Hi community,
By being coming to Turkey for around 12 years now, it gives me some sort of knowledge about the place. Therefore, I've prepared a small guide to make your visit more enjoyable.
Also my Turkish friends, please feel free to correct me or even add more to the list! BTW: The list isn't in any particular order!
1- Having Raki with anything else apart from water or ice is a NO NO! A portion of tomato and cucumber is also very very welcomed to be served as a snack!
2- Entering someone’s house without removing your shoes isn't a great idea!
3- Having no idea who Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was might not work on your benefit!
4- Handling someone food without saying “afiyet olsun” should be avoided!
5- Never refuse food while paying a visit to a neighbour!
6- Get ready for tea, litres of it!
7- Don’t get into political arguments, it isn’t great in Turkey neither it’s where you’re from so avoid wasting your time.
8- Religion isn’t as big as people portrait, yes there’s Ramadan and people do go to Mosque but it isn’t any more than others go to church, you hardly ever hear people preaching on the streets.
9- Dollar is quite influential here, it’s quite common establishments base their prices on dollars.
10- Get used to see photos of Atatürk and Turkish flags all over, no matter what time of the year.
11- It’s quite normal to see brides and grooms getting their pictures taken in parks before the party (I did it myself) btw there isn’t a religious ceremony, just the party.
12- Shoehorn is a must have at home.
13- Although people do argue, it’s way less than you think, it only sounds like an argument but before you know they might be taking about weather or cards.
14- every country’s name end exactly the same Hindistan, Gürcistan, Türkmenistan, Yunanistan, Brazilistan, Americanistan, and so on... (lol)
15- Vegetarian or gluten intolerant? Might be challenging, meat is a big thing here and bread is even bigger, from Simit to gozleme to lavash and pide, I mean it’s genuinely endless the amount of choices when it comes to bread here.But don't panic just yet, vegetables are also big, tomatoes for instance are superb!!!
16- Traffic jam in Istanbul is as enjoyable as watching painting dry, avoid it at any cost.
