Cedar Rapids woman in Istanbul when violent coup erupted Friday

A Cedar Rapids woman was traveling in Istanbul, Turkey, on Friday when military officers attempted to take control of the country — an event that lead to protests, thousands of arrests and the death of more than 230 people.

Jo Miller, who has been vacationing in Greece and Turkey since late June with her mother, said she was walking near Taksim Square — a major tourist destination — just before 10 p.m. while looking for a particular dessert recommended to her by a friend.

'Everything seemed completely normal,' Miller told The Gazette by phone on Monday, while she waited at the Istanbul Ataturk airport. She was en route to London, where she would then board a flight back to the United States.

When she got back to her hotel Friday, she checked the New York Times online only to read reports that a coup was taking place. She searched for more information, she said, but she was alarmed to find that social media sites were blocked.

For several hours overnight on Friday, violence shook Turkey's two main cities, as the armed faction that tried to seize power blocked a bridge in Istanbul and strafed the headquarters of Turkish intelligence and parliament in Ankara, news media reported. At least 232 people were killed, according to Turkish officials — 208 of them civilians, police and loyalist soldiers, and 24 coup plotters.

The coup attempt crumbled when President Tayyip Erdogan rushed back to Istanbul from a Mediterranean vacation and urged people to take to the streets to support his government against plotters he accused of trying to kill him.

Miller said she heard the sounds of chanting and protests from her hotel room throughout the night as well as sporadic gunfire and helicopters flying overhead. Social media was available again around 1:30 a.m., and when she woke up Saturday morning she read with relief that the coup had failed.

Miller checked in with both the U.S. and Australian embassies — she holds dual citizenship — and was told to stay inside and stay safe.

'I could see from my room that the streets were very quiet — there were very few people, cars or taxis,' she said. 'I ate dinner on the hotel's rooftop that night, and it was eerily quiet. ...

On a normal day the city is so vibrant and chaotic.'

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said 7,543 people so far had been detained, including 6,038 soldiers, while thousands of police offices, judges and prosecutors have been fired or removed, news reports have stated.

Miller, who writes a monthly column for The Gazette's Business 380, said business was returning to normal by Monday, and she even sat in heavy traffic on her way to the airport.

Miller complimented the hotel staff, adding she felt safe and secure throughout much of the unrest. And she cautioned people from putting off travel after seeing media reports about unrest or volatility abroad.

'The world is not a scary place,' she said. 'It's a beautiful one. Violence doesn't stop people from traveling to Dallas or Orlando.'

Reuters contributed to this story.

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