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== Border crossing ==
[[File:CraigThumbingAsiaTurkey.JPG|thumb|250px|right|[[User:Halt, Stop! Reudnitz kommt.|Craig]] hitching in [[Cappadocia]] en route to [[Malaysia]]]]
Visas can no longer be obtained on arrival, so if you are a nationality that needs a visa, be sure to buy it online in advance. See [http://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Turkey Wikivoyage] for detailed information on visa matters.
*Armenia
Be aware of the fact that, although Turkey and [[Armenia]] share a landborder, this border is CLOSED because of continuing political issues.
* Bulgaria
** [[Kapitan Andreevo-Kapıkule border crossing]]
* Georgia
** [[Sarp-Sarpi border crossing]]
** [[Posof]]
* Greece
** [[Ipsala]]
* Iran
** [[Bazargan-Doğubeyazıt border crossing|Doğubeyazıt]]
** [[Yuksekova-Esendere border crossing|Yuksekova]]
* Iraqi Kurdistan
** There is one border crossing to Iraqi Kurdistan, just south of Silopi.
* Syria
** There are a number of border crossings, but most are closed due to the ongoing unrest. In peace, the busiest one is Bab al-Hawa, connecting [[Antakya]] with [[Aleppo]].
While waiting beside the road, town-to-town minibus drivers (which can be recognized by banners proclaiming town names all over) and intercity buses will flash their headlights or honk at you — to ask whether you'd like a ride (for a fee, of course). Don't be afraid to stop them and say "''Param yok'' (which literally translates "I don't have money"), it's ok?". A couple of hitchhikers did this when a bus stopped beside them to drop a passenger, and then they kept doing this everytime, and about 30% of the buses gave them a ride. Inside the cities, it's even easier; ask them politely and they will take you a bit further ahead.
== Food ==[[File:Mikeeg555 hitching in Turkey.jpg|thumb|250px|left|[[User:Mikeeg555|Mikeeg555]] hitching in Turkey]]While waiting beside the road, town-to-town minibus drivers (which can be recognized by banners proclaiming town names all over) and intercity buses will flash their headlights or honk at you — to ask whether you'd like a ride (for a fee, of course). Don't be afraid to stop them and say "''Param yok'' (which literally translates "I don't have money"), it's ok?". A couple of hitchhikers did this when a bus stopped beside them to drop a passenger, and then they kept doing this everytime, and about 30% of the buses gave them a ride. [[User:Sirrdc|Sirrdc]] also had great success hitchhiking on intercity buses. Inside the cities, it's even easier; ask them politely and they will take you a bit further ahead.
You will never have to worry about lack of [[food]] in Turkey. Many truck drivers have coffee makers in their truck. Turkish people are very generous, and it is rare that you will get a lift without a driver offering you food. The food in Turkey is relatively cheap, and is very meat-based. There is also a variety of a good local produce of tasty sweets and snacks. The tea (black tea or apple tea in Istanbul) is ''the'' national drink, and almost all the people that you meet offer you a tea − this is probably the most common way of showing you their hospitable culture. A great way to reduce your bottled water costs, especially in the hot southern/Mediterranean coast of Turkey is to use free cold water dispensers, locally called ''sebil'' (pronounced ''SAY-beel''), which can usually be found on the sides of the streets and mosque courtyards in less-touristed towns and neighbourhoods in Mediterranean Turkey. They look like small, white refrigators and usually have two faucets: red one delivers warm (or mildly hot depending on the weather) water, while the blue one offers comfortably cold water. Though the water coming out of the faucets is not from a commercially-bottled jar, and likely from the city water network, it's harmless and causes no stomach upsets. A way to reduce the risk may be allowing yourself a week after arrival in the region to get accustomed to local microflora and -fauna that may be present in the water and then taking full advantage of ''sebil''s.