Turkey for Beginners

It depends on where you travel. Coastal towns in high season, Istanbul, and other tourist locations, like parts of Cappadocia, are quite a bit more pricey than elsewhere in Turkey. Hotels, particularly in Istanbul, can be expensive—even along the lines of Paris or New York—though there are cheap options. Anything shipped is also expensive, so a cup of coffee at Starbucks in Istanbul will cost about the equivalent of $5 and a burger meal at McDonald's can cost as much as $8. Anything you purchase at the Grand Bazaar or on Istiklal Street, in Istanbul, will be much more expensive than the same wares bought off the beaten track.

The anise-flavored spirit raki is the favorite accompaniment to a meal of mezes and fish. In the major cities like Istanbul and İzmir, and in resort towns along the coast, raki is drunk quite liberally, as is Efes, the national beer. However, in smaller cities and more traditional parts of the country (mainly Central Anatolia), don't be upset if alcohol is not for sale in restaurants or shops. Because of high taxes, alcoholic drinks, individually those that are imported, are a fair bit more high in Turkey than they are in North America or Europe. Under a new law required to go into effect in September 2013, retail outlets such as corner shops and grocery stores will not be able to sell alcoholic drinks between the hours of 10 pm and 6 am.

The Turkish word for change office is döviz. In Istanbul and most other tourist centers, they seem to be everywhere. The fees for changing money aren't regularly too outrageous, even in tourist locales; though, your best option is to use your ATM card, with which you usually get that day's exchange rate. Turkey doesn't use the euro (and beware sellers who require you pay in foreign currency, which is illegal). The currency in Turkey is the Turkish lira. At the time of this writing, $1 = 2.85 TL and €1 = 3.2 TL, but the current economic circumstances means that the exchange rate is constantly in flux.

Not really. Turkish cuisine is related to Greek and Hungarian food, with many dishes consisting of roasted meat, boiled or roasted vegetables, and rice. Turks regularly add red pepper on the side, but even heaped generously on your food, it usually won't set the mouth afire. The only thing that might take you by shock is a roasted pepper, which often comes as a side with kebab plates. Any food with too much heat is easily defeated with a universal Turkish favorite—yogurt.

Ramadan, the month of fasting between dawn and sunset, is one of the most exciting times to be in Turkey since after sunset, most Turks party down. It's reported that your average Istanbullu gains weight during the fast. Hence in Turkey, the degree of adherence to the fast typically grows in proportion to how far east you try. In Istanbul and other tourist stops, it's not a dilemma to find restaurants that are open during the day, although in smaller and more traditional towns the abundance of closed eateries and cafés might make it harder to get a bite to eat, it's by no means impossible.

No man or woman on the road is ever forced to wear a turban, headscarf, or veil, though typical Turkish women do. Due to Turkey's approved secularism, there are some state institutions where the covering of women is forbidden. In mosques, however, all women—including visitors—are expected to wear headscarves and all guests must remove their shoes. In Istanbul and many coastal cities, you will see women dressed provocatively and even wearing bikinis while in more traditional towns such action is frowned on. Female tourists anywhere who don’t want to draw undue attention to themselves should err on the side of modesty

Terrorism does, sadly, seem to be a part of the world we live in today and there is a real amount of risk natural in traveling anywhere. In Istanbul the danger of being the victim of a terrorist attack is not much higher than in any European city: London and Madrid have both been gathering to terrorist attacks far greater in size than anything in Istanbul. Elsewhere in Turkey, the warning level depends on where you are. In the tourist-friendly cities of the Aegean and Mediterranean regions as well as Cappadocia the risk is negligible. In the east, where the state is still fighting Kurdish separatists, a bit more caution might be called for, though most of the struggle takes place in remote areas where guests are unlikely to try. The key thing is to stay learned, keep a low profile, and bear in mind that while rebel attacks are dramatic, you still have better odds of being struck by lightning

Yes! Turks are famous for their hospitality, and any local will happily tout this name. In Istanbul, you might find some metropolitan snobbishness, depending on the neighborhood, but just about everywhere else during the country Turks are friendly, talkative, and loving, and often sport large grains along with a hidden naughty side. As long as you are polite and avoid offending the nation, its symbols, or its governments, you'll do just fine and in all possibility, you'll be awed by how kind and friendly Turkish people are.

As in any European country, it benefits salespersons and waiters in tourist hot points to speak English, and many young experts and students also make it a preference to learn the language. Some schools even have their education entirely in English. There's an excellent opportunity that the proprietors of your hotel, and perhaps the restaurant servers that you meet will speak quite adequate English. Outside of these groups, and in more distant locations, your average Turk has a less firm hold of the language, but even still you apparently won't have too big a problem, though getting a few key phrases is a good idea before visiting. Turkish is an easy language to read as it is written in the Latin alphabet and is completely phonetic. For the most challenging of semantic tangles, pointing in a reference or trying the same word in a few other languages will often avail.