Why did I want to visit Turkey ?
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I am on a long trip around the world. So far, 3.5 years, and still going strong. I hope to eventually visit every continent and as many countries as possible. So Turkey, given its size, popularity, importance was definitely on the list. Moreover, all my friends who visited Turkey, talked about the friendliness of the people. I should have given some thought to the fact that these friends were all white, and the friendliness may be impacted by one's color/passport/(presumed) wealth, as is true in most parts of the world, especially the moneyed parts. Note that apart from the handicap of being (dark) brown, I have a more serious handicap - my Indian passport on which I am traveling.
At the embassy - disgusting people
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I went to the Turkish embassy in Tehran (Iran), as I was then traveling in Iran. At the reception, when i said I was there to apply for a tourist visa he first asked if I was a resident. I said no, but i was traveling.
The guy's attitude changed once he saw that I had an Indian passport. His reluctant initial smile turned into a frown. He asked me to get a police certificate. I said that I wanted to talk to another officer, say the first secretary or the vice-consul or someone else. He misunderstood me - because of his limited grasp of English I assume - and got offended. He shot back - "what do you mean somebody ? Am I not somebody ?". At this point I apologized because that wasn't what I meant. I said "Sorry. I didn't mean it that way. I wanted to explain my case better, since in other similar situations I have successfully talked to a higher level official and convinced them that I was a genuine traveler".
He then talked to another officer - I couldn't see him - and asked me to wait. Finally he let me in.
Another taste of Turkish hospitality was in store for me there. The lanky official in charge of talking to me was busy smoking. I said "hello. good morning". He didn't bother to respond. I waited for a couple more minutes. And tried again, this time louder just in case he had not heard me before.
This time the other officer nearby took pity on me, and said that he will be coming soon.
So i waited there silently until he finished his cigarette without indicating if or when he would talk to me. Finally he came up to me. Asked for the passport. He said "Go back to India & apply". I explained to him that I have been on the road for 1.5 years now, and hence could not really apply in advance. Then he said rudely - without any small talk - "I can give you only 14 days". I said "Please. Can you give me at least one month ? Turkey is a large country, and I need time.". He said "14 days - take it or leave it". I said "I live in the US. You can see my valid US visa". He blurted out "In that case, go back and apply in Washington". I relied "Please, now you are being rude. I just wanted to show that I am a real traveler, nothing more". He then grew angry & threw back the passport at me saying "14 days. That is it". I agreed. He asked for a letter from the Indian embassy, which I got the next day. I was told to collect the visa in a few days & got it then. Again, nowhere in the process did these people behave like human beings. What a welcome to the country. But my misadventure with "fu*kiye" was just beginning.
At the border - real a**h***es
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Once I am on a continent, I try to avoid flying. Flying is expensive. But more importantly you don't meet regular folks while flying, and you don't see the countryside or get to chat with the locals. Only when I travel long and hard by road or rail do I feel like I have "seen" the country. That is also the reason I spend around a month in every country, and at times longer.
So I booked my train to Istanbul from Tehran. Cost me around $70, if I recall right. I could do so only after I had my Turkish visa.
I got on the train along with a few travelers - all white from various western countries - that I had met along the way in Iran. The train journey till the border was uneventful and in fact quite pleasant. We first get stamped out by Iranian immigration who were very courteous.
One of my travel partners then was a Japanese girl, who was in the same compartment in the train. Close to the Turkish border it got very cold, and I was rubbing her palms as she was shivering. The first indication of trouble to come came here when a Turkish official, who came in as part of the drug search team, asked where we were from. I said India, and she said Japan. He seriously shook his head and said "India, Japan no good", meaning we should not be together! Who the fuck was he to make a comment like that. This happened in other parts as well. I was traveling with two wonderful French sisters for a month in Syria/Lebanon. I always got asked what i was doing with them, at times in the rudest manner possible. Of course, it gets much worse in South Africa.
Coming into Turkey on that train was like going into a concentration camp. It was at night. They dont allow anyone to get out. Instead the whole train is surrounded by seriously armed-to-the-teeth guards who kneel just outside the train doors with their automatics pointed towards the train! I am *not* making that up. They also all have large dogs, probably meant to sniff for drugs.
Then the health squad comes in. They spoke no english. All they do is rudely thrust a thermometer into your ear to check for fever. A friend who resisted to ask some questions first - he has serious chronic illness, & hence wanted to check first what they were doing - was literally held by his hands by one officer, while another pushed on his forehead so he cuoldn't resist or move, and then had the thermometer thrust in his ear. He was shocked out of his senses.
The drug squad was also really rude, crassly punching bags to feel whatever it is they are trying to ferret out. I had laptop & some gadgets, so I told them to be gentle and that I could open the bags. But they didnt understand anything I said. Not that I think it would have mattered even if they did.
We then got out to go to immigration. I was ahead in the line, but when I gave my passport the two officers, who spoke no English whatsoever, just held my passport & asked me to wait outside the line. I asked them what was wrong, and they just glared at me & screamed something. For a country that is supposedly planning to join the EU this is amazing behavior. They fail the simple test of humane behavior, right here.
I waited, and after around 25 mins, tried my luck again going towards the counter to see if anything was being done. They just screamed back again, pointing me to go and sit down somewhere. This wasn't looking good now.
