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== Border crossing ==
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 land border, 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 [[Antalya]] with [[Aleppo]].
== Food and sleep ==
Take a look at the [http://nomadwiki.org/en/Turkey Nomadwiki] article for this!
:''My - I hitch-hiked with a male friend and I (both female) hitched through for 3.5 weeks in Turkey . We started from the Greek border Istanbul, to Safranbolu, Yozgat, Malatya, Nemrut Daig, Cappadocia , Kalkan and it back to Istanbul. I was quite stressful. We never waited long for a ride and most asked to have sex with the bus conductor after one of the people we rode with insisted on buying bus conductor invited us to take us chai (and he found out that my friend and I are just tea) and mealsfriends traveling together. However Well, I would say that with about 90 percent of our rides 's just a minor issue. We got picked up by an old man when we got our butts, boobs, or crotches grabbed, or at least asked for sexwere hitch-hiking from Cappadocia to Nemrut Dagi. We The old man had to make our driver leave us only 2 fingers on his right hand, and he was driving at the side speed of 150 km/h, drinking tea and talking over the road a lot in phone while my friend and I were sitting at the middle of nowhere so that was kinda dangerous. And it took back! He drove us about 10 hours to make it 25 miles from just before Istanbul a town nearby to just past the city. People kept trying do some sight-seeing and invited us to take us into the city or someplace we didnstay with his daughter't want s family! We ended up staying there for 3 nights. My fiend joined her husband to go. We were so glad when we finally made it out of Turkey work while i stayed at home with the Bulgarian border. It wife doing some traditional stuff! The hardest route to get a ride 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 prostitutesprobably from Antalya to Kalkan. It was all just a giant misunderstanding late and a lack of respect, no one wanted to some extent, on our partpick us up! In the end, 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 two guys who worked in a vehicle. For the record, our drivers always let restaurant picked us out when we told them too up and nothing dramatic happened beyond the daily grabbings.sent us to our friend's doorstep!''
:''I have just finished my second two-week trip alone through Turkey just hitchhiking, and my experience has not been at all like the above. I was quite shocked when I read it! I was traveling for long distances almost every day and I must have hitched with over fifty drivers – and only one of those drivers touched me apart from to shake my hand, and I was asked for sex twice, relatively politely, and both accepted no as an answer. I was treated with courtesy, respect, generosity, kindness, invites home to meet their families, and yes, tea and oranges. Also people kept buying me bus tickets rather than 'letting' me hitchhike on, which was horribly embarrassing! I think people who picked me up probably did consider that I might be a prostitute, but easily accepted that I wasn't judging on behavior. I suspect that experiences like the above depend on inappropriate behaviour or dress, or horribly bad luck. I don't speak Turkish, so sometimes it was a bit boring, which was probably the worst thing about hitchhiking. I would recommend not understanding the questions about whether you're alone or married- not speaking Turkish can actually help! And also be aware that Turkish women hitchhiking sit in the back seat of cars, same as in taxis.''
:''I - Summer 2012 we spent hitch-hiked with a male friend for 3.5 weeks in hiking around Turkey. We started Me (male) and my girlfriend have experienced a lot of hospitality from Istanbul, to Safranbolu, Yozgat, Malatya, Nemrut Daig, Cappadocia, Kalkan Turkish drivers and back to Istanbulhosts. I was asked to have sex with Many times they stopped on the bus conductor after one of the bus conductor invited road and they offered us lunch/dinner. Turkish men never hardly spoke to take us and he found out that my friend and I are just friends traveling together. Well, girlfriend (they fully respect fact that's just a minor issuewoman is in relationship with other man). We got picked up by an old man when we were Once whilst hitch-hiking from Cappadocia to Nemrut Dagithe bus pull-over. The old man had only 2 fingers on his right hand, and he We explained that we don't have money for payment - it was driving at the speed of 150 km/hany problem. Another fantastic thing about hhiking in Turkey is you rarely have to wait more than 10 minutes, drinking tea and talking drivers pull-over their car on the phone while my friend highway and I were sitting at sometimes you just have to walk alongside the back! He drove us to a town nearby to do some sight-seeing road and invited us to stay with his daughter's family! We ended up staying there for 3 nights. My fiend joined her husband to work while i stayed at home with they will stop the wife doing some traditional stuff! The hardest route to get a ride was probably from Antalya to Kalkancar. It was late and no one wanted Great experience, but I really recommend to pick us up! In the end, two guys who worked in go there as a restaurant picked us up and sent us to our friend's doorstepmixed pair!''
