Turkey Facts: Everything You Wanted to Know About Turkey
If you've never been to Turkey before, the chances are you will have
preconceived ideas of what the country is like. Some of these may be
true, but many won't, as Turkey is really a surprising country with
many different facets to explore. Turkey offers great variety, but one
thing you'll find, no matter where you go, is its people are extremely
friendly and welcoming, happy to lend a hand if you need one, and
always interested to hear where you've come from and where you're
going!
- While Istanbul
has been the capital of several empires, it is not the current capital
of the Republic of Turkey as the city of Ankara was chosen for this
honor when the Republic was formed in 1923.
- Turkish is the official language of Turkey and it's renowned as a
difficult language to pick up! However, in many of the tourist areas
hotel staff and restaurant servers will know a limited amount of
English anyway, but if you can learn a few Turkish words and phrases the locals will really appreciate your efforts!
- The Turkish Lira is the official currency of Turkey. As with most currency, the exchange rate
fluctuates quite a bit so it is important to check right before your
departure date. Credit cards are widely accepted in many stores and
restaurants of major towns and tourist areas, and it's easy to change
money from US dollars to Lira at the plentiful bureau de change offices.
- In Turkey they have 220V electricity and a European style plug.
Unless you're in a particularly rural area, the supply of electricity
is very reliable, so don't worry about outages. Do bring a travel
adapter like the top-rated Universal World Wide Travel Charger Adapter Plug
with you though, and bear in mind that not all electronics will work without a transformer.
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