Kalkan Turkey Forum - EnjoyKalkan.com
Kalkan Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Kalkan Magic on March 07, 2016, 05:28:36 PM
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There was a good mention for Kalkan in the Independent on Sunday's Travel section yesterday. There hasn't been much mention of Turkey in the travel sections recently so this was a welcome message.
http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/where-to-go-for-your-summer-holiday-family-escapes-cultural-trips-and-adrenaline-adventures-a6911686.html
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That's good to see, even if it does remind everyone of all the things people are worried about. I've been looking at articles in the Times, which in the past has had articles including Kalkan at every turn, but there has been not mention of Turkey at all on the last few weeks!
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Hi, that's definitely true in The Times and prob most others. I had a meeting with a journalist recently and mentioned this. She said she didn't think it was deliberate as such, it is just that Exclusive Escapes used
To do most of the PR so hence lots of mentions. I think it is probably the result of a combination of the two :)
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Definitely a link between Exclusive Escapes and the Times! Hardly a week went by without a mention :laugh:
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Reported in one of the newspapers this morning, tourist intending to go to 'safe' locations this year eg Spain, will be paying possibly 80% more for their holidays, but not going toTurkey.
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just got the spring edition of a place in the sun, Out of the top 10 searched destinations in turkey for villa holiday searches and property, Kalkan came in at number 1 , so still a lot of interest in Kalkan!
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This week heard from 3 of our past repeat renters to whom we offered a low July-August weekly price. All going to Greece instead, are afraid to come to Turkey :(
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We are in this months Place in the Sun magazine! How we came to buy in Turkey.
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They have done several others over the years.
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There was an article in the Sunday Telegraph travel supplement this week recommending Kalkan , also nice to see TC running adverts most days for Turkey , Are we starting to see the beginning of a change of heart in the UK press as regards advertising & recommending Turkey once more !
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It's really sad for me and my wife as we've been going to Kalkan for the last 7 years on the trot, the last one being June 2015, but we just cannot bring ourselves to come back again, not in the immediate future anyway. I know that you cannot be 100% safe anywhere nowadays, but Turkey has had some real bad incidents this year, especially in the capital Ankara, and we fear that maybe one of the major airports such as Dalaman could be on the terrorists hit list, so it's with a heavy heart that we have decided not to come back to Turkey.
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It's really sad for me and my wife as we've been going to Kalkan for the last 7 years on the trot, the last one being June 2015, but we just cannot bring ourselves to come back again, not in the immediate future anyway. I know that you cannot be 100% safe anywhere nowadays, but Turkey has had some real bad incidents this year, especially in the capital Ankara, and we fear that maybe one of the major airports such as Dalaman could be on the terrorists hit list, so it's with a heavy heart that we have decided not to come back to Turkey.
That's a shame. So the terrorists win, and the lovely people of Kalkan lose, through no fault of their own.
I have just returned (last night) from spending nearly four weeks in Kalkan and it's just as peaceful and lovely as ever.... and Dalaman airport felt much more secure than any other airport I have visited recently, even UK ones such as Gatwick. The security was absolutely top notch.
Luggage scanning and body scanning/searches take place not only at the departure gate but also on entry to the building, which doesn't happen elsewhere - and would certainly have prevented the attacks in Brussels airport, for example.
I don't know how old you are, but do you remember the IRA bombing campaign on mainland UK? When bombs were going off in all the major cities, did that stop people going on holiday to Cornwall or East Anglia? Of course not.
The most dangerous part of a holiday to Kalkan is actually the journey to and from the UK airport. 35 people are killed on the roads every week in the UK... that's more than were killed in the Brussels attack and more than the last bomb in Istanbul. EVERY WEEK, in the UK. But does that stop people getting in their cars every day? Of course not.
I do sympathise with people who are scared, but letting the fear of a random terrorist attack make you change your holiday choices is just irrational.
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We returned from Kalkan on monday - we bought a new kitchen tap whilst in Kalkan for our kitchen refit in the UK being started on tuesday morning, our checkin in bag was on its limit so I put it in the O/H cabin bag when it was placed in the first stage scanning machine at Dalaman airport and she got pulled for closer inspection to be told we could go no further - as the tap could be used as a weapon - until it was put in the bag to be checked in, I got a severe telling off from O/H but thats what I call good airport security.
