I think those who have invested in Turkey to the extent of purchasing property would be reluctant to follow your lead Colwyn, for a variety of reasons.
I believe a lot of it is the "bubble" effect I (and some others) have mentioned previously - unless you take an active interest in whats happening outside the Fethiye area, on the surface life just goes on pretty much as it used to. Your £'s buy you more ₺'s than before, the sun is still shining and (so far) no-one has been gassed, beaten up or water cannoned in Çarşı Caddesi.
Step outside that "bubble" and the Turkey of today is very different to that experienced by holidaymakers in Fethiye. Arrests, detentions, torture and intimidation by not just the authorities, but groups of citizens acting (they believe) as defenders of democracy. Move to the south east of the country and there are bombings, killings and other dreadful acts being carried out by both sides of the conflict. Its become so common place down there that it hardly rates a column inch in the media, both domestic and international.
Every strata of society has been affected by the events post 15th July. Comments made at the Yenikapi rally last night suggests that the death penalty is going to be back on the books soon... and it doesn't take an Einstein to work out who will be the recipient of this extreme measure.
Turkey is a divided country. Divided by politics, divided by race and most importantly, divided by the personal ambitions of those currently in power.
I suspect that until any of the above atrocities actually begin to directly affect those inside the "bubble", most will carry on as normal - and there's nothing wrong with that. Many folks have invested considerable sums in property, and to a lesser extent, in businesses locally. They don't have the luxury of being able to pick and choose holiday destinations, they've made a conscious choice to put all their bricks (and mortar) in the one basket. I know they could simply sell up and toddle off to pastures new (or old), but as we all know, it's just not that easy.
My OH and I (and our girls) have been discussing our situation vis-à-vis Turkey for some time now. We didn't have any plans to holiday in Turkey this year and we've simply left it at that. I'm comfortable (from a moral perspective) with the folks I'm working with in Istanbul, and have no issues with going to the office as and when I need to - and that's all I want to say about that.
JF
