Trucking Through Turkey: A Lesson in Hospitality

 

I don’t recall his name, the menemen trucker. Let’s call him Osman. We met him on the side of the road in Middle of Nowhere, western Turkey. It was a dusty town full of old beater cars rattling down worn-out streets. My rolling luggage made a terrible racket as I drug it along. Heads turned. People stared. We walked on. I was hitch-hiking with two fellow couchsurfers along Turkey’s coastline from Antalya to Istanbul, a distance of over 1000 kilometers. We’d come to Middle of Nowhere by chance, dropped off by a generous driver who wished us well as we clumsily uttered teşekkür ederim in thanks.

Now normally when hitch-hiking, hopeful freeloaders hold up a sign and/or stick out a thumb. We did plenty of both during our autostop adventures. In Middle of Nowhere, however, we simply worked our way down the road in search of better thumbing locations. As we walked I heard a large vehicle slowing behind us. We watched as an enormous semi-truck pulled over and Osman the driver climbed out. Turning to my travel companions, I smiled. We had ourselves a ride. Through a combination of gestures and broken English, Osman asked us what the hell we were doing walking down the side of the road in a dusty Turkish town full of old beater cars rattling down worn-out streets, making a great deal of noise and causing heads to turn. We simply replied “autostop…Istanbul!” and he understood.

Osman pointed to his truck and signaled for us to get in. Being picked up by a big rig is the weary hitch-hiker’s dream: what’s better than high-rolling (literally) down the open road for free? Barreling north in our comfy cab, we struggled to converse with Osman. Our embarrassingly limited command of the Turkish language combined with a Lonely Planet phrasebook could only get us so far: Osman: You like Turkey? Me: Evet, Türkiye çok güzel! (Roughly: “Yes, Turkey is very nice!”) Ria: I like Cappadocia. Çok güzel! Sarah: Antalya too! Osman smiled and made an eating motion with his hand, presumably asking about our favorite Turkish foods. Altogether we exclaimed “menemen!”

Shortly thereafter Osman pulled over at a grocery store and emerged with a bag of vegetables and eggs. “Menemen!” he announced, holding the bag up for all to see. Wait…what? Menemen is a scramble that must be prepared over heat. We hit the road again, this time rather curious and confused. Perhaps an hour later Osman pulled over once more, ushering us out of the vehicle. He opened a compartment in the truck’s underbelly, revealing a surprisingly well-stocked kitchenette. Working quickly, he started chopping green peppers and tomatoes while frying eggs. Osman prepared a roadside meal in the most Turkish way imaginable: complete with endless bread and çay. Hands down the most memorable meal I’ve ever enjoyed. The menemen trucker is a prime example of Turkish (Truckish?) hospitality. Though his real name escapes me, I will never forget Osman and the kindness he so freely gave.

Thank you for reading and commenting. Please enter the Gratitude Travel Writing competition and tell your story.

Gratitude Travel Writing Contest

We hope you enjoyed this entry in the We Said Go Travel Gratitude Writing Contest. Please visit this page to learn more and participate. Thank you for reading the article and please leave a comment below.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

We Said Go Travel