[[File:turkeyhitch.jpg|thumb|350px|[[User:Chael777|Chael]]<small><sup>[http://www.velabas.com/ site]</sup></small> hitching south to Bodrum, April 2008]] == Sleep ==[[Finding accommodation|Hospitality exchange]] networks have many friendly members in Turkey, and they can help you with an accommodation. All towns in Turkey have an ''Otogar'', a bus terminal. Most of these offer a warm and fairly safe place to spend a night. Nonetheless, be careful and try to place your luggage in such a way so that you are surely to be awaken in case if someone tries to take your things. Smaller towns outside the main tourist areas have very cheap hotels, starting at 8TL. Outside of populated areas, almost every gas station has a prayer rom called a ''mescit'' (pronounced: ''MES-jeet''), which are good places for sleeping. Just be respectful respect of their religion, take off your shoes, wash your hands and feet, and don't sleep by the wall where the ''mihrab'' (prayer niche) is. Don't ask gas station staff if you can sleep there because they will probably say no, but once you are inside, nobody will disturb you. Many truck drivers will have an extra bunk in their truck cabin, and they are usually happy to offer it to a hitchhiker. Wild camping is pretty much possible, OK, and legal except in large urban agglomerations. Just be discreet and keep out of sight of houses and roads. Private property such as farmland and oliveyards are technically off limits, but if you arrive late, break camp early and leave no trace of your stay (i.e. take your rubbish with you and do not damage crops), it is no problem at all to camp at those places. Beware of fires, though, as most of Turkey lies in Mediterranean climatic zone which is very arid in summer, most of the country's terrain is naturally covered with dry grasses in summer months. So while wild camping, try to avoid the temptation to build campfires; even cigarette butts that are not properly distinguished and disposed of can result in damages that you can't even dream of. Another thing to take note of while camping is the scorpions (''akrep'' in Turkish), especially in southern Mediterranean coast and in southeastern parts of the country—keep the zip of your tent and backpack always locked, check and shake your shoes before putting them on.
[[trash:Turkey]]
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Hitchhiking at night works well as long as you stand in a somewhat visible spot.
== Safety ==
Turkey has been getting a bad reputation for female hitchhikers following the murder of [[Pippa]] in April 2008 and many discouraging stories, ranging from minor harassment (see Personal Experiences below) to near-miss murder/rape cases like the one [[User:Zenit|Zenit]] and the girl he was travelling with experienced in November 2011. While these things shouldn't deter anybody from travelling in Turkey, they certainly prove that there is a specific code of conduct different from any other country that needs to be respected in order to avoid unnecessary problems. It will take a little bit of travelling in the country first to get used to this different dynamic, so this will be the time to be extra cautious. Further reading for female hitchhikers – and anybody travelling in Turkey – is [http://youarealltourists.blogspot.com/2008/04/hitchhiking-guide-to-turkey-for-girls.html this blog]. Safety is always important while hitchhiking, so check the [[Hitchhiker's safety|Safety]] article before hitting the road!
During the summer temperatures tend to rise above 35 °C, especially in the South, so it is recommended to secure yourself with sufficient supplies of water, and to plan travelling in a way that most of the actual hitchhiking would be earlier in the morning or in very late afternoon, to avoid a burning sun.
In [[winter]], though, it can be quite cold in Turkey. As long as you stick to the south coast, you'll be able to have a swim in the Aegean any sunny winter day. On some places it's just hitching 100km north into the mountains and you'll see snow thotoo! == Transportation ==[[File:Mikeeg555 hitching in Turkey.jpg|thumb|250px|left|[[User:Mikeeg555|Mikeeg555]] hitching in Turkey]]When you hitchhike in this country, people might try putting you on a ''dolmuş'' (mınıbus) or bringing you to the ''otogar'' (bus station). The dolmuş is the most common way of public transport inside and between cities & towns. These small buses that are advised to be used for small distances will stop anywhere on the road even if you don't signal them to stop. Generally, the ride on a dolmuş costs between 1 and 3 Lira. For larger distances buses (coaches) are more common. They provide reliable service and are pretty comfortable. Free tea and snacks are generally served along the way, and the buses tend to stop in nice [[rest area]]s. Some drivers who pick you up as a hitchhiker may try to convince you to take a bus. If you do end up on a bus they are relatively cheap although not as cheap as trains which are slower but more adventurous. Of the transportation options which involve payment, trains are by far the cheapest in the country, especially if you are under 27, when you are entitled to a 20% discount on already cheap fares. However, as the network doesn't reach far and wide, most of what is interesting in Turkey is out of rail coverage, though they are still a good bet if you need a night's sleep during the ride, especially in inland regions where rail network is relatively denser.
