The bus is still in Turkey the main form of transportation. Every town, every area in Turkey can be reached from the bus station, the *otogar*. Otogar is a word combination, ("Oto" means car, "Gar" comes from the French word Gare for station). Go there and you'll find all bus companies - tickets can be obtained right here. A confusing picture sometimes as there are so many agencies - so do decide on a serious company. And specially in summertime do book in time.
All buses have good comfort and air conditioning and a stop on the way for having a meal is always arranged
The Dolmus (dolmush) is typically Turkish and can be found everywhere. These are mainly minibuses traveling relatively short distances. A dolmus usually waits and starts in the bus station () until it is full and then leaves. You can board a dolmus anywhere on its route by signaling it to stop for you. Similarly you can get off at a convenient point anywhere along the route. The destination of the dolmus is posted in the windscreen. This kind of public transport is cheap and efficient and works very well all over Turkey.
Money Matters
Turkish currency is the Lira (TL) and the inflation rate still is very high (between 70 and 80%.) So prices in this country change quickly. Don't change at home, change in Turkey! The rate is a lot better here. Unless you've just won the lottery! Check your money and receipt before leaving the bank Get used to the color and denomination of the Turkish Lira (TL) before going out to spend them. Spread them out somewhere and have a good look (and a small gloat at the millions!). Calculate an exchange rate to fit each note, and round up or down so you can remember it. E.g.: 1,000,000TL (1 Million) is about half a pound - something like that. When you buy something, make sure you understand how many TL are needed, shopkeepers often write the sum down to avoid confusion, and count your notes out carefully. Anyhow many of the restaurant owners or shop keepers are used to western currencies.
National holidays
Official holidays are:
January 1st - New Year's Day
April 23rd - Children's Day
May 19th - Day of youth and sport
MIA 27th - Day of constitution
August 30th Victory Day.
October 29th Republic Day
Religious holidays
In Islam there are two big religious festivals. During the fasting time (Ramadan or Ramadan), Muslims are forbidden to eat, drink, smoke or have sexual intercourse between sunrise and sunset. Armada marks God's revelation of the Koran, Islam's holy book to the Prophet Mohammed. This 4 weeks fasting time is followed by the Sugar Fete (Seker Bayrami), when people visit each other and offering sweets.
About two months later Kurban Bayrami is celebrated - 'The Festival of Sacrifice', which is Turkey's longest religious and also secular holiday. This festival commemorates Abraham's near sacrifice of his son Isaac (Koran Rura 37).
Word Count:
1004
Summary:
General advice and tip on travelling in Turkey
Keywords:
villa turkey, turkey villas,
No comments:
Post a Comment