Calling To Turkey
When traveling abroad, staying connected with your loved ones is essential, whether for emergencies or simply to keep in touch. If you're visiting Turkey, it’s important to know how to reach your family and friends
In this article, we’ll explore the best ways to make calls to and from Turkey, covering both traditional phone methods and modern alternatives like VOIP apps, as well as international dialing codes.
Making Phone Calls from Abroad to Turkey
If you’re not using Skype, Apple iOS Messages, Google Voice, WhatsApp, or some other communications app to communicate with Turkey, and want to use a telephone, enter the international prefix (in North America it’s 011) to connect to the international network, then enter 90 for Turkey, then the city code (212 or 213 for Istanbul, 312 for Ankara, 232 for İzmir, etc.) and the seven-digit local number.
Remember the time difference (an hour or two from Europe, seven to 10 hours from North America) and Daylight Saving Time (Summer Time) which may begin and end differently in your country and Turkey.
Turkish telephone numbers are sometimes shown as in this example:
+90 212 555 1212
The plus sign (+) stands for whatever international prefix you need to dial in order to connect the call (011 in North America, 00 in Europe, etc.)
Within Turkey, they may be written 0212 555 1212 because that’s what you’d dial to call from withn Turkey, but when calling from outside of Turkey, it would be +90 212 555 1212.
So if you were calling from North America, you would enter:
011 90 212 555 1212
Or from anywhere you can enter:
+90 212 555 1212
Making Phone Calls From Turkey to Abroad
To make an international call from Turkey, start by dialing 00, which is Turkey's international exit code, followed by the country code of your destination (1 for the US), and then the area code and local number.
Here is more information on how to use your mobile phone in Turkey.
Using VOIP and Apps to Make Calls
If you want to avoid international call rates, internet-based calls with VOIPs and apps are far cheaper than traditional landline calls. You can make calls for pennies per minute or even completely free when using Wi-Fi or mobile data with apps like WhatsApp and Skype, or any of the other Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) systems. Plus, there is no difference whether you are calling home, or anywhere else.
Turkish Public Landline Telephones
While most people use phones and VOIPs today, public phones can be still found in popular destinations and can be used to make phone calls. Public landline phones operated by Türk Telekom have pictograph instructions and operate on either credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express) or phone cards (TT Kart) that you buy from PTT post offices.
Tips for Making International Calls in Turkey
- Traditional landline calls to foreign countries can be surprisingly expensive, especially if you use hotel telephone systems. If you must call from your hotel, make a quick call, give those at home the hotel’s phone number and your room number, and tell them to call you back at a certain time. Phone charges from home are probably lower and are certainly lower than what you have to pay to call from a hotel room.
- If you ever have any emergencies in Turkey, you can use the following emergency telephone numbers to get immediate help: dial 112 for medical emergencies, 155 for police assistance (English-speaking operators are often available), 110 for fire-related incidents, and 158 to contact the Coast Guard for emergencies at sea or along the coastline.
- Purchasing a Turkish prepaid SIM card from Turkish operators like Turkcell, Vodafone, or Türk Telekom can significantly reduce costs for international calls compared to your international operator since most Turkish operators offer special deals for tourists.
—by Can Turan
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