These tips for visas, money, tipping, visiting mosques, dress, and safety will help you prepare for your trip to Turkey and let you know what to expect while you are in the country.
Entry Visa
As a U.S. citizen, you will need a tourist visa to enter the country. (This is true for most other nationalities as well). Turkey recently started an e-visa program: you can apply for a visa online and have it emailed to you in 24 hours. You used to be able to buy visas in the airport on arrival, but they are going to phase this service out soon so its best to buy it online ahead of time. Visas are $20 and you just need to fill out a pretty easy online application. Visas allow you to stay in the country for 90 days.
Money
Turkey’s currency is the lira; 1 lira is made up of 100 kuruş. (I use oanda to find the latest exchange rate). You can use credit cards at most restaurants and larger shops, but there are some places that only take cash or that give you a discount for using cash. I typically get cash out of ATMs, but you can also exchange money at any bank or in the airport. There are plenty of ATMs in the arrivals hall of Istanbul Atatürk airport, including a Citibank and an HSBC. I find that I’m always in need of small bills for tips, cabs, or small purchases; shops and taxis are sometimes cranky about breaking 50s. You can always ask your hotel to make change for your larger bills.
Turkish credit cards use a chip and pin system. At restaurants your waiter will bring the credit card machine to your table. If your card doesn’t have a chip and pin you may need to tell the waiter / shopkeeper that they need to swipe your card and have you sign instead of entering a pin.
Its useful to know that in 2005 Turkey dropped 6 zeros from its currency. Before this switch, ordinary goods were priced in the millions and even billions. You will still find some old-timers refer to prices in millions. Its not uncommon for someone to tell you something is “bir milyon” (one million) when they really mean one lira.
Tipping
You don’t need to tip taxi drivers (I usually just round up to the nearest lira). Tip 10% on top of the bill in restaurants if you sit down and get served. You always have to tip in cash in restaurants even if you charge the meal on your credit card. I usually give a lira per bag to porters, a lira to the hotel bellman if he gets me a taxi, and leave a few lira for the hotel maid at the end of my stay.
Visiting mosques
There is no entry charge to visit an active mosque (there will sometimes be a collection box but you shouldn’t feel pressured to leave anything). You should avoid visiting at prayer times – the exact times vary during the year, but during the day there is one around noontime, one later in the afternoon and one at sunset. (There is also one before sunrise and one at night but neither of those should coincide with when you are looking to visit!) You will get the feel for times after hearing the call to prayer on your first day (trust me, you’ll hear it). Don’t visit a mosque for 30 minutes or so after hearing the call to prayer. Take your shoes off before you enter a mosque – you can either carry them with you or leave them at the door. Women need to cover their head inside – I like to bring along a pashmina or scarf to use as a cover. The big mosques will loan you a headscarf if you don’t have one, but I don’t really like using something that someone else had on their head. Shoulders and knees should be covered for both women and men.
Dress
Turkey is a pretty westernized country and fashion trends tend to mimic those of Europe. These days you will see plenty of women wearing headscarves, but you will see just as many with uncovered heads (and the proportion varies greatly by region / neighborhood). In general you can wear what you would wear back home with a few caveats. For women, don’t wear anything too tight or revealing or you will receive unwanted attention. Short sleeves and sleeveless tops are fine to wear in the summer. For both men and women, wearing shorts in cities is not very typical and will make you stand out as a tourist. (Shorts are perfectly appropriate on the coast, however). And as mentioned above, keep shoulders and knees covered on days that you are visiting a mosque. Wherever you are traveling you will likely be doing lots of walking so be sure to pack good walking shoes!
Safety
Istanbul is a really safe city overall, as is the rest of Turkey: violent crime is very rare. Scams, however, are another thing. Ignore any Turk in touristy spots who approaches you unsolicited and starts speaking English. (One I’ve heard recently is “What part of the U.S. are you from?”) They are probably trying to get you to buy a carpet or hire them as a tour guide. Lots of “enterprising” Turks hang out near Sultanahmet in Istanbul and try to get tourists to buy something from them or hire them for something. Just say no thanks and ignore them if they start to follow. They can be kind of annoying but are harmless.
A recent scam common around Taksim is the “shoeshine scam.” A shoeshine man will walk ahead of you and “accidentally” drop his brush. You, the friendly tourist, will call after him to let him know he dropped it. He will offer you a “free” shine in return for your kindness and then demand payment at the end of the shine. My family witnessed this one personally; the shoeshine guy was shocked when we started speaking to him in Turkish! If you encounter this, just refuse the “free” shine.
Also beware of taxi drivers in Istanbul, who have been known to rip off tourists by taking them the “long way”. Be mindful of where you get into a taxi: taxis associated with hotels are restaurants will be the most reputable. At all costs, avoid getting into a taxi anywhere near Sultanahmet.
