Hi all! RAB is our 1st base and we'll have been here 4 yrs when we leave in Oct. We just got hubby's orders to Incirlik. Any feedback is greatly appreciated! I'm curious about the location, this will also be a learning experience. We were newlyweds when we got here and had nothing, we've accumulated a household now and a dog.....thanks in advance!!  

i'd suggest you go with an open mind. make sure you contact the people at your husband's unit to find out all the customs requirements. they have specific registering requirements for electronic items and photo equipment especially. turkey is a little weird. just try not to buy too much of that inexpensive gold, silver, and leather in the alley. oh, and don't drink the water or eat anything rinsed in the water. i'd even suggest you use bottled water to brush your teeth if you're not on base. 

The housing is nice. It is all on base, no one is authorized to live off base. Stay away from the ally right off base, not but rip off artists. Adana is a very nice city, but get out to the beaches and up to Istanbul. If you think the Germans are crazy drivers, you haven't seen anything till you drive with the Turks. 

i agree with gary all the way. you need to get away from the base area. the turkish rivera is suppposed to be fantastic and istanbul is a must see since you will be there. adana didn't really thrill me but that's just a personal opinion. the comment about drivers is also very true. they try to drive on a 3 lane road like it's a 5 land highway. oh, and don't assume that they will stop in the cross walks for you. when i was there the cross walks were called go for its. look left, look right then go for it and hope you don't get hit. base housing is very nice and when i was there you could get locals to take care of your yard very cheap. things may have changed but i'm sure you'll like the housing. 

Thank you both very much for your feedback! It's greatly appreciated! I was most curious about the base housing and how the area is in general. You've both provided great feedback! Luckily one of my husband's past supervisors PCSd there with his family (and 2 dogs) in July so we'll have a good contact there. We're just waiting to hear back from him. Thanks again! :) 

Shelly, I don't know if you are planning a family, so let me share this, Incirlik usually sends pregnant women back to LRMC for the birth. I have sponsored two nesting moms that had to stay in quarters up by LRMC and they weren't very happy about being away from their homes and families (although one of the ladies had her 2 small kids with her, it was nuts). Just something to think about as a young couple with no kids yet... 

Thanks for pointing that out Ducky. I've read about that and we're actually not planning on having any children so that shouldn't be an issue! But great point....thanks again! 

They send you to LRMC!??!?! That is crazy!! 

Granted I was only at Incirlik for a week (I was stationed up in Istanbul) but I walked the ENTIRE length of of base in like 20min. It is amazingly small, but there are a lot of things to do on and around the base and Turkey is a very beautiful country. 

victoria6red, I think the reason is because the hospital facilities (on or off base) are not equipped to deal with anything odd that might come up during labor and delivery. So to keep dependents safe and healthy, they send us the pregnant ones! 

wow I would never want to be stationed in Turkey. That really sucks Shelly. I feel for ya. 

S- as I said previously, we're not planning on having children so it's not a concern. Besides if something serious came up medically, RAB is not a long flight from Incirlik. 

Thanks to everyone again for the feedback. I realize it's a smaller base so not many people have been stationed there. I'm nervous after being at RAB (with all the amenities, KMCC) that I will be disappointed at a smaller base, but it looks like Incirlik has a lot to offer. Thanks again! 

Actually they just got the hospitals in Ankara up to American Standards. Therefore that is where they are starting to send pregnant women. Another good tip, is if you want lasik eye surgery you can get it done in Ankara. It costs about 750 dollars depending on the currency exchange rate. The chief of staff does it, and has done numerous DODD civilians, active duty, and dependents there. She is wonderful! 

Wow, thanks for the feedback Brittney! I had read something about not having an ER on base, but that the DOD made sure the off base facility was up to standards to treat us. Were you recently stationed there? I've been reading so much about it, I'm a little overwhelmed. What is the exchange rate like....compared to here? 

My husband was stationed in Ankara for 15 months. He just finished up in November. I chose not to go with him since there isn't a base in Ankara. You live off base etc. I did go and visit though for 2 months. The exchange was rate was a lot more for your dollar than here. There were certain places you could eat real cheap then there were places that were in between. There were malls in Ankara that had places like Pizza Hut, Arbys, etc that you could eat at. Not quite the same but close. We did travel to Cappadocia and stayed Goerme in an actual cave. That was neat so I recommend traveling. We never made it to Adana to the beach resort but we're not beach people so that was okay. We also took a flight to Egypt which wasn't that bad either. We were lucky in that their was an airport in Ankara so flights were cheap and easy to get. I have never been to Incirlik my husband only went up there for testing etc. He did say though it was nicer better than what the Ankara Detachment offered. There grocery stores are pretty neat too. Just get out and explore yet being mindful of their culture. Some areas are still not modernized so you may get some stares. Oh and if you don't have to drive I wouldn't I would walk lol. Like someone said traffic is crazy. It's literally like someone handed them the key without drivers ed. Red lights are optional, they make 6 lanes out of 3 etc. If you have anymore questions just ask. 

