Turkey

Understand

right|thumb|Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founding father of the Turkish state

See

Many museums and ancient sites in Turkey are closed on Mondays, although there are as many exceptions. The Turkish government offers a museum pass for many sights and museums in Turkey; there are also regional passes. Check out what is included, as they don't cover some sights and numerous others can still be seen for free.

Do

thumb|Tip of the [[Ölüdeniz beach]] thumb|Davraz Ski Resort in [[Isparta]] thumb|Women's volleyball team is the only 'perfect-season' scorer in sport's history. As their international fanbase would agree, they're definitely worth to watch. Beaches and summer sports – Beaches line the entire Mediterranean coast, but those with well-developed resorts are between Alanya to the east and Kuşadası on the Aegean coast to the west - the famous Turkish Riviera. There are scores more small places that only locals head for, such as the Gulf of Saros, is a favourite among scuba-divers. The Marmara and Black Sea beaches are not favorable for swimming because of the hard waves but perfect for surfing. Birdwatching – Both natural spots and preserves are found all over the country. Geographically being in the middle of migration routes of many species has its perks. Camping and trekking – Turkey hosts many sites and routes. A popular example being; a camping stop at Kabak cove during the Lycian Way trip. Cycling and running – The premier cycling race is the President's Tour of Turkey, held over a week in April. The annual Istanbul Marathon, the world's only intercontinental marathon, gets thousands of attendances. Hamams and geothermal spas – A visit to a hamam or Turkish bath is an essential part of any trip to Turkey and is something you'll be sure to repeat before leaving. There is at least one historical hamam in each neighborhood of Istanbul and other large…

Eat

thumb|Assortment of Turkish foods; baklava, sarma, yoğurt, etli nohut-pilav and komposto/hoşaf thumb|Assortment of meze Turkish cuisine combines Balkan, Mediterranean, Central Asian, Caucasian, and Levantine influences, and is extremely rich, reflecting the cultural and biological diversity of the land. Indeed, Turkish cuisine is often said to be not a single, unified national cuisine, but a collection of several distinctive regional cuisines, with preferences on cooking styles and ingredients overlapping in some cases, and diverging in others: e.g., olive oil and other vegetable oils common in the west vs butter elsewhere, some regions are vegetable-heavy while others are meat-heavy, beef is traditionally the most important red meat in the west but lamb and goat fill that niche elsewhere (pork, although not illegal, is very hard to find except the big cities due to its taboo status in Islam). Seafood, mainly fish, is common in the north and west, the south and southeast are heavy on spices while elsewhere is much more moderate and "bland", the main staple is rice in the north and west and is bulgur wheat elsewhere, bread is common everywhere but even it comes in a variety of shapes and forms, and so on. Of course, with the growth of internal immigration, and development of transport and communication technologies, the differences are often blurred and not as clear-cut as in the past, but the major distinctions are still there.

The primary vegetables are eggplant (aubergine)…

Drink

thumb|Turkish coffee with a morsel of Turkish delight thumb|A glass of Turkish tea along with a view of [[Tokat]] Turkish coffee (Türk kahvesi), served in tiny cups, is strong and tasty, just be careful not to drink the sludgy grounds at the bottom of the cup. It is very different from the so-called Turkish coffees sold abroad. Sade (or sade kahve) is served black, while az şekerli, orta (or orta şekerli) and şekerli (or çok şekerli) will get you a little, some or a lot of sugar in your cup.

Filter coffee (filtre kahve) and its many varieties are also very common, with many stores of the international and domestic chains, and local, nonchain copycats dishing them out in the urban centres and major roadside rest areas. Instant coffee (commonly known as neskafe, a genericized trademark) with various flavours is widely available at the grocery stores.

Coffee may be much engraved in the national culture, but tea (çay) is also very popular and is indeed the usual drink of choice. Most Turks are heavy drinkers of tea in their daily lives, and love to share their favourite drink with others — expect a round of tea after finishing your meal or during a lengthened visit to a shop. With a surprisingly brief history for such a widespread habit, tea-drinking has become popular in Turkey only from the 1930s: tea quickly gained ground against coffee as the collapse of the empire meant Yemen, the traditionally coffee-supplying Ottoman province, was now cut off, and the protectionist econo…

Sleep

thumb|[[Çeşme marina]] Accommodation in Turkey varies from 5-star hotels to a simple tent pitched in a vast plateau. So the prices vary hugely as well.

Stay safe

thumb|[[Kars citadel]] Dial 112 to contact all emergency services, including the police or the gendarme (a military-styled unit responsible for rural safety) from any phone, free of charge.

Upon entering some museums, hotels, metro stations, and almost all shopping malls, especially in larger cities, you will notice security checkpoints similar to those found in airports. Don't worry, this is the standard procedure in Turkey and does not imply an immediate danger of attack. These security screenings are also conducted in a much more relaxed way than the airports, so you will not have to remove your belt to avoid the alarm when walking through the metal detector.

Carry your passport or other means of identification at all times. One may not be requested to show them for a long period, then all of a sudden a minibus is checked by the traffic police (or the military, particularly in Eastern Turkey), or one runs into an officer of the law with time on his hand, and one must show papers. Some government buildings may ask you to temporarily surrender your passport in return for equipment such as headphones for simultaneous translation, etc., and you may find your passport stored in an open box along with the locals ID cards which may be a little disconcerting. Hotels may request you to hand your passport in until you paid the bill, which puts you into an awkward situation. Referring to the police always made them hand the passport back, once the registration procedure was finaliz…

Stay healthy

Dial 112 from any telephone, anywhere, free of charge for an ambulance.

Food safety — Food is generally free of biological contamination, but it's best to err on the side of caution. Prefer the places local people patronize and avoid food sold outdoors, at least in summer, when they can spoil fairly quickly without refrigeration. Fresh fruits and vegetables should be washed thoroughly to remove pesticide residue; certified organic produce isn't very common. Some of the ingredients in the east, northeast, and southeast, such as goat or goose meat and heavy spices, might come across as unusual for western palates, and may or may not cause diarrhea, so it is wise to have at least some antidiarrheal medicine at hand, especially if you are going to travel off the beaten track. An antidiarrheal derived from the probiotic yeast Saccharomyces boulardii is commonly available over-the-counter from pharmacies under the brand name Reflor. thumb|There is little reason to get paranoid about water safety in places like the Anzer Plateau, south of [[Rize — indeed locals in the Pontic highlands may be offended if you insistently ask around for bottled water]]

Water safety — Tap water, including that that comes out of the historical public fountains (çeşme) or mosque fountains (şadırvan), generally isn't pleasant to drink; it's often very chalky due to the climate and the underlying geology, and is almost always heavily chlorinated, yet no one guarantees it is safe enough for drinking due to…

Respect

thumb|A pazar. Bazaar or farmers market if you will.

Connect

thumb|Atatürk Dam, 3rd largest in the world