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Detecting in Turkey and France
- Thread starter newmexjoe
- Start date
nero_design
New member
Bad news:
Last week I read that France wants to ban detecting and make the detectors a prohibited item. Might not be a good idea to take your detector there in the current climate. They want EVERYTHING to stay in the ground. There's several groups trying to fight this.
As for Turkey, it's apparently a more complicated system but even bringing a detector into the country can present you with problems. If you find anything, the odds are high that they will be confiscated on your way out of the country. Including your metal detector if the customs guards there are in any way corrupt. Which they probably are. You've seen the movie "Midnight Express", right?
Last week I read that France wants to ban detecting and make the detectors a prohibited item. Might not be a good idea to take your detector there in the current climate. They want EVERYTHING to stay in the ground. There's several groups trying to fight this.
As for Turkey, it's apparently a more complicated system but even bringing a detector into the country can present you with problems. If you find anything, the odds are high that they will be confiscated on your way out of the country. Including your metal detector if the customs guards there are in any way corrupt. Which they probably are. You've seen the movie "Midnight Express", right?
BarnacleBill
New member
If it were me, I'd leave my detector at home, we have some small measure of Freedom still left, but four years from now, or God forbid eight, we'll have a lot less, as we have an Internationalist at the helm who is Pro France & Pro Turkey. He loves their policies and thinks we should be more like them. Let's let things rot away in the ground rather than appeal to an altruistic group of volunteers with the skills & equipment to retrieve them in a organized fashion. The Archies don't have the funds or manpower to do it, but their hubris & ignorance leave them vilifying a whole group of people as time takes it's toll.
The following was lifted from another site:
FRANCE
The use of metal detectors was controlled by the use of the war time Patrimony Act 1941 but, on the 18 December 1989 Law Number 89-900 (NOR: MCCX8900 163L) was adopted which states:
Article 1: No one may use metal detecting equipment for the purpose of searching for monuments and objects which could interest (concern?) prehistory, history, art or archaeology without first having obtained administrative authorisation issued according to the qualification of the applicant and also the nature and method of searching.
Article 2: All publicity and instructions on the use of metal detectors must carry the warning of the prohibition stated in Article 1, the penalties involved and also the reason for this legislation.
Article 3: Every infringement of the present law will be noted by officers, police agents and other law enforcement officers, as well as by officials, agents and guardians of Article 3 of the law number 80-532 of 15 July 1980 relative to the protection of public collections against acts of vandalism.
Article 4: The reports drawn up by the various persons designated by Article 3 above will, until proved to the contrary, be given or sent, without delay, to the public prosecutor of the Republic in the jurisdiction where the offence was committed.
Under French law the enactment of legislation is followed by the Decree which determines how the law will be applied. In this case the Decree states:
Article 1 The authorisation to use metal detectors, provided for by Article1 of the 18 December 1989 Law is granted, on the demand of the interested party, by the license of the Prefect of the region in which the land to be searched is situated.
The request for authorisation must establish the identity, competence and experience of the applicant as well as the location, scientific objective and the duration of the searches to be undertaken.
When the searches are to be carried out on land which does not belong to the applicant, the written application must be accompanied by a document of consent written by the owner of the land and, if appropriate, anyone else who has the right.
Article 2 Anyone who uses a metal detector to carry out searches of the sort described in Article 1 of the Law without having first obtained the authorisation required or who does not observe the requirements described in Article 1 of this Decree will be punished by the fine applicable for contraventions of the fifth class.
The equipment used in the infringement will be confiscated.
Article 3 Whoever publicises or draws up publicity for, or draw up information about the use of metal detectors and fails to draw attention to the requirements of Article 2 of the Law will be punished according to the penalties applicable for offences of the fifth class.
Beaches are believed to be outside this Law.
