“Sierra,” the locals say, shaking their heads and looking down, “sad, sad. But this city — safe.”
“Sierra,” they say, “she came alone? No husband? Why did she come?”
“Sierra,” another told me, “that’s where her body was found.”
Sarai Sierra, the New York woman traveling solo who disappeared in Istanbul on Jan. 21, 2013, seems to be known by simply her last name here in Turkey, affectionately, poignantly, as though she is a communal daughter.
It’s certainly a chilling story for Sierra’s husband, two children, and family, and one that causes anxiety to Americans considering traveling to this Mediterranean nation. As I appeared as a legal analyst on American television to discuss it, I was asked two questions:
- Why was she not found sooner? And,
- Does this mean travel to Turkey is unsafe for Americans?
In fact, I was on my way to Istanbul just after these interviews, on a business trip. (It would be my third trip to Turkey.) So late last week, I looked for answers.
Read the full story published via Huffington Post.
