Tag: Sarai Sierra

9 Popular (Mis)Conceptions About Istanbul

Leyla Giray

Women on the Road: Empowering women to travel solo.

Posted: 05/22/2013 12:57 pm

Travel Tips , Turkey , Sarai Sierra Istanbul , Istanbul , Istanbul Travel , Istanbul Turkey ,Istanbul-Turkey , Travel News

You can love it or hate it but Istanbul probably won’t leave you indifferent.

It’s one of the most visited cities on earth and there are nearly as many opinions about it as there are visitors. It has been called everything: exotic, historic, unsafe (a claim buttressed by the death of photographer Sarai Sierra), food heaven, fundamentalist, a developing country, a mess, erotic or downright scary, all of them adjectives that stick to unexpected like glue.

I carried many of these preconceptions with me on a recent visit and tested them against reality. Some were terribly accurate while others, instantly dismissable.

Istanbul is crazy and disorganized.
Yes and no. Try to cross a street and you’ll feel like you’re rushing across a noisy minefield with a blindfold. Traffic has rules only drivers understand and pedestrians require courage and daredevilry in equal proportions as they dart among cars which miss them by an inch or two. In many other ways Istanbul is supremely organized. Ride an escalator and pedestrians will stand obediently to the right, leaving the left lane free for those in a hurry. Ride the tram or subway and watch as commuters stand willingly aside while passengers get off. There’s less pushing and shoving than on public transport in orderly Geneva…

Everyone eats meat on skewers.
Um, no. First of all kebabs are not from Istanbul but from the Balkans or the Caucasus. You’ll find at least as many kebabs in London as you will on these streets. Most food is not skewered. You’ll recognize some Turkish food if you like Greek or Lebanese, things like hummus or dolma (dolmades in Greece). Turkey has an unsuspected wealth of regional cuisines, ranging from Caucasus and Black Sea cooking to Mediterranean or Middle Eastern. The city doesn’t have many foreign restaurants (American fast food excepted). They don’t need to: regional cuisines are varied enough to satisfy even the most jaded palate.

Istanbul is dusty and poor.
Perhaps a few years ago you could have said that and gotten away with it. No more. The dusty streets below Galata Bridge are slowly becoming gentrified, (and local inhabitants are being pushed out by rising rents). The goats that once trotted along the roads have been edged, along with their owners, out of town. There are poor Istanbullus — but there are poor New Yorkers and Londoners as well. Rural Turkey is far poorer but Istanbul is a thriving, cosmopolitan city with its rich, its poor and its middle classes, just like other world-class city its size.

Istanbul is a hotbed of Muslim fundamentalism.
There has definitely been an increase in religiosity and conservatism since the Islamic-leaning AK Party was elected in 2002. Many women wear headscarves now, almost unheard of a decade ago, but don’t be fooled. They’re not all suddenly devout. A headscarf also has political uses and plenty of women wear them to get ahead professionally. In an Islamic administration it goes without saying that playing the part will win a few brownie points.

The city is full of rabid dogs.
In some neighborhoods, especially those less less frequented by tourists, you will indeed find dozens of dogs — and cats — on the streets. Literally. They lie around in the middle of the road, somehow escaping grievous bodily harm as cars and buses weave around them. They are not rabid in the least, on the contrary. It seems the government pays for them to be spayed or castrated to prevent additional unwanted births. And the kind citizens of Istanbul do love their pets, leaving water and food out for them every night. In my neighborhood, nearly every doorway had a bowl of water and leftover food for the uninvited visitor.

Istanbul is confusing and you’ll never find your way around.
Yes, it is most definitely confusing. Not only is it a collection of villages, but getting from A to B usually involves a detour through C and D. The city lies over two continents, which can add to the confusion. However, public authorities have invested heavily in public transit, not least because the city is bidding for the 2020 Olympics and won’t have a chance unless it gets its transport together. It does seem to be working although there are gaps when you try to cross the entire city. To get downtown from my northern suburb involved taking a bus, a subway, a funicular and a tram. Complex, developing, but well-marked all the way and a single transport card makes paying a cinch.

It’s dangerous, especially for women.
The most cited example is the recent murder of Serai Sierra, the New York photographer found dead along the city’s ancient walls. Yes, she was brutally slain while traveling in the city. And she wasn’t the only one. A few other females have found death in Istanbul. But most haven’t. Domestic violence is sadly rising but non-domestic violence against foreign women is extremely rare. When it comes to general crime, Istanbul doesn’t even make it into the top 100 most dangerous cities in the world, nestled statistically between Victoria, Canada and Santiago de Chile. So yes, Istanbul can be dangerous. It is sad when tragedy happens but Istanbul isn’t more prone to violent crime than other large cities. In fact, far less so.

The Grand Bazaar is a den of thieves and you could “almost” lose your life there.
Urban legends abound about this 500-year old warren of merchant streets stuffed with an impossible array of goods from all corners of the Orient. Stories of muggings and robbery and even kidnappings have long titillated visitors who yearn to feel the shivers of ancient and exotic mysteries. Nothing could be further from the truth. The dim alleys have given way to brightly lit pedestrian walkways that would look at home in a suburban mall, if it weren’t for their unusual wares and open storefronts.

Istanbul is dirt cheap.
Not for everything, unfortunately. Some things are cheaper than in Western Europe, for example street food. But step into a patisserie or restaurant and you’ll easily spend what you would in any other southern European country. Public transport is definitely cheaper, as are leather goods and clothes. But cheaper does not mean you can blindly stuff your suitcases full of bargain-basement goods for resale back home.

