GUILTY Turkey - Sarai Sierra, 33, NY woman murdered, Istanbul, 21 Jan 2013 - #1

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Of the 10k, hostel and mall food court for Turkey stay certainly below 400ish. Clothes purchases? Maybe but apoears to same leathter jacket and hat seen before. 10k is a boatload of money to spend in that amount of time. Maybe jewelry? I dont find it unusual to dart from one Euro country to anither on same day, IF, you've beed to each before and know the layout, airport taxi time, etc.
 
I am confused as to why a person who apparently has a love of photography is traveling all the way to Turkey to take pictures with a camera phone. I thought most photographers used actual cameras. I am not trying to be disrespectful, I just find it a bit odd.
 
LittleMissContrary said:
I am confused as to why a person who apparently has a love of photography is traveling all the way to Turkey to take pictures with a camera phone. I thought most photographers used actual cameras. I am not trying to be disrespectful, I just find it a bit odd.
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I actually thought the same thing when I read she used her phone to take pictures.

I hope I won't get misunderstood with what I'm about to say but, according to what many friends (and other women I casually talked to) the experience with Turkish guys online hasn't been the best.
Now I guess I should make it clear that I'm NOT saying something negative about Turkish males in general, I just hope she knew what she was doing.


I also find it interesting that her friend decided not to go for lack of money. Unless she had an emergency, you usually save up then once you know you can afford it, you book the trip etc. At least that's what I do.
 
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 years ago (so I have been told by locals) it was a complete no-go-area, eve during the day. It is still known to be an area where a lot of prostitution, drug trafficking, burglaries and violent crime takes place. For some years now there has been a regeneration project going on there, as a result of which many of the buildings are now completely empty. I'd assume that that makes the area even more dangerous. I have been to Tarlabaşı a few times during the day but I would not recommend that any single female traveller went to stay there, particularly in a basement flat, which are quite easy to break into.

- Secondly, a single female traveller in Istanbul is likely to be constantly approached by local guys in the streets, especially in touristy areas, such as Sultan Ahmet or the Galata Bridge area. It is quite usual for such guys, for example, to offer to show you "the best place to take photos of the Blue Mosque" etc. Such guys, I would say, are not very respectable people (it's not ok in the Turkish culture for a man to approach women in the streets) and I don't think it's a very good idea to get too friendly with such people. Given the fact that Serai was visiting Turkey for the first time she may not have been aware of such "rules". I'm not saying that all such guys are criminals but I would guess that most of them are looking for ways to take advantage of naive travellers somehow.

- In my experience, young people in Istanbul tend to be very experimental with drugs, much more so than Europeans. I would also say that there's much less awareness there of the dangers of, say, hallucinogenic drugs, than in Europe. Taking them seems to be considered pretty normal, for example, among students

- Finally, there is quite a bit of organised, underground crime in Istanbul, given the city's location between Asia and Europe. This includes, among other things, international drug trade and human trafficking. But I guess one would have to be very unlucky to get mixed up with something like that.

Anyway, I hope Serai will be found soon and that everything is OK with her.
 
Using your iphone to take photos is actually gaining popularity. You can get magnetic lenses for them and have the ability to create beautiful images. There are exhibitions for iphonography too. I have a good friend who is involved with this type of photography and her images have been exhibited internationally.
 
ami said:
I get the feeling she was leaving in the evening. She was to arrive in the US on the 22nd, so she was probably leaving Istanbul in the evening of the 21st. Her sister said she'd gotten a quick message from her on the 21st in the morning (which time zone's morning, I don't know), so SS probably had plenty of time to take off and do a little more sightseeing, or whatever.
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Most flights between the Europe and the U.S., leave Europe in the morning, because of the time difference in the U.S. If a plane leaves Europe at 11 am (europe time), then flies 10 to 11 hrs. back to Eastern U.S. city, it loses 6 hrs. (depending on time zone), so it arrives in the U.S. about 2 p.m. EST. Then, the plane is serviced and turned around to depart the U.S. for Europe usually between 4- 6 p.m. so that the flight to Europe is an overnight flight. It leaves at 4 p.m. EST, is a 10 hr. flight, picks up 6 hrs in time zone changes, and arrives at 8 a.m. in Europe.
 
One part that troubles me is that her passport was in her room. I would NEVER go anywhere in a foreign country without my passport. It would be with me at all times. I did make copies, but I kept those in my hotel room and always had the real passport with me.
 
Unless the time tables have changed, the United flight that leaves Ataturk airport in Istanbul, leaves at 1.55pm. But with the 5 hr time difference, it still lands in Newark on the same day (6pm east coast time).
 
ami said:
She planned this trip with one of her female friends, not alone, and the friend had to back out. She was traveling between college semesters, hence the schedule. Once you're a wife and mother, it doesn't mean you can never be an individual person again - a woman in her 30's taking a photography trip alone or with friends is a completely normal and positive thing. Yes, something clearly went wrong with her vacation, but things could have gone wrong outside her front door in NY as well.
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I couldn't agree more with this sentiment. While I do not have children, I frequently travel without my spouse. Our interests and schedules are different. Some of the places I want to go are my spouse's idea of the third ring of hell. I know plenty of married women with children who go on creative adventures. Artistic travel is a up and coming trend and there are travel companies and art schools that now plan such retreats and trips around the world.
 
