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In addition to the existing social values of families living in a big city, the Turkish people have retained some distinctive values of their own. One is an immense courtesy towards guests and visitors and a tendency to lavish hospitality upon them, no matter how costly. Another is an abiding respect for their family and its senior members. Another Turkish value is a strong respect for hard work and determination. And above all, there is a sense of humor and a love of life and music. One 19th century English ambassador noticed that the people of Turkey loved to sing and dance whenever they could.

Many things have changed in Turkey since his time, but not that. Hospitality is an integral part of Turkish culture. Friends, relatives, and neighbors often visit each other. The tradition of hospitality dictates that visitors are always invited in and offered something to drink and something to eat. Turks go to great lengths to make their guests feel comfortable and may even tolerate behavior that they consider inappropriate. In general, the Turkish people are open-minded, hospitable and well educated.

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.

Super (peremium) – Unleaded (at some places). Normal (regular) – Diesel.

General: Those who wish to enter the country with their vans, minibuses, automobiles, station wagons, bicycles, motorcycles, motorbikes, sidecars, buses, motor coaches, trailers, caravans or other transport vehicles, will have to provide the following documentations:

– Passport.
– International driving license.
– Car license (document where all details related to the car and the owner’s name are registered). If it is somebody else’s vehicle a power of attorney should be provided.
– International green card (Insurance card). The TR sign should be visible.
– Transit book “Carnet de passage” (for those who want to proceed to the Middle East).

Period: The vehicle can be brought into Turkey for up to 6 Months. The owner should declare on the opposite form, the date of departure at the border gate and should absolutely ve the country at the date declared. If for any important reason the staying period has to be ended, it is necessary to apply to;

The Turkish Touring and Automobile Club (Turkiye Turing ve Otomobil Kurumu)
Address: 1. Sanayi Sitesi Yani, 4.Levent, Istanbul
Phone + 90 (212) 282 81 40 (7 lines).
Fax

or to

The General Directorate of Customs (Gumrukler Genel Mudurlugu)
Ulus Ankara
Phone + 90 (312) 310 38 80, 310 38 18
Fax + 90 (312) 311 13 46, before the end of the period declared.

In Case of Accident: The accident should be reported to the police or gendarme. That report has to be certified by the nearest local authority. The owner should apply to the customs authority with his passport and report.

If the vehicle can be repaired, it is necessary to inform the customs authority first and take the vehicle to a garage. If the vehicle is not repairable and if the owner wishes to leave the country without his vehicle, he has to deliver it to the nearest customs office, and the registration of his vehicle on his passport will be cancelled. (Only after the cancellation can the owner of the vehicle leave the country.)

Following an accident, you can telephone:

– Trafik Polisi (Traffic Police), Phone: 154,
– Jandarma (Gendarme), Phone: 156.

For more information, contact the Touring and Automobile Association of Turkey.

For those who wish to bring domestic animals into the country the following are required:

– Pets have to be 3 months and older
– An International Certificate of Health issued within 15 days before the travel
– The Identification Card
– Vaccination Card

Note: If you have an official certificate, you may bring one cat, one bird, one dog and 10 aquarium fish into the country. To get information for the importation of pets, please see the Consular Services.

You Can Receive a Tax Refind for the Goods You Purchased In Turkey!

– Refunds will be made to travellers who do not reside in Turkey.
– All goods (including food and drinks) are included in the refunds with the exclusion of services rendered.
– The minimum amount of purchase that qualifies for refund is 5.000 TL.
– Retailers that qualify for tax refunds must be “authorised for refund.” These retailers must display a permit received from their respective tax office.
– The retailer will make four copies of the receipt for your refund, three of which will be received by the purchaser. If photocopies of the receipt are received the retailer must sign and stamp the copies to validate them. If you prefer the refund to be made by check, a Tax-free Shopping Check for the amount to be refunded to the customer must be given along with the receipt.
– For the purchaser to benefit from this exemption he must leave the country within three months with the goods purchased showing them to Turkish customs officials along with the appropriate receipts and! or check.

– There are four ways to receive your refund:
– If the retailer gives you a check it can he cashed at a bank in the customs area at the airport. If it is not possible to cash the check upon departure or if you do not wish to cash it then, .e customer must, within one month, send a copy of the receipt showing that the goods have left the country to the retailer who will, within ten days upon receiving the receipt, send a bank transfer to the purchaser’s hank or address.
– If the certified receipt and check are brought back to the retailer on a subsequent visit thin one-month of the date of customs certification, the refund can be made directly to the purchaser.
– Retailers may directly refund the amount to trustworthy customers upon purchase
– The refund may be made by the organisation of those companies that are authorised to make tax refunds.

Additional information: Ministry of Finance and Tax Dept. General Directorate, (Maliye Bakanligi, Gelirler Genel Mudurlugu) KDV Subesi 06100, Ulus – Ankara
Tel: (312) 3103880/725 – 728 – 735, Fax: (312) 311 45 10

The Turks are racially diverse. Many are the descendants of refugees, often from the Balkans, but a strong sense of national identity is rooted in a shared language and religion. Most are Sunni Moslems, although a Shia community including the Alawite sect. The largest community are the Kurds, making up about 20% of the population and the rest are Turks. There are some 500,000 Arabic speakers.

Many parts of Turkey are subject to earthquakes. The Bosphorus and the Dardanelles owe their existence to the fault lines running through Turkey, leading to the creation of the Black Sea. There is an earthquake fault line across the north of the country from west to east. Within the last century there were many earthquakes along this fault line, the sizes and locations of these earthquakes can be seen on the Fault lines & Earthquakes image. This image also includes a small scaled map that shows other fault lines in Turkey.

A glance at a topographical map of Turkey immediately reveals that this is a country of mountains. Rising in all four directions, mountains encircle the peninsula of Anatolia. A part of the Alpine Himalayan mountain range, Turkey has mountainous regions of different geological formations. The North Anatolian range skirts the Mediterranean shore.

Most Popular Montains in Turkey: The Munzur Mountains, The Bolkar Mountains, The Bey Mountains, The Suphan Mountain, The Nemrut Mountain, The Mountain Erciyes, The Toros Mountains, The Kackar Mountains, The Cilo Sat Mountains, The Great Agri Mountain

There are number of sports which take place in Turkey and its districts.
The Most Popular activities are:
Track and Field, Basketball, Football (Soccer), Billiard, Wrestling, Bicycling, Marshall Art, Handball, Swimming, Body Building, Sailing, Table Tennis, Chess, Boy or Girl Scout, Volleyball, Boxing, Diving, Hunting