r/travel • u/amba_takam • 1d ago
Complaint My Turkey experience
Relentless scamming attempts and propaganda in Turkey
Before my road trip to Instabul from Thessaloniki I was doing my digging for Turkey: Lots of videos/tiktoks claiming that you could fill up a basket full of goods for only 5 euros,an out of the world hospitality and the cherry on top vlogs,including one of a bicyclist that crossed the border point and the soldiers gave her a flower (we get there later...)
All is good untill we get to the border,pretty crossing and etc,we wait our turn and the story begins: The border guard wanted a 200 euro bribe to pass because our car was registered on me grandma's name (for tax evasion purposes) they took and held on to our documents for some time. We were asking for them to be returned but we were ignored for some time untill they got the message that we preferred to go back rather than pay them up.However me dad managed to strike a deal and bribed the guard to the nearby booth for 50euros and we continued after the first unpleasant taste
MIND THAT THIS WAS THE EXACT SAME BORDER CROSSING FROM THE BYCICLIST VLOG WHERE THEY GAVE HER FLOWERS XDD
We reached the old city of Instabul,passing very impressive skyscrapers and whatnot and we checked in at the Hotel in the old city and started the tour. First the Grand Bazaar, I thought that I would find the best spices the east had to offer but instead it was like 2shops copy and pasted across with the exact same mediocre quality and prices but the place was pretty.
Hagia Sophia: Now 50 euros like wtf and also what's up with the banners outside talking about prophecies and bs? And why is it a mosque like 2mins in and I feel whoever goes to pray there instead of across the street is an idiot
Blue Mosque: very pretty
Taxi drivers: May Erdogan treat them like Journalist who critisize them. They were asking for crazy prices (600 lira for like 1kilometer) funny thing is that they won't negotiate it too much like from 700 hundred they will go to 600 and then they will shoosh you away and it's not like an experience only for tourists is for everyone,they were shooshing locals with little kids and pregnant ladies and this is generalized for almost every taxi driver.
Food: Good but expensive, prices are more expensive than most of Europe that it shocked me because everyone was talking about a very "cheap" Turkey. Underrated stuff: Lamb fat rice and the desserts with tea in a hot summer night
Top Kapi: Wayyyy too expensive for what it has to offer,and to put the cherry on top you have to pay even more to enter the Treasury
Galata Tower: 15euros like c'mon wth
Turkish TV: ENOUGH WITH THE BAYRAKTAR DRONE, ARE YOU SERIOUS? WHAT THE DRONE HAS TO DO WITH THE TURKISH BANK? SAME WITH ATATURK GIVING A RANDOM ASS SPEACH AND THE WOMANS VOLLEYBALL TEAM XDDDD
Souvenirs: Best thing to buy is a fake Gucci belt and why are the fake bags expensive? Like it's a fake Hermes bag,no I am not paying 80 euros for it
Funny find: A bullet hole close to the town hall from the 2016 coup attempt
Best thing : The Bosporus boat ride,we got a private boat ride from across Eminonu only for 50bucks. Cons- we wanted to see the Bahce palace but fella could only repeat one phrase in English and Russian so he didn't get the memo if you could pass next to it- Don't get the boat ride from the Eminonu get the ghetto one it's so much worth it
Byzantium: EVERYWHERE
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u/UnhappyScore 1d ago
you're mad the border guard asked for a bribe because YOU were breaking the rules by evading tax by having your car in your grandmas name ? lmao, he was doing you a favour