=== Hitchhiking buses ===
== Cities and License plates ==
{{Cities Turkey}}
== Regions and Their Hitchability ==
While in general it is fairly easy to attract a lift in Turkey, locals' view of hitchhikers vary across the country. In general, people in northern and inland regions of the country are friendlier towards hitchhikers. If put systematically, the level of ease to get a lift in various regions of the country is as follows in general, from easiest to hardest:
== Personal Experiences ==
Some recent thoughts and reflections about hitchhiking Turkey as a solo female: httpat [https://shelobify.wordpressanaimlesshitchhiker.com/2013/01/04/an-update-about-hitchhiking-solo-as-a-female-in-turkey/an aimless hitchhiker]
:''My friend and I (both female) hitched through Turkey from the Greek border to Cappadocia and it was quite stressful. We never waited long for a ride and most of the people we rode with insisted on buying us chai (just tea) and meals. However, I would say that with about 90 percent of our rides we got our butts, boobs, or crotches grabbed, or at least asked for sex. We had to make our driver leave us on the side of the road a lot in the middle of nowhere so that was kinda dangerous. And it took us about 10 hours to make it 25 miles from just before Istanbul to just past the city. People kept trying to take us into the city or someplace we didn't want to go. We were so glad when we finally made it out of Turkey at the Bulgarian border. It was an adventure though and I would recommend traveling through Turkey, just be aware that all of the other women standing on the side of the road are prostitutes. It was all just a giant misunderstanding and a lack of respect, to some extent, on our part, for the local culture. When hitching here maybe you can learn how to say "we are just traveling and we aren't looking for sex may we still have a ride" before getting in a vehicle. For the record, our drivers always let us out when we told them too and nothing dramatic happened beyond the daily grabbings.''
:''Summer 2012 we spent hitch-hiking around Turkey. Me (male) and my girlfriend have experienced a lot of hospitality from Turkish drivers and hosts. Many times they stopped on the road and they offered us lunch/dinner. Turkish men never hardly spoke to my girlfriend (they fully respect fact that woman is in relationship with other man). Once whilst hitch-hiking the bus pull-over. We explained that we don't have money for payment - it was any problem. Another fantastic thing about hhiking in Turkey is you rarely have to wait more than 10 minutes, drivers pull-over their car on the highway and sometimes you just have to walk alongside the road and they will stop the car. Great experience, but I really recommend to go there as a mixed pair!''
:"A female friend and I hitchhiked from the Georgian border to Istanbul. Turkey is one of the easiest countries in the world to hitch rides. Wait times, even in bad locations, rarely exceed ten minutes. The hitchhiking is so good that it pays to be picky about who you ride with: in Turkey you will have the privilege to turn down truck drivers in favor of faster vehicles. Although slower, most trucks will stop to offer rides. While hitchhiking at night, we were allowed to nap in the sleeping berths that long-haul trucks have. Be polite, respectful, and learn a few words of Turkish and you will have great experiences (free food, impromptu tour guides, beds to sleep in, etc.). However, you should be cautious if you are a solo female traveler, as even mild friendliness towards unrelated males will be misconstrued as flirtation." - [[User:vmpfc1|vmpfc1]]
:"Hitchhiked along the Black Sea Coast from Georgia to Bulgaria. Turkey was easy enough for me even for such a huge country. There was no issue sleeping on beaches or sleeping in fields on the outskirts of towns (I always asked for permission off of security guards etc. which most private property had). The cities are really big though due to the big populations, walking out of them can take ages, especially Istanbul which is very difficult to hitchhike out of. Turks are super proud too for the most part so don't offend them and also don't urinate on the side of the road unless you are certain no-one will see (its definitely not acceptable)" - [[User:HoboSpirit|HoboSpirit]]
== Links ==
{{nomadwiki}}
* [https://www.facebook.com/groups/otostopRail/ Turkish hitchhikers FB group]
* [http://youarealltourists.blogspot.com/2008/04/hitchhiking-guide-to-turkey-for-girls.html Hitchhiking Guide to Turkey for girls]
* [http://abgefahren.hitchbase.com/DE/blogs/alex/20090213/just-hitching-rides-journey-eid-christmas Just hitching rides: A journey from Eid to Christmas] (Hitchhiking from Yemen to Germany), abgefahren Blogs
[[wikipedia:Turkey]]
{{IsIn|Western Asia}}
[[Category:Turkey]]
[[pl:Turcja]]
[[tr:Türkiye]]
[[nomad:Turkey]]
