Any question answered...

GF just told me she's planning a mini break in Oct/Nov to Turkey with one of her female friends.

I think this is borderline insanity, she seems nonplussed by the situation in syria/iraq and 'is going to the safe bit further away from the trouble'.

any geo-political experts on here who know whether it's actually a good idea or not?

Yeah it'll be fine if she's going to a tourist area like the south coast.