Army Stories Part 1: Serving in the Turkish Military
January 12, 2007 by Anil P.
Filed under Travel Journal
This is the first post in a series of posts about my stint in the Turkish army. I decided to write some background for those who may not know what this is all about. Let me start off by saying that I am not writing these to toot my own horn, but to educate people about the lessons I took back from my 21 days.
Not only about military life, but about the culture surrounding it – and the impact that such a short chronological amount of time can have on a person’s life. Here it begins…
So how did 6,000 with normal jobs living all over the world end up serving in the Turkish army? They were all male and Turkish citizens. Baring any kind of mental or physical disability every man is required to serve in the Turkish military. We got off lucky, the average stay is 15 months, but if you can prove you’ve been working overseas for 2 years at least…
then pay at least $6,000 (more expensive for people living in Europe than in the States – 2 grand at least)…
After months or years of waiting you might get approved.
Approved for what?
To spend 21 days in Burdur, Turkey, serving your time and fulfilling your mandatory military obligation.
There will be more to come with pictures and stories about showers, shitting bathrooms, and gay people. Thought I did need to lay the foundation – questions? Just ask in the comments…and stay turned every Friday for stories and information from day 1 on.
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My name is Anil, a traveler and travel enthusiast. I created foXnoMad to connect with other travelers, discover their world, and share what I’ve learned about mine.
were there bugs?
You know what, come to think of it – no there weren’t. No mosquitoes or anything; probably too cold at night for that.
I never saw a single bug inside any of the buildings.
We found some snake holes though the snakes were out to lunch. I was surprised not to find any scorpions either, it is the perfect environment for them.