CUSTOMS
You are allowed to bring in anything you may need for your personal use and convenience.

CURRENCY
The Lira (TL) is the country’s legal tender. The bank notes for the TL are in denominations of
1 million, 5 million, 10 million, 20 million TL and coins of 50.000, 100.000 and 250.000 TL.

CREDIT CARDS TRAVELER’S CHECKS
Credit cards are widely accepted throughout Turkey.

BANKING HOURS
Banks are open on Monday to Friday from 8:30 am – 12:00 pm and from 1:30 pm-5:00 pm. Banks are closed on Saturday and Sunday.

TIME
Turkey Standard Time is 2 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time; 1 hour ahead of European time and 7 hours ahead from Eastern Standard Time, USA, and 3,5 hours behind the Mumbai local time.

ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES
Turkey generally runs on 220 volts, in all parts of the country.

DRINKING WATER
Tap water is supposedly safe to drink in all main cities and resorts. We recommend drinking bottled spring or mineral water (Maden suyu) which is readily available.

WEATHER
The climate in turkey varies a great deal according to time and place. On the Anatolian plain, summer is hot and dry but with cool nights. The Mediterranean coast has a moderate climate the year round, which makes swimming enjoyable from April Through October.

SHOPPING
Shopping is one of the great pleasures of a trip to Turkey and the rich variety of Turkish crafts makes it almost impossible to resist buying something. The best buys in turkey are leather and suede coats and jackets, copper and brassware, rugs and embroideries, meerschaum pipes and ornaments, and of course, Gold, Jewellery and Turkish carpets. For those of you who love to “ bargain ” Turkey is a fun place to shop.

SHOPPING HOURS
Shops are generally open from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm and 2:00 pm – 7:00 pm. The day of rest in Turkey is Sunday and all shops are closed.

FOOD
Turkish cuisine is always a pleasant surprise for the visitor. In addition to being a refined product of centuries of experience, the cuisine has a very pure quality. This comes from the super freshness of the fruit, vegetables, meat and fish utilized in a country that produces all its own food-stuffs. Some popular dishes included: roast lamb, fillet steak, assorted vegetables, filo pastry with meat or cheese, yogurt and flaky pastry for desert. The famed Turkish Coffee is boiled to a froth in a brass pot. Tea is grown on the Black Sea coast and it is served everywhere in glasses with sugar and sometimes lemon, never with milk. “Raki” made from distilled grapes with aniseed, is the national drink. Turkish and Indian cuisine has many similarities and Indians can find the Turkish cuisine suitable to their traditional taste.

POPULATION
Turkey has 70 million inhabitant 50% of whom live in the countryside. The major cities are : Istanbul(12 million) , Ankara, the capital (3 million), Izmir (3 million) , Adana (1.5 million) and Bursa (1 million).

GEOGRAPHY
Turkey’s land mass is 780.000 sq. km. with 97% in Asia (the Anatolian plateo) and 3% in Europe (Thrace). The European and Asian sides are divided by the Bosphorus, the sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles. Anatolia is a high plateau region rising progressively towards the east and broken by the valleys of about fifteen rivers, including the Dicle (Tigris) and Firat (Euphrates). There are numerous lakes and some such Van Lake, are as inland seas. In the north, the eastern Black Sea Mountain chain runs parallel to the Black Sea; in the south the Taurus Mountains sweep down almost to the narrow fertile coastal plain along the sea coast. The coastline of Turkey’s four seas is more than 8000 km. in length.

LANGUAGE
The Turkish language neither indo-European nor Semitic, belongs to the Ural-Altaic group and has affinity to the Finno-Hungarian languages. Turkish is written with Latin characters and is spoken by some 150 million people in the world.

RELIGION
The Turkish population 99 % Moslem. Turkey is a secular state which guarantees complete freedom of worship to non-Moslems.

DETAILS AND THE BREAK DOWN OF SEVENTOUR SERVICES

Transfer: Seventour’s special transfer personnel meet your passengers on arrival after the customs formalities, escort them to the hotel where they are pre-registered for a quick check-in.

Return transfers are carried out with the same meticulous care.

All transportation vehicles of Seventour are registered with the Turkish travel agency. (TÜRSAB).

For mini groups 1 – 3 pax transportation by 4 seated cars, 4 – 10 seated minibuses and bigger groups transporting by Mercedes / Mitsubishi / MAN brand air-conditioned buses.

GUIDES
Professional tourist guides speak English, French, German, Spanish, Japan, Italian, Arabic and Russian Languages.

TIPPING
Though service charges are included, it is customary to show your appreciation to hotel personnel and to the guide and driver of your tour. The average tip (per person, per day) should approximate $ 1.00 to the driver, and $ 2.50 - $ 3.00 for the guide.