Our idea of saving both time and budget by choosing alternative routes rather than holiday resorts where everyone flocks every year usually bears fruit.. The key to enjoying life away from the frustrations of daily life such as traffic, crowds and finding a place is right on the route we have prepared. it appears in our eyes.
After spending our first night in Istanbul on our journey, which started with a departure from Izmir to Istanbul, we join my sister and set out on a journey to Kavala, the last stop of the first day.
Same I am bored with the boredom of traveling by car on the roads, even though I get bored as much as I can between Izmir and Istanbul, which is the first leg of the trip, I return to my childhood days in the part from Istanbul to Ipsala.. Because, while the roads we passed only once before come to life in my mind, it is still exciting to act in the details of the map of Turkey.
On the other hand, exactly one year ago, by driving as long as possible on the Izmir-Samsun-Batum axis, for the first time. Our family, who stepped into foreign lands by car, has to use a passport this time for their second experience.
As per the agreement between Georgia and Turkey, we can pass to Georgia using the Republic of Turkey identity, while this time we have Greece, a member of the European Union (EU). .
Towards İpsala
After deviating from Tekirdağ junction from Edirne direction towards İpsala route, passing through Tekirdağ city center, it is the last four crossroads. We are coming to the Keşan-İpsala-Uzunköprü crossroads.
While our excitement is increasing, we can not be indifferent to the sunflower fields that surround us, we pull the car to the right and throw ourselves into the field. For…. After preparing our international driver’s license, which Greece insists on and insistently demands, we first head to the Turkish customs, which has a triple structure, to carry out our exit procedures.
From Turkey to Greece. a Passing by Vehicle
The first check at the Turkish customs, where impatient Turkish drivers struggle to get a place on the platforms, is the point where the transaction is made on the vehicle’s license plate registration.. The officer here simply reads the name of the person to whom the license plate is registered and asks the question of whether he or she has an international driver’s license.
Since Greece does not accept the driver’s licenses of the Republic of Turkey (with the new law published in the Official Gazette in July 2014, this requirement has been removed.) Turkish citizens need to obtain an international driver’s license from the Turing Authority.
In addition, it is not allowed for anyone other than the license holder to go abroad by car unless there is a notary authorization.
Transition from İpsala to Greece
After passing the first checkpoint smoothly and quickly, we approach the second point, the passport control.. This is where the main customs clearance is done, the passports of everyone in the vehicle and the international insurance of the vehicle are checked.. However, it is a big disadvantage that no opportunity is given to get the international exit fee stamp while you are stuck in traffic between the first and second point.. Because, while my family is driving, I look for the cashier who sells foreign exit fee stamps, and I’m sweating. we come to the point where. Here, after the final check of the vehicle (driver-license holder matching) is done, we officially go to the bonded area.
This area, which is the intermediate zone between Turkey and Greece, is on the Turkish side of the Meriç River, where the Turkish duty-free product sales point and shops are located. It consists of the buildings it bought.
After taking a short tour of the bazaar, which is locked due to system failure and where no action is taken, we take our reading newspapers from this mini-village with a barber, post office and coffee shop, and cross to the Greek border to carry out our transactions.
Greek Customs
When we came to the middle of the Maritsa River, which is considered the border of the two countries, one by one, the soldiers of both countries were greeted with Turkish and Greek flags. we greet. I try to carefully observe every moment with the excitement of witnessing this image that I have seen on the internet and on television before…
When the red and white irons turn blue and white, we realize that we have entered Greece.. However, we find ourselves in the middle of a new queue in order to get closer to the two nations that have been so far away from each other with the border and passport controls. Once again, I question how unnecessary and discriminatory bureaucratic procedures are.. While the citizens of many neighboring countries visit another country without question, we unfortunately cannot travel freely and freely in our fiery circle geography.. With the control of a single officer, we pass from passport control quickly and smoothly.
While speeding up our highway journey in the section from customs clearance to Thessaloniki, we can also change our location by turning the phone into navigation in the light of the information we have read before.
Payment Confusion
The distance between İpsala and Thessaloniki is approximately 350 kilometers. The speed limit on highways in Greece is 130. Although not very frequent, police checks can be encountered.. However, taking into account the previous warnings, we do not neglect to fill our diesel sufficiently.
Diesel in Greece is slightly cheaper than in Turkey.. (1.29 euro per liter / 2014 July) However, it should be noted that there are no gas stations on this highway from Ipsala to Thessaloniki, except for the small resting facilities with toilets.
There is no payment system like ours on the highways.. Whichever exit point you head to in Turkey, we make the final payment according to the distance there. The payment method is not valid in Greece.. Until we go to Kavala, the last stop of the first day, we queue at the toll booths at 3 different points on the road route and pay a fare from 2.40 euro to 7.20 euro.. The interesting thing is that if you exit the route before the box office, you do not have to pay.
We continue our progress in Western Thrace, where the Turkish population is concentrated, in the direction of Kavala, passing the cities of Alexandroupoli and Komotini, without knowing why and according to what payment we are making…
We will spend the night in Kavala, which has an important place in Ottoman history, and we will hit the road again to evaluate the next day.