MOBY GOES TO TURKEY. A tam and pups adventure.

I did a couple of tours with UN, second one was when Turks invaded. RAF did a runner from Nicosia to Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area and we had free rein to all their kit. We even had to pull their Whirlwind aircraft to safe area, my boss was down to earth GUY and evacuated Brits off N Coast as well as more stuff, he got MBE.
Been back since and crossed 'green line' from south to north. There was a marked difference in cleanliness. The beaches in the north looked like hooligan wild campers had been everywhere. The south had 45 gallon oil drums for rubbish and was very clean. The north is very beautiful especially what looks like a pan handle and known as that. The northern plains were covered in orange trees and supplied Uk, product of Cyprus, stamped if anyone can remember.
Hope I've not bored you Tam
 
I did a couple of tours with UN, second one was when Turks invaded. RAF did a runner from Nicosia to Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area and we had free rein to all their kit. We even had to pull their Whirlwind aircraft to safe area, my boss was down to earth GUY and evacuated Brits off N Coast as well as more stuff, he got MBE.
Been back since and crossed 'green line' from south to north. There was a marked difference in cleanliness. The beaches in the north looked like hooligan wild campers had been everywhere. The south had 45 gallon oil drums for rubbish and was very clean. The north is very beautiful especially what looks like a pan handle and known as that. The northern plains were covered in orange trees and supplied Uk, product of Cyprus, stamped if anyone can remember.
Hope I've not bored you Tam
Not at all , interesting stuff. I'm not surprised the north is a mess ...the turks sure are a messy bunch. They literally shit and drop litter where they eat. This beach I parked at last night they were having picnics and bbqs among rubbish both domestic and commercial. Bins everywhere too but it's all thrown on the ground
 
I did a couple of tours with UN, second one was when Turks invaded. RAF did a runner from Nicosia to Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area and we had free rein to all their kit. We even had to pull their Whirlwind aircraft to safe area, my boss was down to earth GUY and evacuated Brits off N Coast as well as more stuff, he got MBE.
Been back since and crossed 'green line' from south to north. There was a marked difference in cleanliness. The beaches in the north looked like hooligan wild campers had been everywhere. The south had 45 gallon oil drums for rubbish and was very clean. The north is very beautiful especially what looks like a pan handle and known as that. The northern plains were covered in orange trees and supplied Uk, product of Cyprus, stamped if anyone can remember.
Hope I've not bored you Tam

I suspect that old BEA Trident aircraft is still sitting forlorn on the old Nicosia airport.

The beaches on the north coast E. of Kyrenia were wonderful. The taverna at '5 1/2 mile beach' was excellent - I had a great lunch there with a very beautiful Swedish model who had flown over from Beruit for a show at the Hilton. Unfortunately, end of story.
 
I suspect that old BEA Trident aircraft is still sitting forlorn on the old Nicosia airport.

The beaches on the north coast E. of Kyrenia were wonderful. The taverna at '5 1/2 mile beach' was excellent - I had a great lunch there with a very beautiful Swedish model who had flown over from Beruit for a show at the Hilton. Unfortunately, end of story.
I practiced driving on the runway in a Bedford Utilabrake with the stairs on the back. One Trident was hit and melted on the runway, the other one I sat in the drivers seat!
The new entrance is now miles away as everything is now on the green line. Luckily my mate and I found the entrance and the Guard Commander was Hungarian para. We pulled the airborne brothered reasoning with him and he sponsored us to go carte blanch where we wished. The melted Trident has gone, runway repaired and the other parked on a standing. The old military parts are now really overgrown except for 40/50 old RL lorries in desert camouflage, amazing to see.
In 1975 one Turkish para came by us and we illegally hid him for a few weeks. He didn't want to fight and this was his very first jump. What a laugh we had. Pull up a sandbag!

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Yeah I'm not sure if it's worth all the hassle for a couple of weeks or not , I thought the insurance I bought for Turkey would cover me for the Turkish part and my own insurance would cover me for the greek part. Think they temporarily import your vehicle here too in Turkey.

I'd have liked to tick it off as another place visited but not sure I'm up for complications
You had to buy insurance at the ferry port . It was about £30. What I wouldn’t recommend though were the ferry crossings. There are many confusing hours hanging about going out and coming back. On our return journey we had to go the long route which was horrendous. After hours waiting we then had a 12 hour crossing instead of 6. You stay in your van. There is a deck, not sure how on earth you’d get up there with 4 dogs( assuming they allow dogs) . A lorry then got stuck getting off so we were stuck for a few more hours in 35 degree heat.

