I visited Turkey in August 2017. It seems like forever since I was there but the allure of all that is Turkish is with me every day and I long to return. When I was planning my trip to Turkey both friends and family were regularly warning me about the dangers of travelling to a predominantly Muslim country. Their concerns were in direct alignment with some of the verbiage I found on the US State Departments web site warning of possible terror attacks and other risks they believed to be part of travelling in Turkey. Having some native Turks as friends and acquaintances both here in the US and in Turkey I was not concerned. They had already warned me about crooked taxi drivers and night life risks and all the usual warnings applied. I ignored all that I had read online and I ignored the pleas from relatives and friends to reconsider and I had nothing short of an epic visit. In fact, I felt much more at ease and safe than I do in most US cities. I wandered around on dark streets in Istanbul, I took long walks by the water and along the many little hotels in Dalyan.