Turkey

Quick Facts

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Local name

Turkiye

Capital

Ankara

Government

Republican Parliamentary Democracy

Nationality

noun: Turk(s); adjective: Turkish

Population

70 586 256^[1]

Languages

Turkish

Religions

Islam

Currency

new Turkish Lira (TRY)

Calling Code

+90

Time Zone

UTC+2

Daylight Saving

UTC+3

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Introduction

The Kadikoy Tram

© All Rights Reserved adamandmeg

With one foot in Asia and one foot (a smaller foot, granted) in Europe, Turkey emerges on the tourist map as a fascinating cultural mystery, with ancient cities and towns as frequent as freckles and a history that's as long as it is complicated. Istanbul's pronounced prominence in the ancient world made it and Turkey the center of numerous great civilizations. As it passed through Byzantine and Roman hands, it sported the names Byzantine and Constantinople, eventually adopting its current name under Ottoman rule. The city is the country's tourist center, but Turkey is certainly no one-hit wonder. Mt Ararat, the ancient Biblical towns of Ephesus and Antakya (Antioch) and cultured beach towns along the Mediterranean coast make up further ammo for the Turkish arsenal of touristy delights. Excellent cuisine and a friendly, hospitable manner underscore the Turkish way of life.

Brief History

End of Ottoman Empire
After the loss of Ottoman Empire in World War I, the land has been divided into new nations and the Allies occupied most of what is now Turkey.

Independence War
Independence war has been started by Turkish revolutionaries under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (father of Turks) on May 19, 1919.

Establishment of Turkish Republic
Republic of Turkey was proclaimed on October 29, 1923.

Geography

Turkey shares international borders with Bulgaria, Greece, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia.

Regions

Turkey consists of 7 administrative regions, divided into 81 provinces and 923 districts!
The 7 administrative regions and its provinces are:

• Marmara: Edirne, Kirklareli, Istanbul, Tekirdag, Çanakkale, Balikesir, Bursa, Yalova, Kocaeli, Sakarya and Bilecik;
• Aegean Turkey: Izmir, Manisa, Kütahya, Usak, Afyonkarahisar, Aydin, Denizli and Mugla;
• Mediterranean Turkey: Burdur, Isparta, Antalya, Mersin, Adana, Hatay, Osmaniye and Kahramanmaras;
• Black Sea Turkey: Bolu, Düzce, Zonguldak, Bartin, Karabük, Kastamonu, Sinop, Samsun, Çorum, Amasya, Tokat, Ordu, Giresun, Trabzon, Gümüshane, Bayburt, Rize and Artvin;
• Central Anatolia: Eskisehir, Çankiri, Ankara, Kirikkale, Yozgat, Sivas, Kirsehir, Kayseri, Nevsehir, Aksaray, Nigde, Karaman and Konya.
• Eastern Anatolia: Malatya, Erzincan, Tunceli, Elazig, Bingöl, Erzurum, Bitlis, Mus, Hakkari, Van, Agri, Igdir, Kars and Ardahan.
• Southeastern Anatolia: Kilis, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Mardin, Batman, Siirt and Sirnak.

Most provinces have the same name as their capital, with just a few exceptions to this rule, being Hatay (capital Antakya), Kocaeli (capital Izmit) and Sakarya (Adapazari).

Cities

• Ankara - the nation's capital
• Istanbul - the largest city of Turkey
• Antalya
• Edirne
• Izmir
• Konya
• Sinop
• Trabzon
• Goreme
• Denizli
• Mugla
• Mersin
• Agri
• Malatya
• Canakkale
• Bursa
• Diyarbakir
• Sanliurfa
• Mardin
• Antakya

Sights and Activities

Cappadocia

Cappadocia is one of the most spectacular places to visit when travelling around Turkey. It landscapes and cultural landscapes make this a place not to miss and therefore the Göreme National Park and Rock Sites are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Göreme Valley and its surroundings are in a dramatic landscape, sculpted by erosion and rock-hewn sanctuaries are a must see. The area further has dwellings and underground towns which are in fact the remains of a traditional human habitat dating back to the 4th century.