Finally, after more than an hour, when they were done with everybody, they called me. First, they were trying to check if the visa was genuine! Don't these guys have a computerized system where they can check everything online ? Seemingly not. What a shame. So they tried to scratch it, held it against the light etc. When they couldnt find fault with it, they tried to find fault with my passport, trying tricks with trace paper etc. They also compared the photo there against my face repeatedly, asking me to turn my head this way and that. I tried to show them my valid, long-term US visa. But they did not understand, and slammed the glass window shut, almost hitting my face. This slamming happened 3 times over the next few mins. They then tried to remove the thread that held the passport pages together! That scared me, and I told them not to do that. It would cause me more trouble. Fuck Turkey if they don't want me in, but they had no right to screw the rest of my travels. They asked for more proof of ids. I gave all my US documents, including Social Security card, my driving license, 2 more identity documents from India etc. They were not convinced. I think they had made up their mind, and were just putting on an act. Then they asked me to sign on a piece of paper and compared my signature against the one in the passport. They did it again! They asked me for the visa receipt, which I gave. Nothing seemingly helped. Then one guy, a customs man, who spoke some English, came along. He was a bit more sympathetic. He said that I was being denied entry. He refused to explain why, but when I pressed further I was told my passport was either fake or stolen! This fucking country can't check its own visa against the system online ?
I pleaded with him again, and tried to explain. Then they questioned my travelmates. They were asked where they met me etc. But finally, they were all let through, without me. I was told to wait for the next train back.
Case closed. I went back to the train, and got my bags out. I was shaking, partly because of the cold (it was snowing here) & partly because this had never happened to me before. I was told to wait in that room. The room had no heating. Further the doors would not close shut. It was snowing outside. I could hear the windows howling. I had a jacket, but needed more. I was shaking like a blade of grass in a hurricane. I was getting seriously worried of catching a cold or worse, pneumonia. But these animals didn't bother at all. After around 2 hours of waiting, the customs guy took pity and asked me if I wanted a blanket. I said, please. I was hungry,and there was nothing here to buy. He asked me if I wanted food. I told him I am a vegetarian. He said he would bring something. He did, after an hour. Whatever, I am thankful to him because he was the only one who seemed to atleast partially believe my story. Then we talked for more than an hour, about politics, travel, racism etc. I asked him point-blank if my race was a factor in denial of entry. He said no, but frankly admitted that if I were a Kurd it could have been!
I asked him if this meant my not being able to enter Turkey at all and if I should bother to try and enter at a nearby land border. He said I can try entering, but at nearby land borders would be somewhat pointless.
He then asked me if I could take a look at his computer which was having some issues! Here I was waiting to be deported, and he was giving me access to a computer/network that could contain privileged information. Wow! Eventually it didn't happen because of the constant power-cuts.
After 8 harrowing hours the return train came, and I was escorted onto the train. I tried to still maintain my calm. And said "thank you, bye" to all of them, including the animals! They were surprised, but I couldn't allow them to win by breaking my human spirit.
On the train, the Iranian immigration & police took care of my re-entry. They were gentle & courteous. One guy, on seeing how worried i was, even apologised for the Turks' rude behavior. I was treated like a guest by the Iranians and had no problems whatsoever on the way back.
Another set of folks - Pakistanis I think - on the train, also talked to me and said not to worry. They consoled me by saying "India is good", and that the Turkish immigration were just that way.
I called up the Indian embassy in Tehran and talked to a top-level official to complain to him and to ask him if I should lodge an official complaint at the Turkish embassy. His response was revealing. He said - "that wont help. That is how the Turks treat us Indians". Nice!
I then canceled my train ticket. Got a small refund. Then booked my cheap flight to Istanbul, to try one last time.
Flying to Turkey - money talks, maybe
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Stamping out of Iran was simple, but the immigration official on seeing my earlier denial of entry, called his superior. They both looked at the visa etc, and then said no problem and let me in. If I understood them right, the senior guy said "yes, that land border is a problem".
At Istanbul airport, the immigration official was again cold, even by the standards of Turks & officials! Didn't respond to my hello or 'how are you'. He first checked the passport against light, and similar other stuff. What is wrong with these people!
Then he checked the visa, and somehow never bothered to check an online system. Instead he went ahead trying to figure out if the visa was fake. Fucking stupid!
Then he asked where i was going next. I showed him my Syrian visa, and said there. Then he saw my US visa. I told him I live in the US. Now he was happy, though no smile - I was not good enough for that. He stamped me in. I said "thank you" with a smile. His look told me - "fuck off". I did.
Inside Turkey - warm & cold
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The ordinary people of Turkey were nice to me. But the officials were still a pain spoiling my experience all the time.
There were constant passport checks in buses while going south towards Syria. The checks are not a problem. But the rudeness was.
Similarly, i am used to asking local policemen, even in Iran, for help when I am lost etc. But when I tried in Turkey, they were horrible & just shooed me away. Whether it was because they didnt speak English or because they didnt like my appearance, i can never tell for sure.
Leaving Turkey - a relief
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Stamping out of Turkey was the easiest thing. The guy didn't even look up to see my face. I guess he was glad that this shitty Indian was leaving his superb country. The feeling was mutual I should say. I didnt have time to spend in the eastern part of Turkey, and I would love to. But this whole experience was such a nightmare, I really can't think of going back. Turkey, it is your loss.
Endnotes
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I would like to believe that this was an isolated incident. But having heard first hand from a few other Indian travelers, I know this is not. The Turkish embassy staff in Jordan, Egypt, India, US etc also behave in a similar fashion.
The positive outcome is that this experience hardened me. I am not worried about border guys anymore. I treat them like they treat me.
The odd thing about almost being denied entry a second time, at the airport in Istanbul, is that this airport is now majority-owned & operated by an Indian company, GMR. The GMR colors are visible everywhere, and the upgraded airport was reopened a few years ago with the Indian aviation minister & GMR's CEO standing next to the Turkish president. I am sure that both the Indian aviation minister & GMR's CEO would get similarly manhandled by the Turkish immigration staff if they tried to visit the country on a regular passport.
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