Hi, I am thinking about a trip to Eastern Turkey in the summer of 2019 and wanted to check about conditions there...

I would be enter from Georgia and would be interested in traveling to Kars, Lake Van, Diyarbakir and Sanliurfa.

From what I've seen on the internet, Kars, Diyarbakir, and Sanliurfa are supposedly "unsafe", but much of that is at least a few years old, and I would trust fellow HUBBers' opinions about what is safe than some random internet post... Does anyone have any advice? I am an experienced traveler, but have not traveled much by moto in Turkey, only to Istanbul.

While I'm at it, can anyone recommend nice spots on Lake Van, or elsewhere in Eastern Turkey?

I did Turkey in 2015 and 2018

Last year from Iran and towards Kapadokkia and then Bulgaria.

People are mostly very friendly and helpful.

But you have a lot of police and security checks on the way.

Personally I would avoid the area close to the border to Syria.

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But what is "close"? Lake Van? Sanliurfa?

The situation in the east of Turkey is mostly about Turkish repression of the Kurds, and Kurdish militia fighting back.

Diyarbakir could be considered as Turkey's Kurdish capital and is a place where tensions regularly flare up, but it's also a very interesting city. Keep an eye on the situation before visiting.

Kars is less Kurdish and is safe. The Lake Van area is also pretty calm, though occasionally things can happen in the city of Van, which is not particularly interesting (though nearby Van Kalesi is).

Sanliurfa is fine, it's not really a Kurdish city. You have to get a lot closer to the Syrian border before there is any danger from the conflict in northern Syria.

In a nutshell, monitor the situation in Ditarbakir, the rest of the places you list are fine.

EO

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EurasiaOverland a memoir of one quarter of a million kilometres by road through all of the Former USSR, Western and Southern Asia.

Thanks, helpful.

Is Kars worth a visit? Looks kind of blah but it is pretty much on the line of travel, so...

Is it generally only the Kurdish situation which makes Diyarbakir unsafe sometimes, or is it something else as well (crime, terrorism, etc.)?

Hi Motoreiter,

Going to travel for a few days after a few hours. I will try to reply you when I am back next week.

Some quick reply for now: if you have low profile, obey the rules-smile -befriendly-respect to police/soldiers at check points no problem at all. No terror attack any more... Everything under the control of Security forces.

I will write down a route with things to see/do in the area when back. It is definitely worth to visit. People in the area very friendly... But you can have language barrier there...

And after Sanliurfa where do you plan to go ? Syria or follow the shoreland to western Turkiye ? So I can give you more advice ...

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"where the traveller goes, nobody knows ! "

Samy, thanks for your reply, I was hoping to hear from you! Please provide more thoughts when you have a chance!

After Sanliurfa, good question...maybe to go visit a former Russian girlfriend in Ankara... But I am riding from Heidelberg and don't really want to ride all the way back there, so will also be exploring options for selling the bike (xChallenge) in Turkey or Georgia. Any ideas?

I don't know about the laws/rules of selling a bike with foreign plate.
I think, You need to have all documents with you and need to pay import tax, value add tax and another tax ... may be possible to sell after that.. Not sure if it will be cheap after adding those taxes ! May be easier to sell in Georgia...

I advice you to put the pictures of the bike with all conditions to some online sales sites like sahibinden.com or motosiklet.com
You will need to register before putting your ad on the sites. If you will not be able to do that pls let me know !

Will write the itineray later in detail about the route !

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"where the traveller goes, nobody knows ! "

No sleep yet so we have a go:

When coming from Georgia near Savsat there is Karagol National Park. Definitely give a visit : 41.293863, 42.473844

Kars is an old city which ruled by Russians for 40 years. You can see some churches and buildings constructed by them. Goose and cheese is famous there ...

After Kars ride to Dogubeazit. Ishakpasa Sarayi is a wonder in the area. You will love it : 39.521135, 44.128739

Van... very nice city with famous breakfast houses. Ask from a local where to go for the local breakfast. You can try special fish from the lake too. Afterwards ride to Ahlat to visit world famous Seljuk cemetery... 38.743598, 42.459089

After Tatvan Before Bitlis there is a nice site named Ihsaniye Medresesi worth a visit: 38.408279, 42.106547

Bitlis is an old City. Nice people and nice food called Buryan or Biryan. Definitely give a try...

