https://www.site/2016-10-12/bezopasno_li_otdyhat_v_turcii_rasskaz_uralca_vernuvshegosya_s_semey_iz_beleka

“Armed police at the airport, hotels and beaches”

Is it safe to travel to Turkey? The story of a Uralian who returned with his family from Belek

Lost for the Russians for almost a year, Turkey (in the fall of last year, the Russian Federation imposed a ban on charter flights due to a downed Russian aircraft) is trying to regain the favor of our compatriots low prices, high service and "all inclusive" system. However, not all lovers of holidays in Turkey are ready to go on vacation to the beaches of Antalya, Kemer and Belek that have become almost native. After all, Turkey borders on the warring Syria, the media now and then reports terrorist attacks on the territory of the state. There are legitimate questions about security. A resident of Yekaterinburg, a partner of the law firm Veritas Law Office, Roman Lukichev returned a couple of days ago with his family from a holiday in Turkey and told the site whether tourists should be afraid.

Taking into account the fact that this year we have already rested three times in Spain and Greece, this vacation was not planned. But the worsening weather, which coincided with the end of several projects, led to the thought: it's time to warm up.

We are in love with Portugal and initially considered it and, as an option, Greece. But the travel agent offered to see Turkey. The wife's initial reaction is: "Of course not, it's not safe there." The travel agent insisted that everything was calm in the tourist areas, there was no reason to worry.

Prices for one week for two adults and two children in the 5 Star Hotel started from 90 thousand rubles! This is against the 250 thousand we paid for a holiday in Rhodes this summer. In Portugal, only the flight cost this amount.

Preparing for the trip, I monitor the Internet on the situation in Turkey, while reading the reviews of those who have just arrived. I understand that it is possible to go, and I finally decide: we are going to a country with a red flag, which we have not been to since 2008. On the advice of an agent, we choose a hotel - Port Nature luxury resort in Belek. The hotel is new, the ultra all inclusive system, the price for two is just over 120 thousand for 7 days. We take.

The Boeing 757-800 aircraft departing from Yekaterinburg is full, there are only four empty seats. Antalya Airport meets with a long line at passport control and unsmiling officials.

There are a lot of police officers with weapons (in holsters) at the airport. Later we notice that armed guards are also present at the hotel, but this does not bother: at night they patrol the territory, and during the day they are seen near the beach and in the reception area.

In this case, no danger or inconvenience is felt.

How much the Turks were waiting for the Russians, we already felt on the way to the hotel.

EXPO-2016 is taking place in Antalya, there are advertisements in Russian along the route: they report that “Russian pop stars” perform at EXPO every week (I don’t really feel sorry for them, I remember only VIA Gra). The guide also speaks about this, inviting to the "EXPO".

With rare exceptions, the staff at the hotel is very friendly: more than once they came up and asked if we were satisfied with the rest, wished it a great continuation.

The weather is magnificent: at night plus 18-20, in the daytime plus 29-31, the water temperature is plus 25. Very comfortable, there is no sizzling heat.

The hotel is really new, rooms with quality repairs, good furniture. In numerous halls there are comfortable and beautiful sofas in incredible quantities. The thought arose whether they had bought the entire furniture factory. There are six or seven bars in the hotel, each of them with famous brands of imported drinks: gin, rum, whiskey, vermouth and liqueurs. For kids - Movenpick ice cream. Cocktails are also made from quality ingredients. Bottled beer and soda, juice - in packages. There is a lot of food, it is varied.

The hotel is full, especially in the restaurant during peak hours - flows of people flow from places where food is laid out to tables and tables located in four differently decorated zones. There are a lot of people on the beach, where almost all the sunbeds are occupied closer to dinner. There are significantly fewer people at the pools, with the exception of the pool with children's slides.

The contingent is Russians (80 percent), Kazakhs (10 percent), there are Ukrainians, a few Germans, French.