Hi Shelly, We were stationed in Incirlik before Ramstein from 2005-2007. Yes it is a small base, but I actually prefer the smaller base. The houses are quite nice and have a fenced in backyard. When I was pregnant there I chose to go home rather than storknest to Germany, just a personal preference because I also had a two year old at the time. Summers are hot and winters are rainy. There isn't much shopping on base and you will be disappointed at the BX as it was probably the size of the old Vogelweh BX without the upstairs. We did leave with some really beautiful furniture that didn't cost us an arm and a leg. Definitely get out of base because otherwise you'll probably start to go crazy :). Definitely try the Kactus restaurant in Adana, so good! Car rentals are cheap and instead of bringing over a car we just rented when needed. We really didn't need a lot of the time and rode taxis which was $2-$4 depending where on base you wanted to go. Overall I did enjoy our time there and of course it will be what you make it as any base is. Marie 

lots have chimed in already so all I will add is that the fresh fruit markets held near the base 2x a week are fantastic....one is on Tuesday and one on Sunday. The prices are so cheap and the produce so fresh that I never bought fruit and veggies at the commisary for the 2 years I was there. 

I know that several people have chimed in here already but I figured I would throw my 2 cents in as well! We are here now and absolutely love it, we pcs to Landstuhl June 1 and will be driving.... We will be sad to leave. I absolutely love it here. There is a TON to do and see from Cappadocia to Izmir and the 7 Churches that Paul wrote to in the bible to hittite castles from 2000AD it is just amazing. 1.5 hour drive to Kizkalesi which is a town on the Mediterranean you can stay at a place called Club Barbarossa for 50.00 USD per night including breakfast. The hotel is right on the beach and when you walk on the beach the Turks set up umbrellas and chairs for you to relax on. About 300 meters off the beach directly in front of you is a castle on an island that we swim out to and walk around. Within an hour or so driving there are 6 or more castles that you can go see such as snake castle, Anavarza, Heiropolis, Keratepe ect ect and they are very nice day trips. They actually are close enough that you can leave base around 1000 am and be home by 4 or 5 if you wanted to. As some have mentioned there is a market sunday and thursdays that we walk to every week and I have thousands of photos from. We do stay out of the alley its self but there is 1 restaurant that I like to go to "Easy's" that is on the end of the alley and the people there are great and the food is also. Turkey does have crazy drivers ( i really enjoy it ) and there is a lot of air pollution so be prepared for that. The base is clean and everything is relatively new. The BX is not too big but has plenty as well as the commissary. The Clinic is nice, it was just built in the late 90s. There are no emergency services as of right now you have to go downtown to Acibadem Hospital. In fact they no longer send pregnant mothers to LRMC they now will be going to Acibadem as well, this just went into effect. The officers housing is VERY nice, they are all brand new with granite counter tops 4 bedrooms living room family room and very large kitchens and laundry rooms decent back yards that are fenced ect The rest of the houses are decent they were built in the 70's it seems and they all have yards fenced as well. Bring some patio furniture and your BBQ I think they have 2-4 bedrooms depending on your family size. Most verything on Base is within walking distance my wife and I walk everywhere and it is nice to walk to the gym in the morning/ to dinner in the evening or from our door to the market on sunday in the Village. It is probably a 4-5 mile round trip walk but well worth it! As somebody mentioned the stuff that you bring will go on your "Bayanami" Which is a record of serial numbers and items of value that are in your TMO. When you leave these items have to go with you.... So if your TV breaks while you are here you better put it in storage and have it ready to go to your next assignment HAHA its not really a big deal at all and poses no real problems. You can sell things such as a tv or a car to another member of the AF, you just transfer that item on your Bayanami. The fun thing is that you can buy stuff at the BX or have it mailed to you and it does not go on your list...... They are just trying to keep you from selling you tv or other items to the turks because a lot of their electronics, cars ect are over priced here!!! It really is an experience that you will enjoy if you come at it with an open mind and embrace the culture. Learn a few Turkish words and they will love you.... learn the language and your have new best friends! I hope that I have provided some information that helps ease your concern about coming here and if you have any other questions feel free to ask!!! 

OMG, I am so grateful for all of the feedback. It has eased my mind, not that I'm nervous.....just curious! I'm deff getting excited now and know that any base is what you make of it! Robert Mitchell- thank you very much for going into such great detail and I wish you and your family a smooth PCS to Landstuhl! 

I miss Easy's!! mmm the best food in the alley! Shelly, also your household goods should be there when you get there, that is a plus. We packed out of Turkey two weeks before we PCS'd here and when we got here our stuff was waiting for us. So you won't be without your things for too long :)...and don't stress out about the beyanamme...just remember whatever you bring electronic and big furniture wise you have to leave with otherwise you can get charged a hefty fine. Marie 

S --- 2 days ago - quote - flag comment wow I would never want to be stationed in Turkey. That really sucks Shelly. I feel for ya. I'm pretty sure there needs to be a period, comma, or exclamation point after the first word in your post, S. Also, a comma between the words "sucks" and Shelly." Wouldn't you agree? 

Marie- that's a great point about our household goods getting there fast, always a plus! Robert Mitchell- u mention that the Officer's housing is very nice. My hubby is enlisted. Is the Eagle Housing Project ( all the new housing that I've read about) mostly for Officer's then and Enlisted get the older? We don't have any children, so I'd imagine we get a 2 bedroom. From what I'm reading it sounds like it's all townhome styles (not stairwell). Can anyone compare the room size to a 2 bedroom stairwell on Vogelweh? Most of you have noted that everything on base is within walking distance and its cheap (and almost sounds better not to drive off base!). So if hubby and I have a nice car that's paid off, but wanted to buy a new car (therefore we'd be making payments) would u suggest holding off on this seeing how a car won't be much of a necessity? I know this is a personal question (financially) but we were considering going to look into buying one and now after reading these comments its seems like it'd be better to hold off. Anything to keep in mind for PCSing with our 20 pound dog? I read that there's not a quarantine, which is great! THANK AGAIN EVERYONE FOR ALL THE GREAT FEEDBACK! :)