i don't the answers... but i know my experiences...

hundreds of thousands(maybe millions?) of us foreigners live here and in 2008 almost 31 MILLION (Wikipedia) tourists came. look at the very few number of tourist/foreigner related problems compared to how many are here...? i feel like this is a very small risk. there are always a few problems. and is this risk measurably any different from normal life anywhere?

smoking in general has been banned bit by bit for the last year and half at least - actually, today it's supposed to be out of all bars and clubs too!(i think). i'm not surprised nargile bars are also a target, as it is tobacco. but it's sad to see the tradition get pushed out. you know, banning public smoking seems to be as much a conservative issue as it is a modern / health oriented decision. also, in 2010, istanbul will be the "cultural capitol" of europe and is hosting many events, and there is much evidence that they are working very hard to make things nicer.

there have always been women fully covered in black in istanbul. this is not new. in the 3 1/2 years i've been here i have seen no discernible changes. i have lived in modern, ethnic, and conservative neighborhoods, and i visit in many diverse parts of the city that tourists never see. yes there are conservatives, but things are also very modern. neither side *seems*(on the street) to be growing or shrinking. i regularly see women covered(a variety of ways), walking arm in arm with modern euro looking women(friends?family?), just being normal with each other...

so that's my experience. exercising the normal travel precautions and good judgment is your best prevention of problems. after that, we're all in fates' hands...

i hope that you do choose to travel here again. if so, bon voyage.