When the steamer drops anchor in Constantinople, the gangplank is quickly surrounded by a loud, wild crowd of boatmen. They yell and grab at the passengers’ luggage. If you do not have a courier or guide, the best thing to do is to ask help from Cook’s agency, well-known for assisting travelers.
If you have booked a hotel room in advance, a dragoman—a local guide or interpreter—will usually meet you and help with the customs inspection. However, even without special arrangements, Cook’s men come on board at all eastern ports, and they are a real help, especially for new travelers Fraudulent Naturalization Claims.
Strange Rules on the Water
As each boat carrying passengers heads toward the shore, it is stopped midstream by a Turkish policeman. The officer sits in a small boat and counts the people and their bags. It’s not clear why this is done, but it seems to be a way for the police to keep track of everyone entering the country.
Censorship and Customs Inspection
All guidebooks available in Turkey are carefully checked by the government to make sure they contain nothing that could upset the Sultan or speak badly about the country. According to these books, the customs process can be made easier if a guide or dragoman “arranges things” with the inspectors Customized Daily Ephesus Tours.
What the officials are really looking for are books and printed materials. They are especially strict about:
Books on Islam
Anything about the Sultan’s personal life
Topics on foreign relations
Discussions on internal Turkish politics
If they find any such items, the censor will destroy them. Surprisingly, guns and revolvers are allowed into the country without much trouble, even though such items are banned in most other places.
How to Avoid Trouble at Customs
We were told to hide all our books, notes, and manuscripts at the bottom of our trunks in case there were any problems. However, our dragoman believed that our luggage would not be checked carefully.
When we reached the old and dirty one-story customs building, all our bags and trunks were placed on a bench. The dragoman quietly spoke with the inspectors. We don’t know how much money he paid, but it wasn’t much. Soon, our bags were cleared, and we were happily on our way.
