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City Information

Language, Water, Safety, Money Exchange, Telephone System, Turkish Tea and Coffee in Turkey

• Language

• Turkish which originate form Central Asia belongs to Uralo- Altaic language group. It is an agglunative language in which words are built up with the addition of one or two suffixes to the root. They are 29 letters in the Turkish alphabet. The letters X, Q and W don't exist.

• Water:

• It is recommended that you have bottled water in Turkey. Although most of the major hotels purify their water, it is safer to have bottled water.

• Money Change:  One can easily use foreign currency for shopping and accommodation. But if you like to get some local currency, you can change in the banks or change offices. Hotel rates are generally lower than the change offices and banks. Due to inflation Turkish money has a lot zeros. It is recommended to be careful about banknotes because of similarities in designs and colors. Put 10 millions and 5 millions in a separate section in your valet.

• Safety

• Istanbul is one of the safest cities of the world. On the other hand, one should be careful with people you meet on the streets at Grand Bazaar area and with your valuable in the crowded avenues of Istanbul. You might be taken to a cousin's or uncle's shop.

• Taxis: Taxis are quite reasonable in Istanbul. You can hail a taxi any time. All the taxies are in yellow color and metered and charge 25 % more after midnight. It is sometimes difficult to find a taxi during the rush hour and winter days.

• Dolmus (shared taxies)

• One of the interesting means of transportation is shared taxies or dolmus. Old American cars of 50's and 60's are used as communal taxies of which starting point and terminus are fixed They leave only when they are full.

•  

• Telephone systemTelephone boots operate with the tokens or telephone cards which come 30, 50 and 100 units. For International calls, dial 00 and country, city codes and number. Turkish mobile telephone system is surprisingly good nearly all over Turkey.

• Transportation:   Busses are in orange, red and blue colors. Generally one ticket covers the whole journey. One can buy the tickets at the kiosks by the main bus stops. Istanbul buses are generally overcrowded.

• Tea

• Tea which grows on the Black Sea coast is the national drink in Turkey and is consumed any time of the day. Turks drink many cups of tea.

• Coffee

• Turkish Coffee which is so famous all over the world is traditional prepared in small coppers cups. One can order Turkish Coffee as sade (without sugar), medium or with sugar.

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Last modified: September 26, 2009