You’ve gone out to a restaurant in one of Istanbul’s trendiest neighborhoods—Yeniköy, Bebek, Arnavutköy, or Kuruçeşme—with friends. You already know parking is a nightmare there. You’ve barely made it on time thanks to your busy day. So the moment you arrive, handing over your car to the valet feels like a big relief, right?
Yes, it’s undeniably convenient when you’re in a pinch. Some restaurants have valets who park cars nearby, which is ideal. There are restaurants and valets who do their job properly. But these are the exceptions, not the rule. What I’m about to share reflects the general situation.
Is It Parking or Is It Extortion?
Here’s the real issue: Most of the time, the moment you hand over your keys, the valet rushes to park your vehicle in one of the side streets of the neighborhood. These spots are pre-claimed, often illegally.
Yes, you read that right—illegally. They occupy residential side streets, disregarding the people who live there, effectively hijacking spaces in front of homes. The local residents, worn out and intimidated, are forced to tolerate this injustice. Sometimes they file complaints with the police, but even then, responses are lackluster. Officers usually dismiss the situation as a routine complaint. If you’re lucky, a conscientious officer might admit, “All I can do is issue a ticket.” And that ticket? It gets written against your license plate—meaning you get fined for illegal parking, even though you never parked the car yourself.
Damages to Vehicles
Speeding in and out of tight streets increases the likelihood that valets will damage your car. While it’s sometimes a miracle that nothing happens, more often you’ll end up with scrapes, dents, or minor scratches you might not even notice. In rare but serious cases, your car may suffer major damage. I’m convinced that if most people saw how their cars were actually handled, they’d never use valet services again.
We’ve even heard stories where valets get into arguments or physical altercations with car owners. There have been incidents where valets assaulted vehicle owners.
Even Cats and Dogs Aren’t Safe
The chaos valets bring doesn’t just harm people, it affects animals too. In their rush to get back quickly, valets often exceed speed limits, hitting or killing stray cats and dogs. Imagine your car being used to kill an animal—and the valet returns it with a straight face. You’d have no idea. You just pay the fee and drive off, while a life has been lost.
Dark Networks Behind the Wheel
Valets behave like enforcers of a criminal network. They act with impunity, flexing their power and intimidating locals. They threaten residents or scratch their cars in retaliation. Their primary backup? The head valet—who coordinates operations like a street-level mafia boss: “How many spots left on that street? Send a car. Clear space on the parallel street.” These head valets report to restaurant owners—who are often laundering money through their businesses. In some extreme cases, the restaurant owner may be involved in drugs or weapons trafficking. With deep connections in the state, they become virtually untouchable. So, should we really be surprised that these people and their valets are running rampant in neighborhoods?
Even police officers who want to do the right thing are stuck. Because of these connections, doing the right thing could cost them their job—or get them reassigned to an undesirable post. So they look the other way.
No Crime Should Go Unpunished
Police officers often dismiss the problems residents face with valets as minor offenses. They believe there are much bigger problems. And in a way, they’re right. The corruption we experience in Turkey has skyrocketed crime rates. These days, we’re experiencing perhaps the highest crime rates in the history of the Republic. Moreover, I’m referring to recorded crime rates. The real explosion is in unreported crimes. Cases have increased so much that our police often overlook and don’t even report cases they consider unimportant, even if they constitute a crime. I can’t blame them for this, because it’s impossible to handle the avalanche of crimes under current circumstances. However, in a developed country, if order is established, no distinction is made between major and minor. All crimes are addressed to prevent these disruptive crimes from recurring. Because even minor crimes, when accumulated, have the potential to disrupt social order. Or minor crimes can later escalate into major crimes. Therefore, even if the crime is petty, it must be prevented or sanctions must be applied before it reaches a level that threatens social order, so that problems do not become inextricable.
Now, as I usually do in this bleak picture, I’d like to share the solution with you. In reality, these problems aren’t very difficult to solve. The real issue is restoring the deteriorated morality of society. However, such problems can be resolved without requiring generations of moral rehabilitation. Here’s the solution:
A Simple, Effective Solution
The solution starts with the restaurants. They bring valets into the neighborhoods, so they must be regulated. Business licenses should include a separate section for valet services. If a restaurant wants to offer valet service, it must partner with a legal parking facility. The root problem is greed—valets park cars on the street to avoid paying parking fees, cutting costs and pocketing the difference. This creates a lucrative racket and sparks aggressive behavior when locals push back. So, make it mandatory: restaurants offering valet services must either have their own parking or contract with a certified lot. Period.
Valets operate independently from restaurants in some neighborhoods. Customers assume they’re with the restaurant, but in reality, these are unauthorized gangs stationed at every corner. How do I know? A few years ago, a gunfight broke out between valet groups in Arnavutköy. You can see the footage here:
https://www.facebook.com/ShowAnaHaber/videos/vale-kavgasinda-silahlar-konu%C5%9Ftu/1106675733192001/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CT4UrSjKhn4/?igsh=czR5cDVqN2V5ZnFh
In this news, you can read that the valets are acting like stickmen, taking over every corner and operating separately from the restaurants, which is why disputes over space sometimes arise:https://www.sabah.com.tr/yasam/vale-kavgasina-3-kez-muebbet-hapis-istendi-5853419
It’s well known to the neighborhood that valets who offer valet services, which involve illegally occupying public space and claiming rights, often spend large sums of their earnings on drugs, and that many are addicted to drugs. As such, no one wants to mess with the drug-addicted valets who buy drugs from Gültepe.
Again, the solution is straightforward: Outlaw third-party valet services. Only businesses, such as restaurants, malls, hotels, and museums should offer valet parking. If a restaurant wants to provide it, they must add the cost to the bill and assume responsibility. Independent valet services must be banned—and those violating this rule should be slapped with stiff prison sentences.
In short: Only official businesses can offer valet services, and they must partner with a nearby parking facility. Street parking in front of homes or on sidewalks should be strictly forbidden. Those who ignore the rules should face the harshest consequences—temporary or permanent closure, license revocation, even jail time. The business bears full responsibility for valet conduct. Third-party valet operations must be declared illegal, with both providers and complicit businesses facing prison sentences.
The Tip of the Iceberg
Though it may seem trivial, the valet issue is just the tip of the iceberg—one symptom of a city becoming increasingly unlivable. If even this tip causes so much pain, imagine the hidden mass beneath it. But can we fix these problems and restore society to a better state?
Absolutely. Despite everything, I remain hopeful.
Note: The same issue now affects boats. According to a reliable source, captains are avoiding areas like Bebek and Arnavutkoy because armed conflicts have broken out in broad daylight. Boat docking piers are extorted too. Those who refuse to pay are threatened with weapons. While police sometimes catch these criminals, some officers complain they’re quickly released back onto the streets.
Tag: memoir
