On June 28, in Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, three men attacked the international terminal. One opened fire with an assault rifle in the security-check area, then blew himself up. Another attacker made it to the second level before detonating his suicide vest. A third man detonated his vest outside the terminal entrance.
At least 44 people from at least 10 countries were killed, most of them Turkish, and 236 were injured.
The US Department of State warns of ongoing terrorist attacks and violence in Mali.
On June 1, a Chinese national was killed and at least 12 other people were injured when a car bomb was detonated at a United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission camp near the northern city of Gao. In a separate attack within the city, one French national and two Malians were killed. No group has claimed responsibility for either attack.
On May 31, the US State Department warned of the risk of terrorist attacks throughout Europe at major events, tourist sites, restaurants, commercial centers and transportation hubs. Possible targets included the EURO soccer tournament (June 10-July 10) and the Tour de France (July 2-24), both being held in locations throughout France, and World Youth Day in Kraków, Poland (with events July 26-31). This alert will expire on Aug. 31.
My wife, Nancy, and I took the “Egypt & the Nile Tour with Jordan Extension,” Jan.12-29, 2016, with Go Ahead Tours (Cambridge, MA; 800/597-0350, www.goaheadtours.com). The cost for each of us was $4,500, which included airfare from Kansas City to Cairo via Zürich, with the return by way of Amman, Jordan.
There were 24 people in our group during the Egyptian part of our tour, and 10 took part in the Jordan extension.
Our Egyptian tour director, Amr, an Egyptologist, not only knew about the ancient sites in Egypt, he shared his personal involvement in current events.
The US Department of State alerts travelers to the potential for extremist violence in Bangladesh.
Since September 2015, the country has experienced a series of violent attacks. These include the murders of two foreign nationals as well as bombings and other attacks against gatherings of religious groups and security forces. Daesh (ISIL) publicly claimed credit for many of these attacks, including the beheading of a Hindu priest on Feb. 22.
In Jakarta, capital of Indonesia, two people were killed and more than 20 were injured in an attack by Daesh-allied terrorists on Jan. 14. The attack began when two suicide bombers struck a Starbucks and a police post, then gunmen took hostages in a theater. Police raided the theater and killed the gunmen. The police chief described the attack as an attempt to mimic the Nov. 13 Paris attacks.
In the Editor’s November 2015 “Boarding Pass” column, he warned of an online-hotel-booking scam, and I must take friendly issue with advice given on page 58 that describes what to look for after clicking on a link within a suspicious email. You should never, ever click a link that you haven’t verified first. There’s an important reason for this rule.
As the Editor stated, a scam site may ask someone to enter private information, which subsequently will be misused. This is known as “phishing,” that is, hoping to catch some suckers who don’t know better.
In response to the growing threat of ISIL, or Daesh, and other terrorist organizations, the US Department of State released a Worldwide Travel Alert on Nov. 23 warning that multiple countries and sites could become targets of terrorism.
The US Department of State warns of the risk of traveling to Kenya. Those considering traveling there should be aware of recently heightened threats of terrorism and of the high rate of violent crime in some areas.
While in Istanbul, Turkey, Sept. 16-24, 2015, my wife and I were scammed by a taxi driver. He had palmed a 20-lira bill, and when we paid with a 100-lira note, he flashed the 20, claiming that that is what we had given him, and demanded more for the fare.
A second driver tried to use the same scam on us but didn’t succeed.
It is recommended that the denomination be announced when paying a cab fare: “Here is a 100-lira bill.”
Outside of that, we found the locals to be warm and friendly.