Istanbul left me wide-eyed with wonder, exhaustion, history and enchantment. Mostly it surprised me. I arrived with a set of expectations and left with most of them demolished. And that, to me, is exactly how travel is supposed to be.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/9-popular-misconceptions_b_3303559

May 23, 2013
Not Constantinople: 9 Misconceptions About Istanbul, Turkey

Not Constantinople: 9 Misconceptions About Istanbul, Turkey

by Meg Nesterov (RSS feed) on Mar 7th 2013 at 11:00AM

The country of Turkey has been getting a lot of bad press this year, due to the tragicdisappearance and murder of American Sarai Sierra in Istanbul, and the suicide bombing at the U.S. Consulate in Turkish capital city Ankara, which was quickly linked to a Marxist group protesting the Turkish position on the war in Syria (a Turkish security guard was killed, no Americans were harmed). Both events are scary and horrible, but their discussion in the news highlighted a lot of ignorance and hate about Turkey and against Muslim countries, women and solo travel.As a as a female traveler, mother and former Istanbul expat, Sierra’s disappearance especially resonated with me and many of my friends. I arrived in Istanbul for a visit the day her body was discovered, and the Turkish and American press were full of rumors and speculation for weeks following, with no real evidence or leads at solving her case. Several fellow expats – all women who have spent plenty of time solo in Turkey – have responded with their feelings about being female in Istanbul, writing about relative safety in America vs. Turkey, the greater issues of domestic violence and sex trafficking and the risks all women of the world face. We feel disturbed that such a thing could happen in a place we feel safer in than many other world cities, defensive about our adopted country, its people and their faith, and disappointed in the misinformation and bigotry about Turkey and the Muslim world.

If you have reservations about travel in Turkey, alone, as a woman or both, please look beyond the hateful and incorrect comments to the many people who have happily traveled and lived in Istanbul and Turkey. In case you read no further than this paragraph, I will say that in my three years in Istanbul, I never felt unsafe, harassed or threatened, and in traveling in 13 countries with my baby, Turkey remains to me the most child-friendly in the world.

Based on what I’ve read in online discussions, and have heard from friends, these are the common misconceptions about Turkey:1. Turkey is part of the Middle East – Geographers may quibble, given Turkey’s borders with Syria, Iraq and Iran, but it also borders EU members Bulgaria and Greece, as well as Central Asian countries of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, so it could claim membership in several regions. Politically, many of the people of Turkey would rather align themselves with Europe, and they have been bidding to get into the European Union since 1987. Better to say it is part of the Muslim world (which includes counties in Asia and Africa) than to lump it in with the Middle East.

2. The women all wear burqas – A little background: when Mustafa Kemal (aka Atatürk, the most recognizable man in the country, whose face you’ll see in every Turkish business and on the money) founded the Turkish Republic in 1923, he made it a strictly secular state. One of his reforms was to ban religious headgear from state universities and public buildings. This is now being contested as a point of religious freedom, but in essence, Turkish women are not required to cover their bodies or hair, and many dress the same as women in the U.S. or Europe. You will see some women who wear a headscarf and long jacket, but you will also see women uncovered, even dressed immodestly. After “East meets West,” one of the biggest cliches in Istanbul travel writing is to mention the contrast of “miniskirts and minarets.” Often, the women you might see on the streets in Istanbul wearing a full black hijab or burqa are Arab tourists, or immigrants from the East. The headwear law also applies to the fez hat, so that red tasseled hat you bought at the Grand Bazaar would actually really offend the founder of modern Turkey.

3. You can’t drink alcohol, find pork or eat during Ramadan – In addition to being a secular country (there is no official religion, and the 99% Islamic demographic includes the many non-practicing Turks who might only culturally identify as Muslim), Turkey is very liberal and lenient. While the country has many observant Muslims who do not drink alcohol or eat pork, there are plenty of others who enjoy their Efes beer and a pizza with prosciutto. I’ve heard the explanation from many Turks that the Koran doesn’t say not to drink alcohol at all, but rather not to become intoxicated (though you’ll see plenty of drunkenness around Taksim on a Saturday night). I’d rather not try to dissect or debate religious doctrine, so just know that Istanbul has a thriving nightlife scene, and while alcohol is becoming more expensive due to increased taxes, it’s readily available. Turkey even produces many beers, wines and liquors, like the anise-flavored raki, also known as “lion’s milk”, of varying quality and price points. Pork is harder to come by, but you will find it in many larger supermarkets and some upscale restaurants, usually at a high premium. I’ve found fewer Turks who eat pork than drink alcohol, mostly because they haven’t grown up eating it, but they won’t begrudge you a bacon craving. Finally, if you are visiting during the Ramadan holiday, you’ll find it mostlybusiness as usual in Istanbul and other major tourist areas, and unlike other Muslim countries, foreigners are not expected to fast and are often invited to share in the nightly iftarfeasts.

4. It’s a hot, desert climate and everyone rides a camel – Possibly due to the Middle East connection, people seem to imagine Turkey as a desert with hot weather and no change in seasons. Istanbul is actually on the same latitude as Chicago and New York City, with similar weather patterns; winters are cold, even snowy, and summers are humid. The country has nearly every type of climate, and there are many bodies of water around and throughout, including the Mediterranean, Aegean and Black Seas (and the Bosphorus Strait, dividing Europe and Asia, of course). Not sure where the camel idea came from, likely the same misguided idea that it’s a desert country in the Middle East, but I’ve yet to see any camels in Istanbul. You might find them as strictly-tourist photo ops in Cappadocia, or even camel-wrestling matches on the Aegean coast, but you aren’t likely to see any ambling down Istiklal Caddesi.

5. The food is spicy – Possibly all those pictures of colorful saffron piles at the Spice Market (actually called the Egyptian Bazaar) have given many the impression that Turkish food is very hot and spicy. While there are many varieties of dishes, and some can pack quite a punch, most of the popular foods are rather mild: roasted lamb or beef kebabs, kofte meatballs, grilled fish, manti ravioli and the many varieties of pizza-like fast foods like pide, lahmacun and the like. Compared to the hot spices of Morocco or Southeast Asia, Turkish cuisine is downright cool, but still totally delicious.

