Travel within Turkey should be restricted, according to new safety warnings from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), which has advised against venturing to certain areas of the country, the Express news website reported.
The country is set to welcome a flux of UK travelers this summer, eager to escape Eurozone countries in favor of switching GBP to Turkish lira and making the most of their currency transactions. Yet the FCO has issued new advice for certain areas, including travel to “areas within 10km of the Syrian border.”
It now states “The FCO advise against all travel to areas within 10km of the border with Syria.
“The FCO advise against all but essential travel to all other areas of Sirnak, Kilis (including Kilis city) and Hatay provinces, as well as the provinces of Diyarbakir, Tunceli and Hakkari.”
Providing some backdrop to the situation, it added: “On 24 August 2016, the Turkish military started operations across the Turkey-Syria border near Karkamis and declared special security zones in villages along the Turkey-Syria border in Gaziantep Province.
“Fighting in Syria continues in areas close to the Turkish border and there remains a heightened risk of terrorism in the region.”
British nationals made over 2.3 million visits to Turkey in 2018, with a predicted increase during the next 12 months.