The financial crisis that has engulfed Turkey threatens tourists not only with high prices: eyewitnesses say that “police arbitrariness has begun in Turkey.” The threat to tourists is a kind of “association of guides”, which patrols the streets of Antalya, and theoretically “hunts” for unlicensed guides. But in reality, as the Russian, who now lives in Turkey, told the TURPROM news group, their main goal is to “steal money from foreigners in any way.” And any group of tourists who stop on the street can be at risk – and it is serious: tourists can face imprisonment and huge fines – up to $ 800.
As a tourist who suffered from this terror told TURPROM, Serhiy (name changed), who went to Antalya for permanent residence, his story unfolded like this. “Friends from my hometown sometimes come to me on vacation, and we meet, go for a walk, I tell something about the city, because I live here and I learned a lot of interesting places. Once near the old city – this is the historic center of Antalya, we were stopped by police (or rather, they have something like an association of guides, they themselves can not do anything, but can call the police). I was stopped and accused of being an illegal guide. This conclusion was made on the grounds that the inspector approached my friend and asked – “is this person telling you something?” Of course, a friend answered “yes”, because neither he nor I expected any tricks, “said the victim.
But it is worth fearing – these pseudo-guides, or rather extortionists, called the police, after which Sergei was detained, taken to the police station, and then to prison and fined 10,000 lire (more than $ 800) without any grounds. “All this lasted for two days, until his family found a lawyer, and he did not intervene and settle everything,” – says Sergei. At the moment, his case is being considered in court, but the interlocutor considers it necessary to warn all tourists who come on vacation to Turkey and walk the sights: it is not a coincidence, it is a trend.
“Checks, according to the Instagram of this association, are daily, and they go to the main tourist destinations. Theoretically, their task is to identify those illegal guides who carry tourist groups without proper registration. In fact, they “dig up” absolutely everyone who just walks and, as it seemed to them, “tells” something to someone. It doesn’t matter, even if 3 people go, stop at some attraction and one shows or tells something, “Serhiy explained. That is, absolutely any tourist can find himself in a situation in which the victim found himself: “Without any specific evidence, I was sent first to the police, then to prison (temporary detention center). At the same time, the friends were left alone, they were forced to get home on their own, not knowing the city. And I spent two days in prison without a telephone and in absolutely pastoral conditions, “Serhiy stressed.
He pointed out that no law forbids people who live in the city and because of this knows something about the city, to walk with friends and show the city and interesting places. “Obviously, against the background of the bad economic situation, the state has begun to try to extort money from foreigners in any way. Today, some of my acquaintances also reported on the claims of these “inspectors”. As I understand it, all this is done in order to replenish the budget, which is cracking at the seams. Or just to extort money. In any case, I consider it a complete arbitrariness and a threat to tourists, “the interlocutor summed up.
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