Likes & Dislikes

Opinions


“Turkey is full of spectacularly beautiful places, and while I only know the Cappadocia and Pamukkale-Denizli regions well, there are a lot of areas I can highly recommend. The nationwide transport network is excellent, and it seemed easy for me to get from almost anywhere to anywhere. Almost every settlement of any size has an airport, and the bus network is also highly developed. The Turks themselves are extremely friendly and helpful, and everywhere I went I encountered smiling faces. In the countryside, I was sometimes introduced to entire families. My experiences in this part of the world are entirely positive.


Turkey - Atatürk - Ata photo

Practicals

Transport

Bus

The Public transportation system in Turkey is good, reliable - punctuality, careful driving, the safety and comfort, everything.

Turkey - Konya - train - Ata photo

Food

Starbucks is open until about midnight.

Sweets



Turkey - baklava - r.g photo

Turkey - Cappadocia - Ihlara Valley - barbecue fish dish (whole branzino) - Ata photo

Turkey - lunch - traditional grilled Seekh Kebab (Kofta Kebab) - Ata photo

Turkey - soup - Ata photo

Turkey - dessert - Ata photo

Shopping

 Many shops are open 24/7, even bakeries.

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“They love to bargain and act out huge emotions. If you are capable – and you have to be a bit cheeky sometimes – then you can take advantage of the situation perfectly. For example, I might start by offering 50 euros for a jacket, and say I would have also bought this and that, but I can’t because my children are starving to death and my husband will divorce me if I buy this... I might even turn around and take two steps as if I was leaving – at last, he shouts after me and sells me a jacket, a blouse, and slippers for 80 euros, and even offers me coffee.” (2022)



Turkey - USD and EUR exchange rate to Turkish lira - November 2020 - Ata photo

Fun

Very few guys dance in nightclubs (that is not the case in weddings).

Istanbul - Turkish tea - Ata photo

Public safety

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Turkey - police - polis - Ata photo

Health

Toilets in some restaurants have some machine which pushes a plastic cover over the toilet seat.

Turkey - Jellyfish - Ata photo

Others

1. Some restaurants/cafes have complimentary hairspray and gel for guys to use in the bathrooms, even hairdryers.

Turkey- newlyweds - Ata photo

Turkey - Christian church tower easily transformed into a minaret - Ata photo

Turkey - teatime - Ata photo

Turkey - cafe - only men - Ata photo

Background

Turkey - national flags - r.g. photo

Destination in brief

Turkey in brief
Turkey is a Eurasian country: 3% of its territory is on the European continent, while the rest is in Western Asia. Some consider that Turkey’s Asian part is in the Near East or Middle East. Neighbors: Greece and Bulgaria (northwest), Georgia (northeast), Azerbaijan and Iran (east), Iraq and Syria (south). Turkey has long coastline on the Black Sea (north), and is bordered to the west by both the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
Turkish teams, both national and at club level, compete as Europeans in international sports competitions.

Size: 783,562 km² (302,535 mi²) – The longest east-west distance within Turkey is 1,600 km (994 miles).
 
Capital city: Ankara – Pop. 5.1 million (2020), but the biggest city is Istanbul, with 15.2 million inhabitants (2020).
 
Population: 84.1 million (2020) – Half of the population is under 30 years old.
 
No, the Turks are not Arabs. Turkish society is deeply divided and its opinion on Arabs follows this roughly half-half split. Many feel that since Arabs are fellow Muslims and religious identity takes precedence over ethnic or national identity, Turkish-Arab solidarity must be seen as paramount. Others, especially in the larger cities, attach more value to national identity and, being more secular and progressive, they often regard Arabs as backward and too conservative.
 
Language: Turkish – Turkish is most similar to the Azeri language spoken in Azerbaijan. Turkey replaced the Ottoman Turkish script with a new, Latin-based Turkish alphabet in 1928.
Religion: 99% Muslim – 80.5% Sunni Muslim, 16.5% Shia-Aleviler. Turkey is a secular country - although Islam is not a state religion, political Islam is on the rise.
 
Political system: Turkey is a presidential republic, formally a democracy, but with a strong authoritarian character.
 
Turkey is a member of NATO, the only Muslim member state of this Western military alliance.
 
Currency: Turkish lira (TRY) – a very volatile currency
 
Average net monthly salary: about 550 USD (2020)
 
Most common surname: Yilmaz
 
There is a wedding tradition in Turkey requiring the friends and relatives of the groom to beat him just before he leaves the wedding hall with his new wife. It is done as a joke, to have fun, because of a belief that if the back of the groom is beaten before sex, it will speed up his blood flow and make for better sex on the newlyweds’ wedding night.
 
Safety: Turkey is a safe country with a relatively low crime rate. Some terrorist attacks have temporarily shaken the tourist industry in the past decades.
 
Top tourist attractions:
 
The historic neighborhoods of Istanbul, with the Aya Sofya, the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace.
Göreme National Park and the rock temples of Cappadocia, Hattusa, Pamukkale, Kayaköy, Safranbolu, Greek Orthodox Sumela Monastery, Ephesus, Pergamon, Troy


Geography

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Pamukkale - white travertine terraces - r.g. photo

Turkey - Mount Ararat - Ata photo

History

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Turkey - Atatürk - Ata photo

Nowadays

Many Turks work like slaves.Long hours in little shops, 10–12 hours a day, 6 days a week, low employee benefits or labor rights, little pay.

Turkey - Erdogan - Ata photo

Turkey - Çanakkale Province - Geyikli - coal stove - Ata photo

Turkey - waving - v.j. photo

People

Turks are very helpful and they respect each other.

Turks love dogs, unlike people in many Muslim countries.

Privacy and private life are non-existent in Turkey. The guy you have met for 2 minutes is going to ask you anything s/he likes—hard life for individualistic people. People, in a relaxed and matter-of-fact fashion, staring at each other’s’ phone in public places, and this was one of the greatest mysteries to me as to why the person should not be ashamed of this. The more shy people steal a glance at your phone, but there are people also who can watch your phone for 30 minutes during a metro ride.

Turks feel like they need to hurry and rush in everything, be it the road or marriage or making money.

The average Turk gets offended easily, and it is turned quickly to anger or, the least, some grim face. Even watching TV series and ads, they are full of intended or unintended excitement.

Turkey - ladies in headscarf - Ata photo

Turkey - local men - Ata photo

Turkey - Antalya - Ata photo

Turkey - Konya - baker - Ata photo

Turkey - reading the Quran - Ata photo (November 2020)

Türkey - Konya - twosome - Ata photo

Tourist etiquette

 1. In public transportation, older people, pregnant ladies, etc. are offered a seat while standing

2. If you happen to quarrel with a Turk, their friends are going confront you as well, with frowned, grim faces. So remember, if there is a quarrel, it is going to be a quarrel with all the buddies.

Gastronomy

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Turkey - kofte - Ata photo

Turkey - cheese borek - Ata photo

Turkey - Turkish donut - Ata photo

Attractions

Turkish Riviera - Antalya - r.g. photo

Antalya

Cappadocia

Turkey - Cappadocia - Ata photo

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