Has Anybody Driven in Turkey?

[imcarthur]

I am starting the preliminary vacation plan for May 2011 & yeah, I know it's ~18 months out. I like to plot our excursions extensively since I don't do tours. Anyways . . . Turkey is high on the list of possibles.

A very rough plan:

Fly into Istanbul. Then fly to Izmir.
Rent & drive to Cappadocia via Ephesus, Aphrodisias, Pamukkale, etc etc taking a week or more.
Dump car at Kayseri & fly to Istanbul & see the sites for several days.

I know that it is doable but has anybody done that drive or similar in Central & Western Turkey? My wife doesn't do mountains with narrow twisty roads very well. In Sicily, I threatened to gag her & put her in the trunk.

Anybody?

Ian

[jwasbury]

My wife and I flew to Istanbul, then to Izmir. We rented a car at the Izmir airport and drove to Ephesus area (stayed in Selcuk). We used the car for several days and explored the area extensively. Virgin Mary's house, Kusadasi, Sirince, Dilek peninsula Nat'l park, etc.

We unfortunately did not make it to western Turkey (next time). Some of the secondary and tertiary roads in the Ephesus area were sort of twisty, as the area is hilly. The major roads and highways were easy to navigate.

I highly recommend you visit Sirince when you are in the Ephesus area. Its a small village at the end of a country road. They grow olives and wine in the village. The road to Sirince begins in Selcuk. My wife and I liked it so much we went there twice. I sent a co-worker there too and she and her husband said it was one of the highlights of their trip.

Sounds like a great trip you are planning.

[hcariss]

Yes I have. The driving in cities is very similar to driving in Rome, out of the city its can get a bit crazy but just approach with caution and you will be fine. The toll highways are cheap and very empty, however there is some CRAZY high speed driving on some freeways, from cars and trucks and buses ...
Avoid the police, my good friend who I work with out there advises avoiding all contact with them, also when it rains Traffic Police are nowhere to be seen so traffic accidents can cause major delays.
I drove from Istanbul to the Agean, there is some lovely scenery, just like Greece (obviously) and we also went to Datca peninsula (below Marmaris) visually it was amazing, its where the Lycians lived in ancient times. We did more of the coast, and went as far as Kas which was this nice little fishing village, with pretty good diving for the med.
Not sure how long your trip is but I think your journey might take a while.
Evren who posts here is from Turkey, he seems like a very nice guy, I would PM him.
Safe travels

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

...Turkey is high on the list of possibles...
Anybody?

Ian

Yeah, me!

Long time ago, then wife and I drove from Alexandroupolis, Greece to Istanbul in a VW pop-top camper. If you plan to drive into Anatolia, you are taking your life in your hands as the way is rife with bandits. Quite an adventure though. Might not be a bad idea to do the trunk thing with wifey (is she blonde? Dem Turkish banditos really relish blonde infidels! ) between camping locations (which should ALWAYS be in the immediate proximity of police stations).

But hey! That was years ago; things can only have gotten worse!

As they say in Japan Town in Istanbul. rottsa ruck!

Seriously, Turkey was a definite high point in a 3 month, 7500 mi. gypsy adventure when I got out of grad school....years ago.

Turkish cuisine is great - tour the kitchen before ordering, ignore the flies and the fact that the food is never really...hot, never got sick once.

I'm envious!

[imcarthur]

Thanks for the reassurance guys. If the towns are only Rome crazy, I know that I (and she) can handle it. My problem is always balancing the driving so we don't spend too much time behind the steering wheel. Back to back 4 hour drives are not well appreciated so I will have to lay it out carefully.

I will put Sirince on my growing list. And I will contact Evren once I have everything roughly planned.

Ian

[creaturecat]

I have driven around Bodrum, Denizli, down to Fethiye and up the coast.
Didn't drive eastward any further than Antayla.
Nice modern highways. No problem.
Stay out of carpet shops!
Absolutely fantastic country.
Tip: if you go to Pammukale, make sure you walk through the Roman ruins nearby. The largest Necropolis in the world. Fantastic ruins, including a church of John the Baptist.
When in Ephesus, make sure you see the museum in town.
Istanbul is absolutely fantastic. Wouldn't want to drive there, however.

