Circuits and trips to Turkey

Spanish citizens can enter or leave Turkey with an ID or passport with a minimum validity of 6 months from the date of return. Some nationalities require a visa.

The official language is Turkish. Although languages such as Arabic or Kurdish are also spoken.

About 99% of Turkey's population is Muslim, the remaining 1% is made up of Christians and Jews.

Giving gifts in Turkish culture is part of everyday life. In Turkish culture, special importance is attached to gifts. When the Turks converted to Islam, this custom began to become more important as a feature of Turkish culture. The gift is given with sincere desire without expecting reciprocity and to enhance friendships and remember special days.

Another Turkish custom is to give affection to animals, it is the value given to living beings in religion islamic Medical care and treatment of injured animals were already very common in Ottoman culture.

There are also rituals during the month of Ramadan that reinforce solidarity and unity among the people. The customs and traditions applied in Ramadan reflect at the same time the mentality, philosophy of life and the values of the Turks. One of the most important moments of the month of Ramadan is the fast-breaking dinner. Eating together and giving food to the poor are an ancient Turkish tradition. The Turks always gave banquets for various reasons. Along with the acceptance of Islam, the fast-breaking dinner was also added to these collective meals. Fast-breaking dinners have been of great importance since Ottoman times.

The Turkish Bath ceremony. Turkish baths, which are directly associated with Turkish culture, are not only bathing places, but also places that serve as social institutions. In addition, they host rituals as part of social events, including marriage, circumcision and birth ceremonies. Still in Anatolia, especially in the smaller cities, the Turkish baths continue to preserve this function. The Turks always gave great importance to water and the facilities related to it, which is why the tradition of the “hamam”, that is, the Turkish baths, dates back to very ancient times. The architecture of the Turkish baths in Turkey arose in the 12th century, shortly after the conquest of Anatolia by the Seljuks. The Turkish baths, the rituals and traditions related to them, were passed down from one generation to the next, becoming a symbol of Turkish culture. Turkish baths, which had more than one function, are part of a deep-rooted culture in Turkey.

Beliefs and rituals in Turkish culture related to the evil eye. The evil eye, called "nazar" in Turkish, is a widespread belief in both primitive and developed societies. To protect themselves from the evil eye, the people often use gibberish materials. Items called "nazarlık" in Turkish, which are a type of amulet made with these materials, and are placed on children's and adult clothing, in baby cribs, on top of doors, and on a visible part of some something that could be looked at with the evil eye.

The tradition of coffee shops in Turkish culture. The traditional Turkish drink known throughout the world as “Turkish coffee”, gave rise to the creation of coffee shops out of the need for places that prepare and offer Turkish coffee. Coffee brought to Istanbul by Egyptian traders at the time of Yavuz Sultan Selim made Istanbul one of the most important centers of coffee culture. Then in the period of Sultan Süleyman the Lawgiver, coffee spread throughout the country and became part of everyday life. Currently preparing coffee, drinking it and offering it form an important part of Turkish culture, a symbol of hospitality and kindness.

The weather varies by area. The coastal areas of the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas have a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry, and mild summers and wet, mild to cool winters. Turkey's Black Sea coast has a temperate, oceanic climate, with warm, humid summers and cooler winters. It is also the rainiest area of the country. The coastal areas of the Sea of Marmara (including the city of Istanbul), which connects the Mediterranean and Aegean seas, have a transitional climate between the Mediterranean and oceanic types, temperate, with moderately hot and dry summers and cool, wet winters. Almost every winter it snows on the coasts of the Black and Marmara Seas in the north of the country, but the snow that has fallen does not usually remain. Snowfalls are atypical on the Aegean coasts and very rare on the Mediterranean ones.

The interior of the country is more arid, with harsher climatic conditions. The relief blocks the maritime influence, isolating the massif from the center of Anatolia, giving this territory a continental climate with very different seasonal conditions, very hot summers and particularly harsh winters.

No vaccinations are required for travelers going to Turkey.

The European Health Insurance Card does not have coverage in Turkey, so it is recommended to take out travel assistance insurance.

The Turkish lira is the legal currency of Turkey, it is divided into 100 kurus. The coins that currently circulate are 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 kurus and 1 lira. As for the bills, those of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 lire are in use. They can be obtained at exchange offices and banks. 1 euro is equivalent to approximately 20 Turkish liras.

Las tarjetas de crédito son generalmente aceptadas en hoteles, restaurantes y tiendas.

Traffic in Istanbul is chaotic. The metro, inaugurated in the year 2000, is the main means of mass transportation in Istanbul. Although the most comfortable and economical way to tour the historic center of the city is the tram. In Istanbul there are two funicular lines: Karaköy-Beyoğlu Tünel Funicular, the second oldest suburban transport in the world after the London Underground. Its construction was an initiative of the French engineer Eugene Henri Gavand who saw the need to connect the two business districts of the time. Sultan Abdülaziz granted permission to build in 1869 and it was inaugurated on January 17, 1875; and the Kabataş-Taksim Funicular, much more modern than the previous one, connects the last stop of Tram T1 with Taksim Square. A few meters from the Kabataş stop is the Dolmabahçe Palace. Both work from 6 in the morning to 12 at night. The frequency oscillates between 5 and 10 minutes, depending on the time and the day of the week.

Outside Istanbul, in a country the size of Turkey, unless you have all the time in the world to go around it, the best option to do it is by plane. Flying internally in Turkey can be really cheap if you buy tickets a few weeks in advance. If, on the other hand, you prefer to travel the country by road, there is a wide network of bus lines that cover almost the entire national territory, this option being the most used by both locals and tourists.

Turkish cuisine is very popular today and seems to have influenced other cuisines in the use of spices or roasting meats. It is known for its characteristic bridge between the cuisines of the Middle East and the Balkan cuisine, and it is in a prominent position among the cuisines of Mediterranean origin due not only to the geographical position of the country, but also because it has in common with the other gastronomies a predominance of the use and use of vegetables and olive oil as ingredients in most of their dishes. One of the most famous typical Turkish foods is the world famous “kebab”. Another famous dish is "Lahmacun", also known as "Turkish pizza", it is quite similar to this Italian recipe, although with notable differences. Another of the most representative dishes of Turkish food is the "baklava", a crunchy and puff pastry filled with nuts (especially pistachios, walnuts and almonds) and bathed in honey.

Turkey's time zone is GMT+03:00.

In Turkey, the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages is allowed.