The security situation in Turkey is permanently deteriorating since the summer, 2016. On February 17th, 2016, the terrorist attack in the capital of Ankara against the bus transporting the military personal resulted in 29 death and 61 wounded. Responsibility for the attack claimed rather obscure terrorist group TAK (Teyrêbazên Azadiya Kurdistan).

The previous terrorist attack, which occurred on the 12th of January, this year, in the Sultanahmet area in the historic center of Istanbul, and which was attributed to the organization of the Islamic State (ISIS), demonstrated that the foreign tourist visiting the most attractive areas of the country should be considered the potential targets. The stations and means of public transport (especially Metro) should be included to the same category.

Despite these tragic circumstances daily life in Istanbul maintains its traditional character. Security measures are strong but discreet and do not in any way hinder the movement of visitors to the city. All historic monuments and tourist attractions remain open, with the full range services in respect of tourism.

The General Consulate recommends that Czech citizens arriving in Istanbul remain maximally alert, pay attention to information on the websites of the Foreign Ministry of the Czech Republic and our consulate, as well as to the information and advice of Turkish security authorities. We also strongly recommend that all visitors to Turkey register with the DROZD system (http://drozd.mzv.cz/). Through it they will be quickly informed if any crisis situation arises and the Czech authorities will have significantly easier communications with them.