This is just the latest news, we cannot count how many wanderer raped and murdered. We cannot stop it, so change you route or bypass Turkey. Even if you are not alone, IT DOES NOT MATTER.
This is serious. IT IS NOT SAFE HERE. I am very sorry about it, i want to leave the country immediately, i totaly hate it an YOU NEED TO KNOW!
What ıs happen? I am curently rıde in Turkey and İ have just a great expırıans and İ am alone.
every year we read countless news about murdered and raped tourers, cyclists and hitchhikers, and i give up! i am living here i joined thousands of km of cycling tours across the country and i see this will never end. it is not safe. for now you have great experiences but this is a serious warning. we were not spelling the news for wanderers before because, we had some hope about people.. but no, it just happens.
ofcourse there are a lot of countries which are better and more developed . Turkey is considered less developed and civilized. I was born and raised in Turkey. people are friendly plus hospitality is great comperating to western countries.
not just my opinion people I hosted for also have same opinion. and the nature is great here.
I guess you had a problem( could be a truck driver or whatever) and now you are pissed that s why you are talking pessimistic.
no, this is a fact. this is not about developement or being civilized, because we cannot match the global statistics it is off the scale in turkey and i am here for warning people not about arguing how the nature is great or how much we like to host people and so on.. roads are not safe here. if you cannot trust what is coming behind you, how can you enjoy a tour?
Please tell us, how did you survive? Riots in the streets, with everybody chasing you as you are just out of their reach. How many times have you been raped?
Honestly, get real.
it has been 8 years since i start bike for transportation. i had 3 serious accidents (none of my fault), tens of times threatened to be beaten, i still use bike in the streets, i survive because i get used to the enviremonment, i know where i must stay in this jungle, i feel not free... but for a curious alien?
look, i am real. all those news are real. this is a serious warning, it is not safe here. i am not here to argue ok? i am saying this coz i gave up. we cannot fix it. it happens and we read on papers, see on TV and internet.. no one tells you about the news, because we all "LOVE" this country, so we should not let you see.
And yet all this is going on, and you are the first person to mention it. How is it only you see this problem and it's evaded...pretty much everybody else that's been there?
children educated to trust in the nation and ruled to not tarnish the countries image. ofcourse there are people warning about how dangerous to travel by cycling and hitchhiking in turkey in other forums, warmshowers take my attention.
seriously man, take it easier, I live in a let's say 'developed' country compared to most of the countries around mine. I have been biking for 3 years everyday because it's the way I commute. I turn on the news and I see rapes, accidents, fathers killing their children because a cheating wife and then hanging himself, I see cyclists being killed by cars/trucks. I just checked the newspaper and last night a girl was raped in the local hill at midnight, right at the time I and some friends use to go and bicycle. Today I was almost hit by 3 different drivers who weren't paying attention to their surroundings. So, should I start saying that nobody has to come here because they are going to get killed? From my point of view I shouldn't, I would just warn them to be wary of the surroundings and come here and ask the locals warmshowers about tips and where to go, where to be cautious and so on... I wouldn't start telling people "don't come here! it's a wild country! you are going to get killed!" The world has always been trying to get rid of you in different ways but we have to cope with it and learn from it and enjoy what we can of it... news are real, yes, but this has been going on since ever, people get killed, people get raped, people die of starvation, people die in accidents, but not for that we should hide ourselves in a bubble and expect to die in total health not experiencing the world...
Don't take it as an attack to your opininon, it's just that I disagree with you in some points of you statement...
cheers mate.
be safe.
When I read this I had to laugh. Turkey? Not safe??? Common! We have been cycling around from Northwest to Istanbul and aaall over from Southwest to the Northeast and we have had a great time! We stayed in Turkey for FIVE months and loved it. Yes, truck drivers do blow their horns next to us in the tunnel. Yes, drivers overtake others no matter if we are there or not. And yes we also had people shouting at us from their open window. But this was the case in most of the countries we have visited! Most streets are large and have a big shoulder and we have always had enough space for ourselves.
To all cyclists who want to go to Turkey: Have fun! I know you will :-)
In the container in the main street of my hometown was found dead man whom the murderers butchered. Does this mean that the main street of my city extremly dangerous and that everyone should move out of it?
It ıs not fair to generalize about Turks because you had bad experience.
