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Facts for the Traveler |
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Area: 779,452 sq km Population: 68.1 million Capital City: Ankara People: Turks (85%), Kurds (12%), 3% other Islamic peoples, Armenians, Jews Language: Armenian, Greek, Arabic, Kurdish, Turkish Religion: Muslim (Sunni)
Visas: Citizens from a long list of
countries do not require a Visa to enter Turkey. This list includes some
South American, European, Asian and Middle Eastern countries, so it is worth
checking out whether or not you will need a Visa. However, travelers from
Canada, the UK, the USA, Australia, Hong Kong, and a number of other
countries do need a visa to enter Turkey. Holders of UK and American
passports can obtain a Visa on arrival at the point of entry to Turkey.
Those from the UK will pay
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When to GoSpring and autumn are the best times to visit, since the climate will be perfect in İstanbul and on the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts. It will be cool in central Anatolia, but not unpleasantly so. Visiting before mid-June or after August may also help you avoid mosquitoes. The Black Sea coast is best visited between April and September; there will still be rain but not so much of it. With the exception of İstanbul, Turkey doesn't really have a winter tourism season. Places catering to backpackers usually see Anzac Day as the official start of the season; those catering to package holiday-makers get going in early May. Peak season is from July to mid-September, when most Turks take their holidays. The best time to visit eastern Turkey is from late June to September. Don't plan to venture east before May or after mid-October unless you're prepared for snow. Try to avoid travelling during Kurban Bayramı, Turkey's most popular public holiday; you may also want to avoid the fasting month of Ramadan. |
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EventsUEFA Cup final 2009 in IstanbulThe UEFA Cup final will visit a new city this season as the competition ends at Istanbul's Sükrü Saracoglu Stadium on Wednesday 20 May 2009. Turkey's largest city was given its first major European showpiece when the Atatürk Olympic Stadium staged ... International Istanbul Fashion Festival 5 - 7 Feb 2009 Istanbul, the second-largest supplier of clothing to the EU, hosts its international fashion festival twice a year, showcasing trends for the coming season. The breadth and depth of the Turkish clothing industry is revealed in the collections on ... The dates for Muslim religious festivals are celebrated according to a lunar calendar; the dates are locked in every few years by Muslim authorities. Only two religious holidays are public holidays: Seker Bayrami, a 3-day festival at the end of Ramazan (30 days in December-January when a good Muslim lets nothing pass the lips during daylight hours), and Kurban Bayrami (March-April) which commemorates Abraham's near-sacrifice of Ismael on Mt Moriah. In commemoration of God permitting Abraham to sacrifice a ram instead of his son, every Turkish household who can afford a sheep buys one, takes it home and slits its throat right after the early morning prayers on the actual day of the bayram. Family and friends immediately cook up a feast. You must plan for Kurban Bayrami: most banks close for a full week, transportation will be packed and hotel rooms will be scarce and expensive. Secular festivities include camel-wrestling in mid-January, in the village of Selçuk, south of Izmir, and National Sovereignty Day, April 23, a big holiday to celebrate the first meeting of the republican parliament in 1920. Celebrations abound in summer: there's a sloppy oiled wrestling festival in early June at Sarayiçi, near Edirne; the country Kafkasör Festival near Artvin in northeastern Turkey in the 3rd week of June; the International Istanbul Festival of the Arts (late June to mid-July); Bursa's Folklore and Music Festival in mid-July and Diyarbakir's Watermelon Festival in mid or late September. The whole country stops, just for a moment, at 9:05am November 10, the time of Atatürk's death in 1938. |