Middle East - Anthony Ham [520]
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LANGUAGE
Turkish is the official language and almost everyone understands it. It’s been written in the Latin script since Atatürk rejected Arabic in 1928. In southeastern Anatolia, most Kurds speak Turkish, but in remote places you’ll hear Kurmancı and Zazakı, the two Kurdish dialects spoken in Turkey. South of Gaziantep you’ll also hear Arabic being spoken alongside Turkish.
For words and phrases in Turkish, Click here.
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MAPS
Turkish tourist offices supply an excellent free Tourist Map (1:850,000), plus local maps.
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MONEY
Turkish lira (TL) comes in notes of five, 10, 20, 50 and 100, and one lira coins. One Turkish lira is worth 100 kuruş, which is available in one, five, 10, 25 and 50 kuruş coins. The Turkish lira superseded the new Turkish lira (YTL) in January 2009. After 31 December 2009, new Turkish lira notes and the associated kuruş coins will no longer be accepted for payment, but can be exchanged for the new currency at branches of the bank Türkiye Ziraat Bankasi.
Inflation is an ongoing problem in Turkey and many businesses quote prices in the more-stable euro. We have used both lira and euros in listings, according to the currency quoted by the business in question.
Below are the exchange rates for a range of currencies when this book went to print.
Country Unit Turkish lira (TL)
Australia A$1 1.03
Canada C$1 1.30
Euro zone €1 2.02
Japan ¥100 1.68
New Zealand NZ$1 0.90
Syria S£10 0.33
UK UK£1 2.31
USA US$1 1.56
ATMs
ATMs readily dispense Turkish lira to Visa, MasterCard, Cirrus, Maestro and Eurocard holders; there’s hardly a town without a machine. Some tellers also dispense euros and US dollars. Provided that your home bank card only requires a four-digit personal identification number (PIN), it’s possible to get around Turkey with nothing else. But remember to draw out money in the towns to tide you through the villages, and keep some cash in reserve for the inevitable day when the ATM decides to throw a wobbly.
Note that some overseas banks charge an arm and a leg for the conversion – check before you leave home.
Cash
US dollars and euros are the easiest currencies to change, although many banks and exchange offices will change other major currencies such as UK pounds and Japanese yen. You may find it difficult to exchange Australian or Canadian currency, except at banks and offices in major cities.
Credit Cards
Visa and MasterCard are widely accepted by hotels, restaurants, carpet shops etc, although many pensions and local restaurants do not accept them outside the main tourist areas. You can also get cash advances on these cards. Amex cards are not accepted as often.
Moneychangers
It’s easy to change major currencies in most exchange offices, some PTTs, shops and hotels, although banks may make heavy weather of it. Places that don’t charge a commission usually offer a worse exchange rate instead.
Foreign currencies are readily accepted in shops, hotels and restaurants in main tourist areas. Taxi drivers accept foreign currencies for big journeys, which may drive down the price if the exchange rate is working in your favour.
Tipping
Turkey is fairly European in its approach to tipping and you won’t be pestered by demands for baksheesh, as elsewhere in the Middle East. Leave waiters and bath attendants around 10% of the bill; in restaurants, check a tip hasn’t been automatically added to the bill. It’s normal to round off metered taxi fares.
Travellers Cheques
Banks, shops and hotels often see it as a burden to change travellers cheques and will probably try to get you to go elsewhere or charge a premium. In case you do have to change them, try Akbank.
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POST
The base rate for sending postcards and letters to Europe is TL0.85; TL0.90 to Australia, New Zealand and the USA. Parcels sent by surface mail to Europe cost around TL40 for the first