3 weeks to Turkey end July

[slarys]

I am departing from the Netherlands end July. The dates are not fixed. It is going to be max 3 weeks. I will ride down to Fethiye (google Oluzdeniz) south Turkey enjoy the weather and beautiful sea.

I will take the ferry from Bari or Brindisi (Italy) to Greece and either take another ferry to Izmir or ride through Istanbul. I am very familiar with the routes. I did this several times with 2 wheels and know very good the places in south Turkey.

It is going to be a pit-stop at unique places for maximum entertainment. We will stop at beautiful coasts

I actually love to and used to travel alone but this time I thought it would be a different experience with someone else.

I am riding r1200GS Adventure. If you are interested in just pm me.

Murat

[Mike K.]

Hello,

personelly i would not go to Turkey at the moment.
Tuerkei Iran Grenze??? - Seite 1 von 2 - Radreise & Fernradler Forum

Regards

Mike

[Wildman]

Originally Posted by Mike K.

Hello,

personelly i would not go to Turkey at the moment.
Tuerkei Iran Grenze??? - Seite 1 von 2 - Radreise & Fernradler Forum

Regards

Mike

Can I get an overview please?

We're heading to Northern Turkey in August.

[Vaufi]

The link Mike refers to tells the story of two guys that pitched their tent in a small village near Ganziantep. In Ganziantep they had asked a policeman whether they could camp next to the castle. He suggested it would be safer outside the town in a small (kurdish) village and showed them the way. During the night the police pitched up with two security officers and arrested the two. They were charged for espionage activities. Apparently their passports had many stamps from all over the world, besides that they had a laptop with lots of photos from Iran and Turkey.... Even reporters are spies according to the latest Turkish laws Besides that, Germans are a "red rag" to the Turks at the moment ;o)

I have just returned from a circular trip right into the south-eastern and north-eastern regions of Turkey, April/May. Fortunately I didn't have any tense situations anywhere. Maybe the difference was that I never camped in the wild, but stayed in small B&B's and hotels, which is quite affordable in Turkey.

Due to frequent guerrilla operations in the Kurdish south-east the armed forces are jittery and extremely suspicious. So I always made a point of having as little contact with these guys as possible, not even asking them for any directions. Trying to keep a low profile

Still, travelling by m/c and staying in hotels, hostels and B&B's shouldn't be a problem for anybody. In the west and the north, outside the Kurdish provinces, camping in the wild shouldn't be a problem at all. Just keep clear of the police....

No-go places are Diyarbakir, Cizre and Sirnak, where there has been serious fighting. The city centers are destroyed, and I presume the army has sealed off these towns anyway. But the non-Kurdish provinces are absolutely safe to visit. I even consider Istanbul as a fairly safe place to visit. Just keep away from tourist groups. There aren't any tourists anyway. You'll be treated as VIP's ;o)

If you need any infos on places to stay, just PM me.

[slarys]

Thanks Vaufi. That's totally true.

Turkey is full of beautiful places that you should not miss. Just stay away from kurdish areas which are on the eastern part. Turkish army/police are extremely alert on the eastern Turkey.

Staying in the North, South, East is very safe.

[Mike K.]

Hello,

thanks Vaufi for the summery.Yes, this man stayed 24 days in jail.He has also written that other twenty tourist went to prison with the same charges of espionge.My ex-girlfriend is from Turkey and she recommend my not to go.She says Congo is safer than Turkey.

Regards

Mike

[Vaufi]

Originally Posted by Mike K.

Hello,

....... My ex-girlfriend is from Turkey and she recommend my not to go.She says Congo is safer than Turkey.

Regards

Mike

I bet she hasn't been in the Congo yet
On the other hand, some time ago at the HU meeting in the UK a young British woman, Louis Pryce, gave a presentation on her ride from London to Cape Town via the DRC. I wouldn't have the guts to do that

No, seriously, times have changed in Turkey drastically since Mr. Erdogan decided to stop the peace talks with the Kurds last year. In addition to that, since the German recognition of the Armenian genocide has passed parliament, especially Germans are prone to be targets of ill-will when they get into contact with security people in Turkey ..... That's why I recommended to stay clear of ANY security people, no matter whether police, military or whatever. But I don't believe it is more unsafe than travelling in Iran for example.