Near the town is Evkaya, a rock tomb dating from the sixth century B.C. In the village of Kasaba, the 14th century Mahmut Bey Mosque retains some of the finest wood carvings found anywhere in Turkey.
Author: tur
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Kartalkaya Ski Center, Bolu, Turkey
The Kartalkaya Skiing Resort is located in the Western Black Sea Region, southeast of the town of Bolu in the picturesque pine forests of the Koroglu Mountains. The mountain has appropriate conditions for Alpine and cross-country skiing. The Ankara Highway is a 45 minute drive from this center, which is about 220 km from the airport in Ankara, and about 275 km from the airport in Istanbul. The duration of the skiing season is 120 days a year. The skiing area of Kartalkaya is 1800-2221 m high and the most suitable skiing conditions are between 20 December and 20 March. The average snowfall is 3 m in normal winter conditions.
At the beginning of the season the type of snow is “powdery-snow” and at the end of the season the snow characteristic is slightly “slushy snow.” This center has suitable conditions for Alpine skiing, ski touring, and cross-country skiing and it is equipped with 3 chairlifts and 7 T-bars.
Qualified skiing instructors and equipment for hire are available. The slopes and mechanical equipment are under surveillance of experts. All hotels have first aid facilities and medically trained personnel. Note: In foggy conditions it is essential not to wander outside the marked slopes. Accommodations can be booked directly.
Arrival: The distance from Bolu city centre is 54km, and 28m to the Ankara highway. It takes around 45 minutes by road from the city centre and in addition to public buses and minibuses, most of the hotels organise this service for visitors.
Geography: The ski area is at an altitude of 1850-2200m, and the region has semi-temperate climate. Kartalkaya and surroundings are covered with forests, and has a dominant wind direction of west/north-west. The best season for skiing is from late December and late March, with an average 3m snowfall. The snow at the beginning of the season is powdery, getting increasingly slushy towards the end.
Facilities: There are two hotels with a total bed capacity of 1005, plus restaurants, swimming pools, discos and bars. Ski equipment and instruction is available. There are two chair-lifts, six T-bars and three baby lifts, with 12 ski runs around 20km long.
– Yesil (green) Lift (Chairlift – 700 m)
– Camcukuru Lift (Chairlift – 650 m)
– Inekcayiri 1-2 (Ski-Lift – 900 m)
– Resuldede 1-2 (Ski-Lift – 600 m)
– Kazankaya (Ski-Lift – 650 m)
– Koroglu Lift (Ski-Lift – 1200 m)
– 2 Baby-Lift -
The Turkish Currency
The Turkish currency is the Turkish ‘Lira’ (TL) is divided into 100 Kurus (KR) and these are all coins and bank notes are available in denominations of 1 TL, 5 TL, 10 TL, 20 TL, 50 TL, 100 TL and 200 TL. The Turkish Lira Currency can be exchanged at airports, banks and exchange booths of which there are many. Banks open mainly Monday to Friday from 8.30pm to 5.00pm. All bank branches have ATMs which accept Cirrus, Plus and just about every credit card and ATM’s can also be found at ideally in many places.
Major credit cards are widely accepted. Traveller’s cheques can be exchanged at banks and hotels. $ US or € Euros are preferred. Post Offices in the larger towns will sometimes change currency and travellers cheques for a much lower commission than banks. The local currency is Turkish Lira (TL). Check out www.tcmb.gov.tr for current exchange rates.
Currency Regulation
Limits: There is no limit on the amount of foreign currency that may be brought into Turkey, but not more than 5 5,000 worth of Turkish currency may be brought into or taken out of the country.Exchange slips: The exchange slips for the conversion of foreign currency into Turkish lira should be kept, since you may be required to show these when reconverting your Turkish lira back into foreign currency, and when taking souvenirs out of the country (to prove that they have been purchased with legally exchanged foreign currency).
