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Practical Information

Money
The unit of currency is the Türk Lirası (Turkish Lira; TL). Coins come in amounts of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 kuruş and 1 lira, and notes in 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 lira.
Central Bank Of The Republic Of Turkey http://www.tcmb.gov.tr/yeni/eng/
Banknotes in Circulation and Their Security Features http://www.tcmb.gov.tr
 
Taxes & refunds
Turkey has a value-added tax (VAT) known as the katma değer vergisi (KDV). Don’t forget to ask the shopkeeper for the Global Refund Check for your purchase over 100TL+VAT in one store Some shops display a blue, grey and white ‘Tax Free Shopping’ sign in their window, conveniently signalling that they are participants in the refund scheme.

When you leaving Turkey, latest in three months following your shopping simply show your purchases, ‘tax free’ invoices and passports to customs officials, where staff will stamp the receipts to confirm that you are leaving the country, have your Global Refund invoice/check stamped. You have several choice to collect your refund. You can have immediate cash at your nearby Cash Refund Office, or mail your customs validated check to Global Refund-Turkey within 90 days for direct crediting of a chosen credit card or a bank cheque to be sent to your address.

Atatürk Airport Cash Refund Office or İşbank open every day -24 hours.
Sabiha Gökçen Airport İşbank open every day -24 hours.
Karaköy Harbor İşbank open every day -24 hours.
 
ATMs
Automated teller machines (ATMs, cashpoints) are common in İstanbul. All of the banks and some smaller banks have ATMs. Virtually all of them offer instructions in English, French and German and will pay out Turkish liras when you insert your bank debit (cash) card. ATMs will also pay cash advances on Visa and Mastercard. The limit on cash withdrawals is generally TL600 to TL1000 per day, though this varies from bank to bank.

Changing money

There are 24-hour exchange bureaux (döviz bürosu) in the arrivals halls at International Airports that offer rates comparable to those offered by bureaux in the city. US dollars and euros are easily changed at exchange bureaux. They are also often accepted as payment without being changed. Rates are similar whichever bureau you go to, with the possible exception of those in the tourist precinct of Sultanahmet. Bureaux are open long hours (at a minimum, between 9am and 7pm). You will usually need to show your passport when changing cash. As Turkish liras are fully convertible, there is no black market.

Credit cards
Most hotels, car-rental agencies, shops, pharmacies, entertainment venues and restaurants will accept Visa and Mastercard; Amex isn’t as widely accepted as the others and Diner’s isn’t accepted often. Budget hostels and hotels, and basic eateries usually accept cash only.

Travellers cheques
If you have travellers cheques, you will have to change them at a bank or post office. Exchange bureaux do not handle them. You’ll need to show your passport.

Health & safety
Emergency telephone numbers;
Police 155
Medical 112
Fire 110
Gendarmerie 156
Coast Guard 158

Medical services
Having travel insurance is highly advisable. For minor problems, it’s customary to ask at a chemist/pharmacy (eczane) for advice. Ensure you know the generic name of your medicine; the commercial name may not be the same in Turkey. The word for hospital is ‘hastane’. Usually doctors in Turkey speak English.

Visas
Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs e-Consulate Pages
http://www.konsolosluk.gov.tr/tr/en/start.aspx or http://www.e-konsolosluk.net/

Getting there & around
Getting to İstanbul is easy. There are two inter­national airports, two otogars (cenral bus stations) from which international services arrive and depart, and two international rail stations.

DHMİ Atatürk Airport http://www.dhmiata.gov.tr/
Sabiha GÖKÇEN International Airport http://www.sgairport.com/
İstanbul İntercity Central Bus Station (Büyük İstanbul Otogarı) http://www.otogaristanbul.com/
Turkish State Railways http://www.tcdd.gov.tr/

The most popular way to explore the Bosphorus is by ferry. Most day-trippers take the Eminönü-Kavaklar Boğaziçi Özel Gezi Seferleri (Eminönü-Kavaklar Bosphorus Special Touristic Excursions) ferry up its entire length. These depart from the Boğaz Hattı dock (dock No 3) at Eminönü daily at 10.35am. From June to September, there are extra services at noon and 1.35pm. A ticket costs TL17.50 return, TL10.50 one-way. The ferry stops at Beşiktaş, Kanlıca, Yeniköy, Sarıyer, Rumeli Kavağı and Anadolu Kavağı (the turnaround point). It is not possible to get on and off the ferry at stops along the way using the same ticket.

For more information : http://www.ido.com.tr/en

Local transport Taxi
İstanbul is full of taxis. All taxis have digital meters and must run them.A base rate (drop rate, flag fall) is levied during the daytime (gündüz); the night-time (gece) rate, from midnight to 6am, is 50% higher. Meters, with LCD displays, flash ‘gündüz’ or ‘gece’ when they are started. Base rate 2TL, 1,30TL per km, 0,26 per min for waiting, under 50kg luggage is free of charge. If you catch a taxi over either of the Bosphorus Bridges, it is your responsibility to cover the toll. The driver will add 3,25TL to your fare.