Bear in mind we had a Turkish guide helping us , even she was confused by the return trip!

There’s only one vehicle crossing point between the Turkish and Cypriot side. Loads of paperwork involved that even they don’t seem to understand some days.

It was interesting to see the contrast between the North and South and great to see Berni and Eleni berni109 but would I do it again? No way and certainly not with 4 dogs. Not worth the effort, stress and expense. Only one LPG garage on the Island and that’s in the centre of Limassol.

I wonder if Howard H and intokenny think the same?
 
The "Laikalikers" on Youtube have been touring Greece, Turkey and Cyprus (North and South). One episode covered the ferry from Turkey to Northern Cyprus. I remember it was very bureaucratic.

They love Cyprus, here is a link to their latest video, in Northern Cyprus.

 
You had to buy insurance at the ferry port . It was about £30. What I wouldn’t recommend though were the ferry crossings. There are many confusing hours hanging about going out and coming back. On our return journey we had to go the long route which was horrendous. After hours waiting we then had a 12 hour crossing instead of 6. You stay in your van. There is a deck, not sure how on earth you’d get up there with 4 dogs( assuming they allow dogs) . A lorry then got stuck getting off so we were stuck for a few more hours in 35 degree heat.

Bear in mind we had a Turkish guide helping us , even she was confused by the return trip!

There’s only one vehicle crossing point between the Turkish and Cypriot side. Loads of paperwork involved that even they don’t seem to understand some days.

It was interesting to see the contrast between the North and South and great to see Berni and Eleni berni109 but would I do it again? No way and certainly not with 4 dogs. Not worth the effort, stress and expense. Only one LPG garage on the Island and that’s in the centre of Limassol.

I wonder if Howard H and intokenny think the same?
The "Laikalikers" on Youtube have been touring Greece, Turkey and Cyprus (North and South). One episode covered the ferry from Turkey to Northern Cyprus. I remember it was very bureaucratic.

They love Cyprus, here is a link to their latest video, in Northern Cyprus.


Think I'll leave it for another time... I just thought as I was close by it might be worth spending a fortnight on the island but looks like it would be too much hassle and expense for that time.
 
You had to buy insurance at the ferry port . It was about £30. What I wouldn’t recommend though were the ferry crossings. There are many confusing hours hanging about going out and coming back. On our return journey we had to go the long route which was horrendous. After hours waiting we then had a 12 hour crossing instead of 6. You stay in your van. There is a deck, not sure how on earth you’d get up there with 4 dogs( assuming they allow dogs) . A lorry then got stuck getting off so we were stuck for a few more hours in 35 degree heat.

Bear in mind we had a Turkish guide helping us , even she was confused by the return trip!

There’s only one vehicle crossing point between the Turkish and Cypriot side. Loads of paperwork involved that even they don’t seem to understand some days.

It was interesting to see the contrast between the North and South and great to see Berni and Eleni berni109 but would I do it again? No way and certainly not with 4 dogs. Not worth the effort, stress and expense. Only one LPG garage on the Island and that’s in the centre of Limassol.

I wonder if Howard H and intokenny think the same?
Hi Carolyn, yep, think I would agree with all you've said. But at least we've done it. No I wouldn't do it again & I love Cyprus.

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We loved Cyprus. We went by air back then. We hired a jeep (pre dogs and van) and I drove all the time which Mr Gina M loved !! Troodos mountains were amazing as were the cafes and restaurants we stopped off at along the way :h:
 
Moved today to a free aire just east of belek, good sized individual parking spots with space to sit out etc , toilets , big sinks , water and waste disposal all here. Stones throw from the beach and big grassy spaces .. gave me a chance to do laundry and get it dried etc . Again all turkish vans bar one other brit who wasn't really up for conversation... he drives a transit though so maybe it was that.


Lots of stray dogs all in good shape and well fed and very friendly.... one whole family mum and pups .
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Think we might head inland a bit tomorrow to go see another canyon . For a change of scenery .
 
