45
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
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 ===
no edit summary
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 = Hitchhiking buses ===
[[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.
== Food and sleep == You will never have to worry about lack of Take a look at the [[food]] in Turkeyhttp://nomadwiki. 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 org/en/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 − Nomadwiki] article for 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.
== Cities and License plates ==
