Handicapped Travelers in Turkey

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Turkey has made great strides in handicapped accessibility in recent years, but it still has a long way to go.

The word for "handicapped" in Turkish is özürlü (UR-zur-LEW). "Wheelchair" is tekerlekli sandalye (TEH-kehr-LEK-LEE sahn-DAHL-yeh). "Battery-powered wheelchair" is akülü tekerlekli sandalye.

Many Turkish cities and historic buildings were founded thousands of years ago. Modifying them for the needs of handicapped travelers can be difficult, time-consuming and expensive.

A bright spot is the hospitality and adaptability of the Turkish people. They will go out of their way to help handicapped travelers overcome obstacles whenever and wherever possible.

Here are some specifics:

Airports
Luckily, Turkey has been building lots of new airports in recent years, and these are designed to modern standards to accommodate handicapped travelers. Airports at the largest cities (Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir) are easily navigable, with curb cuts, wide doors, ramps, etc. At smaller airports, check for particulars.

Hotels
Many of the newer, better hotels have guest rooms and other facilities designed for easy accessibility, including ramps, elevators/lifts, hallways, public rooms, guest rooms, toilets, etc. Unfortunately, most of the older, smaller, cheaper lodgings present difficulties such as lack of elevators/lifts, or lifts difficult or impossible to use with a wheelchair, tiny bathrooms, etc. Check with individual hotels to see if they can acommodate your needs.

Local Transport
Some bright spots here: the modernized transport networks in some major cities (Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir) are pretty well adapted for handicapped travelers. The Istanbul Metro and Zeytinburnu-Kabatas trams, the Füniküler, and the "Sea Bus" catamaran ferries were designed with European standards of accessibility in mind. City buses have seats reserved for özürlü passengers, but so far as I know, there are no buses adapted for easy access of wheelchairs ("kneeling bus"). The suburban trains and charming traditional ferryboats have not been adapted for wheelchair access.

City Streets
A nightmare of uneven pavement, non-standard widths and curb heights, with obstacles like sawed-off pipes sticking out here and there in most cities and towns. Shopkeepers and restaurateurs invade sidewalks with displays of goods, tables, chairs, signs, etc. Many pedestrians walk in the streets because the sidwalks are difficult. Most streets have macadam surfaces, often not in the best repair, but many streets in historic Old Istanbul, for example, are surfaced in square granite paving blocks, with few curb cuts.

Public Buildings
Earnest efforts are being made to render Turkey's most historic buildings, museums, and sites accessible to handicapped travelers, but there's a long way to go. Some prime sights in major tourism centers are adapted. Check before you go.

Intercity Trains
Unfortunately, in almost all cases, intercity trains are boarded by narrow steps, not through platform-level wide doors. Major stations may have ramps (initially installed to facilitate baggage handling) or curb cuts, but smaller ones may not.