Istanbul - Post Report Question and Answers
Are there personal security concerns to be aware of at this post? Please describe.
Yes and no. There is petty crime, and there are areas of the city (further from where we live and work) that I would not want to go solo, especially as a woman. In addition, the terrorism threat is still something to consider. Finally, Istanbul is an earthquake prone area. We had a few small earthquakes when there. While the Consulate and housing is well built, many schools/day cares/other places are not, and it was a worry. A large earthquake could cause a massive security and humanitarian disaster, and has in the past. Day to day though we felt extremely safe. - Aug 2021
Istanbul currently has 15% danger pay due to terrorist threats and attacks in the city. In December an attack outside a soccer stadium killed 40 policemen. Another attack on January 1 killed over 40 at a nightclub. The consulate currently restricts employees from visiting certain types of locations to mitigate the threat. There are still plenty of activities, restaurants and sites to visit. Crime is much lower than most cities in the U.S. - Sep 2017
The southeastern part of the country can be a hotbed for would-be political reformists. Also, be aware of Istiklal Caddesi, which runs off of Taksim Square. If anything is going to happen, it will start at the far end of the caddesi. - Oct 2010
An amazingly safe city given its size - I feel much safer here than in US cities of much smaller size. - Jan 2010
Relatively safe city - Jan 2010
Some very bad terrorist incidents in the past, but does not appear organized or persistent. Security services seem to do their job. Have heard of pick-pocketing incidents, but have had no problems of my own. Much safer than I expected. - Dec 2009
Street crime is not too common, but it still exists in Istanbul. If you take the normal precautions you should be ok. - Dec 2009
