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I kind of disagree. As I have written before, I went to take photos of the walls myself a couple of years ago when I was in Istanbul as a tourist. The place is not remote. It's so close to all the major sights, such as Hagia Sofia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi palace etc. Most of Istanbul is known to be...

Just a few comments: The area where Sarai was found if very central but at the same time there is a very busy street there, so a lot of traffic noise. I think she may have easily been killed on the spot without anyone hearing her screams. Secondly, I don't think Taylan's alleged reluctance...

Yes, that would be a good place to dump a body, if you wanted to incriminate the local inhabitants. However, there are other notorious areas too in Istanbul without a very busy road next to them. I have clearly spent too much time in Turkey, a country which is full of conspiracy theories, but...

Although I've never been a huge fan of the theory that Sarai was killed elsewhere and then dumped in Seraiburnu, I don't think the "eye witness story" (i.e. a lady witnessing someone take a body out of a car) should be dismissed just yet. Clearly the lady in question believed she had seen what...

I think you can (and should) only go so far in trying to "please the locals". In Turkey it's perhaps a good idea to dress a bit more conservatively than back home. But in the end, even being covered from head to toe will not mean that some ignorant chauvinist will respect you any more. And...

I'm starting to think that the most likely scenario is that Sarai was climbing around the city wall taking photos, fell and hit her head. Some druggies came across her body at some point, stole her ipad and phone, because they could be easily sold in the black market or exchanged for drugs...

Yes, the city wall has this kind of holes, sort of like caves. When I was walking around there two years ago there was clear evidence of people living in those "caves"... Luckily I was with a friend and we didn't come across any of the residents, but perhaps Sarai did? :( Regardless of what...

I wonder if it is only the blanket that was apparently found close to Sarai's body and that one eye witness account that suggest she was murdered somewhere else and then dumped in Seraiburnu... Because if that really was the case then, because the last CCTV footage of her is from that area, it...

If the story that Sarai's body was dumped in the place where it was found is true, I wonder why her killer (/s) chose such a central area. Istanbul is a very large city. Why not dump the body somewhere on the outskirts of the city? Why dump it next to one of the busiest roads (Kennedy Avenue) in...

I'm sorry, I don't have an answer to that, I'd need to ask a local. But I guess Turkish governments have always been rather pro American since the country joined NATO already in 1952.

I think she being found where she was makes a lot of sense :( Walking around the peninsula makes for a nice, historical walk (if you are unaware of the possible dangers that I wrote about earlier) and if you're also into photography, the derelict city walls are a very good subject. As I wrote...

This is very sad news. I think I know the place where her body was found. It is indeed very close to many hotels, restaurants and major tourist attractions. However, as someone was already writing here, there is a very busy street next to the walls and pedestrians tend to walk on the other...

I wouldn't say Istanbul is "extremely cosmopolitan", although it is certainly much more modern and liberal than most other Turkish cities. However, what I was trying to point out in my earlier post is that in central Istanbul, where women are free to dress as they will, alcohol is readily...

This is true. The police is not liked by everyone Turkey (and for good reasons). If this guy Taylan was Kurdish, for example, he would've had a good reason not to go to the police. A number of people here have found it strange that a married mother of two would be travelling the world by...

I would say it is extremely unlikely that Sarai fell off Galata Bridge. The Galata Bridge area is always full of tourists, fishermen etc. It's not possible to get into the water without anyone noticing. The area around Galata Tower is also very touristy, so it's unlikely that anything happened...

I would like to add a few points from the point of view of someone, who has lived in Istanbul for several months as a single foreign female: - In general I'd say that Istanbul is a rather safe city, however the area Tarlabaşı, where Serai was living, has an awful reputation. Some...