Intercity & international buses
Many bus offices are on İnönü Caddesi, near Taksim Square and many bus companies offer a free servis (shuttle bus) between the otogar and Taksim Square otogar.

The International İstanbul Bus Station (Uluslararası İstanbul Otogarı; 212-658 0505) is the city’s main bus station for both intercity and inter­national routes. Called simply the otogar (bus station), it’s in the western district of Esenler, just south of the expressway and about 10km west of Sultanahmet. The LRT service from Aksaray stops here (Otogar stop) on its way from the airport; you can catch this to Aksaray and then connect with a tram to Sultanahmet. If you’re going to Beyoğlu, bus 83O leaves from the centre of the otogar between 5.45am and 1.40am every three to 25 minutes (depending on the time of day) and takes about an hour to reach Taksim Square.

Many bus companies offer a free servis (shuttle bus) between the otogar and Taksim Square or Sultanahmet. If you’re booking a ticket out of İstanbul from a bus office in Taksim (or elsewhere), ask about this service. You’ll be asked to front up at the bus office around an hour before your bus is due to leave and a minibus will pick you up and take you from the office to your bus at the otogar. If you’ve just arrived by bus in İstanbul, ask your bus driver about the servis. One should be waiting close by to drop you at Sultanahmet or Taksim Square.

There’s a smaller bus station on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus at Harem, south of Üsküdar and north of Haydarpaşa train station. If you’re arriving in İstanbul by bus from anywhere on the Asian side of Turkey, it’s always quicker to get out at Harem and take the car ferry to Sirkeci/Eminönü (every 30 minutes from 7.30am to 9.30pm); if you stay on the bus until the otogar, you’ll add at least an hour to your journey. If you’re going the other way, you may want to catch your bus here, instead of at the otogar; check if this is possible at the bus office.

City buses
The bus system in İstanbul is extremely efficient. The major bus stands are at Taksim Square, Beşiktaş, Aksaray, Rüstempaşa (Eminönü), Kadıköy and Üsküdar, and most services run between 6.30am and 11.30pm. Destinations and main stops on city bus routes are shown on a sign on the right (kerb) side of the bus (otobüs) or on the electronic display at its front.

İETT buses are run by the city and you must have a ticket (YTL1.30) before boarding. Buy tickets from the white booths near major stops and bus, tram and metro stations, or from some nearby shops for a small mark-up (look for ‘İETT otobüs bileti satılır’). Think about buying enough to last you throughout your stay in the city. You can also use your Akbil and save some money. Blue-Green private buses regulated by the city called Özel Halk Otobüsü run the same routes; these accept cash (pay the conductor-İETT ticket not valid in Özel Halk Otobüsü) and Akbil.

Subway & light railway Metro
From Taksim there is a service stopping at Osmanbey, Şişli, Gayrettepe, Levent and Levent 4. The full trip takes 25 minutes. Services run every five minutes or so from 6.15am to 12.30am Monday to Thursday, 6.15am to 1am on Friday and Saturday and 6.30am to 12.20am on Sunday. Tickets cost TL1.30 and Akbil can be used.

http://www.istanbul-ulasim.com.tr/en for detailled maps and time tables.

Tram and Funicular
An excellent tramway (tramvay) service runs from Zeytinburnu (where it connects with the airport LRT) to Sultanahmet and Eminönü, and then across the Galata Bridge to Karaköy (to connect with the Tünel) and Kabataş (to connect with the funicular to Taksim Square). Trams run every five minutes from 6am to midnight. The fare is TL1.30 and Akbil can be used.

A two-stop antique tram runs along İstiklal Caddesi between Tünel and Taksim Squares in Beyoğlu.
A tram also runs between Kadıköy Square on the Asian side and the exclusive residential suburb of Moda.

Airlines
Most of İstanbul’s airline offices are in the streets around Taksim Square, particularly Cumhuriyet Caddesi. Travel agencies can also sell air tickets and make reservations.

Airports
The city’s main airport, Atatürk International Airport (Atatürk Hava Limanı; flight information 212-4653000, 212-4655555; http://www.ataturkairport.com/), is in Yeşilköy, 23km west of Sultanahmet (the heart of Old İstanbul). The international terminal (Dış Hatlar) is polished and organised. Close by, the domestic terminal (İç Hatlar) is smaller but no less efficient. The city’s second international airport, Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (216-585 5000; http://www.sgairport.com/) at Kurtköy on the Asian side of the city.