:''Summer 2012 we spent hitch"-hiking around Turkey. Me (male) A female friend and my girlfriend have experienced a lot of hospitality I hitchhiked from Turkish drivers and hosts. Many times they stopped on the road and they offered us lunch/dinnerGeorgian border to Istanbul. Turkish men never hardly spoke to my girlfriend (they fully respect fact that woman Turkey is one of the easiest countries in relationship with other man)the world to hitch rides. Once whilst hitch-hiking the bus pull-overWait times, even in bad locations, rarely exceed ten minutes. We explained The hitchhiking is so good that we don't have money for payment - it was any problem. Another fantastic thing pays to be picky about hhiking who you ride with: in Turkey is you rarely will have the privilege to turn down truck drivers in favor of faster vehicles. Although slower, most trucks will stop to wait more than 10 minutesoffer rides. While hitchhiking at night, drivers pullwe were allowed to nap in the sleeping berths that long-over their car on the highway haul trucks have. Be polite, respectful, and learn a few words of Turkish and sometimes you just will have great experiences (free food, impromptu tour guides, beds to walk alongside the road and they sleep in, etc.). However, you should be cautious if you are a solo female traveler, as even mild friendliness towards unrelated males will stop be misconstrued as flirtation." "- Hitchhiked along the carBlack Sea Coast from Georgia to Bulgaria. Turkey was easy enough for me even for such a huge country. Great experience, but 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 recommend big though due to the big populations, walking out of them can take ages, especially Istanbul which is very difficult to go there as a mixed pair!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)"
[[trash:Turkey]]
{{move_to_nomadwiki}}
→Personal Experiences
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!
As a guy travelling with a girl it is rare that you will be hit on with the notable exception of the far Eastern part of the country. However travelling alone as a guy you will/might be asked for sex depending not so much on your attractiveness in the Western sense as on how exotic you are (i.e. being big and blond will most likely increase the level of attention). Keep in mind that just even if a guy asks you to have sex with him it does not necessarily mean he's gay. Especially in Eastern Turkey it's very common among unmarried straight men to engage in casual sex among each other as an effect of an extremely conservative society and sometimes horrible ramifications for girls having pre-maritial sex. However other than the nuisance of being asked for sex you're unlikely to run into any problems.
Police and Terrorists
From 2019 I can account for a great and likely growing suspicion of anyone strange on the road, specifically in Eastern Turkey, where the police are sure there are terrorists everywhere. Knowing the Kurds having gone through this area and Iraqi Kurdistan before, I doubt more than a fraction of a percent of them, if any, are hostile, however times in turkey are edgy to say the least.
Do NOT let this stop you, but be advised you might be wayleighed a number of times if hitching through the mountainous regions, especially if you look kürdi, have military gear like mine, or for whatever other reason look suspicious.
Here are some serious-business police and military forces, and if you're stopped they might just scare the life out of you. But don't worry. If you aren't doing anything wrong, the worst you'll get is a proper shakedown and lots of questions.
I have sat next to some of the finest names in terrorism, as well as the finest police and military forces, and they all (they all) offer you tea and treat you well. Stay uninvolved, and never use a term like Kurdistan around the Turks.
Just be aware that the Turks are petrified of the PKK and other groups and might either suspect you OR (and more likely for you more civilian types) insist you take a bus or camp near their checkpoint, citing the dangers of terrorism in the region.
