"Impressions of Turkey" Turkey by DSwede

Turkey Travel Guide: 24,319 reviews and 69,494 photos

Sultanamet - Blue Mosque (Istanbul) - Turkey

I lived and worked in Bursa for about 9 months. I did a fairly extensive amount of traveling with Turkey and generally found the people wonderfully inviting and loved my stay. Here's a few random thoughts about Turkey as a whole. Check out my individual pages for comments on specific destinations.

(for more pictures, feel free to visit my Turkey Gallery. If you enjoy the pictures, please leave a comment.)

The famous Fairy Chimney's of Kappadokia

I lived for many months in Bursa. Using it as a base camp, I explored around to:
Istanbul - Thriving city of modern and ancient life, straddling the Bosporus.
Ankara - Capital city in the central country.
Kas - Southern get away spot
Gemlik - Quaint fishing village south of the Marmaras from Istanbul
Iznik - Ancient walls still encapsulate much of the city on the lake
Troy - Ancient site of Truva/Troy where the infamous lover's fate doomed the city
Assos - Greek site on top of the cliffs, overlooking the sea to the south
Ortakoy - One of my favorite neighborhoods of Istanbul
Cappadokia/Nevsehir/Goreme - Full of underground cities and folklore (and the infamous siting of me having to dance with the belly dancer!)
& many other places in between.

A Few Helpful Tips

Greetings:
People customarily shake hands, but for both men and women, if they know each other they may kiss both cheeks.

Driving:
Posted signs and road markings are merely recommendations. People are courteous everywhere except on the road, but they expect that everyone drives aggressively and pays no attention to others. Flashing of high beams is customary sign of "I'm here" or "I'm coming" either way, "get out of my way". Police have a bad reputation of being lazy and of being corrupt. Streets do not commonly have recognizable signs, and most intersections simply point to the cities or town at the other end. Therefore, almost all roads in Turkey go to Istanbul, Ankara or Izmir.

Tipping: Tips are included in the bill. If you tip, just round the bill to the next even amount or for a good meal a couple lira more

A little language help: Check out a good English-Turkish dictionary. It has helpful pronunciation guides for the vowels too:
http://www.seslisozluk.com/

Here's a few helpful words:
Tesekkur Ederium - Thank you
Bay - guy (ex Bay = guy, but Dave-bay = Mr. Dave --> its impolite to use this with the last name)
Bayan - girl (same usage as Bay)
Gunaydin - Good morning
Afiyet Olsun - good appetite (often said after meal, actually more of a wish that the meal give you enough to reach the next one)
Dur - stop
Bir - one
On - ten
Sol - left
Sag - right
Su - water
Sut - milk
Iyi gun - good day
Nasilsiniz? - how are you?

Pros and Cons

Pros:Many of my anecdotes have to do with the kind and helpful nature of the people.
Cons:Distances between destinations can be quite far. Most people underestimate this, so plan travel time into your itinerary.
In a nutshell:With so much diversification, a week minimum is required on each corner of the country.

Intro Updated Apr 4, 2011
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Comments (4)

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Mikebb Nov 1, 2009 at 8:22 PM

Understand your tip on religious differences. We were in Morrocco lasy year during Ramaddan. Very quiet during the day.
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starship May 26, 2009 at 6:57 AM

Good observation -- hope you will add more to this page.
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mirliya Feb 28, 2009 at 7:34 AM

:)).My daughter gave me her ex. L.top last month,I cant use it here :)) All the best from Turkey .
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discobunny Feb 23, 2007 at 10:29 PM

Wheres the coffee reading????