Day 07 Turkey with entry problems - Marmara Ereğlisi

So, today I crossed the Turkish border, unfortunately had massive problems with Turkish customs. The Turkish border officials were all very nice, but the customs officers 'CÜMRÜK' were underground...First of all, they can only say four foreign words there: 'parking', 'open' and 'go back'...

They rummaged through all my things with bare hands, without gloves or anything, they tore open and spilled the boxes and visibly devastated the van. It was similar for the other travelers standing by...

They initially wanted to take the defibrillators intended for a relief organization in the Caucasus away from me, then they wanted me to store them there or take them back to Greece. Obviously, it is prohibited to import life-saving devices. There was also no possibility to declare them. No and that's it...

The other sterile medical items were simply rummaged through by hand.

Well, after I was able to watch the local chief Indian eating, I went back to Greece. There, I sent the defibrillators by mail to a contact address for storage or further use. Now I know why I brought packing tape.

Then I went back to the border. This time a different customs officer came, rummaged through everything again, and started harassing me again.

His special desire developed for the toys brought for Caucasian children, especially the soap bubble cans, one of which disappeared in his hand. He noticed that I had noticed it and openly told me that he wants some for his children and those of his colleagues. What should I do? Say no and he continues to harass me? Or hope that many remain and I just say nothing.

Well, he was satisfied with those cans and balloons. In the meantime, I thought that maybe their children could accidentally spill some of the soapy liquid and someone in a green uniform could slip on it...

Well, I was actually allowed to continue my journey. Annoyingly, the defibrillators are gone, they could have saved many lives in the Caucasus.

The Turkish landscape is beautiful and diverse, despite the customs action, I managed to get to just before Istanbul.

On the way, I met Harley, a 27-year-old hitchhiker from the USA, we will travel together for a few days...

We will stay overnight at the Safir Hotel in Marmara Ereğlisi near Tekirdağ.

Today, we have covered 255 kilometers.