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Living in Turkey |
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Living in Turkey
Anyone who has been to Turkey on holiday can tell you
about the beautiful beaches, dazzling blue sea, abundant nightlife and
cheap beer. But what is the rest of Turkey like? Are the people friendly
to foreigners? Is it expensive to live there? You will find the answers
to these, and many other frequently asked questions below.
The Country
Imagine living in a country which is forward-thinking
but also has an ancient history, where some aspects of life are
ultra-modern but others continue as they have done for thousands of
years. Turkey is a country of many paradoxes and this is what makes it
such a fascinating place.
Turkey has a surface area of 783,562 km2 (302,535 sq
miles), nearly 3 times the size of the UK and a population of about
72,600,000 (around 12,000,000 more than the UK), about 50% of whom are
under 25. It is a constitutional republic, with a democratically
selected parliament, and although most of its inhabitants are Muslim, it
is a secular country with a judicial system based on the Swiss Civil
Code.
Cities
The main cities are clean, with modern architecture
and have all the facilities you would expect of any European city. Some
cities also have very old buildings interspersed with the new and the
remains of city walls, or Roman columns incorporated into more recent
structures, making interesting combinations.
The Coast
Turkey is bounded by the sea on 3 sides (to the north
the Black Sea; to the West, the Aegean and to the South, the
Mediterranean) giving it thousands of miles of coastline, much of which
is unspoilt, although the holiday-maker is more likely to be acquainted
with the highly-developed tourist hotspots! Many coastal towns were
centres of civilisation in ancient times and have ruins and museums full
of artefacts to prove it.
Some Mediterranean beauty spots, such as cave systems, ancient sites and
secluded beaches, are inaccessible by road and can only be reached from
the sea, making a Blue Voyage (Mavi Tur) a must when you have some free
time.
Transport/ Getting Around
Turkey is fairly easy to travel around, but it’s a
big country! Most Turks choose to travel by modern luxury coach between
cities. There are frequent departures to and from most towns and cities,
but be prepared for a long journey. It takes about 6-8 hours to get from
Istanbul to Ankara, for example, and this is one of the shorter trips.
You can also get the train, which is cheaper. Seating areas are spacious
and comfortable, with couchette sleeping compartments for longer
journeys but trains are quite slow and it’s usually quicker to take a
coach!
To get from place to place within cities, people use
the bus, dolmus, or the ubiquitous yellow taxis. In parts of some
cities, such as Istanbul, Izmir and Antalya you also have the option of
taking the tram. In Ankara and Istanbul there is also an underground
metro system linking major areas of the city. Istanbul has numerous
passenger ferries and steamboats to take you from one side of the
Bosphorus to the other in style.
People
Turks are very generous and hospitality is one of the
cornerstones of the Turkish way of life. You can expect your colleagues
and their friends to show their interest in you by asking lots of
questions, inviting you to social occasions and to their homes, where
they will treat you as an honoured guest. In fact, you will find that
the majority of people you meet at work or out and about will be
friendly and courteous to strangers, whether they're foreign or not!
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