Western Turkey

We were so excited to visit Turkey for the first time and Istanbul was a city we had always wanted to explore. But our plans did not pan out as we hoped. Information was somewhat difficult to come by and we got over confident about our ability to navigate borders and customs. Our plan was to leave the truck for two months in Turkey and return home to see family and friends, then return to resume our travels.

Through various on line travel forums we thought we learned that you could easily receive an extension on the standard 3 month temporary import limit for private vehicles. The procedure was to go to customs with a letter stating that the vehicle had been parked and not used and then an extension was granted. Assuming all would be fine we continued with our travel plans to visit western Turkey, then store the truck and return to visit central and eastern Turkey.

The campground where we stored the truck knew about the letter requirements and kindly provided one for us. Unfortunately the key missing piece of information for us was that in actuality, no extensions are granted in any circumstances without a residency permit. Which we lacked. Our big mistake was not fact checking all of this until we actually returned to Turkey after being in the US for two months. As soon as we arrived, we headed to customs at the airport to explain that we needed an extension. The officer kindly looked up our vehicle in their system and then shook his head and said that actually we had to get the truck out of Turkey in a week or else we could be facing huge fees and impounding. But somehow we still did not quite believe it so we drove on our merry way and visited another customs office where others had received extensions. Same story, no residency permit, no extension (we did later hear that the rules had changed on us sometime in the past year or so). The upshot of all of this was that once we returned from the US we had to drive all the way across Turkey in three days to get the truck safely into Georgia. Sadly our central and eastern Turkey itinerary went by the wayside. Hopefully we can return someday. (We had big plans for our first hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia). Although we drove all the way across Turkey, we really only explored the western side so we renamed the blog accordingly.

But we loved the areas of Turkey we were able to visit! And the food, wow, alongside Greek, some of our favorite in the world. We frequented road side stands selling börek - flaky pastries filled with cheese, meat or vegetables, ate a variety of kebap (delicately flavored roasted meat) and sampled lots of pide - Turkish style pizza on scrumptious flat bread. We were amused to learn from local Turkish people that they are bewildered by the proliferation of “donor kebap” being sold all over Europe as “Turkish food.” As they explained to us, donor kebap is basically saying “round round” for meat, not a local food at all, you eat either donor (also called gyro in Greece, large spits of meat from which pieces are shaved off for a variety of sandwiches and plates) or kebap which is round pieces of meat typically barbequed on a skewer. As huge “donor kebap” fans ourselves - one of our favorite fast foods throughout Europe we laughed at ourselves for our ignorance. Perhaps there is some ingenious marketing at play from Turkish expats that we don’t pretend to understand.

The historical sites we were able to visit were fascinating and we learned a lot about the complexities of the Ottoman and Roman empires battling it out in the region. Istanbul lived up to its reputation as a mesmerizing city full of life and culture with visible signs of its transition from Byzantium to Constantinople to Istanbul. The architecture was extraordinary and the streets lively, fun and easy to navigate (at least on foot).

As soon as we crossed the border into Turkey we felt the atmospheric shift back to a Muslim dominated culture. Although much more westernized than the countries we visited on the Arabian peninsula, in Turkey we once again enjoyed hearing the call to prayer and seeing the beautiful domes of mosques and their minarets on the horizons.

Our first historic stop in Turkey was the Gallipoli Peninsula, visiting the battle sites and graveyards related to the famous Turkish victory in WWI. It was eerie, sad and chilling to look out over the sea of graves and try to contemplate the loss of life. We visited the local museum which led us through a series of exhibits and video clips detailing the Turkish victory over the Allied troops. Gazing up at the cliffs where the Allied troops (mostly British, French and Australian) landed it was easy to imagine how impossible it much have been for the Allied troops to try to take the peninsula against the committed and entrenched Turkish troops. The Allied goal was to clear the way for naval ships to take Istanbul but they failed miserably. Over 130,000 men lost their lives in the Gallipoli campaign.

After a sobering day we made our way to a bluff top wild camping site. Finding camping spots in Turkey was easy using both Park4Night and iOverlander. In general, we use the Park4Night app in Europe and iOverlander in Africa and the Americas, but Turkey was a mixed country with both of the apps having a lot of detailed information. We will be interested to see which one of the apps is more populated in Asia.

Next began our tour of some fascinating ancient Greek and Roman sites in Turkey. Our first stop was the city of Troy, which honestly, despite its name figuring hugely in our audible books of Greek mythology, was a disappointing site for us. Much of it was little more than chaotic rubble. We know we were not too enthralled as we didn’t seem to take any pictures - never a good sign. But then Pergamon and Ephesus definitely made up for it with their extraordinary beauty.