TURKEY
The 1973 Antiquities Act carries very extensive lists of movable and immovable objects protected including places of ancient settlement or places where there are vestiges of ancient civilisations (Article 1). All objects are the property of the State (Article 3 ) and reporting is obligatory (Article 4) but a reward system exists (Article 47).
There is a specific provision against treasure hunting, illicit excavation and dealing in antiquities (Article 51 - 52). Unauthorised treasure hunting carries a penalty of 2 - 5 years imprisonment and fines of =A35,000 to =A310,000 (Article 47).
The following was lifted from another site:
FRANCE
The use of metal detectors was controlled by the use of the war time Patrimony Act 1941 but, on the 18 December 1989 Law Number 89-900 (NOR: MCCX8900 163L) was adopted which states:
Article 1: No one may use metal detecting equipment for the purpose of searching for monuments and objects which could interest (concern?) prehistory, history, art or archaeology without first having obtained administrative authorisation issued according to the qualification of the applicant and also the nature and method of searching.
Article 2: All publicity and instructions on the use of metal detectors must carry the warning of the prohibition stated in Article 1, the penalties involved and also the reason for this legislation.
Article 3: Every infringement of the present law will be noted by officers, police agents and other law enforcement officers, as well as by officials, agents and guardians of Article 3 of the law number 80-532 of 15 July 1980 relative to the protection of public collections against acts of vandalism.
Article 4: The reports drawn up by the various persons designated by Article 3 above will, until proved to the contrary, be given or sent, without delay, to the public prosecutor of the Republic in the jurisdiction where the offence was committed.
Under French law the enactment of legislation is followed by the Decree which determines how the law will be applied. In this case the Decree states:
Article 1 The authorisation to use metal detectors, provided for by Article1 of the 18 December 1989 Law is granted, on the demand of the interested party, by the license of the Prefect of the region in which the land to be searched is situated.
The request for authorisation must establish the identity, competence and experience of the applicant as well as the location, scientific objective and the duration of the searches to be undertaken.
When the searches are to be carried out on land which does not belong to the applicant, the written application must be accompanied by a document of consent written by the owner of the land and, if appropriate, anyone else who has the right.
Article 2 Anyone who uses a metal detector to carry out searches of the sort described in Article 1 of the Law without having first obtained the authorisation required or who does not observe the requirements described in Article 1 of this Decree will be punished by the fine applicable for contraventions of the fifth class.
The equipment used in the infringement will be confiscated.
Article 3 Whoever publicises or draws up publicity for, or draw up information about the use of metal detectors and fails to draw attention to the requirements of Article 2 of the Law will be punished according to the penalties applicable for offences of the fifth class.
Beaches are believed to be outside this Law.
TURKEY
The 1973 Antiquities Act carries very extensive lists of movable and immovable objects protected including places of ancient settlement or places where there are vestiges of ancient civilisations (Article 1). All objects are the property of the State (Article 3 ) and reporting is obligatory (Article 4) but a reward system exists (Article 47).
There is a specific provision against treasure hunting, illicit excavation and dealing in antiquities (Article 51 - 52). Unauthorised treasure hunting carries a penalty of 2 - 5 years imprisonment and fines of =A35,000 to =A310,000 (Article 47).
cosmic hillbilly
Member
Hi,
I was in Istanbul, Turkey last year backpacking. It would be a great place to detect however I would never chance it. It is very easy to make a unlawful mistake there.
Swayne
I was in Istanbul, Turkey last year backpacking. It would be a great place to detect however I would never chance it. It is very easy to make a unlawful mistake there.
Swayne
Bavaria Mike
New member
A lot of good advice already, here's my advice. Turkey will put you in jail if you get caught, they will put you in jail for trying to export anything that could be even possibly historical and that includes a box of rocks. France has laws but they do not enforce them to the extent the law reads. I detected one day in France, no hassles even though a few people saw me. Seriously, stay away from Turkey with your detector, they are lunatics and really will jail you. I would also love to detect Turkey especially Istanbul but they are so crazed there I will not even consider visiting the country. HH and good luck, Mike
I know this is an old post, but here's something to add to it.
