# Istanbul Stoppovers



## peejay (May 10, 2005)

Hoping to tour a bit of Turkey next year with the van.

There doesn't appear to be any campsites close to Istanbul unless anyone knows any different?

I've discovered (courtesy of MagBaz Travels) that overnight parking is a possibility at the 'Fishermans Quay' along the Kennedy Caddesi coast road and within walking distance of the city centre. Theres also a few other potential stoppovers listed on the CC-Infos website

Any further info on this or any other stoppovers close to the city would be much appreciated.

Pete


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## tombo5609 (Dec 29, 2007)

Hi Pete,
Istanbul is rather a manic city with regard to driving near the city centre. Unless you hear from more experienced travellers i would find a campsite outide and then travel in by public transport which is excellent.
Just as a matter of interest, I am not sure of your route but I went down to Olu Deniz the other day and spoke to a number of Brits who are wintering there. A number of them are short stay and will be moving on later and others are stopping over after touring the rest of the country. One thing for sure is that you wont be lonely, I have never seen so many campers. Must be the Euro Sterling exchange rate.


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## RoadProAndy (May 23, 2005)

Hello Pete, 

I've just sent you a private message but now realise that the Kennedy Caddesi that you mentioned was, in fact, the place where we did park up for a few days. I'm easily confused I'm afraid - too many late nights.

The traffic was diabolical and, if you're faint of heart, stay away!! However, as long as you know where you're going - I was using one of our excellent Camos GPS systems (plug) - and don't mind being a bit forceful when required, you'll be fine. 

As told in the PM, we had a great time with 0 problems.

RoadProAndy


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## peejay (May 10, 2005)

Thanks Gents;

I've done a bit of driving in mad cities over the years so no problems there.

Andy, thanks, thats just the info I was after, Fishermans Quay it is then  . BTW - Great story in the PM about the policeman and the barbeque :lol:.

You ought to share that one with everyone else on here. :wink: 

Pete


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## RoadProAndy (May 23, 2005)

OK Peejay, here's a brief excerpt from my experiences of Istanbul.

We took the old Laika this summer down to Istanbul - 4 weeks in total, there and back. We went via Italy, Slovenia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania and Greece and came back via Bulgaria, Romania, etc.

It was FANTASTIC!

We don't like staying in campsites and so....we didn't! In Istanbul we stayed in a parking area next to the Golden Horn, just 10 minutes walk from the Blue Mosque, Fisherman's Wharf and the main downtown area. I think we paid 15 Lira per day which is about £7.00. Just down from our parking area (we discovered the next day) was another parking area which was reserved for motorhomes! There were about 30 of them from all over Europe, except GB. The parking areas are all manned by attendants who are helpful and friendly and it was an excellent experience all round. 

The Turkish people were all charming and hospitable and I have a really good story about a Turkish policeman who set up his barbecue just next to our motorhome. I looked enviously at his food and, immediately, he and his friend offered to share. So we shared our food with them, he got drunk and when I insisted it was my bedtime, he got up and gave me a massive hug and a big, full-on kiss on the lips! Superb. (Luckily Katherine was there to drag me away before I got too excited.)

Actually, he was so drunk that he nearly crashed his car when he drove off but he was a policeman so that was OK.

Anyway, my advice is to go down to the sea and park up in one of the parking areas like we did. I did hear that the campsites had all closed but I can't confirm that. 

Anyone thinking of going to Turkey really should also consider going via Montenegro, Albania, etc. We experienced no problems at all, it wasn't expensive and the food was great. We bought it at the side of the road and cooked in the motorhome. Everyone was friendly and helpful. The Albanian border police warmly shook my hand when I told them I'd always wanted to go there. They didn't care that I didn't have vehicle insurance - the man who was supposed to be selling it at the border hadn't turned up - and helpfully told me where to buy some in the next town (if I wanted to!)

Go East!

Andy from RoadPro


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## peejay (May 10, 2005)

Hmmm;

Not sure whether meeting a Turkish mrplod is going to be a good thing or not after that. No tongues I hope :lol:



Pete


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## Seeker (Dec 26, 2005)

We stayed at the parking area on the Kennedy Cadesi too (July 2010) - but only found one of them (the other may be undergoing redevelopment). It certainly has some fishing boats there but the main identifier is a 30mtr high concrete radar tower. Half a dozen vans there with us, all foreigners.

I seem to recall we paid 25TL per night (£11). You can dump your cassette down an inspection cover by the portaloo but we did not need to find water there. Just 15 minutes from the Blue Mosque and the rest of the city centre tourist spots - it's very convenient.

Main downside? Five lonesome Friday night Muslim lads who came down after their night out to demonstrate their dancing skills and the volume of their car stereo - at 3am in the morning. They only stayed half an hour but that was more than long enough!

Harry


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