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Turmoil In Turkey Causes Nightmares For Travelers Worldwide

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Fighter jets buzzed over Istanbul in a show of force as parts of the city were transformed into what looked like a war zone.

Gunfire erupted in some spots, sending people running for cover.

The U.S. Embassy in Turkey sent out a flurry of warnings to Americans saying that explosions were heard near major bridges -and that martial law and  a curfew were enacted.

Chris Verdugo, who is visiting from Los Angeles, spoke to KCAL9's Tom Wait from his hotel room across from the famed Bosporus Bridge.

"We were at dinner, we started hearing rumors, we walked all the way back and you could start to see the look on everyone's faces as the info was trickling in ... you could see the concern on people's faces and them getting home as quickly as possible," Verdugo said.

Verdugo says he could hear gunshots from his hotel room and was heeding the warnings from locals to stay inside.

"They said get to your hotel, hunker down and don't move," he added.

Travelers at LAX going to Turkey face logistical nightmares and also fears about what they are walking into when they finally arrive.

"I don't think we're going anymore," Svetlana Nefedova said.

"It's happening now, so I don't know, I have kids, there is no way I'm going to go and think, 'Oh, maybe it's nothing,' " she added.

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