A hot air balloon flight at sunrise or sunset is an activity you can do here as well and is an experience you will never forget. Accommodation is high quality and very reasonably priced. There are a good range of guesthouses and luxury hotels to cater for all tastes.

Ancient ruins

Ephesus

© All Rights Reserved Nicolalana

Turkey is full of ancient ruins and a visit to one or several of those is a step back in time. A very nice one if located near the town of Bergama in the west of the country and is called Pergamon. Bergama boasts the Akropol, the Temple of Serapis, the Asklepion, The Allianoi and the Red Basilica. Mosques and museums keep you busy for days. Troy is not really far from here as well, and is probably one of the most famous ones in the world and on the UNESCO list for apparant reasons. Who doesn't know the Trojan horse? Ephesus is yet another ancient ruin and the list is long. Hours away by plane on the other side of the country is Ani, a ruined and uninhabited medieval city the eastern Turkish province of Kars close to the border with Armenia. It was once the capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom that covered much of present day Armenia and eastern Turkey.

Probably the best way to get up close and personal with ancient ruins in Turkey is by walking some or all of the Lycian way - Turkeys first long distance walking trail. This 500 km walk traverses many of the coastal settlements from Antalya to Oludeniz and can be split up into smaller easier to manage walks.

Coastline

Unfortunately, much of the western and southern coastline of Turkey is full with luxurious hotels catering mainly to package tourist from Europe. Luckily, if you just travel away from main places like Marmaris, Kusadasi or Alanya, there are friendly and small villages as well as almost deserted beaches. Sailing along the Turkish coast is a popular way of travelling around as well.

Safranbolu

Safranbolu in Central Anatolia was an important caravan station on the main east-west trade route from the 13th century until railways were built in the early 20th century. The Old Mosque, Old Bath and Süleyman Pasha Medrese were built in 1322 and are on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Other sights and activities

Inside the Sumela Monastery

© All Rights Reserved djrkidd

• Sumela Monastery - near Trabzon in the northeast of the country.
• Nemrut Dag - Mount Nemrut Dagi National Park is most easily reached from Malatya and is well worth the trip is you are in the area.
• Pamukkale -
• The Lycian Way - This long distance walking trail meanders from Antalya to Oludeniz and is jam packed with tombs and ruins. It is waymarked and there are a number of resources to assist in the planning of multiday or week walks along the trail.

Events and Festivals

Weather

Turkish weather usually is dry and fairly warm. In summer, temperatures hit 40 °C or more on a regular basis, especially in the east but sometimes also in the resort areas around Alanya and Antalya. Istanbul can get a bit sticky in summer with higher humidity whereas the Anatolian plateau sees temperatures around 35 °C, dropping below 20 °C at night, with dry conditions. The Black Sea coast rarely gets really hot and has the most showers in summer. Winters are mild along the west and south coast and it can get way below 0 °C including snow in the central and eastern part of the country. Skiing is an option here and even south of Istanbul when winters are relatively cold.

Getting There

By Plane

Turkish Airlines is the national airline of Turkey and is based at Atatürk International Airport (IST) near Istanbul. It has a very extensive route network of flights throughout all of Europe, the Middle East, Asia, parts of Africa and a few flights to North America, most notably New York JFK and to Washington Dulles airport. Dozens of airlines serve the samen destinations, among which are KLM, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, Air France, Malaysia Airlines, Delta Airlines and Aeroflot.

The new Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW) on the other side of the Bosporus in the Asian part of Istanbul has a growing amount of flights and is mainly catering to charter flights from Europe, but also lowcost airlines like Air Arabia (to and from Sharjah use this airport as a hub between Europe and the Middle East and India. Pegasus Airlines (mainly to Germany and Switzerland but also within Turkey and to Tehran) and Corendon Airlines (to and from Amsterdam, Brussels, Eindhoven, Paris and Tel Aviv) use this airport the most.