When I asked why there were so few foreigners, the hotel employee replied that after the terrorist attacks in Istanbul, the number of tourists from Germany and other countries had sharply decreased. European countries. He also linked this trend with the disagreements between Turkish President Erdogan and the Europeans over the conditions for joining the EU.

Compared to the last trip to Turkey in 2008, tourist places have changed for the better. For example, in Belek, new expensive five-star hotels are being intensively built. Just recently, the amusement park of the Rixos hotel with the largest water park in Europe was opened.

There is no nervousness, no sense of danger either in the hotel or on the streets, everything is very calm - like in resorts in other countries, for example, in Greece. The strengthening of security measures can only be judged by the presence of policemen on the streets (usually there are almost none), and a small gendarme checkpoint has been set up near the airport (you can’t even call it a checkpoint). When we arrived at the checkpoint, there were several policemen next to it, only one car was being searched, the rest passed freely. To avoid traffic jams at the checkpoint, the roadway was expanded to four or five lanes.

In Belek, we talked to a photographer who makes a living taking photos of tourists with a parrot. He said that when the flow of tourists from Russia dried up, the hotels were almost empty, many had no work, and this affected the mood of the people. Therefore, the return Russian tourists are happy here.

This, in my opinion, manifested itself in the attitude of the locals towards the Russians.

It feels like the service staff used to pay a little more attention to tourists from Europe. Now they are almost gone, but the Russians have gone.

Yes, and our compatriots, it seemed to me, began to behave more restrained and calmer than in previous years. Despite the predominance of Russians, we did not see manifestations of irrepressible national holiday. A seriously drunk fellow countryman was observed only once ... There were no fights or scandals.

My photographer interlocutor says that neither the echoes of the Syrian war, nor the echoes of political events in Istanbul reach the tourist areas. He learned about the July coup attempt in the mosque from the words of the mullah. And it was an ordinary holiday day, like all the others.

... The youngest daughter, she will soon be 5 years old, asked yesterday: “Dad, will we go to Turkey in three days? No? And in five? Is it really only in March? Türkiye has found a place in the hearts of my children. My wife and I are also happy. So, let's go back again.

Help site

According to Mikhail Maltsev, executive director of the Ural Tourism Association, more than 7,000 Ural residents visited Turkey in September alone, about 30 flights were made. This is more than expected by the participants of the tourist market. Encouraged by demand, they are increasing the number of flights to Turkey. For example, since yesterday, another new flight of the operator has appeared in Koltsovo Tez Tour. However, the load on flights is starting to decline - this is due to the seasonal factor.

The current summer season in Turkey is perhaps the most difficult. The Istanbul airport bombings, the attempted coup d'état and the ensuing state of emergency in the country led to an unprecedented drop in demand. The figures speak for themselves: in the first six months of this year, passenger traffic from Russia to Antalya fell by 97% compared to the same period last year. But representatives of the Turkish tourist industry do not lose heart - they are sure that as soon as charters arrive from Russia, the tourist flow will quickly recover. The correspondent of www.TourDom.ua was convinced of this. Vladislav Frishko, recently returned from Antalya.

Tour operators at a low start

Charter flights from Russia may resume in the near future. This statement was made by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin during a joint press conference with the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In the meantime, tour operators have to form their offers with flights on regular flights. Since the beginning of August, for example, the airline has operated daily flights to Antalya "Russia", which fills . The same airline operates regular flights from St. Petersburg. Although, judging by the online scoreboard of the Antalya airport, as of early August, flights from Russia were in a clear minority.

Is it safe to travel to Turkey?

This question is now worrying so many tourists who are waiting for the resumption of charters. City officials report that everything is under control. Governor of Antalya Munir Karaloglu draws attention to geographical position city: due to the fact that it is located between the sea and the mountains, there are only six entrances to the city. All of them are under tight control. There are patrols on the streets. Some employees serve, dressed in civilian clothes, so as not to embarrass the vacationers once again. Security has also been strengthened in other resort cities: the police and gendarmerie staff on the entire Antalya coast has 10 thousand people. Special services are working, promptly sending out warnings about potential danger and orientation on what or whom you should pay attention to.

