USEFUL HOLIDAY INFORMATION

This page is to provide you with some useful information on Turkey...

Passport and Visa

A passport with at least 3 months validity left on it is required for entrance into Turkey. Be sure that the name on your passport and your airline tickets are identical. Return Ticket Required. Requirements may be subject to change at short notice. Contact the relevant authority before travelling.
Visa required by all except: Nationals of Barbados, Belize, Chile, Ecuador, Fiji, Grenada, Iceland, Iran; Israel, Jamaica, Kenya, South Korea, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Monaco, Morocco, New Zealand, Northern Cyprus, Norway, Oman, Qatar, St Lucia, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, Switzerland, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay and Vatican City for stay of up to 3 months. Nationals of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia for stays of up to 2 months. Nationals of Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and South Africa for stays up to 1 month.
Tourists from the following countries can obtain their visas on arrival for a fee, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom, Hong Kong and the USA for visits not exceeding 3 months. CIS, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Jordan, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovak Republic and Taiwan (China) for visits not exceeding 1 month. Albania, Guatemala, and Georgia, for visits not exceeding 15 days.
A visa is also required for U.S. citizens and can be obtained from a Turkish consulate prior to departure or upon arrival in Turkey.

Time

Local time is equal to GMT + 2 hours. Same time zone all over the country ( seven hours ahead of U.S. eastern standard time)

 

Electricity

 

220 volts a.c. throughout Turkey. Those who use 110 V or any other than 220 V at home need a converter.

Weights and Measures

Metric and Kilo system

When To Come

28.10.2005 coasts: These coasts have a typical Mediterranean climate with hot summers and mild winters. The swimming season becomes shorter the further north one goes: Marmara and North Aegean - June to September; South Aegean and Mediterranean - April to October.
Black Sea Coast: Warm summers, mild winters, and relatively high rainfall.
Central Anatolia: Steppe climate with hot, dry summers; cold winters.
Eastern Anatolia: Long snowy cold winters with mild summers.
Southeast Anatolia: Hot summer with mild, rainy winters.
Click here to see the latest weather in Turkey

Trip Preparation

For full information concerning your trip to Turkey, contact us at info@goreletourism.com. We will send you a check-list before your departure so that you will make sure everything is good to GO!
***Important***While planning your trip to Turkey do not forget to check your passport if it is valid for at least 3 months. Depending on your nationality most probably your stay as a tourist is limited up to 3 months (for one entrance).
Should you loose your passport you should immediately contact your countries embassy or consulate in Turkey.

Getting Around

***DON'T FORGET! TURKEY IS ONE OF THE SAFEST COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD TO TRAVEL.***
Transportation
Road: There is an extensive road development and maintenance programme. Care must be taken if driving as accidents can lead to serious complications and delay your travel.
Car Hire: Available in all main towns. Documentation: IDP is required for visits over 3 months.
Buses: Local 'Dolmus' minibus runs to the center of every resort in Turkey, fee is approximately 25 - 45 pence. There are bus stops along the route, as of this year 2001 the minibuses stop only at those stops.
Taxis: are recognized by their yellow colour. The fare shown on the meter reads according to the distance travelled. Better take a dolmus(local transportation in Turkey by small minibuses for 12 to 15 people known as stuffed or packed in English:)still - taxi is expensive in resorts!
Rail: Fares are comparatively cheap.
Coach: Many companies provide services between major cities.
Passport is not required for domestic flights within Turkey but you should have at least one legitimating document with you in case it is needed. If you rent a car remember to carry all the documents of car hire and insurance in a handbag and in case of any emergency contact us at 0256 612 55 30.
Traffic is running from the right in Turkey. While crossing streets in big cities, make sure that the vehicles are at a reasonable distance to allow you cross the street safely. In Turkey, cars have the privilege to use the streets. You can safely walk on the pedestrian walk ways.
If you are eating out in a restaurant, waiters expect some tip usually 10% of your bill, and even if it is included in your bill, you should leave it at the table separately. Tipping taxis is not necessary, they do have the taximeter, just pay the mentioned amount.
Public restrooms are available at the town centers, museums, restaurants, mosques and gas stations and usually a small service charge is expected ( 15 c. ). It is sometimes hard to find a European style (sitting closet) closet especially in rural areas. Western style can be found at gas stations and restaurants along the major tourist roads. In any case, it is advised to have your own toilet paper and Kleenex where it is unavailable at public rest rooms. The usage of the squat toilet can be summarized as follows:
Briefly, pants are rolled up to the knees, and the upper part, along with underpants, lowered to the knees. Items capable of falling are best removed beforehand; retrieving them will likely be impractical. You squat by first bending the upper part of your body forward (to maintain balance), then lower yourself by bending your legs, coming to rest quite naturally (and comfortably) on your haunches and legs. Reverse to rise. Aim is more important in squat toilets than in sit toilets, so don't fire indiscriminately.
Cleaning up is likely not to involve toilet paper, unless you brought your own. This is done using a container to bring water to your waiting left hand, which will splash it on the appropriate areas. Wash your hands when finished with soap. Now you know why the social use of the left hand is impolite in many parts of the world. If you do use paper, do not deposit it in the toilet (unless there's no plumbing involved), or you will probably clog the plumbing. There is likely to be a wastebasket handy: the soiled paper goes there.
Smoking is not permitted in flights, public places, most tour busses and public transportation. The Turkish people do smoke a lot , you would easily recognize that nearly 80 percent of the population smokes cigarettes. By the way Turkish tobacco is top quality and you should buy your cigarettes in Turkey as they are delicious and cheap.

