Couple works summer, hits roads in caravan in winter

ISTANBUL

A Turkish couple who bought a caravan with the money earned by selling their wedding jewelry is working during the summer but touring the country with their caravan in the winter.

According to a report by the daily Milliyet, it was the year 2018 when Büşra and Murat Yerlikaya decided to buy a trailer.

After a year of market investigation, the couple, in 2019, sold their wedding jewelry and bought a minibus for 37,000 Turkish Liras ($2,133).

The couple spent around 27,000 liras ($1,555) to convert the interior of the vehicle into a caravan of their dreams and decided to take to the roads.

“Do not care and listen to those saying, ‘You can’t do it.’ Definately, you can,” Büşra Yerlikaya, a photographer, said.

“We did all the renovation work. There is a bond between us and the caravan,” said her husband, Murat, a theater director.

Due to the bond, the couple calls the caravan “Dilber,” roughly translated as “beautiful woman.”

Working at seasonal jobs in the summers, the couple spends the winters on the roads since the pandemic.

“Sure, winter conditions are hard. The water is cold, sometimes freezes. We cannot find suitable places to park or throw waste,” he said.

When asked about the cost of living in a caravan, the husband replied, “For accommodation, we usually park at free parking places. For food, we realized that our shopping costs decreased by half.”

According to the couple, a monthly expense at their house was 3,500 Turkish Liras [$202]. However, “a monthly expense in caravan is around 1,500 liras [$93],” the couple expressed.

Airing videos about life in a trailer in their YouTube channel “Kaybolma Durağı,” (“Stop of Getting Lost”), the couple now eyes “full-year” caravanning.

“If we can earn enough to survive, we want to be on the roads throughout the year,” the couple stated.