Safety in Turkey

Taxis: the main threat to your wallet. Drivers sometimes forget to start the meter, so use the BiTaksi app and see the fare before you get in.
Scams: in the tourist quarters, the classic is a friendly stranger inviting you to a bar. The evening ends with a bill of several hundred dollars for a couple of ordinary drinks and staff who make leaving difficult.
Theft: crime levels are low, but keep an eye on your things in crowded markets. In the Anatolian cities you can walk around late in the evening without a second thought.
Earthquakes: the south of the country sits in an active seismic zone. When you check in, note where the exits are and take a look at the general state of the building.
Traffic: drivers routinely ignore pedestrian crossings. Cross with full attention even when the light is green in your favour, because the green light is not an argument anyone here recognises.
Overstaying: the most serious risk a visitor faces is breaching the terms of their entry stamp. It carries a substantial fine and a ban from re-entering the country for up to five years, so know exactly how long your passport is allowed.
Advisories: conditions near the Syrian border differ from the rest of the country, so check your own government's travel advisory before planning anything in the far southeast.

Violent crime rarely touches tourists in Turkey, but Istanbul runs more polished schemes than anywhere in Europe.

The dropped brush. On Istiklal or near the Galata Bridge, a shoeshine walking ahead of you drops his brush. You pick it up, he thanks you and offers a free polish. The figure named at the end would buy new shoes.

"Come, I'll show you a good place." A friendly man your age strikes up a conversation in English and leads you to a bar, where women appear and order drinks. The bill reaches several hundred euros, security stands at the door, and police in these cases usually side with the venue. It works almost exclusively on men walking alone.

Taxis. Three tricks: the "broken meter", the scenic detour, and the note swap — you hand over 50 lira, the driver shows you a five. Pay in small notes and say the amount out loud, or simply use BiTaksi or Uber.

Carpets and leather. The free "factory tour" is free precisely because the shop pays your guide a cut of whatever you buy.

Insulting the state or the president. Article 299 carries up to four years and covers social media posts, including ones made before you arrived. A separate law protects the memory of Atatürk. Foreigners have been detained under these articles, sometimes at the airport on departure.

Antiquities. Exporting anything over a hundred years old is banned, and it is the single most common reason a tourist ends up in a Turkish prison. An old coin bought at a market as a souvenir or a shard picked up at a ruin is enough. Airport scanners are tuned for exactly this, and the penalty reaches 12 years.

Photography. Military sites, police stations and border zones must not be photographed. In the southeast and near the Syrian border this is enforced strictly.

Drugs. Sentences are long and there is no leniency for foreigners.

Vaccinations. None required. Hepatitis A, tetanus and diphtheria are advised, plus hepatitis B and rabies for rural travel.

Water. Locals do not drink from the tap either — the water is treated, but old pipes and rooftop tanks undo that. Bottled water costs almost nothing and is sold everywhere.

Food. Street food is broadly safe; be careful with mussels and with dairy desserts that have sat in a hot display case.

Healthcare. Private clinics are good, especially in Istanbul, Antalya and Izmir. State hospitals treat foreigners for a fee. Nobody checks insurance at the border, but treatment without a policy costs more than the trip.

Sun. The Mediterranean coast hits 40°C in July and August, and heatstroke while walking shadeless ruins is the most common reason tourists see a doctor.

Turkey ranks 124th of 180 on the Corruption Perceptions Index. Police bribery is not the usual tourist experience; far more often the problem is that in a dispute an officer will side with the local.

Tourist police. Istanbul has a dedicated English-speaking unit in Sultanahmet. For a conflict in a bar, with a taxi driver or a shop, go there rather than to the nearest station.

Documents. Carry your passport or a good copy — checks at transport hubs and on highways happen regularly.

Traffic accidents. Never leave the scene, however trivial the damage looks. Without paperwork the insurer will not pay, and fault defaults to whoever drove away.

One emergency number for everything — 112.