And Diyarbakir... Capital of Eastern Turkiye... With very old mosques, medersas and history. Visit Old Mosque (Ulu Cami) and Suleyman Cami... Visit also Hasan Pasha Han and Suluklu Han...
And eat Kaburga Dolmasi at Kaburgaci Selim Usta : 37.915663, 40.231092

Next stop will be Mardin... Walk in the town. Visit old churches ... Try the best food ...
Kasimiye Medresesi : 37.310313, 40.718620
DeyrulZaferan Monastery : 37.302507, 40.792047
Kebab is famous in Mardin... You can try Yusuf Usta or Rido...

Kiziltepe and Viransehir and SanliUrfa... It is the city of Prophets and hospitable people...
In Sanli Urfa give a visit to Balikli Gol and the tower which Prophet Abraham thrown to the fire from...
Liver Kebab and cigkofte is famous here. Cigkofte will be very hot and spicy. Be careful.

Food is famous also in Birecik. Give a try to kebab especially eggplant kebab... No regrets ...

Gaziantep. Walk in the old town. Bakircilar Bazaar, Elmaci Bazaar and Zeugma Museum worth a visit. Food is famous. Try lahmacun, beyran and kabab here but definitely baklava in the end... Taste it at Kocak Baklava (square/kare baklava) : 37.069870, 37.366777

In all Eastern Turkey, meat and local food is famous and people very friendly. Keep on smiling and you will get it back

As far as you are not into politics and sensitive talk, no problem.

I already spoken about security in the area. Not serious situation. Don't ride close to Syrian border and you are safe. Smile to police and soldiers. Try to explain them you are on RTW and travelling since you are a pensioner ...

Don't know where you will ride after Gaziantep... So no more advice for afterwards...

Enjoy your ride ...

Samy

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"where the traveller goes, nobody knows ! "

Wow, great, thanks. I'd like to see Gobekli Tepe near Sanliurfa--worth it?

Diyarbakir is safe nowadays. No crime scene or terrorism anymore...

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"where the traveller goes, nobody knows ! "

They say so... If you have enough time give a visit. It is about choice.

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"where the traveller goes, nobody knows ! "

Samy is the man, really helpful as always to the community.

I believe you're doing good, I really haven't heard in a long time from you. Hope life is treating you well

cheers
dooby

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The city of Kars itself is quite nice (very similar to Gyumri in Armenia if you've been), there are some nice fin-de-siecle buildings made from the local black tuff and a fairly good museum, but it's nicer for the landscape around. The nearby ruined city of Ani, once capital of Bagratid Armenia is magnificent and one of Turkey's unmissable attractions. It's on the Armenian border a short distance away from Kars.

Diyarbakir is a gritty city and is one of the few places in Asia where I've felt a few bad vibes (in selected parts of the old city under the walls). I would not describe it as dangerous though, just be vigilant. As for terrorism, well that varies according to who you ask. The Kurdish militia are of course labelled as terrorists but they don't target foreigners.

I've written a couple of articles about eastern Turkey which might give you some ideas, from two separate trips:

From the Azerbaijan (Nakhchivan) border through Dogubeyazit, Van, Hakkari, Bitlis, Mt Nemrut (Volcano), Kars, then Georgia:

https://eurasiaoverland.com/2014/08/10/36/

And a slightly later trip, from the Iraqi border through Cizre, Midyat, Mardin, Diyarbakir, Sanliurfa, Mt Nemrut (archaeological site), Divrigi (highly recommended), Sivas, Hattusa to Ankara:

https://eurasiaoverland.com/2014/11/02/40i/

EO

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EurasiaOverland a memoir of one quarter of a million kilometres by road through all of the Former USSR, Western and Southern Asia.

Eurasia, thanks for the tips and links, will take a look!