Planning a Family Trip to Turkey - Turkey with Your Family: From Bustling Bazaars to Historic Sites - page 51

post office and in most public
places. Postcards cost 50YKr to
Europe and 95YKr to all other
continents. The PTT also has
currency exchange and traveller's
cheque services; in major tourist
areas PTT kiosks are strategically
located for emergency money
needs. For express deliveries or
shipping packages, the PTT
operates an acele posta servisi (or
APS), but for your own sense of
security, you'd better stick with
the old reliable UPS or DHL.
See also 'Staying in Touch', p. 43.
Religion Turkey is predomi-
nantly Muslim, although the
right to choose one's own reli-
gion is respected. There are
mosques, churches and syna-
gogues throughout the country.
Muslim call to prayer is five
times a day and Sunday is
regarded as the weekly holiday.
There are religious festivals in
Turkey, including Seker Bayramy
in October, Kurban Bayramy
(the Feast of Sacrifice) which is
held around January, and
Ramadan, or Ramazan , when
locals will fast from sunrise to
sunset. The exact dates of festi-
vals change every year. You will
see many women wearing head-
scarves or full veils. This is not
compulsory but a personal
choice. Visitors are not expected
to follow suit, but if visiting
religious places, especially
mosques, then you should cover
up, including arms and legs, and
remove shoes. You may carry
your shoes. Some mosques in
tourist areas provide overalls or
cloaks to cover unsuitably

dressed visitors. Mosques are
generally closed to visitors dur-
ing prayer times, although in the
main tourist areas some do open.
It is expected that you should
keep children as quiet as possible
if visiting a religious building.
Smoking A local saying goes
something like this: 'Eat like a
Turk, smoke like a Turk,' which
roughly translates to 'If you're a
non-smoker, tough luck.' In
theory, smoking is prohibited
on public transportation, in cin-
emas, in airports and the like.
But realising the hardships of
driving a bus, bus companies
allow the drivers to smoke.
Souvenirs The most popular
smaller souvenirs to take home
are Turkish Delight, the jelly
sweet covered in fine sugar, and
beads or trinkets decorated with
the 'Evil Eye'. They are usually
blue in colour, and traditionally
worn as a brooch for example, to
ward off the envy of others.
Other souvenirs are carpets made
of cotton, wool or silk, brightly
coloured ceramics and Iznik tiles
(see p. 108). If buying an expen-
sive item always keep the receipt
to show customs officers. See
'Customs - Arriving in Turkey
and Going Home', p. 36.
Taxes The value-added tax
(VAT or sales tax) in Turkey is
called the KDV; in 2008, the
Turkish government is cutting
taxes charged to the tourism sec-
tor by 10%, from 18% to 8%.
Don't expect to see this rebate hit
your wallet anytime soon: it's
unlikely that hotel rates will

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