A buddy of mine (non detectorist) just got back from a vacation to Turkey. While walking the streets of Istanbul, he saw this sign on the street, advertising a shop right next to it, that sold metal detectors. He snapped this pix. So ......... obviously ...... detecting must not be "illegal" there, if they're selling them there (as presumably they are being used .... no?). Or is the Whites dealer there going to say they are being used for commercial purposes? (ie.: finding nails in logs before chain-sawing them, finding property marker/pegs, etc....). Or perhaps to use them on the beach for MODERN coins is allowed, eh?
A buddy of mine (non detectorist) just got back from a vacation to Turkey. While walking the streets of Istanbul, he saw this sign on the street, advertising a shop right next to it, that sold metal detectors. He snapped this pix. So ......... obviously ...... detecting must not be "illegal" there, if they're selling them there (as presumably they are being used .... no?). Or is the Whites dealer there going to say they are being used for commercial purposes? (ie.: finding nails in logs before chain-sawing them, finding property marker/pegs, etc....). Or perhaps to use them on the beach for MODERN coins is allowed, eh?
I would highly recommend that you leave your detector at home, France and Turkey have about the worst prisons in Europe. I saw a special on French prisons and was in Turkey while in the service and saw one of their prisons, they make ours seem like Hotel Hilton's. Like mentioned above, don't break any Turkish laws or your going to be very, very sorry!
Uh, you fail to answer the question then: If it is so "illegal" and "rat infested prisons" is the automatic result of anyone bringing/using a detector ....... then ......... why and how are they selling them there?
Perhaps any scary laws you might read about, are only for federal or state level lands, and simply don't apply to private land, with permission? If so, the SAME could be said of the United States, right? I mean, if a foreigner were to "inquire ahead" of laws in the United States, he too would see scary laws (ARPA, state park's laws, Mel Fisher legal hassles, cultural heritage bologna, etc...) and might walk away concluding:
"oh no!! metal detecting in the USA is illegal !!"
But we all know you can detect here, so long as you're avoiding obvious historic landmarks, right?
This subject of other countries laws came up in regards to Spain, on a forum once. Someone had just returned from a vacation there and posted pix of the rings they'd found on the beach, while there. A few others on the thread ..... uh .... "took exception" to them, saying that it was illegal there in Spain. Even so far as citing the laws to the person who posted. However, the person had seen others detecting, and pointed out that the major manufacturers (Whites, Garrett, etc...) had dealers in that country. Doh! Therefore, I think that just like USA's arpa laws, they sometimes get over-generously cited.
Same for Mexico: many people have falsely assumed that detecting down there is illegal, because some desk-bound border bureaucrat told them "no" (citing something that forbids exporting of gold bars, or shipwreck salvor stuff, or pyramaid archaeology, etc...). Imagine the md'rs surprise when he arrives in Cancun for his vacation, and sees that detectors are a common site on the tourist beaches there? Doh!
Perhaps any scary laws you might read about, are only for federal or state level lands, and simply don't apply to private land, with permission? If so, the SAME could be said of the United States, right? I mean, if a foreigner were to "inquire ahead" of laws in the United States, he too would see scary laws (ARPA, state park's laws, Mel Fisher legal hassles, cultural heritage bologna, etc...) and might walk away concluding:
"oh no!! metal detecting in the USA is illegal !!"
But we all know you can detect here, so long as you're avoiding obvious historic landmarks, right?
This subject of other countries laws came up in regards to Spain, on a forum once. Someone had just returned from a vacation there and posted pix of the rings they'd found on the beach, while there. A few others on the thread ..... uh .... "took exception" to them, saying that it was illegal there in Spain. Even so far as citing the laws to the person who posted. However, the person had seen others detecting, and pointed out that the major manufacturers (Whites, Garrett, etc...) had dealers in that country. Doh! Therefore, I think that just like USA's arpa laws, they sometimes get over-generously cited.
