User:Zenit

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Zenit, hitchhiker, bum and sometimes even human being. Check out my log for my "honours".

May the road rise to meet y'all.

Turkey has been getting a bad reputation for girls hitchhiking following the murder of Pippa in April 2008 and more emerging stories reaching from minor harassment (see for example Personal Experiences section) to a near repetition of Pippas fate that 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. Further good reading for girls and anybody travelling in Turkey is this blog. Safety is always important while hitchhiking, so check the Safety article before going out to wave your thumb!

Following is a list of general guidelines for hitchhiking in Turkey. Remember, though, that you cannot fully master the different dynamics of social interaction, especially between members of opposite sexes, until you've been exposed to the inital special attention you'll receive as a foreigner and possibly made some enlightening minor learner's mistakes.

  • First of all, keep in mind that in Turkey there is widespread prejudice concerning the willingness of Western girls to engage in casual sex with random strangers.
  • Having said that, the biggest part of problems arise from the different conceptions of flirting in the West and in Turkey. In Turkey, making eye conctact, smiling and accepting compliments can all easily be interpreted as outright flirtateous behaviour. Another thing to watch out for is that Turkish men will test guys travelling with girls to see how protective they are of the girls they're travelling with. This will always be in a somewhat playful manner, and hardly ever in a threatening way. One very important thing is that a guy travelling with a girl should never let her sit next to a man other than himself. This cannot be stressed enough, as drivers will read from this behaviour that a) the guy has no claims in the girl and don't really care what happens to her from this point and b) that the girl might be interested/easy.
  • Another important point, if one that goes somewhat without saying, is about clothing. Turkey is definitely not the place to hitchhike in hotpants and a tanktop, the least should be long trousers and a unrevealing t-shirt with sleeves down to your elbows. Anyone wearing less than this (apart from the Western coastal regions maybe) will usually be seen as a prostitute, and without the necessary language skills to explain women's rights over their own body you might get yourself into hassle you don't really need. If you want to be extra safe, you can also hitchhike with a headscarf and/or a long ("Iranian style") gown going down to your thighs and hiding your shape.
  • There is different things you can say about your marital status. If travelling with a guy, the classical story of the married couple can work well enough, but won't necessarily stop a determined guy from trying his chances. Also keep in mind that many truck drivers (but generally not drivers of private cars) know that foreign hitchhikers tend to lie about their status as married couples. This might actually encourage some truck drivers to try his luck even if in the first point they never intended anything at all. If travelling alone as a girl, it seems to be safer to say that you are unmarried - meaning, for most people, a virgin. The purity of virginity is widely respected and can provide protection. You can usefully combine both of these strategies (if travelling in a couple) by saying that you're cousins because a) you will be seen as a unmarried virgin, b) male relatives traditionally protect unmarried female family members and c) a cousin might at some point also have been picked by the family to be a future husband to the girl.
  • Something that plays into the dynamics of hitchhiking in Turkey as well are the mostly Russian/Eastern European prostitutes that can be found practicing their trade all over Turkey. As a girl hitchhiking, be it alone or in company, you will at some point likely be confused with one of the working ladies. As an effect of many of those girls being Russian, the words "rus" or "natasha" have come to mean "foreign prostitute". If your driver says any of those words, he's most likely asking if you're a prostitute. Make very very clear that you have nothing to do with this, say yok very clearly without hesitating, smiling, laughing, or any other even remotely flirtateous reaction. Be insulted. Likewise it's not a very good idea to say that you're Russian or even from any Eastern European country that could be associated with Russia, especially Ukraine. If the driver has understood that you're not a prostitute, he'll usually not bother you about it any more.
  • There is one main Turkish hand gesture that leads to confusion among foreigners. It is indeed extremely ambiguous, used in very different situations and complicated to understand in its context. It consists of the index fingers of both hands rubbed against each other back and forth. Some important meanings of it include casual sex, friendship, physical contact, geographical closeness of objects or places, money, etc. You see that the meaning can range from explaining how to get somewhere or explaining that driver is going close to your destination to asking for casual sex. Nothing more can be said than to use your common sense and not to be overly paranoid.
  • When it comes to accepting rides, listen to your intuition and don't worry about being picky. Remember that even if you say no to several cars you'll still not wait very long.
  • To finish, a brief list of useful vocabulary in difficult situations. Check out the pronounication guide in the Turkish phrasebook.
  • çok ayıp - lit. "big shame", the most useful thing to say if somebody is harrassing you (sexual or not.)
  • Allah akşina - lit. "for Allah's love", i.e. for God's sake
  • bakire - "virgin"
  • kuzen - "cousin", biz kuzen - "we are cousins"
  • evli - "married"

As a brief summary: Be aware of your body language - smiling, eye contact, being flattered by compliments are all bad ideas. As a guy hitchhiking, stand your ground, show presence. If the driver talks mostly to the girl, it's a bad sign. Girls should dress modestly and make sure not to be confused with Russian prostitutes ("rus", "natasha"). Be picky about your rides. Most importantly though, keep in mind that in 99% of the cases all will be fine, especially if you pay attention to those guidelines!

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.