Deputy director of the company Catttour Ekaterina Kotenko, who has lived in Antalya for many years, adds that in recent years, mobile police posts have become more likely to stop cars entering or leaving the city. The matter is not limited to formal verification of documents: they may be asked to get out of the car, open the trunk, check the interior. The increased interest of law enforcement officers is also caused by scheduled buses. Especially those who come from the eastern regions of Turkey. Police posts can stand both on the main roads leading to the tourist zones, and on secondary country roads.

Airport - in the zone of special attention

Particular attention is paid to the road leading to the airport. If earlier cars entering its territory were checked selectively, now they are all without exception. So that this does not lead to congestion and traffic jams, the highway was expanded - instead of two lanes, now there are five. Increased control awaits those who enter the airport. Police officers, some of whom are armed with machine guns, try to be inconspicuous, but sometimes they still catch the eye. They behave quite benevolently, do not mind being photographed, but they do not want to pose on purpose.

Director of Antalya Airport Mestan Yayman notes: in 80% of cases, passengers undergo a personal search. In total, 360 police officers and 1,500 security guards work at the airport. This became possible due to the increase in the staff of both services, in addition, some of the guards were transferred from the second terminal, which is currently not working. Airport personnel periodically undergo retraining, refresher courses and qualification confirmation.

Administration Representative Osman Serdar adds: in the past two years, Antalya Airport has been inspected twice by the International Association civil aviation. Including compliance with safety requirements. Both times it was highly rated.

Word to tourists

Assurances as assurances, but how comfortable are the tourists themselves on the Turkish coast? Let's ask them about it. The first reviews are the most positive. “From the very beginning it was clear that everything in the resorts would remain as it is. Arriving here, I did not expect any changes for the worse, ”says tourist Vladimir, who has a rest in Grand Park Kemer. The only nuance, according to him, is that the hotel administration reminds you that when leaving its territory, you must have a tourist voucher with you. It will be useful to take your passport with you. For those who prefer to stay at the hotel all the time, everything remains the same. “We had doubts, because we bought the tour just shortly before the state of emergency was introduced. We thought that all roads were blocked and we would not get from the airport to the hotel. Now it is clear that the fears turned out to be in vain, ”two charming beach girls Olga and Ekaterina say in one voice.

Beaches: strangers don't go here

The seemingly relaxed and serene beaches of Turkish hotels are also under control. The director of the company was able to verify this Have Rest Alisa Shkarovskaya, who, out of professional habit, decided to enter the territory of a neighboring hotel - to look at the beach villas from the sea. But she was stopped by the hotel security, despite the peaceful appearance and the presence of a business card. “Although earlier, when I was on vacation, I always agreed with the manager and looked at the nearest hotels without any problems. Now it doesn't work. Probably, some internal instructions have changed, ”the interlocutor suggests.

Will the tourist flow recover?

No one can answer this question unequivocally yet. On the one hand, it is more than likely that the Turkish tourism sector will end the current summer season in the red: for the remaining three weeks of summer and the Velvet season the tourist flow is unlikely to make up for the losses. On the other hand, it can be assumed that the security measures taken will allow the season to end without incident. Which, in turn, will determine the preferences of tourists next year. Most hoteliers are ready to endure, tighten their belts and wait. And best of all, they offer competitive prices. “We will certainly leave special conditions for promising markets,” the general director expresses the general opinion Club Akman Beach Hotel Oguz Mutlu. As for another popular measure - reducing staff in order to minimize losses, hoteliers see this as a serious danger that can come back to haunt the decline in the quality of services. “We didn’t fire anyone, and this helped keep our service up to par,” says the director Queen's Park Le Jardin Orhan Nadar.

The editors of the site and TourDom.ua thank Travel Professional Group, as well as personally the Deputy Director of Catttour Ekaterina Kotenko and the Regional Director of Catttour Baki Karakush for organizing the trip, warm welcome and invaluable assistance in the preparation of the material.

