Turkey Travel Details FAQ

How safe is Turkey? What's the Turkish Lira exchange rate? What about Turkey's weather and climate?

What are the Top 10 Travel Mistakes made by visitors to Turkey?

Here are the answers:

ARCHITECTURE: Ottoman, Seljuk, caravanserais...

ARTICLES ON TURKEY: Turkish tea, Hagia Sophia...

BOOKS, FILMS & MAGAZINES: Guides, novels, movies...

BORDER FORMALITIES: tourist visa, work visa, customs...

CHILDREN: Travel with kids, food allergies, safety...

CLIMATE: Regions, Turkish almanac, what to wear...

COMPLAINTS: Hotel, tour operator, travel agency...

CRIME: See SAFETY

COMMUNICATIONS: Phones, mobile phones, Internet access...

CULTURE & CUSTOMS: Doing things alla Turca...

CUSTOMS & IMMIGRATION: See BORDER FORMALITIES

ELECTRICITY: Plugs & sockets/points, converters...

EXCHANGE RATES: See also MONEY

FLORA & FAUNA: Van cats have one brown eye, one blue...

FOOD & DRINK: Allergies, vegetarians, Turkish coffee, tea, kebaps, rakı...

GEOGRAPHY: Turkey has 7 geo-regions...

HAMAM: The Turkish bath, how & where to enjoy it...

HANDICAPPED TRAVELERS: Accessibility of hotels, airports, trains, local transport, historic sights, and buildings...

HEALTH & MEDICAL CARE: Okay, and getting better...

HISTORY: Hellenic, Hittite, Seljuk, Ottoman, Republican...

ISLAM: Turkish style: modern, friendly and tolerant...

INSURANCE: Auto, baggage, medical, trip cancellation,terrorism...

INTERNET ACCESS: Lots of Wifi, but you'll want a VPN...

KIDS: Travel with kids, food allergies, safety...

LANGUAGE: 100 Most Useful Words, pronunciation, grammar...

An Ottoman map of the Golden Horn, Istanbul.

LAUNDRY: Ad hoc...

LINKS: Short list of useful links for Turkey travelers...

MAPS OF TURKEY: Country, climate, Istanbul, Metro...

MARRIAGE: Your wedding, laws & regulations, honeymoon...

MONEY: New Turkish Lira, Exchange rates, costs, credit cards, tips, counterfeit notes, ATMs...

NARGILE: Water pipe, hookah, hubble-bubble—fun!

NAZAR BONJUK: What the evil eye means to you...

PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO: Digital; PAL for video, not NTSC...

RELIGION: Muslims, Christians, Jews...

RESERVATIONS: Flights, rental cars, trains, hotels...

SAFETY:  women, street crime, terrorism, highways, trains, earthquakes...

SHOPPING: What to buy, bargaining, beware antiquities...

SPECIAL INTEREST TRIPS: beaches, yachting, weddings...

TELEPHONE: See COMMUNICATIONS

TIME ZONE: All of Turkey is in one Time Zone, with no spring or autumn time changes. More...

TIPPING: Restaurants, hotels, taxis, the hamam (Turkish bath)...

TOILETS: What's that li'l pipe for?

TOURIST OFFICES: Foreign and at home...

VISAS: See BORDER FORMALITIES

WEATHER: Climatic regions, what to wear...

WOMEN TRAVELERS: What to wear, how to act, Women in Turkish Society...

—by Tom Brosnahan

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Is Turkey safe? Friendly? What will it cost? When's the best time to go? Where should I go? Where should I stay? What about transport? Recommended Itineraries Top 10 Turkish Travel Mistakes