I have a brother who was the doctor at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara and responsible for medical operations at the embassies in some of the neighboring countries, like Georgia and Armenia (and possibly a 'stan) about 10 years ago. He and his wife, who is east Indian and raised Muslim, loved their three or so years in Ankara, including the people. But despite the affection he developed for Turkey, he recently expressed concern that my daughter continuing to live there. Turkey is just in a very difficult position right now, with the Kurdish issue, Russia, proximity to Syria and their location on the geographic, political, and cultural fence. Erdogan's recent domestic policy decisions have been troubling too. Historically and culturally a fascinating country to spend time in, but it's getting a little tense there, even though it appears the expats regularly receive pretty good security information from the US consulate. For instance, they were advised weeks prior to last week's bombing to stay away from political establishments and were warned to stay home, if possible, this last weekend. She learned Turkish and does some acting in Turkish TV, commercials and other commercial modeling, so she flies frequently to Izmir, Antalya, and Ankara for shoots and is in airports a lot as a result. That is the part that causes me to worry a little. Not a lot, but a little. She spent two years in college in NYC before trading that life in for commercial modeling in Europe, and I've always felt she was as safe in places like Barcelona and Istanbul as she was in Morningside Heights.
