Tourists in Istanbul continue vacations despite attack

Record ID: 162912

  • Title: Tourists in Istanbul continue vacations despite attack
  • Date: 2nd January 2017
  • Summary: ISTANBUL, TURKEY (JANUARY 2, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF HAGIA SOPHIA IN SULTANAHMET SQUARE RUSSIAN TOURIST COUPLE TAKING PICTURE WITH HAGIA SOPHIA IN BACKGROUND (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN TOURIST, EFIM KOGAN, SAYING: "Istanbul is beautiful, we are here for the next five days and we don't intend on leaving. I am here with my wife and will be spending time here nicely." KOGAN POSING FOR PHOTOS WITH HIS WIFE (SOUNDBITE) (English) RUSSIAN TOURIST, EFIM KOGAN, SAYING: "I flew in yesterday, I knew about the terror act in the club, I don't feel that it is not a stable country; I am here with my wife on vacation and I will spend here six more days and I am pretty sure that everything will be perfect." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE IN SULTANAHMET SQUARE (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN TOURIST, SVEN GERRIETS, SAYING: "We arrived on the 31st and we didn't go out celebrating because we were really tired so we stayed in the hotel. We didn't find out about it all until the next day when we got messages from friends who were worried about us. We hadn't heard anything ourselves. I wouldn't say we are nervous now, we will spend our holiday as normal, as we planned. There is no point reacting any other way, it won't change anything. If we are honest, it could happen anywhere, it could affect anybody. For example, we could have been in Berlin for Christmas and that wouldn't have made a difference. And so that's how we'll spend our holiday and we feel very safe." PEOPLE IN SULTANAHMET SQUARE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) IRAQI TOURIST, ALI, SAYING: "We are not afraid. We heard about the attack on New Year's Eve - I think it killed some 44 people [the attack killed 39] - but we are continuing our holiday till Wednesday when we go back to Iraq. No, we are not afraid, people are continuing their lives normally." PEOPLE IN SULTANAHMET SQUARE (SOUNDBITE) (English) ROMANIAN TOURIST LIVING IN GERMANY, PAULA DAIAN, SAYING: "We arrived on New Year's Eve, we weren't out in the city for New Year's Eve so we didn't really get what was happening until in the morning, but our friends were really worried. We weren't that worried because well, it is a small risk to actually be part of an event like this, but I think the most important thing is that we keep living our lives the way we have been and the way we planned, that is the only logical response we can have to terrorism so that we can actually fight it in our day-to-day lives." (SOUNDBITE) (English) TOURIST FROM CZECH REPUBLIC, PAVLINA RYBNIKAROVA, SAYING: "Well, I feel a bit nervous, I must admit it because we came here just to... you know it's horrible, people come here to have fun and celebrate New Year's and some individual just start to shoot them, it is not a nice feeling and I feel very sad for the people that died and for their families." PEOPLE IN SULTANAHMET SQUARE TURKISH FLAG PEOPLE WALKING PAST POLICE VEHICLE TOURIST BUS
  • Embargoed: 17th January 2017 13:17
  • Keywords: Istanbul attack nightclub Reina shooting tourists reactions
  • Location: ISTANBUL, TURKEY
  • City: ISTANBUL, TURKEY
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,International/National Security
  • Reuters ID: LVA0015XE08CN
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Tourists in Istanbul seemed to be continuing their holidays as normal on Monday (January 2nd), after a gunman opened fire on New Year revellers at a packed nightclub on the shores of the Bosphorus waterway, killing 39 people.
    Tourists walked and took photos in Istanbul's Sultanahmet square, near the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia - major tourist sites in the center of the Turkish city.
    Russian citizen Efim Kogan, who arrived in Istanbul with his wife on Sunday (January 1st) said they were continuing their vacation as planned.
    German citizen Sven Gerriets and Iraqi man Ali, also on vacation for New Year holidays in Istanbul, said they were not afraid.
    "I wouldn't say we are nervous now, we will spend our holiday as normal, as we planned. There is no point reacting any other way, it won't change anything. If we are honest, it could happen anywhere, it could affect anybody," Gerriets said.
    The attack shook Turkey as it tries to recover from a failed July coup and a series of deadly bombings in cities including Istanbul and the capital Ankara, some blamed on Islamic State and others claimed by Kurdish militants.
    Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was revenge for Turkish military involvement in Syria.
    Security services had been on alert across Europe for new year celebrations following an attack on a Christmas market in Berlin that killed 12 people. Only days ago, an online message from a pro-Islamic State group called for attacks by "lone wolves" on "celebrations, gatherings and clubs".
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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