This should be considered a significant headache at times, leading to slowdowns, but no effective trouble in the long run and no reason at all to avoid these areas.
It's just a damn shame when people are pitted against each other and this is the reality in heavily Kurdish regions of Turkey.
Answer their questions, stand your ground about hitching and camping, don't fear the armoured cars and AKs ...and enjoy the tea.
== Climate ==
[[File:Erzurum.JPG|thumb|250px|In [[winter]] it can be cold.]]
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 too!
=== 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.
[[File:turkeyhitch.jpg|thumb|350px|[[User:Chael777|Chael]]<small><sup>[http://www.velabas.com/ site]</sup></small> hitching south to Bodrum, April 2008]]
== 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]'' ''- 2020 february i hitchiked from Batumi border to Istanbul and 1200 km i did in 2.5 days (with sleeping in nights). Just stick to main highways and make text with big city 300 km away. On the paid highway i got ride in 5 minutes.. Also i seen alot of local youth hithiking around'' ''- Hitchhiking out was really a hassle. It is easy to get a lift, but people do not understand that you need to follow the highway. They think you want to take a bus, and thus it gets complicated. In other parts of Turkey I had a recorded message by Turkish friends explaining what I was actually doing and what I needed from drivers. I didn't have it when leaving IST, and it was a mistake. Get a Turkish friend to record a message on your phone which you can play to the drivers who give you a lift. It should say something like: "I'm from COUNTRY, and right now I'm hitchhiking from PLACE to PLACE. Can you help me with ride please??" ''- 2 times I hitchhiked from Istanbul to Asia and once back to Europe. I didn´t have any map of the city and I haven´t use any bus because hitchhiking from Istanbul is very easy. There are a lot of cars and turkish drivers will not let you wait. If you are goning to Asia and you´re still in european part so the best spot is probably on the start of Bosphorus bridge. To get out from Istanbul you always need to take more cars(about 3-5 cars). In this city you can use hitchhiking as a public transport, just raise you´re tumb and there is a big chance that you´ll come forexample to city center faster than by metro.'' ''- 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.'' ''- I have just finished my second two-week trip alone through Turkey just hitchhiking, and my experience has not been at all like the above. I was quite shocked when I read it! I was traveling for long distances almost every day and I must have hitched with over fifty drivers – and only one of those drivers touched me apart from to shake my hand, and I was asked for sex twice, relatively politely, and both accepted no as an answer. I was treated with courtesy, respect, generosity, kindness, invites home to meet their families, and yes, tea and oranges. Also people kept buying me bus tickets rather than 'letting' me hitchhike on, which was horribly embarrassing! I think people who picked me up probably did consider that I might be a prostitute, but easily accepted that I wasn't judging on behavior. I suspect that experiences like the above depend on inappropriate behaviour or dress, or horribly bad luck. I don't speak Turkish, so sometimes it was a bit boring, which was probably the worst thing about hitchhiking. I would recommend not understanding the questions about whether you're alone or married- not speaking Turkish can actually help! And also be aware that Turkish women hitchhiking sit in the back seat of cars, same as in taxis.''
== Links ==
* [https://www.facebook.com/groups/Otostop.HitchhikingotostopRail/ 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
* User [[User:Halt, Stop! Reudnitz kommt.|Craig]] hitched along the Silk Road and wrote about his experiences here: [http://thumbingasia.blogspot.com/ Thumbing Asia From West to East] Turkey was big fun to hitch-hike. People are really hospitable everywhere - from Istanbul to Capaddocia, from Antep to Kurdistan!
== Nomadwiki & Trashwiki ==
[[nomad:Turkeu]] [[trash:Turkey]]
{{hitchbase_country|196}}
[[wikipedia:Turkey]]
{{IsIn|Western Asia}}
[[Category:Turkey]]
[[pl:Turcja]]
[[tr:Türkiye]]