6. Men have harems – Assuming that Muslim men have many wives is about as offensive as assuming Mormons all live like the TV show “Big Love.” Again, you can thank Atatürk for making polygamy illegal back in 1926, and it’s a jailable offense. While it’s possible that you might find a few rogue polygamists living out in the far east of the country, the only harem you’ll find in Istanbul is at Topkapi Palace – which has been a museum for nearly 100 years. Turkey has come a long way from the days of the Ottoman Empire, and likes to distance itself from the old ways of the sultans. Women are highly respected in Turkey, and afforded all the rights and privileges of “Western” women.

7. They speak Arabic – In case the above points haven’t made it clear, Turkey is a country of Turks, not Arabs, and the language is also distinct. With a few additions and subtractions,Turkish has a Latin alphabet, thanks to yet another Atatürk reform (see why they love him?), and while it has some “loanwords” from Arabic (it also has many from French, Persian and English), it’s closer linguistically to Mongolian, Korean and Japanese. The concept of vowel harmony and subject-object-verb grammar have confounded many new speakers like myself, but you’ll have a much easier time reading Turkish than Arabic. At the airport, will you hail ataksi or a تاكسي?

8. It’s a war zone – Turkey has had a few small-scale bombings in the past decade, which are scarily detailed on the U.S. State Department’s page on security threats. This has resulted in increased security in large hotels, malls, museums and office buildings, and it’s common (if a bit jarring) to see metal detectors and car trunks checked on entry in such public spaces. All that said, you aren’t going to see tanks rolling through Istanbul, and you aren’t likely to be in danger unless you are in the far east of the country. How about their neighbors in conflict? Turkey is a huge country, slightly larger than Texas, and Istanbul itself is closer geographically to Athens, Milan, and Zurich than it is to Tehran, and over 500 miles from Syria. The possibility of terrorist attacks are, unfortunately, a part of life no matter where you are, and Istanbul is as safe as any major world city (and with lower street crime than most other European capitals). In many ways, I feel safer in Istanbul than New York.

9. They hate Americans – Despite the above mentioned security threats and February’s embassy bombing in Ankara, the U.S. State Department does not warn against general travel to Turkey, and Turkey is considered an important ally of the United States. You are advised to “stay current with media coverage of local events and be aware of their surroundings at all times” in Turkey, as with anywhere in the world. Turkey does not condone the actions of Al-Qaeda or any other terrorist organizations. On a micro level, you will rarely encounter anti-American sentiment in Turkey, and you will find most Turks to be friendly, helpful and big fans of American culture (“Mad Men” and “How I Met Your Mother” are quite popular).

Of course, it’s impossible to make blanket statements about any one culture or country, and many of the current events and issues happening in Turkey are beyond the scope of a travel blog, but we hope more Americans will discover what a safe, modern and hospitable country Turkey is and plan a trip there themselves (Turkish Airlines is one of the world’s best airlines and has some great deals this spring).

Any other myths or generalizations you’ve heard about Turkey? We’d love to set you straight! Share your experiences traveling in Turkey with us.

[Photo credit: Flickr user James Cridland]

March 8, 2013
Report: Turkish police identify suspect in U.S. woman’s death

(CNN) — Turkish police have identified the man suspected of killing American tourist Sarai Sierra, whose body was found earlier this month, CNN affiliate CNN Turk reported Thursday.

Police are now looking for the suspect, identified only as “Ziya T.,” in the southern province of Hatay, where he has family, CNN Turk reported.

Turkish police are looking for a suspect in the death of American tourist Sarai Sierra, identified only as “Ziya T.”

Missing American woman found dead

Police distributed a picture of him at all border checkpoints in case he tries to leave the country.

Sierra, a mother and amateur photographer from Staten Island, New York, went missing January 22 while on a solo trip. Her body was found February 2 near ancient stone walls in Istanbul, according to the semi-official Anatolian news agency.

Police suspect the 33-year-old was killed at a different location than where she was found.

Sierra went to Turkey on January 7 and was due to return home January 22.

Earlier this month, CNN Turk reported police detained a Turkish man with whom Sierra was in contact.

Authorities collected DNA samples from 21 people, including three foreigners. It was not immediately known whether “Ziya T.” was among them.

via Report: Turkish police identify suspect in U.S. woman’s death – CNN.com.
Sarai Sierra on the NYC subway: This is the brown leather jacket she was wearing on the day she died which police say Ziya T then sold at a nearby Bazaar
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2282312/Sarai-Sierra-Homeless-man-accused-bludgeoning-New-York-mother-death-Turkey-spotted-CCTV.html#ixzz2LbxaxpnQ
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

February 22, 2013
‘Even if it were true, I would marry her all over again’: Husband of New York mother killed in Turkey says that claims she had an affair ‘doesn’t change anything’
Sarai Sierra’nın Kocası : “Doğru bile olsa onunla tekrar evlenirdim”

‘Even if it were true, I would marry her all over again’: Husband of New York mother killed in Turkey says that claims she had an affair ‘doesn’t change anything’
- Sarai Sierra, 33, was killed by a fatal blow to the head during trip to Istanbul
- The mother-of-two’s body was found on February 2 – she had not spoken to her husband since January 14
- According to sources who saw the forensic report, she also had extensive trauma to her torso and right hip, bruises on her legs and a chin wound
- Turkish police told MailOnline they have only made public five per cent of what they know about her murder
By Laura Wells In Istanbul, Rachel Quigley and Meghan Keneally

PUBLISHED: 03:55 GMT, 12 February 2013 | UPDATED: 09:14 GMT, 12 February 2013

Sarai Sierra stayed with an Instagram friend when she went to Amsterdam during her trip

The grieving husband of Sarai Sierra said that the reports that she flew to Turkey and had multiple affairs while abroad do not change his view on the murder for him.

