Costs
Don’t assume a weak Lira means cheap prices. We left here in October 2022, and returned in December 2023. The Lira had been in freefall during that time. However inflation had risen to such an extent that prices had outstripped the exchange rate. Overall it was about twice as expensive to stay and eat in Turkey in December 2023 than it had been in September/October 2022.
There’s little point therefore in listing costs here, since those in Turkey have the potential to change drastically in a short amount of time.
Roads
Driving is on the right.
Roads in Turkey were generally in excellent condition. The exception was some of the interior, particularly around Aksaray. However, we saw lots of roadworks going on, so it’s likely the roads will be much better in the near future.
There is usually quite a wide shoulder along the main roads in Turkey, which is perfect for cyclists to use (it’s often used by slow moving mopeds.) There is a lot of litter thrown out of cars along the road, and Turks have a penchant for a particular brand of sparkling mineral water which comes in a green glass bottle, so there is often lots of green broken glass on the edge of the road.
The main roads (one level below an expressway) are labelled as D roads. They can be very quiet and are safe. They are handy to use when you want to get from A to B quickly, as they are usually the most direct routes, with good surfaces and a more gentle gradient than smaller roads. There are always small lean-to restaurants, chai places and fruit/snack stalls along these roads, as well as small general stores (called markets) and petrol stations. The three places where we found very busy D roads, were around Kusadasi (though not too bad,) around Antalya and Bursa, both of which were stressful and verging on dangerous. The smaller roads in Turkey are very quiet, but they don’t have the stalls along them, and the hills are steeper. Pick your poison.
Gallipoli Tunnels & Ferry
The main route on the Galipolli peninsula is the E87. Heading south, there are a series of 4 long tunnels between Gelibolu and Eceabat. If you’re worried that cyclists can’t use them then fear not. There is a post with a yellow button (similar to what you’d have at a road crossing) at the entrance to each tunnel. Once you press, the lights on a sign beside the tunnel start flashing to alert drivers that there are cyclists in the tunnel. The tunnel is two lanes and we were given loads of space, but the sound of approaching vehicles is very magnified and can still be unnerving. There are no tunnels heading north. In that direction the road just hugs the coast.
The ferry from the Gallipoli peninsula to the mainland leaves from just north of Kilitbahir and drops you in the centre of Canakkale. It goes frequently throughout the day and takes about 15 minutes. It was really cheap.
Dogs
Turkey is somewhat notorious for dogs which chase and sometimes attack cyclists. There are definitely a lot of them (and cats.) In Eastern Europe and Greece we had problems being chased by dogs, but by Turkey we’d changed our strategy and didn’t have problems. We negotiated them by slowing down around them and riding calmly past, often talking to them. I appreciate that’s not easy to do when one is running at you though, and it can be hard to suppress the instinct to get away as quickly as possible, especially as the dogs are big here because the strays nearly all have some of the massive Anatolian Sheepdog in them. Most dogs we saw had ear tags, which means they have been vaccinated by volunteer vets, so at least you won’t be chased by something rabid.
Beer
For the first 3 to 4 weeks, until we turned inland from Manavga, we didn’t give a second thought to the availability of alcohol. It was frequently on the menu at restaurants, so if we felt like a beer we never really had to seek it out. That changed dramatically though and it was very noticeable in its absence. If you are looking for a drink, it will never be served in a place near a mosque regardless of where in the country you are. Even very, very close to Istanbul, the places that served alcohol were tucked away places reminiscent of Working Men’s Clubs. Beer is sold in almost all shops, both small and large.
Etiquette
When you finish eating and the plates are cleared, you will almost certainly be asked if you want tea, so listen out for the word “chai.” It would be very odd, verging on a snub, to refuse.
If someone offers you tea it is considered rude to refuse. If you are in a pressing hurry point to your wrist and make apologies. A foreigner on a bike trying to outrun the rain will be forgiven, but it’s still not really polite. If you do have tea with someone it’s normal to stay for two. Only having one indicates that you didn’t think the tea was good, so it’s a bit rude to refuse a second.
Leaving Turkey at Cesme
Cesme is a private port, so if you get the ferry from there you will need to pay a tax of 12 euros per person in addition to the price of the ferry ticket.
Blog posts for Turkey:
Ride & Seek 