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Turkey is a paradise of sun, sea, mountains, and lakes that offers the vacationer a complete change from the stress and routine of everyday life. From April to October, most places in Turkey have an ideal climate that is perfect for relaxing on sandy beaches or enjoying the tranquility of mountains and lakes.
Turkey also has a magnificent past, and is a land full of historic treasures from 13 successive civilizations spanning 10,000 years. Even if you spend only a short time in Turkey, you can see a lot of this great heritage. “ ( from TourismTurkey.org )
Official language: Turkish. English, German, French and Russian are widely spoken in the country's resorts, hotels and restaurants.
Country dialling code: 90 Time zone: GMT + 2. Same time zone all over the country.
Electricity: 220 volts AC, 50Hz; round two-pin plugs are standard.
Main cities: Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Konya, Bursa, Adana
Currency: As of 01 Jan 2005 – New Turkish Lira ( YTL ) = 1 000 000 Old Turkish Liras. The old “TL” banknotes will be withdrawn from circulation as of 1 January 2006. Points of exchange are open at banks, hotels, railway stations, airports and main streets. Exchange offices in touristic places are generally open until midnight. Credit cards are usually accepted at big hotels, restaurants and shops and there are a lot of ATM in the cities and the big towns.
Official Holidays: January 01, January February: Kurban Bayami (moveable dates); April 23, May 19, August 30, October 28-29, October-November: Ramazan/Seker Bayami (moveable dates)
Useful telephone numbers: The inter-city code for Istanbul is 212 for the European side and 216 for the Asian side. To call a number on the other side of the Bosphorus, first dial(0), then the appropriate code. Emergency lines: Ambulance 112, Police 155, Telephone Inquiries 118, Ataturk International Airport: Tel: 0(212) 663 63 63, Tourism Police Tel: 0(212) 527 45 03
Phone calls: The most economic way to telephone in Turkey is from a PTT telephone booth (found in all towns). Cards in three sizes for local, inter-city, and international calls can be purchased from all PTT offices. Telephone cards are also available.
Shopping: Your only difficulty shopping in Turkey will be deciding what to choose from the many hundreds of tempting bargains. Shops generally are open 9:30 - 19:00, in the tourist areas, some close around midnight. The Grand Covered Bazaar is open each day from 07:00 until 19:00, except on Sunday. On the first day of the Seker and Kurban religious holidays all shops and bazaars are closed.
Clothes: Women may wear pants or skirts, but when visiting the mosques it is recommended to cover their heads (with a scarf) and not to wear shorts out of respects for religious customs.
Taxis and Dolmus: Taxis are numerous, in all Turkish cities and are recognizable by their yellow colour. The fares are affordable and shown on the meter reads according to distance travelled. Dolmus is a special service found only in Turkey; is a collective taxi which follows specific routes. It may be a car or a minibus Each passenger pays according to distance and can get off at specific or requested stops. In order, to get off, the passenger need only say, "Inecek var." The relatively cheap fares are fixed by the municipalities. |
