Vibrant Istanbul tourism seems immune to worry

ISTANBUL – Americans may think that tourists are avoiding Turkey due to problems on the nation's border with Syria and Iraq. Wrong.

Here in Istanbul — 1,000 miles away from the fighting — the historic streets are brimming with fall visitors. They come on bus tours. They swarm off cruise ships. They bring their children to vacation in the vibrant Turkish city.

I waited a half hour in line today just to buy a ticket for Topkapi Palace, where the sultans once lived. Then I waited another 20 minutes just to get into the apartments on palace grounds where the harem lived. Tour buses have been nudging bumper-to-bumper with trams this weekend; I actually walked faster down Hudavandigar Street than they could move. At the Blue Mosque this morning, the line was so long it curved in on itself.

The languages you hear? English, German, Russian, Turkish, Chinese and I don't know all what else. October visitors seem to be just about everyone – families, couples on honeymoons, weekend getaway groups, or, like me, members of large, unwieldy tour groups doing budget trips of Turkey.

Istanbul is now the 7th most visited city in the world, after New York, according to the Mastercard Global Destinations Forecast, with 11.6 million tourists predicted this year.While nobody knows what 2015 will bring, for now things are looking bright.

I believe it after seeing the packed attractions. You should have seen the line today just to get into the ladies restroom at the Hagia Sophia.

Watch for dispatches from Turkey all this week from Detroit Free Press Travel Writer Ellen Creager, the Michigan Traveler; also watch for her upcoming stories in Sunday Travel..