Ephesus was a Turkey highlight for us - we were still pre-season in April so were happy to find the site empty of crowds. We showed up early and hired a private guide to make the city come alive for us - and he definitely did.

Ephesus was an ancient port and at one point one of the most important Greek cities - a trading center for the Mediterranean region and then later part of the Roman Empire. The historic wealth was apparent in the carvings and ornate design of the buildings.

Our time with the truck was coming to an end again. As we looked at logistics, we realized we could leave it in Izmir at a campground ($3 per day parking) and fly to Istanbul ($50 flight) for much cheaper than we could try to park the truck long term in Istanbul. Our Izmir campground hosts were helpful and kind and we trusted that the truck would be safe in their hands. Leaving the truck in Izmir also meant that it would be easy to continue our planned route (or so we thought). We also don’t like driving the truck in big cities or trying to find parking so not bringing it to Istanbul felt brilliant all around - it was definitely the right choice.

In addition to being excited about visiting iconic Istanbul, we were thrilled that Dawn’s cousin Helen, one of our favorite travel partners, was joining us for the week. She had a past history of doing business in Istanbul so was cued up for both a trip down memory lane and being our unofficial tour guide. We hopped on the plane and made our way to our Airbnb.

The next week was a feast for the senses. Beautiful art, architecture and food everywhere. The city is fast paced but felt safe. We watched our wallets as you do in any big city in the world, but never had any issues.

As we have done in so many big cities in the world, we started our time with a free walking tour, grounding us in the history of the city. The site of the old Roman hippodrome, now Sultanahmet Public Square, is a spacious walking area lined with history and mosques. Ever conscious of our travel budget, we chose the attractions we paid for partly on interest and partly on the length of the line. Most of the mosques were free to enter (with the exception of the famous Hagia Sophia) so we took the time to visit and take in their grandeur and symmetry.

We braved the crowds and bought tickets to Topkapi Palace - home to the sultans of the Ottoman Empire for over 400 years. The vast complex showcased art and architecture over the centuries - giving great insight into what life was like for the sultans, their families and even the associated harems.

Because we learned so much on our first free walking tour, we signed up for a second one and took the ferry over to tour Fener Balat, an old multicultural neighborhood known for Greek, Armenian, Jewish and Turkish people living side by side.

Our time in Istanbul was coming to an end and Dawn was feeling like there was just one outstanding experience that we had overlooked so far - the hamam or iconic “Turkish Bath.” Helen was game, having been before and willing to show Dawn the ropes and Andy was a big fat “no.”

Finally our time was up and we had to (very sadly) say goodbye to Helen to fly back to the US.

And because we only book economy cheap flights, the challenge of the next 36 hours was trying to find places to sleep.

Our time at home with family and friends filled our souls with love and joy. During this time of traveling in the truck, we never see our children enough so being able to gather, relax and work on projects together (more on that later) so it was just what we needed.

The two months flew by and before we knew it we were back on a plane, back in Izmir and booting up truck life again. Of course we returned with an extra duffel full of truck parts for future maintenance. It was surprisingly easy to slide into our past routines, despite having had the luxury of living in a real house for two months. Once we had resupplied with food, water, and gas we were on our way.

Still blissfully unaware that we REALLY did have to leave Turkey in five days, we stopped off to visit Priene, founded in the 4th century BC by the Romans.

Then having visited our second customs office and been told we really did have to leave, we calculated that we could make it to Georgia in three really long driving days with one last stop - the calcite terraces at Pamukkale. A geologic beauty and site of centuries of warm sulfuric baths. (We just put our feet in.)

For our final night in Turkey we found a cool mountain pass (it was heating up by now!)

Well we are fully on our way now, ready to tackle the Silk Road and plot some new adventures. Thank you for reading, hopefully some interesting blogs to come!

And Aside Just In Case You Think We Relax When We Go Home . .

We have started work on a future project (once we are finished driving around the world). Slowly (very) but surely we are building a home in Bend. With LOTS of help from family and friends. A few pictures from our time at home in Oregon:

So far we have left behind a foundation, slab floor, solar electric system and septic system in place. Huge thanks to all the family and friends who helped over the two months, Trevor, Claire, Nicholas, Duncan, Nick, Eve, Brent, Oliver and of course Gram and Papa for donuts and snacks. To be continued!