For most, the vacation season is just around the corner, but for some it has already begun, so it's time to be puzzled by the choice of direction and place for summer holidays.

For families with children, young people and people on a budget, Turkey has always been the number one holiday destination. Due to political events not so long ago, this country was closed to Russian tourists, and people were forced to look for an alternative.

However, in the fall of 2016, the tourist flow began to gain momentum again. The upcoming season promises to return the former popularity and love of tourists to Turkish shores, however, vigilant citizens have concerns about whether it is dangerous to travel to Turkey in the summer of 2019. Let's figure out if such fears are justified.

The main external problem of the country is that Turkey borders on Syria, a country in which hostilities are taking place with terrorist groups. common border, purely theoretically, creates opportunities for radical Islamists to penetrate Turkish territory.

The hostilities in Syria have not stopped at the moment, so the territory of Turkey, bordering Syria, may be restless. However, all resort areas located in another part of the country at a considerable distance from the Syrian border.

To less worry about your safety, for those who go on vacation, I would like to recommend the following.

1. If possible, do not leave the territory of the hotel once again.
2. If you go out of the territory, try to avoid crowded places (markets, public transport, mass representations).
3. When leaving the hotel, be sure to take a voucher and copies of passports with you (we remember that the police will be very vigilant).
4. Many people ask if it is possible to go on vacation now to Istanbul and other cities, in addition to coastal ones. Still, refrain from leaving the resort areas. It is better not to tempt fate and postpone trips to the eastern regions of the country and to cities bordering Syria.

I hope the information helped you make the right decision regarding the choice of a vacation spot!

He told us about the dangers of severe acclimatization and why it is harmful to go on vacation to countries that are too far away.

AiF: On vacation, everyone usually goes to hot countries where acclimatization takes place. How to behave?

The location of the vacation is a very big problem. I will give one of the latest examples. We looked at the incidence of children who are taken to the sea. The very fact of taking a child out so that he can get a little tan, run on the sand, swim in the sea, seems to be positive, but we also know the negative side of such trips. The fact is that, especially in children, it requires a certain acclimatization, this is not an easy process, it lasts from three to five days, and climate change itself often negatively affects immunity. Children often fall ill after returning. This is no coincidence. A small contact with an infection, a small breath of a breeze is enough, as a child’s reduced immunity will immediately cause the development of the disease.

The same applies to adults, only they are less clearly manifested. I have to say one thing for which travel agency workers and tour operators would be ready to beat me. The fact is that every trip to unusual climatic conditions shortens our lives. Every trip. It's proven. Another question is how this happens in a particular person.

If a person is absolutely healthy, he quickly acclimatizes to new conditions. For example, he himself lives somewhere near Arkhangelsk, but goes on vacation to Egypt, Turkey, Crimea or our country. South coast. On the one hand, the person himself feels great, but mostly these are emotions, and if you look at the intensity of specific and non-specific immunity, then he falls.

At one time, the Institute of Balneology conducted a very interesting study. Probably, people of my age remember such a movement "Youth Construction Squad". People from different climatic zones traveled mainly to southern regions: Crimea, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and helped there in carrying out agricultural work. Several researchers from the Institute of Balneology observed the state of immunity in a small group of students who traveled to the Crimea. We have about 20 indicators by which we can determine the state of human immunity. This group has before and after the trip. Outwardly, almost all of them remained healthy, but the intensity of their immunity fell several times. After some time, almost one in four of this group suffered one or another infectious condition, mainly acute respiratory diseases.

If we talk about the ideal situation, then, as the people say: "Where I was born, there I came in handy." The wisdom of our ancestors should not be forgotten. Long-livers never went anywhere. That one lives shorter. This is the law.

AiF: The most relevant destinations that Russians love are Turkey and Egypt. How dangerous for the body? Or do you mean that our life is shortened by trips somewhere in Africa and more distant countries?

