Intrepid Times | I Was Tracked Across Turkey by Undercover Police

An American crossing Turkey by bus sets out to trace the spread of Islam across Anatolia, only to find his journey unexpectedly tracked by an undercover police officer at a remote station in Diyarbakir.

“I am undercover Turkish police. I need your passport. Now.” Great. I had landed in Turkey less than a day before on my southward journey to Mardin, and the Turkish police were already taking a clandestine interest. Apparently, entering the country legally at the tourist airport in Izmir wasn’t enough to forego scrutiny when you were travelling by bus in the direction of Iraq and Syria. So, with a pack on my back and a day bag on my front in the Diyarbakir bus exchange, I surrendered my passport to the officer who had exhausted the extent of his English with his opening salvo.

Continue reading here: https://intrepidtimes.com/2026/04/tracked-across-turkey-by-undercover-police/