Lots of charter airlines fly to other airport in the west and south along the Turkish Coast and cater almost exclusively to package tourists from the west of Europe, although some cheap flights might be a good alternative for the more adventurous travellers to start their trips in places like Bodrum, Dalaman, Antalya or Alanya.
The Esenboğa International Airport (ESB) near the capital Ankara has some international flights as well, mainly from places like London, Frankfurt and Vienna and a few destinations in Asia, like Kabul. Turkish Airlines has the most flights.

By Train

• Turkey - Iran

The Trans-Asia Express travels on a weekly schedule between the gateway to Asia, Istanbul, and the capital of Iran, Tehran. Trains leave Istanbul on Wednesday at around 11pm and arrives in Tehran about 70 hours later. In the opposite direction, trains leave Tehran on Thursday at around 6.30pm and take about the same time. The train ride is divided into two parts, one from Istanbul to Lake Van and one from Lake Van to Tehran and only one carriage actually is moved over the lake to make the entire journey.

• Turkey - Syria

Every Sunday at around 9am, a sleeper train leaves Haydarpasa station in Istanbul for the Syrian city of Aleppo, arriving on Mondays around 2pm. In the opposite direction the train leaves Aleppo station on Tuesday around 11 am, taking over 30 hours to reach Istanbul early evening on Wednesday.

By Car

Turkey shares borders with Greece, Bulgaria, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Armenia. Except to the last country, all borders are open but the border with Iraq is probably best avoided when you are travelling by a rental car or your own car (crossing is still possible and relative safe though by bus/taxi/foot).

In Turkey, driving is on the right side of the road and many roads and signs (Turkey uses the Latin alphabet, not Arabic) are of good quality. The skills of the drivers certainly are not and you really need a few days to get used to it.

By Bus

National Express and Eurolines have connections between Turkey and other parts of Europe. There are numerous companies offering direct bus travel from places in Europe, including cities further away like Frankfurt and Vienna. Other countries served are Bulgaria, Greece, Syria, Iran and Georgia.

By Boat

Turkey has several connections with neighbouring countries and even Italy by boat. To the latter, Marmara Lines has summer ferries travelling between Ancona and Çeşme and Brindisi and Çeşme as well. MedEuropean Seaways operates the latter route as well.

The Fergün Shipping Company has ferries on the same two routes between Turkey and Italy but has much more connections as well. These include ferries in summer between Mesmin and Latakia in Syria and between Sinop and Yalta in Ukraine.

They also have ferries travelling between the southern coast of Turkey and the Turkish part of Cyprus. Connections include Alanya-Girne, Tasucu-Girne and Gazimagusa-Mersin.

Finally to Greece, the same company has ferries to Samos, Rhodos, Kos and Chios from Cesme, Kusadasi, Marmaris, Bodrum and Yalikavak on the west and southwest coast of Turkey.

A few other private companies have connections beetween Lesbos and Ayvalik and between Rhodos and Fethiye.

Ukrferry has more connections to Ukraine, between both Istanbul and Odessa and Derince and Ilyichevsk.

Getting Around

By Plane

The Turkish airport network is expanding regarding flights and companies. The mos important airports are in Istanbul, Ankara, Trabzon, Erzurum, Diyarbakir, Dalaman and Izmir, with several others along the coast and interior having a growing number of flights as well.

Airlines include Turkish Airlines, Corendon Airlines, Atlas Jet, Onur Air and Sun Express.

By Train

Turkish Railways has several rail connections which are definitely worth it. The scenery, especially when travelling further to the central and eastern parts, are fantastic. They are, however, slower than buses and services are infrequent compared to buses as well. Comfort is a huge plus on the other hand and the overnight trains have comfortable berths and basic meals.

Turkish Railways has a 30 day railpass, which offers unlimited use of all lines.

By Car

Roads in Turkey are well maintained and renting a car (possible with driver as well) is possible with many international and local companies having agencies at airports and cities. You need an international driver's licence and international insurance and a carnet de passage if you want to travel further to the Middle East. You are allowed to bring your own car for a maximum period of six months.

By Bus

Varan and Ulusoy are among the best bus companies in the country, both offering an extensive networks of frequent, comfortable and reliable buses. Most have toilets on board and you even get drinks and snacks. There are however numerous other companies and for shorter local connections, the minibuses (dolmus) are frequent and reliable options as well.