‘Even it were true, it wouldn’t matter to me, I would marry her all over again,’ Steven Sierra said.

The mother-of-two from Staten Island reportedly met up with at least two men during her trip abroad, including one Dutch national who she connected with via Instagram and a Turkish man who claims he had sex with her on the night before she died.

‘I’m not reading anything at all. I’m not. It’s too overwhelming,’ Mr Sierra told local station PIX11.

Mr Sierra maintains that even though he posted messages on Instagram talking about the need to work for a marriage and condemning infidelity, he remains confident that his wife was faithful to him during her trip.

Her parents said that the wake will be held on Thursday- Valentine’s Day- and visitors are welcome.

‘Stop by on Thursday. It’s open,’ Dennis Jimenez told reporters.

Mr Sierra said that he is happy with the ongoing Turkish investigation into his wife’s murder, and said that he even spoke to a number of the suspects himself.

More than 50 of those in question have given police DNA samples, which will likely limit the pool of suspects.

Faithful: Steven Sierra says that he does not believe the reports that his wife had affairs while abroad

Though authorities will not have results for two weeks, they have managed to narrow it down to a small group of Sarai Sierra’s internet contacts as well as the homeless people who were at the scene when her body was found.

Suspect: A Turkish man named Taylan (pictured) claims he had sex with the murdered mother the night before she was found dead

One person who is believed to be talking to investigators is Ammer Reduron, who Sarai connected with on Instagram in the months before her trip and stayed with while she was in Amsterdam.

Little is known about the 31-year-old Dutch national, but last year he posted on a site similar to Craigslist that he lives in an immigrant ghetto in Amsterdam called Zuidoost.

Though his Facebook page lists that he works for Cisco Systems, the company’s international headquarters told MailOnline there was no information for him in the company directory.

Last week, Reduron claimed he was not a suspect and admitted Sarai stayed with him when she went to Amsterdam on a side trip – also saying her husband Steven knew this and was OK with it as the two were friends.

‘Taking care of her,’ he said last week. ‘Meaning showing my city and being a good friend to her. She had a wonderful time here.’

On his Facebook, the 31-year-old ‘checked in’ at Amsterdam airport on January 15, which is purportedly when he went to pick up Sarai.

On January 23 – ten days before her body was found, Sarai’s sister Christina Jiminez became Facebook friends with him.

Suspect: One person who is believed to be talking to investigators is Ammer Reduron who Sarai connected with on Instagram in the months before her trip and stayed with while she was in Amsterdam

Aware that he is under the intense scrutiny of both the FBI and the media, he denounced them both on his Instagram site, alongside a picture of two toy pigs placed in an assimilated sex position.

‘Media writes, goes home, gets paid, pay bills and don’t give a sh*t only about some juicy stories with no real or fact checked stories. Police should do their work. If you fart on the planet the FBI is on yo [sic] ass with some satellite sh*t.’

Police however, are giving little away as to what they have uncovered in the investigation.

An insider close to the case told the Mail a police manager told him Turkish officials have only made public five per cent of what they know about the murder case.

Mystery has surrounded the death of the 33-year-old since her body was found at a run-down area of Istanbul on February 2. She failed to make the flight back to New York on January 22.

A lifelong friend of Sarai’s – who did not want to be identified – spoke exclusively to MailOnline about the rumors which have plagued her death since it was reported in the media.

The pair grew up in the same Silver Lake neighborhood of Staten Island, where she still resides, as do Sarai’s husband and children and her parents, Betzaida and Dennis Jimenez.

Her friend lashed out at media reports the mother-of-two was having an affair with a man referred to as Taylan K but said she was surprised someone as cautious as Sarai would stay with men she did not know.

‘A certain level of respect regardless of whatever the story is should be granted.,’ she told MailOnline. ‘The only truths to that are internal and that’s where they should be.

‘I don’t know what to believe when it comes to the people she came into contact with. From recent reports and typical chatter, it seems she and her husband were going through their own rocky period. It happens.

‘Is it hard to believe she may have been at a point in her life she was moving on or looking for adventure? No, I can’t say that. Can I say any of that that with certainty? No.’

Murdered: The body of Sarai, right, was found in Istanbul last week; her husband Steven (left) posted a series of cryptic messages online about cheating and relationships

Confusion: Steven Sierra left cryptic messages online about relationships and cheating

Troubled? On the day that his wife left for her solo trip to Istanbul, Mr Sierra posted this message

It was reported yesterday by MailOnline that her husband Steven posted a series of cryptic online messages about cheating and bad relationships in the weeks prior to her death.

Steven Sierra wrote on Instagram on December 28 last year: ‘Don’t cheat in relationship, if you are not happy then just leave.

‘A real relationship is where you can tell each other everything & anything. No secrets, no lies.’

On the day that Sarai left for her solo trip to Turkey on January 7, her husband wrote on Instagram: ‘Good relationship [sic] don’t just happen. They take time, patience and two people who truly want to be together.

On January 17, he added to his account: ‘People are to be LOVED. Things are to be USED. The reason why the world is in chaos is because THINGS are being LOVED and PEOPLE are being used.’

The friend – who has been following the case closely – expressed shock at the risky behavior of her life-long friend and that she would stay with Ammer Reduron in Amsterdam despite meeting him online just a few months ago.

‘It doesn’t really speak to how we were raised, she said. ‘But, like I said before, we grow, we change, we evolve. I would never imagine her being so trusting.

‘It does surprise me as a woman because my personal feeling is you should always be weary and on your guard. Not just in another country, but always.

‘There are people I’ve known for years online…I would never imagine meeting with any one of them alone.

‘Also, trusting an area you barely know? People you don’t know? Not scrapping one of the “side trips” to upgrade your lodgings to a safer neighborhood…Like I said, WAY too many to name.’