You had to buy insurance at the ferry port . It was about £30. What I wouldn’t recommend though were the ferry crossings. There are many confusing hours hanging about going out and coming back. On our return journey we had to go the long route which was horrendous. After hours waiting we then had a 12 hour crossing instead of 6. You stay in your van. There is a deck, not sure how on earth you’d get up there with 4 dogs( assuming they allow dogs) . A lorry then got stuck getting off so we were stuck for a few more hours in 35 degree heat.

Bear in mind we had a Turkish guide helping us , even she was confused by the return trip!

There’s only one vehicle crossing point between the Turkish and Cypriot side. Loads of paperwork involved that even they don’t seem to understand some days.

It was interesting to see the contrast between the North and South and great to see Berni and Eleni berni109 but would I do it again? No way and certainly not with 4 dogs. Not worth the effort, stress and expense. Only one LPG garage on the Island and that’s in the centre of Limassol.

I wonder if Howard H and intokenny think the same?
Oh I agree definitely would never do it again , it seemed a lot of hassle for very little gain 🤷‍♂️

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How are you enjoying turkey Tam..? Is it living up to expectations, what are your thoughts on it…🤔

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It's odd not having a post from Tam for so long. Hurry back Tam, having withdrawal symptoms here :giggle:
 
How are you enjoying turkey Tam..? Is it living up to expectations, what are your thoughts on it…🤔
Follow up, Compared with morroco ?
Well I've only been here a month and not been inland too much yet so I'll leave my final review of turkiye till the end but my experience so far.

Weather wise it's similar to Greece this time of year... colder in the North and inland but south coastal its pretty good, not tropical by any means but in the last 2 weeks it's been mostly sunny and between 20-25° daytime and 10-14° overnight. Had a few rain showers. A few storms and 2 days where it rained nearly the whole day.

There's a lot of beautiful places , coastline ,mountains , but the downside is that some places can have a fair bit of litter and rubbish around( nowhere near as bad as Morocco, but more than greece ) which is a shame as there's plenty if bins about and plenty of council workers cleaning up rubbish etc but there's a certain element who just don't care and I've witnessed on more than a few occasions people just throwing their trash on the ground.

Fuel is reasonably cheap , averages between £1.06 and £1.14 a litre , amazingly its dearer in the bigger towns than out in the sticks. Lpg is about £0.52 a litre.
Food shopping, meat is quite expensive, can't get pork so it's mostly beef or chicken , beef is pretty pricey , chicken probably about average , fish is very reasonable so I've been buying more fish than beef. Junk food is cheap , juice ,crisps etc , alcohol I don't know as I've not bought any here. I've not eaten out anywhere , only had one takeaway kebab thing and wasn't overly impressed ...the shop opposite my mum was definitely better 🤣. Fruit ,veg very cheap


I would like to eat out more but I tend not to do it on my own , I prefer company. There's not a great deal of travellers here it's mostly local Turkish campers with the odd German or French about , the few brits I have encountered despite attempting to strike up conversation it hasn't been reciprocated. I think the experience would be better as a couple or if travelling with friends.


There are stray dogs and cats everywhere, it's rare to find any park up where there aren't any but is possible. But they all have been well fed and in very good health and 95% are very friendly.

No one hassles you , people are mostly friendly although I don't think many speak english so I think that puts most off from trying to converse.

I've seen and heard several folk I follow from Instagram having met locals who've invited them to join them at picnics ,bbq's etc but it's not happened to me lol.... that may be a language thing or because I'm a big single guy with no pretty female to oggle at ...who.knows lol.

At this time of year finding parkups is very easy , water is very easy . There are quite a lot of wc in carparks etc that you can use to empty black waste. It seems common practice with the local campers.

I've personally found it a far easier country to travel in than Morocco, its not as warm obviously but you don't get hassled, you aren't faced with the heartbreaking poverty or the neglected animals etc so for me that is a big bonus.

On the whole Greece is still my favourite country to travel in but I'd return to Turkey
If you're not looking for tropical weather over winter just a pleasant t shirt and shorts climate then its a good alternative to Spain... but its obviously a lot further away so costs a fair bit more to get here.

I'm the furthest I've ever been from home at the minute.
 