- I would not use the word "dangerous", because a healthy person can endure this trip brilliantly, but doctors have such a joke, a little wicked: "There are no healthy people, there are underexamined."

I'll give an example. Each of us constantly forms, but most do not get cancer, because the body has a special watchdog system that recognizes an unusual, alien cancer cell and destroys it. In a person who finds himself in other climatic conditions, this process may not be so active.

Doctors, in particular dermatologists, know that you can’t sunbathe very much for a person who lives in a different climate zone and rarely meets the sun, because skin cancers with a dark tan in white man occur several times more often. Here's the question: determine for yourself, and how to sunbathe.

"AiF": Is it possible to go to the bath in the heat? There, too, a person warms up ...

You can always go to the bath. It all depends on tolerance. On the other hand, it is hardly advisable to get involved in a bath in hot weather, because this is a large loss of fluid in addition. But if a person is healthy, gets a lot of positive emotions, if he does not drink alcohol and beer in the bath, but only drinks tea and juices, then you can bathe in any weather.

Is it dangerous to travel to Turkey? Turkey is a relatively safe country, just like Russia. What dangers are real in Turkey and what are imaginary, how to behave in Turkey in different situations, what can and cannot be done? Here are some clarifications on the safety of holidays in Turkey.

In 90% of cases, we ourselves are to blame for our troubles! Do not ignore recommendations!

Real dangers

• Insurance is the second most important purchase after a tour or air ticket! The most real danger in Turkey is the bill for calling an ambulance or, God forbid, for treatment in Turkish clinics. In Turkey, everything is expensive, and the cheap insurance that comes with a tour is unlikely to help you, because this is the cheapest basic insurance option. Is it dangerous to travel to Turkey with such insurance? Yes, quite risky. Going on my first trips to Turkey, I did not take out insurance - this way I saved money. But now, after several "cases on the verge", he has completely abandoned such imaginary savings. Now I firmly believe that buying additional travel insurance is a reasonable and justified expense while traveling. I advise you to read my detailed article about.
• traffic accidents This is the second, in my opinion, real danger in Turkey. Turks themselves drive carelessly, and although the quality of the roads in Turkey is good, the features of the roads (serpentines, tunnels, mountain passes) often lead to accidents. I recommend that you ask in advance when buying excursions over long distances, how many drivers will be on the bus (see). There are cases when, for the sake of economy, one driver is hired to travel on a long-distance excursion, who is driving all day and, accordingly, gets tired. Such a case happened to me when I went on an excursion from Alanya to Pamukkale for the whole day. Those who rent a car (see) should be more careful on the road and pay attention to what troubles are covered by the insurance that you buy when concluding a rental agreement.

When driving a car in Turkey, you need to be extremely careful!

Imaginary dangers

• Political situation. In Turkey, an attempted coup d'état was prevented in 2016, after which a state of emergency was introduced in the country. It is still in effect at the present time. It consists in all sorts of restrictions for Turkish citizens, for example, it has become more difficult for them to travel abroad. The state of emergency does not particularly affect our tourists.
• They are Muslims and we are Christians. This does not cause difficulties and any troubles, but rather the opposite. Turks are tolerant of other religions. Yes, indeed, very rarely they may ask what faith you are, but that's all. Once my wife and 2 year old daughter and I were traveling in Central Turkey. In the city of Konya (the most conservative Islamic city in Turkey) we were looking for an inexpensive hotel. One of the people we interviewed asked what faith we were. We honestly answered that we were not Muslims, but this did not stop the man, and then he helped us a lot with the search for a good inexpensive hotel.
• Drinking water Turkey is not dangerous and there are many of them. You can safely drink water from drinking fountains on the street. The stores also sell affordable bottled water. You can read my separate article about, everything is described in detail there.