I am a women and rıde by myself in Turkey for months and half. All my experiences are positive. The Turks are extremely frıendly people. I slept in a motel for free because the owner is not allowed to sleep outside in tent. I slept in the garden of the casino that started to work that night and the whole night was a party... In southern Anatoly truck drivers are waiting for me to gave me a bananas. Many times drivers are offered to drıve me, but I refused because I prefer pushing the bike if I can not to ride.
I totally agree with you. I like Turkey and i think its save. Well, if this guy things its dangerous then i shouldnt travel at all. Is there a save place on this planet? I think in general people are good.
If turkey would be a smal country like 25 acres big and just under 2,ooo poeple living there.....yeah that would dangeours situation......but turkey is a big country with a lot of millions of people......so please amigo,don't scare poeple for a personal and kinda isolated situation.
I'm from mexico and everybody knows the situation there,but really,Mexico is safe as any big country.
I agree completely with this. We are from Germany (Annika) and Mexico (Roberto) and when we meet people on the way their first reaction is: "Mexico? Where is your Sombrero?" and then the question about "But isn't it dangerous there?". Yes it is always the same. So we keep telling people that it is NOT dangerous as long as you don't make friends or enemies with the drug lords or - better - do not buy drugs at all. I have been hitchhiking alone through Chiapas and Oaxaca and I have to say that I did not feel any danger there. Once we make the bike way to the American continent and to Mexico we'll cycle throug of course (will take some years till we make it there I guess) and I am very excited yet :-)
There can happen anything in any country. So genealizing a few bad experiences to the opinion that "the entire country is unsafe" is not fair.
You really have a problem with this country i guess.
I would also not visit Turkey again on bike, not because of possible rapes or murders, but because of reckless car drivers.
The average Turk, who has just been the most friendly and hospitable person you could imagine, becomes a real f**cking bastard as soon as he enters a car.
I remember a truck driver blowing his 120dB horn right next to me in a tunnel (thanks, I had heard you before), someone almost knocking me off while passing (a guy leaned out of the right window, laughing at me, not sure what he wanted, but he seemed to find it funny), several drivers forcing me off the street when coming from the front while passing someone else (but keeping at least 3m between themselves and the car they passed), and of course the countless drivers blowing their horn angrily long and multiple times if I did not switch to the utmost right side (including the dirt next to the street) within one second after he, the master of the disaster car, announced his presence. And I also don't understand, when there are road works going on so that there is only a dirt road with a speed limit of 30 km/h, why people have to drive 60-70, again passing me at < 1m distance, leaving me in a cloud of dust and stones.
There is absolutely no politeness or respect for cyclists or pedestrians. I could also see this effect v.v., when I approached a pedestrian from the back, people often literally jumped aside in fear immediately when the heard me - they knew why. When it comes to traffic, I found Turkey by far the worst country I've ever seen, and I've been to quite some crazy countries, not only European ones.
Some years ago, a guy from an insurance company here in Germany told me that they are reluctant to insure people of Turkish origin. Bloody racist I thought. After visiting Turkey, I understood...
I really don't agree with him saying turkey is not safe. I have cycled almost ten years I haven't got any serious problems.
about drivers I agree with Dirksommer they are so careless when they got in truck but everwhere is same I guess. I hosted a couple from Germany , comming from New Zealand also mentioned that truck drivers in NZ are very dangerous so I guess that is global problem except some well rulled countries.
Yes, I've also heard that NZ is a bit special
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10619341
And also Europe is not free of it, Portugal is a nightmare and Romania is not much better. Nevertheless, it seems a matter of personal attitude. E.g. I felt pretty save in Tajikistan, India, Bolivia, and Myanmar, these countries are certainly not more "well ruled" than Turkey.
Totally agree that there is often a national ethos... countries get a rep for one thing or another for a reason... but... it also happens everywhere... All this stuff has also happens in the USA - jerks throwing bottles at cyclists, veering their cars to swoosh too close and scare or topple the cyclist, angrily honking their multi-ton machines at the little cyclist, hanging out the window taunting the cyclist... morons are in every country... I don't understand why some people are so personally offended by the sight of a fellow human pedaling by....
I believe what Dirk wrote is right!
I met him and cycled with him in Dresden!
thanks a lot Dirk!
''Turkey is not safe''I think it is not a rightful comment.Turkey is safe in as much as the world.I am a Turkish warmshowerer(also cyclist) for four years and we are hosting couples and singles in our home.All of our hosts had good feelings and memories about Turkey and its people.(And also our family have wonderful memories about them)
Four English boy attacked me with their big knifes to take my money in a bus in the centre of London when I was a student at the university...If I said that England wasn't safe, I totaly hated because of this horrible attack.Would ıt be right for England or for English people...
