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| Are there any compulsory vaccinations for
travel in Turkey ? |
| No vaccinations are required to enter
Turkey |
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| Are the hygienic conditions satisfactory
? |
| The sanitary conditions are very similar
to those in other European countries. There is a wide network of doctors,
public and private hospitals in cities and countryside where health
centres are also highly efficient. |
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| What can be bought in Turkey ? |
| Hand-crafted objects, jewels and jewellry,
leather garments, ceramics and pottery, calligraphy and of course
carpets made of wool , cotton,or silk ,"the national jewels"
. |
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| Is it safe to go out at night ? |
| Turkey is a safe country where delinquency
is low compared to Western Europe. Having a night out in Turkey is
safe whether you are a couple or a man or woman on your own. In the
seaside tourist resorts there is a vibrant atmosphere at night. Istanbul
is one of the most attractive cities in the world renowned for its
lively night entertainment. |
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| Can we visit the mosques with no restrictions
? |
| In Turkey, all the mosques can be visited,
from the smallest village mosque to the greatest. It is however compulsory
to remove shoes before entering. If your clothes are inappropriate,
you will be lent a shawl or a scarf at the entrance. |
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| Is there a certain dress code to respect
? |
| The same as applies in your own country. |
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| Are low-cut tops, miniskirts and shorts
prohibited ? |
Outside the big cities, as in Western
Europe, it is always best not to shock the local people by wearing
revealing clothes. In Istanbul, as in other cities and seaside resorts,
miniskirts, shorts and low-tops fit in with the setting. Adriana Karembeu
and other top models who appear on local billboards are there to remind
us that fashion is a major centre of interest in Turkey.
Let's not forget that Turkey is the number one for bikinis and that
Miss World 2003 was Turkish. |
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| Can we drink alcohol everywhere ? |
| The same alcohol restrictions apply in
Turkey as in the rest of the Western world. Wine bars, American bars,
Beer bars and local taverns offer all kinds of alcohol - world famous
brands as well as local ones, served any time during the day and night.The
same applies in hotels, restaurants, night clubs and discotheques. |
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| Can we go to Turkey during the Ramadan feast
? |
| This is perharps one of the most pleasant
times to go as there are festivities everywhere. It is also an opportunity
for a foreigner to discover that the Ramadan in Turkey is more like
our Christmas and New Year than a religious feast. Life goes on as
normal during this period. |
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| What is the best time to visit Turkey ? |
| Turkey can be visited all year round.The
sea breezes keep the summer days cool and the winter season is short
and mild. Istanbul is an ideal destination at any season. It has a
temperate climate and extreme cold weather conditions are rare.This
period of the year highlights the nostalgic delights of ancient Byzance.
We slip into another rhythm of life with a diversity of dishes and
drinks that can only be tasted in winter. |
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| What foreign languages are spoken
? |
| English, French, German, Spanish, Italian
and Russian are widely spoken in the cultural, tourist and business
world.Translators, interpreters and guides are available in any foreign
language. |
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| Should we take cash or traveller's checks
? |
| Automatic tellers are at every street
corner.The international credit card Visa is the most practical. Euros
and US dollars are accepted everywhere and there are many money exchange
bureaux in the cities and tourist areas. Traveller's checks are perhaps
less pratical in the sense that you need to queue at the bank. |
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| What are the most popular drinks ? |
| All drinks can be found in Turkey as well
as a varied selction of local drinks. The national drink is Raki made
from aniseed, an oriental version of Pastis. The difference is that
Raki is not an aperitif but drunk with the meal. Local Vodka and Gin
are also available; red and white wines are varied and of good quality.
All soft drinks are available and Turkey has an exceptional selection
of fruit juices, the most famous being the morello cherry drink; a
real delight for tourists. The most popular beverage is still the
"Ayran" which is a slightly salted, whipped yoghurt drink. |
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| What type of food is served in hotels ? |
| In luxury and five-star hotels, a wide
range of restaurants are available offering different specialities
such as Italian, Chinese, French... and of course, Turkish. In four
star hotels or the more modest and traditional hotels, you can savour
excellent local cuisine, an exciting mixture of "mézés"
- typical Turkish appetizers, cooked dishes, grilled meat and fish
specialities; a stunning blend of Ottoman and Mediterranean cuisine. |
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| Is Turkey a dangerous place to visit these
days ? |
| Statistics show that since tourism took
off in the sixties, delinquency and crime are much less common in
Turkey than in the rest of Europe and North America. Apart from pick
pocketing, which is a problem anywhere, stories of tourists who are
killed or the trafficking of human organs are no more than that -
just stories. As far as terrorism is concerned, apart from the tragedies
of November and December 2003, Turkey hasn't seen the national security
issues experienced in New York, Bali, Djerba, London or Madrid. It
may be said that some anti-Turkish sentiments exist in Europe today
and that can be seen in terms of Turkey's entry to Europe, but there
are always those who take malicious pleasure in spreading rumours
which border between fantasy and xenophobia. |
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| Midnight Express, rumour or reality ? |
This film stays in one's memory and
today still deters many Western people from going to Turkey
The storyline:
A young American is stopped at Istanbul airport with five kilograms
of drugs on him. He was arrested and imprisoned.
The reality:
At that time, there was a lot of political tension between the social
democratic government of Bulent Ecevit and that of the USA. Washington
accused Turkey of being at the crossroads of drug trafficking and
Turkey passed a law resulting in a stiff sentence of thirty years
imprisonment for all those involved in drug dealing. The young American
was sentenced for thirty years under this new law but managed to
escape. This is the truth behind a story which the film took and
developed into an imaginative storyline which made the Turks appear
to be barbarians and torturers. In France this film was shown in
art house cinemas. There were demonstrations in the USA by human
rights activists as it was considered to be racist and xenophobic.
But would we ever see a film about a Turkish drug dealer imprisoned
in Alcatraz?
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