I was called to task by Nick below for not following through with my
statement that I would post some trip reports. I actually have finished the reports, but I have decided not to post them here because I don’t think there would be sufficient interest in them to justify the space taken.
However, I will send the reports (three parts) to individuals who may be interested.
To determine if you would like to see my reports, the main reasons for
meeting RW in Turkey are: Convenience, money, and attractions.
Convenience: RW do not have to obtain a prior authorization visa to visit Turkey. Russian citizens purchase a visa for $10 at the airport upon arrival in Turkey. The makeup of vacation travelers to Turkey is 60% German, 30% Russian and 10% all other. Because of this high proportion, I doubt the easy visa situation is going to change. Likewise, US citizens do not have to have a prior visa; we purchase the visa for $45 at the airport upon arrival.
Money: Round trip tickets from Moscow to Antalya, Turkey cost only $280 for April travel. Nice two bedroom apartment with kitchenette for a month in Antalya cost me $260. Meals can be had for less than $10 for two persons. Airplane ticket for me cost about the same as to visit Moscow or St Petersburg. So do the math; it is cheaper to visit with a RW in Turkey than it would cost to visit them in Moscow, St Pete, or probably Kiev, etc. This is figuring that airfare for one RW plus the apartment in Turkey totals less than the cost of an apartment in Russia for a month. (You can read some more of the details by viewing my post of March 4th.) Of course the caveats still hold. Do you want to risk the cost of a plane ticket on a RW?
For me, I had already spent time with all three, and two of them paid their own ticket. The one I purchased from Aeroflot in NY on credit card whereby the ticket could not be cashed in by anyone but me.
Attractions: There is plenty to do in Turkey. There are actually more
ancient Greek and Roman ruins there than in Greece if you like that type of thing. There are also night spots, water sports facilities, etc.
So for those interested send me a message to e-mail at:
a55mer@nospam.com
In subject line put: Yes, send me Turkey reports.
I will wait a week or so to gather up your e-mail addresses since it will be much easier to send out one mailing with several addresses in the header.
So be patient.
JR