Same for Mexico: many people have falsely assumed that detecting down there is illegal, because some desk-bound border bureaucrat told them "no" (citing something that forbids exporting of gold bars, or shipwreck salvor stuff, or pyramaid archaeology, etc...). Imagine the md'rs surprise when he arrives in Cancun for his vacation, and sees that detectors are a common site on the tourist beaches there? Doh!
Maybe it is legal to sell detectors in Turkey, but illegal(not legal) to use them in certain or most places.
Like someone said above the anti-metal detecting laws in France might not apply to beaches.
I did beach detecting in Mexico with no problem.
I also did beach detecting on Waikiki Beach, Honolulu and the only problem I had was I sunburnt the top of my feet.
P.S. I stayed there 5 weeks one time and Honolulu is a great place I would like to stay from now until April 1st because I hate northern winters(and cold) with a passion.
Like someone said above the anti-metal detecting laws in France might not apply to beaches.
I did beach detecting in Mexico with no problem.
I also did beach detecting on Waikiki Beach, Honolulu and the only problem I had was I sunburnt the top of my feet.
P.S. I stayed there 5 weeks one time and Honolulu is a great place I would like to stay from now until April 1st because I hate northern winters(and cold) with a passion.
"Maybe it is legal to sell detectors in Turkey, but illegal(not legal) to use them in certain or most places"
Ah, so there might be places where it's legal to detect there
Right. And the same can be said of the United States too, right? (with the possible exception of the word "most" from your quote above ).
Then my question still remains: Why is it, that when a question like newmexjoe's comes up, for ANY foreign country (besides Britain), it's invariably met with utter and complete "no's" and "don't even think of it" type answers?
Ah, so there might be places where it's legal to detect there
Right. And the same can be said of the United States too, right? (with the possible exception of the word "most" from your quote above ). Then my question still remains: Why is it, that when a question like newmexjoe's comes up, for ANY foreign country (besides Britain), it's invariably met with utter and complete "no's" and "don't even think of it" type answers?
DETECTORMAX
New member
Some kind of mafia rules selling the detector in turkey iran iraq ...
detecting in those country is illegal and very dangerous
don't even think about carry your detector to such place
if you want to treasure hunt in those country you need to find a buddy of that country
a person who can bring for you metal detector and knows the place to hunt
and knows how hide you for treasure hunting
you should travel there as a normal tourist not a treasure hunter
"detecting in those country is illegal ....."
Question then: why are there dealers selling detectors in plain view? Certainly if it were "illegal", then they could not be selling them openly like that. Do you have a citation that says it's illegal? If you are going to cite the verbage that deals with antiquities and such, then what's to stop someone from merely hunting for new coins? Like beaches for example, which are generally thought of a modern beach-goer losses, and not "treasures" or "antiquities". Apparently some people have detected beaches there with not a problem at all, so certainly it's not "illegal" in Turkey.
It's probably more a matter of WHERE you're hunting. And in that be the case, then heck: that's no different than ANY country, right? I mean, I can't detect a Ghettysburg, Shiloh, Bodie, etc... certain state parks, certain archaeological pits, etc... here in the USA as well.
Question then: why are there dealers selling detectors in plain view? Certainly if it were "illegal", then they could not be selling them openly like that. Do you have a citation that says it's illegal? If you are going to cite the verbage that deals with antiquities and such, then what's to stop someone from merely hunting for new coins? Like beaches for example, which are generally thought of a modern beach-goer losses, and not "treasures" or "antiquities". Apparently some people have detected beaches there with not a problem at all, so certainly it's not "illegal" in Turkey.
It's probably more a matter of WHERE you're hunting. And in that be the case, then heck: that's no different than ANY country, right? I mean, I can't detect a Ghettysburg, Shiloh, Bodie, etc... certain state parks, certain archaeological pits, etc... here in the USA as well.