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MartynE, your comments to Alex were quite rude I thought. I do not deem his choice not to travel as irrational. It is his decision -and others should respect that choice.
I have a property in Kalkan, as I understand you have a couple of properties yourself, so we are not just coming to Kalkan for a holiday but to oversee our investments as well which is a different kettle of fish. Kalkan has been a vey popular destination for a good many years, now it seems that other resorts and countries are proving more popular. Some may say this has a lot to do with the politics of the country and some the terrorist situation, in effect it is possibly both, but it will be what it will be. Life is precious and I do not blame Alex for looking after his and his family's safety. As for not letting the terrorists win by not coming to Turkey and Kalkan, MartynE I have a sister who was caught up in the IRA bombing in Warrington, and who witnessed one of the young boys being hit by the bomb. That was 23 years ago, she is deaf from the explosion and she still has panic attacks if she is in a crowded shopping centre, and probably always will according to the therapist she was treated under. So please Martyn do not bandy about statistics and being more likely to be involved in an accident travelling to the airport, non of us know what the future holds but please do not admonish someone for erring on the side of caution, rather than boosting the coffers of the tourist industry and the property owners in Kalkan.
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Really? My son was caught up in the 7/7 bombing of the bus in Tavistock square. He witnessed dead bodies and was traumatised for some time. However he still works in that area and has to travel by bus and tube everyday. To let the terrorist threat put you off visiting a place like kalkan is mystifying to me. People like me who live in centralLondon could be said to be risking our lives every time we leave the house!
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Little Missy, I do not think it is rude or disrespectful to point out that someone else's views are irrational.
Another member of this forum was actually in Istanbul when the last bomb went off; in fact she would have been caught up in it herself, if she had turned left out of a building rather than right. Has it put her off coming to Turkey? No. She's coming back to Kalkan next month.
Nobody (apart from the terrorists themselves) has any idea where the next target will be! London, Madrid, Bali, Paris, Brussels, Boston, Sydney, New York, San Bernadino....where now? Rome? Berlin? Nice? Benidorm? Bodrum? Albufeira? Malta? You may as well close your eyes and stick a pin in a map.
Or just lock yourself in your house...but guess what? That is actually where you are most at risk from accidental death. Statistically, that is....oh, sorry.
It is not "bandying statistics" to point out that 35 people are killed on the UK roads every week, just going about their daily business. It is just stating a fact.
Sorry if you think that's being rude or disrespectful, but unless we prick the bubble of fear that the press has created, a lot of hard-working businesses in Kalkan and many other tourist destinations in the world will lose their livelihoods - which is just what the terrorists want.
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If someone is worried or scared about anything in their lives, that is their fear and cannot be rationalised or dismissed - that is their feeling & choice. We all love Kalkan & will return no matter what, unfortunately lots of people we have spoken to are worried about visiting Turkey which is such a shame. Let's hope peace will prevail & visitors will return once again when they feel ready & confident to do so.
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On this topic it may be worth bearing in mind that some of the people on here who decry other people as irrational in not coming to Kalkan may have a vested interest in that they have property in Kalkan which they need to rent - and no visitors - no income
Would be interesting to know how many fall into this category
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We own a property - but would like people to come & enjoy Turkey & Kalkan for the beautiful place that it is- not because we must rent at all costs. In fact, Kalkan may be quieter this year in terms of tourism - perhaps that will be nice, especially in High season, when the village is busy and quite frankly we avoid this period.
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I am not an owner so do not have a vested interest, but I am sad for the local community and economy.
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My husband and I have been coming to Kalkan and other parts of Turkey for 17 years. We do not own a property and have no vested interests in any business. We spent 8 weeks over the Winter in Kalkan and could see how worried the local businesses were and how hard they were working to try to make things ready for the season. I just hope this season does not prove too difficult for them.
We will be returning this year and will continue to return until we are officially told it is unsafe. We have friends and family who think we are mad but I can honestly say I feel safer in Turkey than I do in London, any big city or even driving on the roads. It is an awful shame if the terrorists win and prevent people from doing what they want to do. Life is too short.
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Just like to echo what Suziq has to say. We do not have any property in Kalkan but can't stop coming back year after year.
