Weather

The weather in Turkey should be very pleasant while we are there in both May and October.  Cappadocia could be cool, particularly in October.  The Turquoise Coast should be sunny and warm, but not hot.  And Istanbul should be mild, but could have rain.  Do check the websites below to get an overview of Turkey’s weather by season and also current forecasts so you know what to pack (also see list below):

www.wunderground.com
www.lonelyplanet.com
www.turkeytravelplanner.com

What to Pack

We encourage you to pack lightly.  We will probably have to haul our own bags through airports.  We will have help with bags at hotels and on the gulet, but cabins on the gulet are tiny, so don’t have much room for suitcases.  You can get laundry done in all the hotels.  Here is a suggested list of what to take:

1. slacks and shirt or sweater or dress for business meetings (jacket optional)
2. business-appropriate shoes for business meetings and evenings
3. 1 pair casual shoes for sightseeing
4. sandals for the boat (optional)
5. 2-3 pairs hiking pants or similar
6. 1 pair shorts
7. 3-4 T-shirts or casual shirts, some short-sleeved
8. 2 (slightly) dressier shirts or sweaters for evenings
9. 1 fleece jacket or pullover
10. 1 warm sweater for evenings
11. bathing suit
12. raincoat or rain jacket
13. scarf for women to cover our heads when entering a mosque (not always necessary, but appreciated)
14. umbrella
15. underwear and socks
16. travel alarm clock
17. all your standard medications
18. Imodium or similar in case you get a stomach bug
19. standard toiletries (hotels will have hair dryers)
20. hand wipes and hand sanitizer
21. sunscreen
22. mosquito repellant
23. several zip lock plastic bags
24. washcloth if you use one
25. sun hat for sightseeing and the gulet
26. camera with extra disk and batteries or battery charger
27. adaptor kit (Turkey uses the two-pronged round outlets. (See www.turkeytravelplanner.com.)  There will be at least one outlet on the boat where batteries can be charged.
28. whatever you like to read

Books

Stephen Kinzer, Crescent and Star:  Turkey Between Two Worlds (2001)
Interesting discussion of Turkey’s efforts to become more Western and adapt to EU requirements for membership while remaining true to its Muslim culture and heritage.

Patrick Kinross, Ataturk, The Rebirth of a Nation (1964)
Although written decades ago, this book about Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is “must” reading to understand modern Turkey, with its roots in the vast Ottoman Empire, its attempted dismemberment by the victorious powers after World War I, and its rise to a modern nation under Ataturk’s leadership.

Anastasia Ashman & Jennifer Gokmen, Tales from the Expat Harem:  Foreign Women in Modern Turkey (2006)
Stories of expatriot women about their experiences living in Turkey—interesting insights into Turkish culture and the lives of women in Turkey

Stephen Kinzer, Reset:  Iran, Turkey, and America’s Future (2010)
Short history of Iran and Turkey in the 20th and 21st centuries with some new policy ideas for the West

Carter Findley, The Turks in World History (2004)
History of the Turks from pre-Islamic times to now.  Sometimes a little heavy, but gives a good history of Turks from their early migrations to the Ottoman Empire to modern times

Orhan Pamuk, Istanbul: Memories and the City (2006)
A nostalgic memoir of the author’s life in Istanbul

Draughtsman Ltd., Top 10 Istanbul (2009)
Compact guide to Istanbul’s major attractions

The highest rated guidebooks on Amazon are:
Turkey (Insight Guides), 2008 and
Turkey (Eyewitness Travel Guides), 2010
We like Frommer’s guidebooks, but their book on Turkey is 2006, so a little out-of-date.

Health

Turkey does not have any dangerous endemic diseases.  Please read these websites to get an overview of health issues for travelers to Turkey (not unlike traveling to many other countries):

www.mdtravelhealth.com
wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel

We strongly recommend that you drink and use only bottled water, including for brushing your teeth.  No matter what hotels say about their water quality, be safe and use bottled water.  We will have bottled water for you on our buses and the boat.  Hotels generally provide bottled water in rooms, but make sure you have enough for your needs.

Do not eat any fruits or vegetables that are not cooked or peeled.  This is a simple precaution that can help protect you from the discomfort and nuisance of traveler’s diarrhea.  Do take Imodium or a similar medication with you in case you do get sick.  But illness is usually preventable if you take the simple precautions of drinking bottled water and eating only cooked or freshly peeled fresh foods.