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Postal System in Turkey
Turkish post-offices are easily recognized by their black PTT letters on a yellow background. Major post offices are open from 8:00 a.m. till 12:00 p.m., Monday/Saturday, and 9:00 a.m. till 7:00 p.m., Sunday. Small post-offices have the same hours as the government offices.
Postal charges vary for different services depending on destination. Post restante letters should be addressed “postrestant” to the central post-office Merkez Postanesi, in the town of your choice. You have to show your identification card to collect your letters.
All PTT branches have the facilities to exchange money at the current international exchange rates, as well as international postal orders and travellers’ cheques. There is also an express postal service (APS) operating to 90 countries for letters , documents and small packages. A wide variety of special stamps are available in all PTT centers for philatelists.
To phone from PTT telephone booths, which are extensively found in all areas; telephone cards , and tokens (“;jeton”) in three sizes are used. Local, inter-city and international calls can be made from all PTT offices. Besides these main offices there are also mobile PTT services in the touristic areas. For the area codes of major cities and touristic areas in Turkey, please see the “Area Codes” list. Foreign countries area codes are indicated in the International Telephone Codes list.
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Most Fluent Turkish Phrases in English
Most of the Turks You Will Meet – Crew Members, Hotel & Restaurant Staff, Shop – Keepers Will Speak At Least Some English, and Many Will Be Fluent.
English Turkish Hello Merhaba How are you? Nasilsiniz? I am fine Ben iyiyim Yes Evet No Hayir
Thank you Tesekkur Ederim
Please Lutfen
Excuse Me Affedersiniz
When? Ne Zaman?
How? Nasil?
Why Nicin? What? Ne? Who? Kim? Good Iyi Bad Kotu Very Cok Do you speak English? Ingilizce biliyormusunuz?
I don’t understand Anlamadim I understand Anliyorum/Anladim I want Istiyorum A double room Cift yatakli bir oda A single room Tek yatakli bir oda What is a room rate per night? Bir gecelik oda ne kadar? Cheap Ucuz Expensive [very expensive] Pahali [cok pahali] Where is the nearest bank? En yakin banka nerededir? Can you exchange my traveller’s check, please? Seyahat cekimi bozabilirmisiniz, lutfen? How long will it take? Ne kadar surer? Give me the check, please Hesabi verirmisiniz Where is the rest-room? Tuvalet nerede?
Call a doctor Doktor cagirin
Call the police Polis cagirin
It is an emergency Cok acil
New Friends Yeni Arkadas
What’s your name? Adiniz ne?
My name is… Benim adim…
Where are you from? Nerelisiniz?
Are you alone? Yalniz misiniz?
Are you married? Evli misiniz?
Where’s your hotel? Oteliniz nerede?
What kind of music do you like? Ne tur muzik seversiniz?
What do you like doing? Nelerden hoshlanirsiniz?
Nice to meet you: Memnun oldum
Would you like an icecream? Dondurma ister misiniz?
No thanks hayir, tesekurler
What are you studying? Ne okuyorsun?
Let’s go and dance! Hadi, dans edelim
Your eyes are beautiful Gozlerin cok guzel
You dance so well Mukemmel dans ediyorsun
I feel so close to you: Kendimi sana yakin hissediyorum
I love you Seni seviyorum
I love you too Ben de seni seviyorum.
Don’t do that Yapma!
No, not tonight Bu aksam olmaz
Shopping Alisveris
Do you take credit cards? Kredi karti kabul ediyor musunuz?
I’m just looking Yalniz bakiyorum
That’s too expensive cok Pahali
What’s Your Best Price? Son Fiyatiniz ne?
Can I try this on? Bunu deneyebilirmiyim?
A larger / smaller size Daha buyuk / kucuk beden
I don’t understand Anlamiyorum
I don’t know Bilmiyorum
Sunday Pazar
Monday Pazartesi
Tuesday Sali
Wednesday Carsamba
Thursday Persembe
Friday Cuma
Saturday Cumartesi
How much is this? Bunun fiyati ne kadar?
Goodbye Hosca Kalin