She did however, recognize that some of these risky decisions may come from a certain naivety on Sarai’s part.

‘I don’t think you can get enough information on the climate or culture from a few online searches, if anything, you’re going to get the rosy-colored pictures painted,’ she said.

‘From what I’ve read and seen [of Istanbul], the climate there for women is pretty unstable. And as someone who always looks to understand and educate themselves, there are areas where it behooves you to understand the bias’ that are felt towards a woman’s presentation…the way they dress, the way they look, if you can see their hair, if there is skin exposed, are you walking alone.’

Apartment complex: A lifelong friend of Sarai’s who lives in the same neighborhood as her in Staten Island, pictured, spoke exclusively to MailOnline about the rumors which have plagued her death since it was reported in the media

But she remembers that even in their idyllic childhood, Sarai had a rebellious streak in her and was always extremely adventurous, as other friends have attested to in previous interviews.

Yet her parents taught her to be careful: ‘In our little community, we ALL looked out for each other. No one went anywhere alone. We weren’t really allowed away from the block, and when we did, it was always as a group. Our parents were strict in that way.

‘Our parents knew each other and each was like a surrogate to each of the kids in the neighborhood. We were all constantly together. Sleep overs, BBQ’s, Trick or treating, Church…You name it.

‘Sarai had a great family, very religious, very close knit. They raised her to be herself and to be true to who she was. To love God, her family and see the value in everything. To be a good and humble person.’

Asked what she thinks happened to her close friend, she said: ‘Truth be told, it could be very likely these men [Sarai met online] were not involved in what happened to her.

‘I don’t think it was a woman either, I also don’t think it was a sex crime. My guess, is she was meant to be humiliated. Especially with the ‘leaks’. The guile in some of it.

‘ But I think what’s important to remember above all else is she was a mother, a sister, a daughter, an aunt and a wife.

‘What I remember most is her large eyes. They stick out to me the most in my memory. Big, bright and beautiful. I’d like to thank her for all the memories we had as children. I’ll hold them in my heart until the end of my days.’

Steven Sierra said in a interview withHurriyet last Sunday that he had not been in conversation with his wife since January 14.

The grieving father told the paper: ‘At the beginning we were talking on Skype. I was following the photos she put on Instagram. But times didn’t match because of the time difference. I was working when she is at the hotel [her flat]. The last time I heard from her was 14th of Jan. The next day she called home and spoke to the kids, I was at work that time.’

Emotional: Steven Sierra posted this message in the days before his wife was supposed to return home

The emotional and public declaration came five days before Mrs Sierra was scheduled to board a plane back to U.S. She never showed up for the flight. The young mother’s body was found next to the city walls on February 2.

The messages were revealed after it came to light that her husband alerted her alleged lover that Sarai was missing on the day she failed to return home.

Sarai Sierra’s husband frantically messaged the Turkish man since accused of having sex with her in a desperate plea for his help in finding her after she failed to return to New York, the New York Daily News reports.

The man identified as Taylan K told police that Steven Sierra logged onto one of his wife’s online accounts on January 22, the day she went missing, and discovered the pair’s recent communication.

Taylan ‘said that he hadn’t seen Sarai and the last time they met was on Sunday,’ his lawyer, Ozkan Polat, told the Daily News of that conversation.

‘And then he sent the husband copies of the earlier chats.’

Mr Sierra asked Taylan to contact local authorities in a bid to help find the 33-year-old mother of his two children allegedly unknowing that the man had had sex with her in a bar’s bathroom only the night before according to several local reports.

This latest twist comes amid new claims that the mother told the landlord of her rented apartment that she was unmarried in the days before her death

Investigations: Turkish police searched Sarai Sierra’s room and her travel bag, pictured. Authorities are trying to piece together the last moments of the American woman’s life. Sierra was found dead during a solo trip to Istanbul

Rest in peace: The coffin carrying the body of Sarai Stevens arrived in Staten Island from Istanbul on Thursday

Sorrow: The family are preparing for her burial under the intense glare of the media

Turkish authorities are now busy piecing together who Sarai of Staten Island met before her murder while suspecting she was possibly killed by a professional, the local Hurriyet newspaper reports.

Taylan K’s attorney claims that the man had ‘no emotional relationship’ with the woman though they had met twice before her death while planning to meet a third time the day she went missing.

Yigit Yetmez, owner of the flat in the down-and-out neighborhood of Tarlabasi, told Hurriyet that Sarai had told him she was ‘bekâr’ meaning ‘single’ or ‘a bachelorette.’

Taylan K has denied claims of having had sex with the slain woman, insisting they were just friends who met up for a cup of tea twice.

The woman was said to have met the man on Instagram a few months ago before her trip to Turkey and then met up with him several times while she was there.

Various Turkish media reports claimed they had sex in a bar restroom the night before she was murdered but that was the last time he had seen her.

Police said he was not a suspect.

Taylan’s lawyer, Ozkan Polat, said that his client denies the claims, calling them ‘wholly untrue’.

He insists the pair had ‘no emotional relationship’ and had met for a cup of tea as friends, adding that his client comes from a ‘good family and completed a master’s program abroad…He’s very demoralized’.

Heartbroken: Steven Sierra, right, has revealed how he is struggling with the loss of his wife, Sarai, who was found murdered in Istanbul last Saturday

These claims came on Friday, one day after the body of Sarai arrived at her home in Staten Island.

Her devastated husband Steven and two children, aged nine and 11, are preparing for her wake and funeral on February 15.

It was also revealed that two women, and three foreign nationals including an Iranian, are among the 40 people being interrogated over the murder.

Turkish police took DNA samples from 22 people – none of which matched the crime scene – and are questioning a number of others.

They said there is a possibility Sarai fought against her attacker and left traces of the killer on her skin or under her fingernails.