[gtc]

In case you were looking into it, I'd suggest skipping the House of the Virgin Mary in the Ephesus/Izmir area... it's a waste of time, IMO.

[berettafan]

PWD can put you in touch with a local p-car enthusiast.

[Dottore]

A few times.

The best time was long ago, when I traced the Black Sea coast of Turkey in a clapped-out Peugot, with an outrageous Dutch girl and a brick of Lebanese black in the right seat. But that's a long story.

A couple of years ago we rented VW in Izmir and drove south along the coast for a couple of weeks.

Be prepared for horrendous traffic. Cars are no longer a luxury in Turkey, and everyone has one. Also be prepared for Mediterranean style driving techniques—which I actually enjoy and get into in a serious way. Nothing quite like going flat out on a country lane in a rented four pot, racing the local bus driver.

Be prepared to pay many on the spot fines. Rented cars can easily be identified from their licence plates, and Turkish cops will use any excuse to pull you over and extort some baksheesh. Laugh about this and play along. If you get angry about this, you'll be miserable the entire time you are there—because will get pulled over several times a day.

Great food and wine throughout Turkey. We got into roast pigeons in a big way. You can find these just about anywhere. And there are some very nice big red wines being produced in Turkey. And then of course there is Raki.

You'll have a great trip.

[jwasbury]

Originally Posted by gtc

In case you were looking into it, I'd suggest skipping the House of the Virgin Mary in the Ephesus/Izmir area... it's a waste of time, IMO.

Agree 100%. The best part was the road to get there.

[m21sniper]

Don't smuggle heroine into or out of turkey...

[creaturecat]

Hotel tip, Istanbul. The Nena, close to Hagia Sophia, etc., a great place.
Walk to the spice bazaar, walk across the bridge to climb the Galata Tower, walk up the street to the Pera Palace.
Another great little area - Oludeniz, outside Fethiye.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by berettafan

PWD can put you in touch with a local p-car enthusiast.

I'll forward a link to Evren, see if he wishes to chime in. Yep...my old beater now resides in Istanbul.

[porsche4life]

Originally Posted by Dottore

A few times.

The best time was long ago, when I traced the Black Sea coast of Turkey in a clapped-out Peugot, with an outrageous Dutch girl and a brick of Lebanese black in the right seat. But that's a long story.

I think we've got time to hear it...

[imcarthur]

Turkey Checklist:

1. No heroin. Tell them to send it all to Snipe.
2. Send hash bricks & outrageous Dutch girls to Dottore.
3. Just say no to Virgin Mary house.
4. Keep lots of Turkish Lira for roadside cop payola.
5. Visit pwd72s Porsche.

Did I forget anything?

Ian

[Dottore]

Ian:

I'll pull together some thoughts on this for you—since you have some time. Turkey is a large, endlessly complex and fascinating land.

The absolutely single most invaluable book if you are trying to understand a bit of the context of modern Turkey is "The Ottoman Empire" by Lord Kinross. It will be hard to find, but look for it on amazon or call around to a few of the used bookshops in your part of the world. Barring that, anything Kinross wrote on Turkey is brilliant. For my money, no one every understood the place better than this British Lord.

And you will find Turkey very hard to comprehend without some background reading.

Depending on what you enjoy, you will need to focus your trip very much, because the country is very big, and you won't cover large distances quickly. I would be able to give some tips on this. But please give me some idea what you are looking for first.

Cheers, Mark

[creaturecat]

Books? I nominate "Snow" by Orhan Pamuk.
A cautionary tale, exploring the dynamics of Turkey.

[Dottore]

Agreed. Anything by Orhan Pamuk is worth reading as a contemporary Turkish voice.

Kinross is for historical context—and is arguably the gold standard for history writers generally.

[imcarthur]

I am on eggshells historically with Turkey. My wife is Hungarian and Magyars don't have a great love for the Turks. On the phone last night, she mentioned it to her father. His response: "Did you know that the Turks . . ."

I know some of the ancient history - Persian, Greek & Roman - but I have never read anything more modern. I will look for the books you suggested.

Ian

[pwd72s]

Well, there was that little Armenian problem...the Turks handled it much like we handled the problem of those pesky injuns...