I thought the same thing about taking pictures with her iPhone, especially on a photography trip. For a trip like that, I would have take my huge dSLR along. But I googled and found this gallery (there are many others so I think it is commonly done by travelers and those who want to lighten the load):

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/showcase-of-beautiful-photos-taken-with-iphone4/
 
You can buy heroin in Amsterdam pretty easily. The drug laws there are very lax. If you get caught selling it, it could be a problem but possessing it is not the same thing as getting caught with it in Thailand or another place like that.

Plus she's a perfect mark for someone who could technically pretend she was unaware she was being used as a drug mule. If anything they would have tried to use her to track down the original dealer.

She went from the heart of where drugs originate in Turkey straight into the country with the most lax drug laws in the world. She was there for one day.

Perhaps she realized after getting to Amsterdam that this is what had happened and that's why she got the heck out of Dodge by going to Munich immediately.

Maybe this is also why she wanted to cut her trip short, she realized she had gotten caught up in something bad. She's not going to say anything about it to her family while she is still there because if she got caught she could have been detained.

Perhaps she caused the person she was dealing with to realize that she had caught on to what was going on and she was kidnapped for this reason.

I don't see this ending well.

My butcher is from Turkey, he and his wife said that where she stayed is a very bad location for a tourist right in the heart of a very non touristy part of the city.
 
belimom said:
I thought the same thing about taking pictures with her iPhone, especially on a photography trip. For a trip like that, I would have take my huge dSLR along. But I googled and found this gallery (there are many others so I think it is commonly done by travelers and those who want to lighten the load):
Click to expand...

Not only does not carrying a dSLR lighten the load, but it also makes you less of a target for pickpockets and thieves. Nothing screams "I'm a rich tourist" like a dSLR strap awkwardly fighting with your backpack.
 
Todayszaman.com.istanbul website has new news. I dont know how to attach link. Turk police have Tayman facial identity though not posted. She was last seen on st. on camera at 11:33 am..was supposed to meet T at bridge ar 12:45 that day..jan 21..that us day sge was suposed to leave. Sge emailed T twice that am. One bounced back. Why would she be out touring at midday w a internat flight to catch? And she wasnt even packed??
 
Istakil Sp? is name of St. where she is on video last at 11:33 am.
 
Chewy said:
You can buy heroin in Amsterdam pretty easily. The drug laws there are very lax. If you get caught selling it, it could be a problem but possessing it is not the same thing as getting caught with it in Thailand or another place like that.

Plus she's a perfect mark for someone who could technically pretend she was unaware she was being used as a drug mule. If anything they would have tried to use her to track down the original dealer.

She went from the heart of where drugs originate in Turkey straight into the country with the most lax drug laws in the world. She was there for one day.

Perhaps she realized after getting to Amsterdam that this is what had happened and that's why she got the heck out of Dodge by going to Munich immediately.

Maybe this is also why she wanted to cut her trip short, she realized she had gotten caught up in something bad. She's not going to say anything about it to her family while she is still there because if she got caught she could have been detained.

Perhaps she caused the person she was dealing with to realize that she had caught on to what was going on and she was kidnapped for this reason.

I don't see this ending well.

My butcher is from Turkey, he and his wife said that where she stayed is a very bad location for a tourist right in the heart of a very non touristy part of the city.
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This is an interesting take on this saga. I never thought of this angle but it makes sense. Something is not adding up.
 
jcamille said:
One part that troubles me is that her passport was in her room. I would NEVER go anywhere in a foreign country without my passport. It would be with me at all times. I did make copies, but I kept those in my hotel room and always had the real passport with me.
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I dont find this troubling. Whenever I travel I always keep my passport locked in the hotel room safe. I would be afraid of losing it or having it stolen. :twocents:
 
ttcRider said:
I dont find this troubling. Whenever I travel I always keep my passport locked in the hotel room safe. I would be afraid of losing it or having it stolen. :twocents:
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It depends on where I am whether I carry my physical passport or a photocopy. Someplace with a high incidence of pickpocketing but relatively American/tourist friendly like Prague and I would NEVER carry my passport. Someplace like Russia, I would always carry my passport. It really depends on the political situation, the crime situation and how set up they are for tourists.
 
belimom said:
I thought the same thing about taking pictures with her iPhone, especially on a photography trip. For a trip like that, I would have take my huge dSLR along. But I googled and found this gallery (there are many others so I think it is commonly done by travelers and those who want to lighten the load):

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/showcase-of-beautiful-photos-taken-with-iphone4/
Click to expand...

fwiw, she has a Samsung Galaxy not an iPhone. (i know, i know, same-same, only different lol)

snipped...She has hazel eyes and would have had her Samsung Galaxy, iPad, NY State Drivers License and an extra pair of shoes with her.

http://gangsofbrooklynnewyork.wordpress.com/2013/01/26/missing-abroad-sarai-sierra/
 
Members of the public have made contact with a foundation for missing people claiming to have seen an American woman that has been missing in Istanbul since Jan. 21, according to the head of the association.

“Some people come and say that they have seen [Sarai Sierra] a week ago,” Zafer Özbilir, the president of the Members of the Foundation for Relatives of Missing Persons (YAKAD), told the Hürriyet Daily News today, adding that the organization was directing such people to the police.

Traveling around in a bus they call “the bus of hope,” YAKAD members are currently distributing Sierra’s picture and details of her last-known whereabouts to help speed up the process. The bus is covered in photos of missing people, and its activities have helped resolve nearly 900 cases in the past.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/missing-american-woman-seen-in-istanbul-witnesses-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=40232&NewsCatID=341
 
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