As well as being bludgeoned over the head, she had extensive trauma to her torso, her right hip area and bruises on her arms, suggesting a struggle.

Istanbul authorities say the area where the mother-of-two was murdered is a known rape black spot in a run down part of the city.

A Swedish tourist was raped at knife point in the same place in January 2007, and in March 2010 a Japanese girl suffered a chillingly similar attack to Sarai’s murder when she was beaten about the head with a rock and raped, according to Turkish daily newspaper Takvim.

Grief: Steven refused to talk about the claims leaked to the media by Turkish police about her liaisons with a man named Taylan K

Another 24-year-old Turkish girl was attacked at knife point at the same spot but managed to fight off her attacker and flee to safety.

Since those attacks, Turkish police have installed extra lighting and CCTV in the area in a clearly-failed attempt to make it safer.

Taylan K has denied wrongdoing and said the two met on January 10 for the first time in Istanbul but he did not see her again until January 20 when she wrote to him: ‘I want to see you.’

The next day he missed two messages from her in the morning and when he tried to call, her phone was off.

Ozkan Polat, an attorney for Taylan, told the New York Daily Newsthat his client and Sarai made plans to meet again – near the Galata Bridge in Istanbul before her death. But she never showed up.

State Prosecutor Huseyin Kaplan said Taylan is not being considered as a suspect and authorities aren’t concerned about their alleged affair.

‘We’re not interested in whether she had a sexual relationship,’ Kaplan told the Daily News. ‘What’s important for us is who killed her.’

It was also reported today that police are questioning a rug dealer and hostel owner in the area where Sarai’s body was found after checking her phone and Gmail records, and have taken DNA records.

Meanwhile, Sarai’s family are preparing for her funeral under the intense scrutiny of the media.

Looking exhausted and with dark rings under his eyes, husband Steven Sierra, revealed the heart-wrenching moment when he informed the couple’s young sons of their mother’s tragic death.

The devastated husband, 40, told their sons, aged nine and 11, that ‘mommy got hurt and she died’.

Early mid-life crisis: Neighbours have said that Sarai may have decided to take her adventure because she married so young

He told reporters outside the funeral home: ‘They were distraught, very emotional, but I had to be honest with them.’

Steven, who flew from Turkey late on Wednesday night after helping local police, had refused to let anyone else tell their sons what had happened until he returned to the U.S.

The family will gather on February 15 at Christian Pentecostal Church, where Sarai and Steven had met, for the woman’s funeral.

Her wake will take place on Valentine’s Day – which would have been the couple’s 15th wedding anniversary.

The grieving husband added that he had been too overwhelmed with grief to read media coverage of the murder.

Steven was referring to reports published in Turkish newspapers this week that Sarai was seen with a second mystery man twice before her death – including the day she was supposed to fly home on January 21.

Police are also investigating whether she was involved with any criminal activity while in Turkey after she was seen with ‘a criminal element’.

Investigators said the 33-year-old was last spotted on surveillance tape wearing a coat and carrying a handbag, which were not found with her body, Turkish media reported.

It was also said that she was not wearing pants at the time and they were found ripped nearby, though police said there were no obvious signs of sexual assault.

Friends told MailOnline that the beautiful woman appeared nervous in the weeks leading up to her solo trip to Istanbul.

Heading home: A casket carrying the remains of Sierra is prepared to be loaded onto a flight at the Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey on Wednesday evening ahead of its flight to the U.S. on Thursday

Final journey: It is loaded onto a plane bound for New York at the Ataturk Airport on Thursday morning

Preparation: Her casket is carried through Beyoglu in Istanbul on Wednesday

‘Sarai had never been abroad before and she seemed more scared than excited when I last saw her,’ said a neighbor at the smart apartment block where Sarai lived with her husband Steve and their sons, aged nine and 11.

‘When she first talked of going to Europe three months ago her eyes were alight with excitement. But as the time neared she seemed very nervous.

‘I’m not surprised really – I told her even experienced travelers worry. But I did say she was brave to go alone.’

Another neighbor, Juan Perez, said Sarai appeared to be devoted to her family. ‘She and Steve were together for ever. They married when she was 19. The boys were the light of their lives.

Claims: Turkey’s Vatan newspaper reported that Taylan had sex with the married mother of two

‘I was surprised when she said she was flying to Istanbul. It didn’t seem to be the sort of place most young women would want to go alone.

But when I asked if she was sure, she nodded. She did seem nervous.’

Other neighbors in the seven-story block, which overlooks Silver Lake and is a few minutes walk from the local golf club and an ice skating rink, speculated that Sarai could be having an early midlife crisis because she married and had her sons so young.

‘Did she want adventure? Yes she did,’ said one elderly woman. ‘But I really was surprised she was vacationing without her family. Istanbul is an exotic, expensive place.’

Sarai, who filed for bankruptcy on 2005, had been unemployed for several years but recently got a part time job at a chiropractor’s office.

Her 40-year-old husband is a New York City bus driver. He drives an old Safari mini bus and neighbors said money appeared tight. Sarai usually walked everywhere with the boys.

Her parents Dennis and Betzaida Jimenez, who also declared bankruptcy in 2005, live a five-minute drive away and often babysat while Sarai took time off from motherhood to go into Manhattan to take photographs.

She told her family she wanted to pursue her dream of taking pictures in Turkey – yet her only equipment was an iPad and Droid phone. Both items were missing when Sarai’s body was found but the murderer did not take her wedding ring or other jewellery.

Meanwhile, a witness has told Istanbul police that he saw Sierra speaking to a different man outside the city’s Sultanahmet Mosque on January 11, just days after she arrived in the country.

Scene: Her body was found stashed in this cave in the low-income district of Sarayburnu on Saturday

Theory: Police say she may have been murdered somewhere else and her body was then dumped

He handed her a card and as she left the mosque, she took a walk with him and four or five other men, the witness claimed, Turkish newspaper Milliyet reported.

