Quote:
Originally Posted by mbdiain
I'll be doing a route similiar to this in two months, Adana -> Gaziantep -> Urfa -> Mardin -> somewhere -> Tatvan -> Dogubeyazit -> Kars -> Georgia.
Do you recommend to stay on the main highways the entire time and avoid rural roads? Or is everything pretty safe these days? I read a comment on wikivoyage saying that there have been reports of bandits between Adana and Gaziantep on the motorway but it sounds a bit like scaremongering.
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From Goreme to Gaziantep, I took the eastern route through Pinarbasi and south through the mountains to Kahramanmaraş.
The one passing from Adana should be faster.
I did not rode it, but I don't see why it should be less safe than any other place in the area. Or, at least, I never heard anything about it. I would not be worried to ride it.
Regarding rural roads, from Sanliurfa I went south to Harran and then east very close to the border to visit some pretty remote sites (I highly recommend Sogmatar ancient city, if you like history and remote places) and then I reconnected to the main road to Mardin. I did not saw anything strange or worrying.
From Mardin, I did a loop Midyat>Hasankeyf>Diyarbakir.
Even in Diyarbakir it seems that life is coming back to normality. Police presence is still heavy there.
I felt bad seeing the signs of destruction in the city center and the new buildings popping around with propaganda everywhere, but I think it is probably the most interesting city in the area. It definitely has some particular vibe.
Tatvan is a modern city: if you have to stop in that area, I suggest you to choose Bitlis.
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