Hospitality and kindness

People in Turkey are smiling and friendly

terrorist threat

I would like to write about this separately. The fact is that this very issue is of great concern to those who think whether to go to Turkey on vacation or not. Tourists are in thought: on the one hand, there are very attractive offers from tour operators, on the other hand, “Is it safe there?” The tourist wants to get an unequivocal answer: “No” or “Yes”. Is it dangerous to go to Turkey because of this?

The trick is that with the current situation in Turkey, no one will give you such an answer. It is impossible to say an unequivocal “no”, after all, Turkey is not Syria or Afghanistan. On the other hand, indeed, recently there have been more cases than before. But not everyone understands that for the most part these were “internal squabbles”, they were mainly aimed at the military and the police. These incidents usually took place tourist places ah, with the possible exception of Istanbul.

People are afraid of terrorism and flying, although the biggest danger during a holiday is driving from home to the airport. This is a stubborn statistic.

• If they ask me, will I go to Turkey myself, then my answer will be this. Yes, I am going to Turkey, alone or with my wife, to continue work on this guide. We need to visit Istanbul and drive along the coast of the Aegean and Mediterranean seas.
• If they ask me, if I go to Turkey with children, then my answer will be this. Yes, we may go with the children if they do not want to spend the summer in the village with their grandmother. If with children, then we would like to go on a tour or rent a house on the seashore.
• If they ask me, whether they should go to Turkey, then my answer is this. You must decide for yourself.

On administrative buildings - portraits of Kemal Ataturk

Memo: how to behave in Turkey as a tourist on vacation

• Get medical insurance in addition to your trip. As I already wrote, this is the second most important purchase after buying a tour or air ticket. Read more about insurance and which one is better to buy.
• Don't take pictures police, military, military installations, border zones and all sorts of government agencies. I photographed only the tourist police, after asking permission.
• Don't visit eastern part countries near the Syrian border. There is a war going on in Syria and, as a result, it is not recommended to be near the border zone. It may even end up being suspected of being a terrorist, with all the ensuing consequences.
• Alcohol. In Turkey, they drink little - Islam does not approve of the use of alcohol. I once visited a teahouse in Central Turkey where men watched boxing on TV and drank only tea and mineral water. This has a significant plus: there are no drunk people with inappropriate behavior on the streets. Alcohol is sold only in tourist places, and throughout the country in special rare stores. Being drunk is categorically not welcome, especially in conservative areas of the country.
• How to behave in Turkey for girls? I strongly do not recommend traveling alone on your own in order to avoid unnecessary adventures that can end badly for you. As for trips on a package tour, it is quite possible to go alone. At independent trips in a pair with a man, introduce yourself as a married couple, even if it is not. Many Turks find European girls more approachable, so dress conservatively.
• Cloth. Shorts and short sleeves in tourist areas will absolutely not cause any complaints. But in Central Turkey, where there are few or no tourists, this can be a problem for you. Particular attention should be paid to the clothes of girls: away from tourist places, dress in such a way that there are as few open areas of the body as possible, the head should be covered, and the hair should not be loose.
• Avoid talking about politics. Don't bring up Kurdish separatism, the Cyprus problem, the Armenian genocide. Don't talk about NATO, the US, or Russia-Turkey relations. Don't criticize Atatürk. Ataturk is the founder of the Turkish Republic. His portraits and monuments are found in large numbers throughout Turkey. The Turks revere him, as we once revered Lenin. Kemal Ataturk, like Lenin, has a mausoleum in the Turkish capital Ankara.
• Do not argue whose religion is correct. Although the Turks are tolerant of other religions and Turkey is a secular country (religion is separated from the state), it is still categorically not to be impolite to their faith or insult their religious traditions. By the way, if there is a mosque near your place of residence, then be prepared for the fact that five times a day the call to prayer (prayer) will sound loudly from the speakers.

I gave my vision of the question “Is it dangerous to go to Turkey in 2019?”, which, apparently, is shared by hundreds of thousands of Russian tourists who visited Turkey in 2018. But the decision which country to choose for a holiday is always up to you.

Good luck to you! Take care of yourself!