Sierra flew to Amsterdam on January 15 and to Munich the next day, returning to Istanbul on January 19.

The witness said he then saw Sierra talking with the same man on January 21 at Topkapi Palace – the day she was due to fly home, but she never boarded the flight.

Sierra’s body was found stashed by Istanbul’s ancient city walls on Saturday, more than a week after she failed to catch her flight home.

Police said she died from a blunt force trauma.

Struggle: Sarai’s mother Betsy Jimenez sobs during a news conference at a friend’s home on Monday

Loss: Magdalena Rodriguez had planned to travel with Sierra, but dropped out due to financial reasons

RETRACING SARAI SIERRA’S STEPS

January 7 Sarai Sierra left the U.S. for Istanbul

January 15 Sierra traveled to Amsterdam, and later Munich

January 19 Sierra returned to Istanbul

January 20 Owner of house she was staying at claims to have last seen her; CCTV footage shows her walking through shopping mall

January 21 Mother was scheduled to board plane back to U.S.

Sierra’s family say they last heard from her

Contact with ‘Taylan’ shows she planned to meet him on Galata Bridge

January 22 Sierra’s plane landed in Newark, New Jersey, without her

January 28 Husband and brother fly out to Turkey to assist with the search

January 30 A Skype call was placed on her American cell phone

January 31 Sierra’s cell phone was activated again

February 2 Her body is found by the ancient city walls

She was found with a head wound and a blanket near her body and still had her earrings and a bracelet on, as well as her wedding ring.

According to sources who read the forensic report, the young mother also had extensive trauma to her torso, right hip area, bruises on her legs and a large chin wound.

To pay for her funeral, her family began selling some of her images online on Tuesday and soon had enough to cover her expenses.

Sarai was believed to have finished a course in photography just before she made the trip to Istanbul, which she said was to take pictures of the city and its ancient ruins.

‘Sarai’s passion for photography and love for capturing the beauty we see in culture, architecture and scenery was her reason for traveling to Istanbul,’ her brother, David Jimenez, wrote on the site.

He added on Friday: ‘Thank you for all the support in purchasing Sarai’s pictures. Quick update, all expenses for Sarai’s funeral have been paid for!

‘From here on out any picture of hers that you purchase will NOT be going towards her funeral. All funds will be going to her children. Thank you for your support. David.’

‘I’m heartbroken,’ Mr Sierra told the New York Daily News, earlier this week. ‘This is something you never want to imagine, and it’s something I’d never want anyone to experience.

‘You have so many plans, so many dreams with the person you deeply love.

‘You look forward to many years together and there are so many things you haven’t fulfilled with that person, and now those won’t be fulfilled.’

Tryst: She reportedly met the man, identified as ‘Taylan’, when he commented on her Instagram page

Stunning: Sierra’s family have put her photos, pictured, up for sale to cover her funeral expenses

Her mother, Betsy Jimenez, told the Today show: ‘It was such a shock when we heard. She was supposed to come back and she didn’t.

‘Her little boys do not know, their father will talk to them once he gets back. We will all be present for this.

‘It was the first time she was going overseas after getting into photography college.

‘She wanted to go there and take pictures of bridges and the history of the city.’

She was in regular contact with friends and relatives, and had told them she would visit Galata Bridge, which spans Istanbul’s Golden Horn waterway, to take photos.

CBS News reported that shortly after Sierra’s body was discovered, a woman came forward and told police she had seen a white car parked near the city walls as she was driving there ‘Tuesday night’, Anadolu also reported.

The eyewitness said a man was trying to remove ‘something’ from the car, at which point she caught a glimpse of a hand.

Turkish police released security camera footage showing the missing mother at a mall near her hostel hours before she disappeared.

Sierra can be seen eating lunch and walking through the mall on January 20 – a day before she was supposed to catch a flight back home.

Her family last heard from her on January 21, when she was supposed to start her journey home, but she never checked into her flight.

Last images: Sarai Sierra, a New York mother missing in Turkey, is seen on CCTV before she disappeared

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2277329/Sarai-Sierra-Husband-New-York-mother-killed-Turkey-says-reports-traveled-affair-dont-change-anything.html#ixzz2KnNVNOmb
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February 13, 2013
SI slain mother registered ‘single’ for Turkey abode

By CANDICE M. GIOVE

Last Updated: 4:03 AM, February 10, 2013

Posted: 12:38 AM, February 10, 2013

The married Staten Island mother of two slain on a solo trip to Turkey told her overseas landlord that she was single, it was reported yesterday.

Sarai Sierra, 33, said she was a “bekar,” meaning “bachelorette,” when Yigit Yetmez asked about her relationship status a few days before her death, according to the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet.

Yetmez rented her a place online in Yetmez’s apartment building in Tarlabasi.

The development comes amidst allegations that Sierra cheated on her husband in a bar bathroom with “Taylan K.”

The man, whom she met online four months before her departure, denied the romp, telling police that the two went out to eat several times, his attorney told Turkish media outlets.

SARAI SIERRA Lied about marital status.

SARAI SIERRA Lied about marital status.

Sierra’s body was discovered bludgeoned, bloody, bruised and wrapped in a blanket. It was discovered beneath the Galata Bridge on Feb. 3. Her funeral wil be held Friday at Christian Pentecostal Church on Staten Island.

via SI slain mother registered ‘single’ for Turkey abode – NYPOST.com.

February 10, 2013
The Murder of Sarai Sierra

Canary in the Turkish Coal Mine

The Murder of Sarai Sierra

by VANESSA H. LARSON

On February 2, the body of 33-year-old American Sarai Sierra was found in Istanbul – near a section of crumbling ninth-century, Byzantine-era city walls along the Sea of Marmara, not far from the city’s major tourist attractions – 12 days after she disappeared near the end of a solo trip to Turkey. Although the circumstances of her murder are still being investigated, Turkish authorities have established that the tourist and amateur photographer was killed by a blow to the head.

