Before your departure from home, check your passport if it is valid at least for
3 months. Your stay in Turkey as a tourist is limited up to 3 months.
Always keep your passport handy
especially at the entry port.
Turkey's time zone is Eastern European
Time ( +2 GMT )
Major Credit Cards and Traveler's
checks are accepted in big cities however you may need to carry some cash with you.
Passport is not required for domestic
flights within Turkey.
Although you can find somebody in big
cities and towns who speaks English, but not at an advance level.
Visiting mosques in Turkey, you will
have to leave your shoes at the entrance or carry them in your hands, Women in most
mosques are required to cover their heads with a scarf and naked parts of their legs and
shoulders. If you don't have it, they will give you one at the entrance free. Silence is
required inside the mosques, it is suggested that you shouldn't laugh loudly inside as
this may offend people praying. Most of the mosques are closed to visits at prayer times.
Antique pieces are not allowed to be
taken out of the country, this is a serious crime and may need a heavy punishment, most
probably imprisonment.
Use and traffic of any kind of drugs
is strictly illegal.
Smoking is not permitted in flights
and public places.
Photographing the Turkish ladies
especially in the rural areas may offend them. The procedure is, just direct your camera
towards them, if they say no, or mean it with gestures, just leave it. Some people
including ladies love to be photographed, and will probably give you their address hoping
to receive a copy from you. If you promise them you would send a copy, please do, or you
don't have to promise.
Although most of Turkish people are
friendly towards the tourist, some people especially muslim fundamentalists may not be
that way.
Visiting museums, in some of the
museums you are not allowed to take pictures or use flash, before you go in, just check if
there is a sign with a camera crossed over, which means keep you camera in your hand bags,
or check them in. Also, as a universal rule you are not permitted to touch any of the
artifacts displayed.
If you are visiting Turkey in summer
time (particularly July and August), you may need a sun hat and sun blocks to protect
yourself against sun burning, also people with sensitive skin should have something to
cover their shoulders for the same reason.
If you are visiting Turkey in winter
time ( Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar), you will need your warm clothes as the temperature may
drop down as low as -15 C ( 5 F ) especially in the central eastern parts of Turkey. Also,
have your umbrellas and raincoats.
Public rest rooms are available at the
town centers, museums, restaurants, mosques and gas stations, usually a small service
charge is expected ( 15 c. ). Only the problem is that it is hard to find a european style
closet especially in rural areas. Western style can be found at gas stations and
restaurants along the major tourist roads. In any case, you should have your own toilet
paper and Kleenex where it is unavailable at public rest rooms.
Food matters, although the sanitation
is taken seriously and strictly controlled at tourist places by the authorities, some rare
instances of diarrhea have occurred, that's partly because of the hot and spicy meals
eaten, or the guests may have a sensitive stomach. So, have some medicine with you against
stomach upsets and diarrhea. Those who are vegetarian will be able to find vegetable food
or at least omelet which is very popular in Turkey, almost in every town. I would like to
remind you that Turkish cuisine comes among the top three along with chinese and french.
Most of the restaurants display their
food in windows, or waiters can bring the samples if you request. Also, the menu that
shows available food can be found at your table, in tourist areas in english as well.
If you are eating out in a restaurant,
waiters expect some tip usually 10% of your bill, and it is not included in your bill, you
will have to leave it at the table separately.
Water, although it is safe to drink
tap water, it is recommended to buy bottled water for drinking which can be found almost
at store, that's because the city water is chlorinated for sanitation reasons of which you
mightn't like the smell. You can safely brush your teeth with tap water.
Electricity, those who use 110 V or
any other than 220 V at home need a converter as Turkey has 220 V power system. Please
check your electric appliances before you use them in your hotel room.
Usually hotel guests are not allowed
to bring any food and drink into hotel rooms, but in most cases, this is tolerable.
Personally, on my tours, I always arrange social parties in my room.
All of the five star class hotels have
pools and others may have one too, you don't need to take towels from your room, as towels
are available at the pool free to hotel customers.
If you are provided a breakfast and
dinner ticket by the hotel reception to eat in the hotel restaurant, have it with you, as
though not all of them but some of them may require it at the entrance of the restaurants.
Also, if you are provided a hotel credit card, have it in your pocket, so you can put your
extra expenses on it, and pay your bill before your check out
Don't forget to return your hotel room
keys before your departure from the hotel, as this will cost the friendly hotel
receptionists a lot.
Some of the hotels have energy saving
systems. You may need to insert the metal attached to your room key in a slot which is
usually right behind the room door. When you remove it from the slot, all electric
appliances including air-conditioning will automatically turn off. If you would like to
leave your a/c on, separate the key from metal attachment and leave the metal in the slot
while you can take the key with you.
Crossing the streets in big cities,
before you do that, make sure that the car or whatever is at a reasonable distance to
allow you cross the street safely. Because, in Turkey, cars have the privilege to use the
streets. You can safely walk on the pedestrian walk ways.
Turkey is one of the safest countries
in the world to travel, but some rare instances of crime, theft and robbery happen in big
cities. Especially, if you would like to walk around the city at night, leave your
valuable stuff, money and passport at hotel safety box. Almost every tourist hotel has a
safety box service free to hotel customers.
Telephoning from your hotel room might
be expensive, alternative would be to use the public phones available out on the streets,
or in some hotel lobbies. All you need is to buy a telephone card from Post Office
(recognizable by "PTT" sign), which comes in 30, 60 and 100 units.
If you are traveling independently,
check which dates that the museums are open to visits. Most of the museums are closed to
visits at least one day a week. Archaeological sites can be visited everyday from 9 AM to
5 PM ( this may change from summer to winter ). A separate page showing the visiting days
and hours of the museums is coming soon, please check this page again.
Bargaining is part of turkish culture,
before you purchase anything, try to get the prices down as low as possible. In most
cases, just leave the shop or vendor and pretend to walk away, you will be probably
invited back to his shop by the vendor asking what would be your best offer. Then, feel
free to declare your own price for your purchase. Usually, bargaining margin starts from
10 % and may go up to 60-70%. This depends on your bargaining capabilities.
You may be approached by vendors at
archaeological sites trying to sell ancient coins or fragments of a statue or a piece of
pottery, don't buy them, they are fake.
Usually customs check at entry and
departure ports is not strict. However, customs officials are authorized to check your
hand bags and suitcases. At their request, you have to open up your bags and suitcases.
If you are annoyed by street vendors
trying to sell something to you, don't look interested in their products and look the
other way. Even if you start an innocent dialog, that may take half an hour to an hour
costing your invaluable time.
If you would like to contact or speak
to local people especially kids, go ahead, they love it. If somebody approaches you saying
he would like to show you interesting things, or his shop or invite for a drink, don't go
with them.
Some airline companies may require a
final flight confirmation a few days before your departure flight, please check it with
your travel agent.
Always pay attention to where you are
walking, as there may be some holes in the street or some steps up or down.
When your car or bus is moving, always
remain seated as some of the roads are winding with sharp curves.
