Turkey's status is (or should be) always about who is at the helm. It is an interestingly "supreme leader" type of a culture, and with Erdogan you can see how that plays out. Heart breaking, in my opinion, as they had a reasonable shot at becoming a properly European country (read: culture & rule of law wise especially).

For example, you would have had an amazing time 20 years ago with a level of security comparable to other European countries. Nowadays? Personal no-go zone is a wise decision, to say the least. If I didn't have my biological family there; I would have done the same in an instant.