Cruise ships
Cruise ships arrive at the Karaköy International Maritime Passenger Terminal, just near the Galata Bridge at Karaköy.

Ferries & seabuses
The most enjoyable way to get around town is by ferry. Crossing between the Asian and European shores, these vessels are as efficient as they are popular with locals. The İstanbul Deniz Otobüsleri (212-444 4436; http://www.ido.com.tr/) has fare and timetable information or you can pick up a printed timetable at any of the ferry docks.

On the European side, the major ferry docks are at the mouth of the Golden Horn (Eminönü, Sirkeci and Karaköy), and at Kabataş, 2km past the Galata Bridge, at the end of the tram line from the airport and Sultanahmet.

The ferries run to two annual timetables: winter (mid-September to mid-June) and summer (mid-June to mid-September). Printed timetables are available from all ferry terminals and an online timetable (in Turkish) is available at http://www.ido.com.tr/ Tickets (jetons) are cheap (usually TL1.30) and it’s possible to use Akbil.

There are also deniz otobüsü (fast catamaran or seabus) services, but these ply routes that are of less interest to the traveller; they are also more expensive than the ferries. The most useful seabus routes are Bostancı–Karaköy–Eminönü and Bostancı–Princes’ Islands.

http://www.ido.com.tr/en

Funicular & cable-car
There are two funiculars (funıküleri) and one cable-car (teleferic) in the city.

An antique funicular called the Tünel carries passengers between Karaköy, at the base of the Galata Bridge, to Tünel Square, the southwestern end of İstiklal Caddesi.

The second funicular carries passengers from Kabataş – at the end of the tram line from Zeytinburnu, through the Old City and over the Galata Bridge – to Taksim Square in Taksim, where it connects to the metro.

A cable-car runs between the waterside at Eyüp to the Pierre Loti Café. The second cable-car runs in Maçka Parc near to Taksim Square.

All are short trips (approximately three minutes) and cost TL1.30. Akbil can be used.

Long-distance trains
All trains from Europe terminate at Sirkeci Railway Station right next to Eminönü. Outside the station’s main door there’s a convenient tram up the hill to Sultanahmet, Beyazıt and Zeytinburnu and across the Galata Bridge to Kabataş, from where you can catch a funicular to Taksim Square.

For more information about international services from Sirkeci http://www.tcdd.gov.tr/

Trains from the Asian side of Turkey, and from points east and south, terminate at Haydarpaşa Railway Station, on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus close to Kadıköy. The ferry from the station is cheap, convenient, pleasant and speedy.

Services from Haydarpaşa include eight daily departures to Ankara. International services from Haydarpaşa include the Transasya Espress to Tehran and the Toros Espress to Aleppo. Haydarpaşa has a left-luggage room (emanet), a restaurant serving alcoholic beverages, numerous snack shops, left-luggage lockers, bank ATMs and a small post office (PTT).

For more information and online reservation for international or national services from Sirkeci and Haydarpaşa http://www.tcdd.gov.tr/

Local trains
There are two suburban train lines (banliyö treni) in İstanbul. The first rattles along the Sea of Marmara shore from Sirkeci Railway Station, around Seraglio Point to Cankurtaran, Kumkapı, Yenikapı and a number of stations before it terminates past Atatürk International Airport at Kanarya. The second runs from Haydarpaşa railway station to Osmangazi, via Bostancı. The trains are reliable (nearly every half-hour) and cheap (ticket TL1.40, Akbil TL1.50).

Sirkeci-Kanarya Line Stations: Sirkeci, Cankurtaran, Kumkapı, Yenikapı, Kocamustafapaşa, Yedikule, Kazlıçeşme, Zeytinburnu, Yenimahalle, Bakırköy, Yeşilyurt, Yeşilköy, Florya, Menekşe, Küçükçekmece, Soğuksu, Kanarya.

Haydarpaşa-Osmangazi Line Stations: Haydarpaşa, Söğütlüçeşme, Kızıltoprak, Feneryolu, Göztepe, Erenköy, Suadiye, Bostancı, Küçükyalı, İdealtepe, Süreyyaplajı, Maltepe, Cevizli, Atalar, Kartal, Yunus, Pendik, Kaynarca, Tersane, Güzelyalı, Aydıntepe, İçme, Tuzla, Çayırova, Fatih, Osmangazi.

http://www.tcdd.gov.tr

Metro
From Taksim there is a service stopping at Osmanbey, Şişli, Gayrettepe, Levent and Levent 4. The full trip takes 25 minutes. Services run every five minutes or so from 6.15am to 12.30am Monday to Thursday, 6.15am to 1am on Friday and Saturday and 6.30am to 12.20am on Sunday. Tickets cost TL1.30 and Akbil can be used.

http://www.istanbul-ulasim.com.tr/en for detailled maps and time tables.