I have been getting messages from people concerned about my safety, given the protests and violence in Egypt, Tunisia, etc.  So this seems like a good time to explain why Turkey is different. Turkish democracy is not perfect but it is a real democracy - unlike those other places which have been living under dictatorships.  Conservatives are in power, which does cause concern among liberals within Turkey and observers from outside the country.  (Arguably, this is not so different from the Bush years in the U.S.)