I was due to go on holiday shortly after 9/11 and my friend asked was I still going. Of course I was, if I had cancelled then the terrorists would have won.
I am sorry for the lady caught up in one of the IRA bombings, but those of us who are a little older did live through the threat day in and day out, no matter where we lived in the country. We still went about our daily business. No one is going to stop me going on my holiday unless as Suziq says we are officially told it is unsafe to do so.
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As you know I'm firmly in the "life's too short camp"!
I don't think for one minute that MartynE meant to offend he was simply being factual.
We visited America shortly after 9/11 and on numerous occasions were thanked by locals for still choosing to visit their country.
I was brought up with constant IRA bomb scares in Liverpool and lived in London at the height of the troubles.
Unless I am told officially that a place isn't safe I will continue to visit. However I also think everyone should make their own decisions without thinking they may be criticised.
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Thank you, Babs. I certainly don't mean to offend anyone but I do believe in telling it like it is, and it has nothing to do with whether or not I own properties in Kalkan. It is the principle of giving in to terrorists that I object to.
By the way, I do have some credentials in this regard, in case anyone thinks it's easy for me to just talk the talk. As a pro musician in the late seventies (November 1979, actually) I was lead guitarist for Chairman of The Board and we were booked to play in Belfast for a week. We had to stay in the Europa hotel - at the time, that was the most bombed hotel in Europe. We were aware of this but still elected to go... and we were unanimous in that decision. The reaction from the locals was fabulous, because most performers cried off and they were starved of live music.
Sure enough there was a bomb scare when we were there - but we were fine, thanks to the very brave security forces who defused the bomb.
Were we scared? Yes, too right! But did we regret the decision? Never. Not when we saw the grateful faces of the audience. (We did regret the hangovers though... boy, those guys can drink...)
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We are owners and we have about 75% of the bookig we had last year so far and would expect some more. As we have some weeks free it means I get an extra week ;D! So coming out soon with some Turkey and Kalkan first timers who are not the least bit put off by the possibly of any trouble, terrorism or the like. More danger in many other places and got to live life to the max!
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We have the same bookings as last year and the guest's include two guest's who have never been to Turkey before and one a Kalkan first time. :)
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I think we have to allow people to make their own choices - whether that's through fear that others may deem irrational or based on their own experiences. We of course are coming to Kalkan, but for the first time ever we are wary. I don't really care about the stats regarding the safest form of travel, I'm a poor flyer - it doesn't stop me from getting on a plane but I spend the entire flight waiting for something catastrophic to happen. Now I have to throw into the mix suicidal pilots and terrorism. My BH is more alert to a terrorist attack whilst we are on the ground....as I say it doesnt stop us from traveling to not only Turkey, but other parts of the world and, of course throughout the UK - after all we live in a country on high alert. If people feel so concerned that they no longer want to travel to Turkey, its absolutely their choice and its not for us to persuade them otherwise. Their fear is very real to them and we shouldn't dismiss it because we dont agree.
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I totally agree that people should be allowed to make their own decisions on whether to travel and not be condemned if they decide not to.
My wife and I love Kalkan, as do most people on this site, and would normally visit for two weeks @ the end of September but as yet are undecided for this year. It is not the risks of terrorist attacks which makes us hesitant, as k4e says this can happen anywhere and we travel quite often, but worry about the effect on Kalkan if large numbers of people stay at home\go elsewhere. One of the delights of Kalkan for us is the ambience around the town and in the restaurants. It would be sad if this were lost due to lack of numbers. However recent comments from owners about the numbers of bookings do appear to be more promising and hopefully this trend will continue despite the EgyptAir tragedy. The cause of this is yet to be confirmed of course but the signs are not good.
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Guests of ours have just returned and thought Kalkan was relatively busy for May. I definitely think there will still be a lovely atmosphere, v chilled as it was when we were there four weeks ago. Go again on 6 June and are counting the days! 😀🕶☀️
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Yes Sue, Fiona and I both thought it was actually busier than usual for May, believe it or not. And enquiries are really coming in now, so it's looking extremely promising after a very slow start :)
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I know this isn't near to Kalkan but it wont help matters..............
https://www.rt.com/news/348735-explosion-atatukr-reports-injured/
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Our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families and the injured. Shocking news....