Adventures in Turkey: Driving

Durrrrrrrrrr... herp

I know the world is looking at Turkey over the past weekend for the anti-government riots that engulfed Istanbul and those riots spread to every major city and resort town across Turkey.  However, the internal political problems will not be in this blog post, but of another experience I will explain on driving in Turkey.

As it is known, Turkey is quite different from the United States, and driving is another area of difference that one will experience if they wish to drive in Turkey or ride on Turkish roadways as a casual observer.  If I could describe Turkish driving habits in the fewest words possible, it would be 'Aggressive'.  While it cannot be denied that their driving style is aggressive, it is not 'entirely' reckless.

Over the Memorial Day weekend, I decided to rent a manual sedan for the weekend.  It was cheap for $100 for everything for the Fiat Linea I drove to Mersin, a city of 913,958.  Since getting to Turkey, I have yet to gaze upon the Mediterranean Sea, so I took the chance to see the fabled sea I've read in the Bible and history books.

I can't say much about the performance of the Fiat Linea, since it was quite underpowered for my tastes.  Before I drove off base, I took the time the day before to drive around on base to get my manual gearbox skills back up to par against the impatient nature of Turkish drivers.  I have to admit the Fiat's gearbox is more touchy than the manuals I've dealt with in the States. 

Fiat Linea, typical compact sedan

Now, driving to Mersin consisted of a healthy mixture of urban and freeway driving, since the city was roughly an hour's drive from the base.  The local roads are drivable, but far from the best condition.  Lane markings are barely visible on most Turkish roadways, so be prepared for some on-the-fly guesswork.

 The first and foremost unspoken rule of Turkish driving in my opinion is the ability to think quickly of the unfolding situation in front of your car.  Do not care about what is happening on the sides or behind you.  If you need to look behind or the side, the Turks will let you know.  You should do the same.  It is slightly unsettling to think that you have to trust other people's decision-making around you to your overall safety when it doesn't even seem close like they are caring, but there is a hidden logic with Turkish drivers.

Secondly, consider speeding as a logical option instead of braking, especially on the freeway.  The worst thing you can do is brake on the Turkish Autobahn, exception to this rule is at police checkpoints.  Also, keep right except to pass is true here, left lane cruise controlling drivers will be tailgated to no end, high beams flashed at, and honked at in an angry tone until you are out of the far left lane.

Third, anticipate traffic signal timing.  Before turning green, Turkish signals flash yellow to signal the manual drivers to get the hell out of neutral gear and prepare to go.  Unfortunately, the signals are not on the far side of the intersection and one usually surpasses the signal and a driver behind you usually honks to tell you to get moving.  The signal will flash green before turning red, and some have timers to show how long it will be red for.  It's like drag racing a bit...

Forth, know when to act aggressive and when to be cautious, there is no middle ground.  This takes practice and active observation, but understanding this goes a long ways in becoming a good driver here.  Use of the horn is necessary to get people's attention, especially when the first rule of Turkish driving is so focused on what is happening in front of them.  I lost count of the amount of times various drivers drifted out of their lanes on accident, although a quick, loud honk brought them back into reality.

Lastly, Turkish driving a binds by the spirit of the law; however, use common sense to bend the rules.  I wouldn't suggest that you make the precedent, but seeing what other Turkish drivers do is prudent wisdom, sometimes; however, the law of common sense still applies.

I drove on the far left lane for the most part to Mersin, averaging 130-140 kph minimum (80 to 90 mph) against speedy and more powerful BMWs, VWs, and other newer cars that had better specs than the Linea.  Those cars were going an extra 20 mph easily on parts of the highway between Adana and Mersin.  The Turkish Autobahn is definitely a geared to a driver's racing mindset; however, be mindful of the police checkpoints.  The curves were nice and long, meandering through the landscape with nice, long straightaways in other parts.  I had a blast nearly redlining the Linea at around 110 mph a nice downhill stretch.

The autobahn has two class of vehicles driving it, 1) newer vehicles that can easily exceed the speed limit and do so without regret and 2) Older cars and trucks that only wished they go beyond the 120 kph limit on it.  The standard autobahn is a divided six-lane limited access highway, wise for the number of slower vehicles that do travel it.

Mersin, Turkey - It's a nice place, though not a resort town.

Now, the amount of people living in the Mersin-Tarsus-Adana area is roughly about 3 million people.  I didn't have time to visit Tarsus, an obvious name for the birthplace of the Apostle Paul, but that will be for a different time.

I got slightly lost driving in Mersin in my quest to find the waterfront.  I eventually got there and the main downtown district in which the above shows the Ataturk park with the amusement park across from the downtown section of Mersin.  The city is mainly an industrial town due to the large seaport nearby handling the most volume of Turkey's seagoing freight.  It has nice beaches, to the west of the city, but the city waterfront is quite developed with a seawall, parks, and other entertainment activities besides swimming.  I didn't even get honked at when I figured I was 'lost' and kept right on driving around like a pro, even when I got stuck behind a stalled out Chevy Avalanche, forcing a lane change into a fluid moving lane next to the stalled car. 

I saw the Mediterranean Sea and it's blueness, and I got quite blissful and closed my eyes to the sound of the waves.  Sure, it was not the Pacific Ocean, but it was close enough and it wasn't rainy, needing a heavy jacket to enjoy the fine grains of sand moving around my feet by the flow of crashing waves...  I strolled through the downtown to take in some local food cuisine and came out enjoying my incognito affair of not being attached with a party of Americans.

In conclusion, I enjoyed my time to Mersin, and driving was quite the experience and I enjoyed every minute of it.  Turkish drivers drive like wannabe race car drivers, but I'll go toe-to-toe with them anytime.  Also, there is no middle ground in driving in Turkey.