we love. But their fear is their problem to manage. I think all you can do is say "I'm sorry you're feeling so anxious. We've researched the possible risks and we are comfortable with making the trip. We'll check in with you once a day."
posted by nakedmolerats at 5:55 AM on December 15, 2015 [3 favorites]

My wife* and I went to Turkey (including Istanbul) in 2013 and just a few days ago were talking about whether or not we'd go now; we both agreed immediately that yes, absolutely, we'd go back in a heartbeat (actually, we commented that we felt safer there than we do at times in the US). We spoke no Turkish, traveled a fairly decent amount around the country using buses, mini-buses, and trains, and encountered SO many gracious, friendly people who went out of their way to be kind to us, or to help us when we looked like lost dumb tourists - I came back encouraged to work harder at being just as welcoming to non-English speaking people here in the US.

Of course we had the relatives fretting for us and warning us not to go before we left; honestly, we just had to let them own their own fears. We thanked them for their concern, explained what safety preparations we had made (basically, we signed up for the STEP program mentioned above, and treated Istanbul like any other big city), emailed while we were there, and told them we couldn't wait to share our pictures with them. I don't know what you can tell your partner's mom that will make her stop worrying, but just like our relatives, she will survive a week's worth of worry. Hopefully when she sees you back safe and sound, she'll be just that little bit less worried the next time you travel.

Go, have a wonderful time, eat your weight in ridiculously delicious food, and be sure to visit the Cistern!

*On non-preview, I see she just beat me by one post - hi, sweetie!
posted by DingoMutt at 6:01 AM on December 15, 2015 [3 favorites]

I have all sorts of plans to go back to Turkey and travel along the Black Sea coast from Istanbul to Trabzon. I would not go back to Mardin or Diyarbakir this time around (I also visited the old roman outpost of Dara-- worth seeing but only later did I realize I was just 5 miles from the Syrian border, something I would definitely not do now).

You can't control what your parents are going to get anxious about. Some people are paranoid about flying. Some people avoid going to New York City. And there's no end to it: your parents will never be happy, because there is always something they will be anxious about, and you'll only end up living someone else's life, constrained by someone else's limitations and anxieties. That's no way to live. You two are the more seasoned experienced travelers, and your judgment on these issues is superior to theirs.
posted by deanc at 7:13 AM on December 15, 2015 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks everyone! Pretty much everyone's answers were super helpful.

We're gonna go.
posted by degoao at 8:30 AM on December 15, 2015 [6 favorites]

I'm glad you're going, and here's one more thought: Is your partner's mother worried EVERY DAY about you driving in A CAR? Because, OMG, cars.

None of us are immortal. If I go blown to bits in a beautiful urban square or taken by a white sixty feet down on a magical coral reef, better that than being run down on my way to frickin' WalMart. Perspective. Help people get it.
posted by cyndigo at 9:38 AM on December 15, 2015

I went to Istanbul (and Cappodocia) earlier this year. Turkey gets enough English speaking tourists that you won't have many issues communicating. As other people have said, it's a big country - the hot spots are nowhere near Istanbul, unless you consider Russian destroyers passing through the strait a danger. I'm not really sure what you can do about your folks other than telling them you appreciate their concern, but *your* assessment of the risks is what drives your decisions - when I was younger I had to deal with this kind of badgering, but years and years of telling them I trust my instincts, and ignoring any objections that I felt were unwarranted has finally shut them down.
posted by Calloused_Foot at 2:32 PM on December 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: One more follow-up on this. Yesterday, my partner's mom texted and apologized for asking us not to go and said that if we hadn't changed our plans yet we should go.

So now there's nothing to worry about.

Thanks everyone!
posted by degoao at 9:00 AM on December 16, 2015 [6 favorites]

So glad to hear that - that must make things easier for all of you. Maybe you can bring her back a really awesome gift so that next time she focuses on Cool Presents instead of her worries.

Have an amazing time!
posted by DingoMutt at 9:10 AM on December 17, 2015

Sadly, there is some validity to her concerns after 10 tourists died in Istanbul today from a suicide bomber. The world can be a dangerous place.
posted by cecic at 2:37 PM on January 12, 2016

I feel like I was wrong about this in my talking up the wonderfulness of Istanbul. But then again, even more people were killed in Paris.
posted by deanc at 5:13 PM on January 19, 2016