TDY Gouge - Turkey

Erkelit, Turkey - Hilton Hotel was a palace! Just returned from a week-long trip to the European Tactical Airlift Meet in Turkey. Erkelit AB is the home of most of Turkey's Airlift forces. Hotel was incredible. Most rooms have California Kind-Sized beds (some have 2 twins... roll of the dice). Bathrooms have real Turkish Cotton towels and large, CLEAN bathtubs with showers. The breakfast buffet was included in our $50/night room rate and is second to none: 3 kinds of eggs, sausage, fruit galore, about 30 kinds of jams/jellies/preserves for their bakery-fresh breads, 5-6 kinds of fresh-squeezed juices (orange, cherry, peach, mulberry, etc.), great coffee... and the list goes on! You can find the hotel's information by going to the Hilton Website and select their locations in Turkey. Plenty of sight-seeing to be done here. Right across the street from the old city where the bazaar is located. Oriental Rugs, pottery, and jewelry beyond your dreams. Be sure to bargain the merchants down! Per diem rate was $79/night and we ate & drank like kings. If you can swing it, talk with the Turkish Air Force folks and see about going to their Officers/NCO Club on base! Great pool, food, and drink. So very inexpensive! 15 beers (a round for our crew) + dinner for the pilot only cost $23 US. Crazy!

Incirlik AB, Turkey - Mostly ONW folks. Complex is huge and the facilities aren't bad. Boots shined like corframs within 30 minutes for $2. Dining hall is not to bad but meat is overpriced. Off-base experience Mudjat's (cheesebread is excellent). If you are just passing through and getting hungry: when you are checking in with ATOC, place an order with Mudjat's--they will make the food and have it delivered via cab to ATOC. Short ground times are no problem (<30 min). Recommend Chicken Tava w/cheese, Chicken Chop, or Shrimp Tava; cheese bread always, with spicy ketchup. Gold is cheap and carpets are a good deal too. ~2 years after spending a TAD in Incirlik I still miss it. You can't go wrong with Pop's Leather in town for all your aircrew gear and leather needs. Get one of the shotgun cases for $109 and bring back as many Winchester Supreme Sporting Clays over and under shotguns as the ATF will let you. The forms are on the BATF website and make sure you use the one for the military. I sold all the ones I brought back for $750 and paid $350 for them. You need to be there over a month for it to work out with the paperwork. Agree on the cheesebread. Ask a cabby to take you to McDonalds in Adana on Sunday afternoons the locals call it ass-central. Tons of twenty something Turks in tight pants. ~If you are planning to RON, you will need NATO orders to inprocess the country. The 728 AMCC (DSN676-3286) will get your NATO orders "Red Stamped" into the country and "Out Stamped" when you leave. If you lose your "Red Stamped" orders, you will be charged $45 for a VISA. NATO orders can be done on-the-spot if you divert.

~If you are looking for hand-made carpets, Top Gun is the place. Cheesy name but great selection and prices. 1/3 of the way down alley on the left. They will sit you down and teach you all about them, as well. No hassle or pressure. Decent selection of machine-mades as well. I purchased a hand-made Persian at Abe's (near Pop's Leather) (poor selection and higher prices) and saw the same carpet at Top Gun on my next trip for $200 less. Abe's is OK for machine-mades. Talked to a guy from USAFE that used to be stationed there - bought 30 carpets from Top Gun! Leather: Pop's. Baker's Racks: Big John's. Food: Mujahts, Red Onion, Midnight Cafe.

~Comments on Airbase carpets...In January '04 I was there, made a deal for two carpets. Wanted the tassles cut off, then finish the edging. I was told no problem. I was on a C-21, so I couldn't fit them with me (large rugs), the salesman (CJ) told me he would finish the rugs within two days then MPS them to me and I'd get them (at Ramstein) within two weeks. Two months later, after repeated phone calls, I received the rugs. Small one ok, but the new edging on the ends didn't quite match the sides. The large rug had the tassels cut off, but was just left like that...looked like crap. He also told me if my wife didn't like it, bring it back for a full refund. Wife didn't like it. I called him, he said no problem, bring it back. In May 04 I got another trip there. I called him the night before asking if I could still bring it back, he said ok. Next day, I get it in his shop, pull it out, and he says he can't do anything for me. He would give me an even exchange on another carpet, but I wanted some $$ off another one for all my hassle, not to mention not being able to get a full refund. No deal. He wouldn't do it. So, after 45 minutes of arguing with him, I told him I would just take my carpet back with me and file a complaint with the legal office on base, which I did. Legal office said they've had other complaints with him telling buyers they get a 100% wool rug when it isn't. So, bottom line, DON'T BUY FROM AIRBASE CARPETS!!

~Totally agree on Top Gun carpets. Yes, the name is a little weak but it's leaps and bounds above Abe's Carpets. Quality product, better prices and you can even walk out without being harassed into coming back in. ~If you go through Incirlik and don't have much time, order the breakfast burritos from the bowling alley. They are the best breakfast burritos I've ever had. Awesome bread and no grease. ATOC will give you the number. They will deliver them to the front of the Pax terminal 30 minutes after order was placed. The cost is $3.75 and they take American dollars. If I had known how good they were, I would have ordered 2 or 3. ~Update Jan07: Turkey was fun. The guy from Top Gun moved further down the road into a 2 story building next to the gas station. He explains everything with no pressure. Basically loves teaching about carpets. Mr Rolex (next to Mudjat's) had good prices on the fake watches. Picked up 2 Brietling imitations for $100 total and they still work. Food was awesome everywhere. Great Baklava right outside the main gate.