Northeastern Turkey Safety (Kars, Ani)

Hi Everyone,

I am in Istanbul now and planning to visit Kars and the ruins of Ani near the Armenian border next week. I know the southeast is having issues with Syria and the Kurds (although there have been competing accounts of safety on these forums), but what about the northeast in terms of general safety? I will be taking the Dogu Express train from Kayseri to Kars, visiting Ani, then flying back to Istanbul.

Thanks for any input
Matt

You'll probably be fine doing that as you are only going from A to B by train basically.

As safe as anywhere.

If what happened in the past weeks is anything to go by, indeed you should probably be fine.
But to be informed correctly you should also be aware that
1. travel by train from A to B is not automatically safe, as a long distance train has been attacked some weeks ago.
http://national.bgnnews.com/trans-asia-train-line-between-ankara-and-tehran-attacked-in-east-turkey-haberi/8117
That was on the railway line further south between Elazig and Tatvan, where the Dogu Ekspresi does not pass.
2. serious attacks are not limited to the far south east. Check where the Igdir area is on the map. Big attack yesterday, in the eastern part of Igdir region.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/08/turkish-police-officers-killed-in-bomb-attack
3. "A member of the police force travelling in his private vehicle with his daughter on the Tunceli-Erzincan highway was killed in a PKK attack on Tuesday". Also last couple of days.
http://www.todayszaman.com/national_13-security-personnel-killed-by-pkk-in-igdir-deepen-nations-grief_398543.html
Not sure where this happened between Tunceli and Erzincan, but the Dogu Ekspresi stops in Erzincan on its route to Kars.

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But still Igdir is in far east of the country on Azerbaijan border. True it is close to kars

Thanks very much for this detailed response, I really do appreciate it. For the time being, I have kept my plans intact to visit Kars. I am going to Kayseri/Goreme today and I will continue to monitor things and ask around at the hostel I'm staying at and make a final decision in a few days.

I really want to visit Ani and take this train, but the violence is indeed very near to Kars and not limited to the southeast. I like to be adventurous, but I certainly don't want to be stupid, especially as the conflict escalates ahead of the Nov 1 elections.

Thanks again.

As I have already said,foreign tourists are not being deliberately targetted.
<snip>
The attacks are spread out over a wide region,and all were aimed at security targets not civilians.
The one exception was the attack on the Iran bound train and the attack on the Iranian tour bus which were tied into the fight between Iran and the Iranian branch of the PKK.

The most recent attack in İğdir was again aimed soley at police there at a border check post.Similarly the lone attack on the policeman in Tunceli which was a long way from Erzincan. <snip>

When giving opinions or advice on here my first and only real concern is the safety of visitors.Indeed over the past few months I have been flamed a bit for being too cautious and people have visited various places in spite of my advisement against doing so, and thankfully without incident.Were you considering doing this route by car then I would have suggested not to but by train really you should have no problems.
Everywhere can be considered safe ...until the day something happens but all we can do is base our decisions on current knowledge.If someone kindly gave me a train ticket for this journey and invited me to visit Kars and Ani with them I personally would have no hesitation in going as things are now.

#6 For the time being, I have kept my plans intact to visit Kars. I am going to Kayseri/Goreme today and I will continue to monitor things
Msupp, this is exactly what you should do. Be informed about what happened, keep up with developments, and then make your own, well informed decision.

#5 True it is close to kars
That is exactly what I was thinking, that it is not so far from Kars. And when I think Kars, I think north east, not south east. (The exact location of the attack was central far eastern Turkey, in the middle between north east and south east.)

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Artabanes, Sarikanarya was only pointing out that all the attacks targeted security forces, not civilians, execept the attack against Iranian tourist, which had a precise political meaning.
Westerner tourists are still not be targeted by PKK and I don't think they ever will. That's why, at the moment, it is still reasonable to visit the North East, if you stay on the main roads and don't go to remote villages.

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#9, Parnassus, agree that most attacks till now have targeted security forces, and not civilians.
The train contained mostly civilians, as did the Iranian bus, but I realize that these were exceptions till now.
Still, even with only security forces targeted, there is a risk for other people around, and I would want to know that information rather than be told: it's only security forces so it's as safe as anywhere for you.

Hi guys, can you please refrain from making personal attacks and try and keep the discussion civil.
thanks
MrN

Thought I would provide an update:

I have decided to delay my trip to Kars and Ani. I often travel through Istanbul and the chance to travel to the East again will probably not be far off for me, and hopefully this wave of violence will not be long-term. The advice from everyone here was very useful and I appreciate hearing varying opinions on this forum.

I just decided that while I would most likely be safe, I would not be able to enjoy the trip knowing that the situation is escalating by the week in surrounding areas. Thanks again for the input.

Obviously the choice is yours and I don't want to try to change your mind, but I think that the situation in the East should be seen in a completely different way.
At the moment, the region is reasonably safe for tourists; in the next few months, and probably years, the situation will be the same or, if it changes...it will worsen.
I don't want to discuss about Turkish political problems, and I really hope to be wrong, but this wave of violence risks to last for a very long time. That's why if someone wants to go and visit the East, I say: go now, it can be too late in the next years.
Personally, I am happy to have visited the Southeast this Summer, because I know that maybe next year I would not have been able to do it.

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