Humans are humans.All of them have the same heart which is fulled with loves,hates,happiness,sadness etc.
I think ''warmshower''is a bridge which allows peace transition between the hearts and my country will be a good route and bridge for those who want to travel in peace, between west and east cultures.
'He insulted me, he cheated me, he beat me, he robbed me' -- those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace.
Buddha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNVMMnvynKE&list=UUGhVIy7pKVKqA_ocabN03LA&index=11&feature=plcp
(One of our warmshowerer,four years ago)
I'm touring in Turkey about 8 years and hosted about 20 cyclists in 5 years at Istanbul and Izmir, and nearly most of them gives "Bicycle Touring Paradise" award to Turkey. (here is one of my guests' web page http://www.orphanride.org/statistics/ride-stats and please check their nice blog about every country that they visited)
And i totally agree with Gultekin and he missed one thing to mention, Turkey is very hilly and hot country at summer. (About 40 Celsius (104F) at southern part of Turkey).
Cheers,
Mustafa
Last year we cycled for 6 weeks in Turkey (Izmer-Ephesis-Pamukale- Fethiye- kas-Antalya=-Cappadocia-Malatya-Nemrut Dai-Sanliurfa)and found it a great place to cycle. People were amazingly friendly and we did not have a problem with drivers, truck or otherwise, they were no worse than in Australia and maybe a bit better. They do beep the horn at you but we took it more as a supportive friendly toot. We stayed off the main roads as much as possible and never felt in danger
we have cycled in many places and our trip to Turkey was one of the best!!
Turkey is an amazing place to cycle tour. Just did my second tour of the country this time with my girlfriend. The Turks are a friendly culture and I never felt threatened or in any danger compared to any other country I've cycled.
http://turkey.brakingboundaries.org/ Read all about the coold experiences we had.
I highly recommend cyclying Turkey. Danger is danger anywhere in the world.
Hi guys,
I think, oyunbozan exaggerates the news about Turkey. He could read the news about Frank Lenz who killed in Turkey 120 years ago. I can not deny the fact about rape cases but oyunbozan says that every year we read countless news about rape and murder. as i said before, he exaggerates so much.
i cycled in the dangerous parts of Turkey such as Siirt, Batman.. but i didn't meet with difficulties by turkish or kurdish people. Don't worry. just ride!
You should be safe, if you carefully employ common sense on the things you face during your trip. Sometimes I feel the same with the angry owner of the topic but I always realize the too few of bad always shade ''good''.
As a human being from Turkey, I do apologize for both exaggeration and the confusion that fellow created about so-called "danger" and I also apologize for his attitude about the incidents, believing that avoiding to travel to Turkey or any other dangerous areas would be any cure to such "danger".
It's just a mixture of both overreacting and exaggerating.
Please come here. While you are here, seek me out, i'd be more than happy to share some words around Turkish coffee.
Ride safely.
Fatih.
hello every1. im also turkish cyclist and tourer. first of all thank you for all positive comments. yes, as you all know roads are dangerous.. i just saw that we ve lost 1 tourer in USA warmshowers fb page . im so sory about that. the only thing you gotta know that we turkish people are really changing whle driving. cars and traffic makes us crazy I know cos i ve been there too :) normally people are warm here, we like to talk, we like to help if we can, we like to share.. it doesnt matter where are you from, or what you do.. you can search the routes, at least ask us the less traffic roads and you can enjoy the country better.. you will even see more traditional life and real atmosphere down here... and you gotta know that you are always welcome guys, no matter where you from, no matter who you are.. ( dont be badass anyway :))
be safe wherever you are guys.. big hug from Turkey..
hi guys. the "pessimist" again.
i wanted to make one of my post remembered and send a recent news
this is the post you should remember in the first place and always keep in mind: "#9" https://www.warmshowers.org/content/do-not-visit-turkey#comment-3752
and now the news. sad news i presume http://www.bit.ly/175GEh2
i lost one of my friends this summer, on a cycling tour. his name is Tolga Beyenir. And more killed on the roads too...
but you know what? it just got a little better. why? because there is now a growing awareness of cyclist. Because a lot of cyclists are realy mad now. They are protesting, you can search on google by typing the right words. "bisiklet" "eylem" "protesto" for a start.
i joined WS to help wanderers. to supply a place to stay and make them feel safe. but then i needed to remind the risk. it is now a bit better. should be better in time. BUT it is not as good as discussed above.