As an American woman living in Istanbul, I have followed Sierra’s enigmatic disappearance and horrific death with a mix of dread, empathy and a certain feeling of responsibility. Not only has her tragic story touched a nerve among women on both sides of the Atlantic, it has drawn attention to the serious problem of violence against women in Turkey, as well as underlining both the price and privilege of American exceptionalism.

In Turkey and the United States, the news has made headlines in almost every major media outlet, with much of the coverage sensationalistic and highly speculative. In the U.S., related commentary has ranged from discussion over whether or not it is a good idea for women to travel alone to the relative safety of Turkey as a tourist destination. Even when the coverage itself is not sensationalistic, user comments on these news websites often show an appalling degree of ignorance and prejudice towards Turkey and Muslims. (Variations on “What was she thinking, traveling to a Middle Eastern country by herself?” are plentiful.)

The incident is particularly unsettling because Istanbul is quite a safe city, burglaries (including, not long ago, of my own apartment) and petty theft notwithstanding. For a metropolis of more than 13 million, there are very low rates of violent crime: Istanbul’s murder rate is lower than New York’s. In six years living in Istanbul, I have felt less fear for my personal safety, or fear of being mugged – or shot – than when I lived in Washington, D.C. or New York City. In the wake of Sierra’s murder, Turks and foreigners in Istanbul alike thus have expressed dismay at seeing this city and country portrayed, unfairly, by some foreign media as dangerous.

And yet whatever the statistics say, expats in Istanbul – particularly women – have been deeply shaken by the incident, because it has hit too close to home: a young American mother of two, vacationing on her own in Istanbul, who apparently vanished during the middle of the day in a busy, central district of the city. How did she disappear, and what if something like this were to happen to one of us? On the night her body was discovered, the Turkish Twitterverse practically exploded with the news, and I called a close American friend and nearly cried. Even my parents – who have visited me in Turkey several times and who know not to get too alarmed anymore when I get tear-gassed at political demonstrations or when a bomb goes off at a U.S. diplomatic mission – expressed their distress, cautioning me, in stronger terms than they had used in years, to be careful.

At the same time, no one in Turkey can fail to notice that, by virtue of her nationality, Sierra’s case has benefitted from an immense level of publicity and a vast expenditure of investigative resources. Turkey is a key U.S. ally in the region and a popular destination for American tourists, so local authorities cannot afford to leave a stone unturned. In addition to working closely with the FBI, the Istanbul police have set up a special unit to deal with her case, assigning the astonishingly high number of 260 officers to analyze thousands of hours of video footage from some street 500 security cameras. In the meantime, Turkish Airlines, the country’s national airline, agreed to transport Sierra’s body back to the U.S. at no charge.

Would the disappearance and death in Istanbul of a female tourist visiting from, say, Indonesia, or a Moldavan woman working as a housekeeper have received such attention? Alas, the answer to that question must surely be negative. Turkey is a both a destination and transit point for sex trafficking as well as a country where organ smugglers are active; their victims, however, are overwhelmingly from poor countries. Zafer Ozbilici, head of Turkey’s Foundation for Relatives of Missing Persons (YAKAD), recently told the Dogan News Agency that in the last two decades, 90 foreign citizens have gone missing in Turkey – 26 from Somalia alone.

Sadly, Sierra is also not the first foreign woman known to have been killed in Turkey in the last few years: In 2008, Giuseppina Pasqualino di Marineo (aka Pippa Bacca), an Italian artist who was hitchhiking from Italy to the Palestinian territories in a wedding dress to promote peace, was raped and murdered near the small town of Gebze.

And what of the far too many Turkish women whose lives are taken each year? While Sierra’s and Bacca’s high-profile murders have received disproportionate attention, they cannot be divorced from a disturbing pattern of increased violence against women in Turkey in recent years. Homicides of women in Turkey shot up by a shocking 1400% between 2002 and 2009, when 1126 women were slain. Unlike Sierra and Bacca, however, the vast majority are killed by current or former male partners – often as part of a pattern of domestic violence against which police have not provided sufficient protection – or in family-sanctioned “honor” killings. Though murder rates have come down substantially since 2010 (across the country, 165 women were killed in 2012), the larger picture of gender-based violence remains bleak: in a 2009 survey, 42% of Turkish women said they had been physically or sexually abused by a male partner.

Just as the disappearance and murder of an American has led to far more concerted police efforts than in the majority of missing-person and domestic violence cases in Turkey, it has also given rise to a telling paranoia. After Sierra disappeared, Turkish media organizations entertained numerous speculations about her reasons for being in Turkey, including the idea that she was a spy or was involved with criminal networks. It was briefly even suggested on the website of at least one major newspaper that there might be a connection between her disappearance and the bomb attack on the U.S. Embassy in Ankara on February 1 – an act of terrorism that has since been ascribed, without a shred of doubt, to an outlawed Marxist group (DHKP/C).

While it might seem utterly ludicrous for anyone to suggest that a young woman who worked as a part-time assistant in a chiropractor’s office and who had never before left the U.S. would be an American intelligence agent, such is the perceived power and reach of the United States (and particularly of agencies like the CIA) in Turkey that ideas like this were seriously entertained. After Sierra’s body was found and autopsied, Istanbul’s police chief was obliged to tell local reporters that there was no evidence of her being a spy.

There are still many unresolved questions about Sierra’s death but, whatever really happened, this is at the end the sad story of a young, female American who died overseas in unfortunate circumstances in a country where too many women have suffered from violence. Observers in both the United States and Turkey ought to honor her memory by seeing the larger issues and not making her a cause celebre.

Vanessa H. Larson is a writer living in Istanbul.

February 10, 2013