Accommodation
Variety in hotels are wide and good hotels can be found almost everywhere. Price level varies according to hotel standard and location, but is cheaper than in the Europe and North America, in general. More information: www.hotelguide.com.tr

Turkey has also a good network of hostels and camping sites. Additional information about hostels: www.hostels.com. Camping maps are available at our office.

Cuisine and restaurants

There are variety in restaurants, ranging from small kebab stalls to excellent full course luxurious restaurants. Food is prepared carefully using fresh ingredients. Vegetables and meat, chicken and lamb meat in particular are used; also fresh and dried herbs and spices are widely used in preparation of meals. Food is usually spicy but not always hot. Bottled water is a good drink with food, but good local beer and wines are available as well. Imported drinks are more expensive than the local ones. More about food please click here

Travelling in Turley is a culinary trip. There are specialties specific to every town or region. More information: www.turkish.homestead.com

Drinking water
It is advisable to drink bottled water only. You can use tap water for brushing teeth or any other hygienic use. During the summer months you should remember to drink a lot of water, about four liters a day. When it is really hot, even more water consumption is advisable.

Swimming
Turkish beaches are safe and clean. Many of them have received the Blue Flag of the EU for their security and clearness.

Shopping
Shopping is quite an experience in Turkey. Turkey can be considered as a heaven for bargain hunters and lovers as shopping in Turkey is very cheap. You can buy carpets or kilims, handicrafts, jewellery, cloths and spices for good prices. In Covered Bazaar in Istanbul there are around 4000 shops and you can buy almost anything there. At bazaars and markets you have to bargain. In supermarkets or shops the prices are fixed.

Night life
Nightlife in big cities and tourist places is lively with discos and music bars. Bodrum is famous for her lively nightlife, which continues till the morning. In big cites there are local and international concerts, operas and theatres and festivals.

Travelling within Turkey
The most common means of travel in Turkey is by coaches. Roads are in good condition and as well as air-conditioned coaches, there are very good resting resort en route where coaches stop for breaks. Prices are cheap and there are frequent coaches as there are a number of companies offering these services.

Turkish Airlines flies several times a day between major cities in Turkey. Trains are also available to travel by between certain centers depending on their timetable and the extension of rail line network, but travelling by coach is often faster that trains.

There are plenty of taxis and they are yellow in colour. It is advisable to check that the driver turns the taximeter on when your journey begins. Dolmus is a cheap way to travel inside cities. International car rental offices operate in Turkey and you can rent a car if you have a driving license of any EU country or your country of driver license. Traffic rules correspond to the internationals signs and traffic goes on the right. Speed limit in towns is 50 kilometres per hour and in highways it is 90 kilometres per hour. Both cities and highways have busy traffic usually which include cars, bicycles, horses, donkeys and cattles.

Customs and traditions
Turkey goes back a long way in terms of culture and this can be seen in the customs. Turkish people are very polite. On the countryside people tend to greet everybody. Turks do not drop the titles like in most countries. A man is called by his "first name" followed by the word "Bey" and woman by her "first name" followed by the word "Hanim" if you want to be very polite you may use "Beyefendi" or "Hanimefendi". Turks are very polite towards old people. Old people are respected no matter what due to their age and experience. Young people respect older people and their own parents.

Language
The Turkish Alphabet was changed from Ottoman script (Arabic) to a Latin based script soon after the Turkish Republic was declared. Also Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek.\ alnguages are spoken.

More about Turkish language please click here.

English and German are widely used and spoken in Turkey, especially in tourist areas. In cities most young people are able to converse in English. Some older people might speak French.

 
Business Hours

Official holidays

Apart from the days given above, Turkish people also celebrate their religious festivities called 'Bayram' twice a year the dates of which may be different each year as they are scheduled according to Islamic calendar.