By Boat

A frequent car ferry crosses the Dardenelles at Gallipoli, from Çanakkale to Eceabat and Gelibolu to Lapseki.
Istanbul Fast Ferries has frequent services between a number of places in the Istanbul region. And Denis Cruise and Ferry Lines plies the Istanbul to Izmir route frequently.
The Fergün Shipping Company has services between Istanbul and Bodrum, Bandirma and Yalova as well as between Bodrum and Datca and Marmaris, and Canakkale to Eceabat vv.

Red Tape

Nationals from the following countries do not require a visa for tourism purposes for a limited period of stay.

• 90 days - Argentina, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Chile, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Iceland, Iran, Israel, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, Morocco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, San Marino, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uruguay, Vatican City.
• 60 days - Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia.
• 30 days - Costa Rica, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macau.

Nationals from the following countries require a visa, which are available upon arrival at the point of entry. Visa fees at border gates varies depending on nationality, and are generally much cheaper than applying at the Turkish Embassy at your country of residence.

• 90 days - Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom, United States of America.
• 60 days - Ukraine.
• 30 days - Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Hungary, Jordan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia-Montenegro, Slovakia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Yugoslavia.
• 15 days - Georgia.

For the latest update, refer to the Visa Information for Foreigners, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Turkey or contact the Turkish Representation near you.

Money

The official currency in Turkey is New Turkish Lira (yeni turk lirasi). One lira is divided into 100 kurush. The symbol is YTL. Lira banknotes come in denominations of 1 YTL, 5 YTL, 10 YTL, 20 YTL, 50 YTL, 100 YTL and 200 YTL. Coins come in denominations of 1,5,10, 25 and 50 new kurush and 1 new lira.

Work

Study

Language

Majority of Turkey's inhabitants speak Turkish. Turkish language is the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. The script was changed from Arabic to Latin by Ataturk after the formation of the republic.

Kurdish is also a widely spoken language in Turkey. There are debates over the number of speakers. Kurdish speakers mostly live in eastern and south-eastern parts of the country as well as Istanbul where there is a high number of Kurdish immigrants. A Kurdish speaker can get by in Kurdish settlements in these areas most of the time, depending on the dialect. Kurmanji is the most widely spoken dialect. The script varies from country to country. In Turkey, Kurds use the Latin alphabet.

There are many other languages spoken by minorities such as Arabic, Armenian, and Greek.

Even though English language education is part of the mandatory Turkish education system the number of English speakers is relatively low. One may find it easy to get by in tourist sights but it may be frustrating to communicate when travelling outside of sight-seeing areas.

If any public announcement is bilingual the second language would be English. Usually traffic signs pointing to museums, libraries, hospitals and sight seeing places are bilingual.

Eat

Fast Food

There are fast food restaurants almost in every city that serves kebabs made off chicken, beef and lamb. Every region has their unique kebabs. Make sure to try local kebab of each region. Tantuni, Iskender, Tas Kebabi are among these regional kebabs.

Offal

Kokorec, a delicacy of Turkish cuisine, is grilled spicy intestines. In big cities it is sold widely and in smaller cities it is usually sold late at nights.

Southern and Southeastern regions are famous for offal dishes. These dishes are made up of intestines, stomach, kidneys, livers, lungs, heart, brain.

Sea Food

Coastal areas have a lot of sea food.

Turkish Breakfast

Vegetarian Options

Vegan Options

Desserts

Sleep

Drink

National drink of Turkey is raki, similar to Greek ouzo and Arabic arak.

Ayran is a yogurt drink which goes well with kebabs. It is similar to South Asian lassi but always served salty.

Salgam (turnip juice) is another non-alcoholic drink which can be found in most markets and restaruants. It goes well with raki and may be found at bars too.

Kahve (turkish coffee) is served in a tiny cup with/out sugar depending on your preference. The settled dregs in the cup is not for drinking in fact it is used for fortune telling.

Health

Safety

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

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