Morning Tam. Glad you're well and things going ok. You are not missing the weather here, its rain followed by rain.
A big fella with 4 dogs is likely to make people standoffish (new word). My brother is 6 foot 2 and used to walk his 6 german shepherds on the south downs. Nobody went near him.
2 years later he tried to stop his dogs and another group fighting. He ended up with his face ripped and many stitches.
Well, he was ugly before. Can you image Frankenstein approaching with 6 dogs! Nobody came within 100 yards.
There is hope for you yet. At least you're pretty ha ha. Good luck

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Morning Tam. Glad you're well and things going ok. You are not missing the weather here, its rain followed by rain.
A big fella with 4 dogs is likely to make people standoffish (new word). My brother is 6 foot 2 and used to walk his 6 german shepherds on the south downs. Nobody went near him.
2 years later he tried to stop his dogs and another group fighting. He ended up with his face ripped and many stitches.
Well, he was ugly before. Can you image Frankenstein approaching with 6 dogs! Nobody came within 100 yards.
There is hope for you yet. At least you're pretty ha ha. Good luck
I shouldn't laugh really but the frankenstien bit got me
 
So I left the canyon pretty early this morning 9am and returned to the coast.. I'd spotted a park spot on park4night on the outskirts of side that recommended you arrive early. It's just a wee carpark but it's 20 yards from the beach with a promenade going right in to side oldtown so it's quite a busy wee place but I've been feeling kinda lonely the last few days so I'm hoping for some human interaction even if its just exchanging pleasantries in the passing. So I got a good wee space at the end of the carpark with grassy garden outside the door and a 20 second walk to a nice sandy beach. I think I'll just stay put for a few days. There's 2 other campers both German but not seen the owners . Had a walk along the promenade with dogs and it's heaving with Germans... very touristy but I might do a bit of cheap clothes shopping tomorrow and exchange some more euros.

Being a touristy spot my wee apps I use for a bit of flirting and sometimes meeting the European equivalent of ianthebuilder nia are quite busy here so who knows I maybe....( maybe) get lucky lol. Recharge the batteries so to speak . But will see ..


So I've good Internet so I'll post up the photos from yesterday. Got some lovely pics yesterday .. the canyon was very beautiful.
 
First off I had all the dogs round for some breakfast yesterday... there were more than I got photos of but it got a bit chaotic when trying to feed them .. a lot of them were really young , around blu's age , one very small pup too and I couldn't see its mother unless the beige dog has had 2 litters very close together.

Anyway here's the Doggies
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I think in total there were 12-14 including the mamma's 4 puppies and the wee pup. All lovely dogs
 
So I left the canyon pretty early this morning 9am and returned to the coast.. I'd spotted a park spot on park4night on the outskirts of side that recommended you arrive early. It's just a wee carpark but it's 20 yards from the beach with a promenade going right in to side oldtown so it's quite a busy wee place but I've been feeling kinda lonely the last few days so I'm hoping for some human interaction even if its just exchanging pleasantries in the passing. So I got a good wee space at the end of the carpark with grassy garden outside the door and a 20 second walk to a nice sandy beach. I think I'll just stay put for a few days. There's 2 other campers both German but not seen the owners . Had a walk along the promenade with dogs and it's heaving with Germans... very touristy but I might do a bit of cheap clothes shopping tomorrow and exchange some more euros.

Being a touristy spot my wee apps I use for a bit of flirting and sometimes meeting the European equivalent of ianthebuilder nia are quite busy here so who knows I maybe....( maybe) get lucky lol. Recharge the batteries so to speak . But will see ..


So I've good Internet so I'll post up the photos from yesterday. Got some lovely pics yesterday .. the canyon was very beautiful.
Sounds like your having a smashing trip tam! More power to you,,, ps,,your never alone with this site mate,,, but I do know what you mean! xxxxxxxx
 
We then went to Aspendos ancient city outside of serik, mostly used the drone here taking off from a few different places as the old city was pretty big . There's a huge amphitheatre which I'm assuming was restored at some point , on the top of the hill behind it was the main city with quite a few ruins , one looks like an old church or cathedral .... and then the huge aqueduct from the other side of the hill. When you drive round to see this you're met with about 10 stalls all selling orange or lemon juice lol and they do all expect you to buy one from each of them if you're stopped more than 5 minutes lol. I took a few quick pics and escaped along the road a bit to put the drone up .
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The drone really gave a good idea what that old city looked like.. you could climb the hill to walk round the old ruins if you wanted to ...I think that was free, to visit the amphitheatre was 200tl to park and 340tl to go in .... I felt that was pricey and to be honest I prefer the birds eye view of it.

We then had to backtrack to the main road and no bridges over the river for vans ...all had height and weight restrictions.

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