Maps

Turkey, 2011

Quick Facts

Take a look at these websites for quick facts about Turkey:

www.gomideast.com
www.toptenturkey.com
www.frommers.com

Culture Tips

Here are some websites that will give you information about Turkish customs:

www.kwintessential.co.uk
www.culturalcrossroads.com

Things to remember about Turkish customs and culture:

1. 98% of Turks are Muslims.  While most are secular, many are still very conservative, particularly in eastern Turkey.  You will see women veiled and in chadors, even in Istanbul.  The area where we are staying in Istanbul (Sultanahmet) is more conservative than the Taksim area on the other side of the Golden Horn.
2. When it comes to gender, Turks, like all Muslims, are very conservative.  They want to protect the “honor” of the women in their families.  It is not appropriate to make jokes about women in mixed company or to touch women, though a man can usually (but not always) shake a women’s hand in a social or business setting.
3. Turks are extremely welcoming.  If you wander into a shop at lunchtime, you may be offered lunch with the owner and/or employees.  We have been invited to come back for dinner (which we did, to our great enjoyment) and to share lunch.  You will always be offered tea if you walk into a shop, which you should accept, even if you don’t want to buy what’s in the store.  If you don’t get too far inside, you can escape with a little charm and luck.
4. You will get advice not to talk politics, but we have found that most Turks love to talk politics and have lots of opinions.  We have learned so much from shopkeepers, waiters, and guides by asking them questions about their country, government, customs, etc.
5. You do not need to bring gifts.  We will bring gifts for our business meetings.
6. Tipping—we will handle all the tips for guides, bus drivers, restaurants, and hotels (that is included in the cost of the trip).  If someone does a special service for you, you may want to tip a small amount.  Hotel porters will expect a small tip for delivering your luggage, even if we tip them also.  For dinners on your own, tip 10 to 15% at the most.
7. Bargaining is the rule.  Occasionally a shop will have fixed prices, but rarely.  In the Grand Bazaar and other tourist areas, shop owners will come out of their stores and hustle you.  Unless you’re interested, just keep going or smile and say “no thank you”.  They don’t give up easily. 
8. You can go into most mosques in Turkey.  It is appreciated if women put a scarf over their heads.  Always take off your shoes before entering a mosque.
9. Keep your feet on the floor.  Showing the soles of your shoes is considered extremely rude and insulting.
10. You will be able to order wine virtually everywhere.  Many Turks drink alcohol and are tolerant of others’ drinking alcohol.  Turkey makes its own wines, which are quite good.

Shopping

We have a favorite carpet shop in the Grand Bazaar, Adnan and Hasan, that was recommended to us by a Boeing executive who has lived in Turkey for many years and is a knowledgeable and avid collector of Turkish carpets.  They are also recommended by an expatriot woman, married to an Istanbul Turk, who developed a business of guiding tourists through the enormous (4000 plus shops) Grand Bazaar and finding the best shops for each category of product.  I have listed her recommendations below (you can also find them in her chapter of Tales from the Expat Harem—see book section).  Adnan and Hasan will give those of us who are interested an introduction to Turkish carpets (weavers, village patterns, various kinds of carpets, quality, color, etc.).  You have no obligation to shop in their store, but you will be a more knowledgeable shopper once you have learned a little about Turkish carpets.  Then, you can choose whether to shop there or elsewhere in the Bazaar or in Turkey.

The shops Dena Sukaya recommends are high quality, low key, long-time owners (often generations of families) that, she says, will treat you with respect, teach you about their products, let you make your own decisions without pressure, and, of course, ply you with tea.

Turkey is known for its beautiful carpets, ceramics, leather, paper products, jewelry and metal.  The Grand Bazaar is only one of the areas to shop.  We will be happy to show you others as well, both in Istanbul and in other places we visit.

Shops recommended in the Grand Bazaar by Dena Sukaya (see the chapter, “The Business of the Bazaar” in Tales from the Expat Harem):

For beautiful ceramics, we can also recommend Iznik Classics, a very high end shop in the Arasta Bazaar, down the steps from the Blue Mosque.  You can also buy high quality embroidered cotton and linen items in the Arasta Bazaar.

Policies

Refund Policy: Deposits and any payments are fully refundable, less a $300 per person cancellation fee, until 120 days prior to departure. After that date, refunds can be made only if the program is sold out and your place(s) can be resold, in which case a $1000 per person cancellation fee will apply.  Less than 120 days before departure, we can only make refunds if we must cancel the trip because of circumstances outside our control (i.e., war, natural disaster). In that case, your payments are fully refundable. We recommend trip-cancellation insurance and, if the trip insurance doesn’t include it, medical evacuation insurance.

Currency Fluctuation Policy: We reserve the right to adjust the cost of the trip if exchange rates negatively affect the value of the dollar against the local currencies, thereby increasing our costs significantly.

Trip cancellation: We reserve the right to cancel the trip if we do not have at least 6 people participating or if circumstances beyond our control (i.e., war, quarantine, etc.) require it. In the case of cancellation by us, we will refund your entire payment.

Passport/Visas

Please make sure your passports are current.  Your passport must expire at least 6 months AFTER the date you leave Turkey, so if you have less than 6 months left as of the date you plan to leave Turkey, get your new passport now.

American citizens traveling to Turkey on U.S. passports must obtain a visa. Currently, holders of all types of passports can purchase a 90-day sticker visa at the port of entry for $20 cash if they are traveling to Turkey as tourists.

Liability Waiver

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