The Mosques

The mosques are open to everyone. You will have to leave your shoes at the entrance or carry them in your hands, women in most mosques are required to cover their heads with a scarf and naked parts of their legs and shoulders. If you don't have anything with you, they will give you some scarves at the entrance for free. Silence is required inside the mosques, it is suggested that you shouldn't laugh loudly inside as this may offend people praying. Most of the mosques are closed to visits at prayer times. Turkey is a secular country with a population that is mostly Moslem. Turkey is a secular country where religion and politics is slightly separated. The weekends are Saturdays and Sundays, while Fridays are working days, even though in the Moslem belief Friday is the holy day.

Photography

In some of the museums or palaces you are not allowed to take pictures or use flash, before you go in, just check if there is a sign with a camera crossed over, which means keep you camera in your hand bags, or check them in. Also, as an universal rule you are not permitted to touch any of the artifacts displayed.
Photographing the Turkish ladies in the rural areas may offend them. The procedure is, just direct your camera towards them, if they say no, or mean it with gestures, just leave it. Some people including ladies love to be photographed, and will probably give you their address hoping to receive a copy from you.
***IMPORTANT - Do not take photographs of anything connected with the military.***

Working Hours, Days and Holidays

Offices and banks are generally open 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM from Monday to Friday, with a break
between 12:00 to 1:30 PM.
Apr 23 National Sovereignty and Children's Day (anniversary of the establishment of Turkish Grand National Assembly)
May 19 Atatürk Commemoration and Youth & Sports Day (the arrival of Atatürk in Samsun, and the beginning of the War of Independence)
Aug 30 Victory Day (victory over invading forces in 1922)
Oct 29 Republic Day (anniversary of the declaration of the Turkish Republic)
Ramazan Bayramı / Sugar Feast :Three-day festival when sweets are eaten to celebrate the end of the fast of Ramazan. (A Moslem moveable feast) (The dates of these religious festivals change according to the Muslim lunar calendar and thus occur 12 days earlier each year.)
Kurban Bayramı / Slaughter Feast : (A Moslem moveable feast) Four-day festival when sacrificial sheep are slaughtered and their meat distributed amongst the poor, neighbors and within the family.

Eating and Drinking

Sanitation is taken seriously and strictly controlled in general by the authorities. Because of climate and food differences rarely diarrhea could occur. Do have some medicine with you against stomach upsets and diarrhea. Those who are vegetarian will be able to find vegetable food or at least omelet which is very popular in Turkey, almost in every town. The Turkish and Ottoman Kitchen is one of the world leading kitchens (Supposed to be the third after the Chinese and French). Dishes are mainly cooked of meat (lamb, chicken and cow -pork is not eaten-) and vegetables (Beans, Eggplant, Peppers, Onion, Garlic, Potatoes, Pumpkin). Rice, Macaroni , local specialties made from flour (Pide, Manti, Gozleme, Borek...), sweets (Baklava, Kadayıf, Burma, Sobiyet ...) are all widely eaten.
Most of the restaurants display their food in windows, or waiters can bring the samples if you request. Also, the menu that shows available food can be found on your table, in tourist areas in English and German (Specially in South part of Turkey) as well.
Although it is safe to drink tap water, it is recommended to buy bottled drink water which can be found almost everywhere at stores. The city water is chlorinated for sanitation reasons of which you might not like the smell. You can safely brush your teeth with tap water.
There is no restriction on the sale and use of Alcohol in Turkey. The famous local anis drink "Rakı" is widely consumed in Turkey. The "Rakı Culture" is sitting long hours at the dinner table, eating "meze"'s and chat with each other on regular and personal subjects. While most people prefer Rakı, wine is also famous in Turkey. The local wine production in northwest and mid Anatolia is worth to mention. Many foreigners do tell that the local beer, specially the "Efes Pilsen" brand does have a wonderful taste. You only should if possible avoid drinking in public during the month Ramadan (The vesting month). As a tourist you will not be effected from the Ramadan, the night life will continue in rural areas.

Shopping

Turkey is known by many as a shopper's paradise with rich variety of the craft mean that it is impossible to resist buying. Main shopping resorts are Fethiye, Bodrum, Marmaris, Antalya, Alanya, and Istanbul Grand Bazaar.
Unlike a European country there is a great range of places in which to shop in Turkey, from modern boutiques to colourful bazaars and bustling markets.
In virtually every instance, carpets, fine leather, precious jewelry, gold in particular are a better buy here in Turkey than they are in other parts of Europe.

Monetary

As of 1st of January 2005, six zeroes have been deleted from our currency and YTL (New Turkish Lira) became the new currency unit of Turkey, so we started using the New Turkish Lira and the New Kurus (cent). The Law for YTL #5083 was published in the Official Gazzette dated 31 January 2004.
To learn more about New Turkish Lira click here

welcomes you...