CUSTOMS, TRADITIONS AND ETIQUETTE

Despite Turkey's adaptation to the more informal ways of the west, etiquette still has a high place in society today. This is obvious from the many polite phrases used in daily life and behavioural codes that apply to specific social situations, the overriding motive being to display warmth, interest, and a helping hand. While omission would be bad form, there are also a number of habits that decorum forbids. These include anything from blowing your nose in public, to pointing a finger directly at someone else, or turning down offers of hospitality except in extreme circumstances.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS AND FESTIVALS

The timing of a public holiday in Istanbul is immediately obvious from the sea of red flags that swatches the city on the day itself. As a matter of course, all public establihments, offices, schools, shops, banks and museums close for the day and sometimes for the half-day beforehand. The following national holidays occur on the same fixed dates every year:

In addition to these are two religious festivals, Ramazan Bayrami and Kurban (sacrifice) Bayrami, whose dates are determined by the Muslim lunar calendar and therefore arrive around 10 days earlier every year.

The three-day Ramazan Bayrami falls at the end of the fasting month of Ramazan. The festival is traditionally a time when children go from door to door asking for candy. Social visits are de rigueur, and many muslims echange gifts.

Kurban Bayrami follows roughly two and a half months later and lasts for four days. This is the most important festival of the year and celebrates the near-sacrifice of Isaac by his father, Abraham, on Mount Moriah. Today, every household that can afford one buys a sheep from the herds that are paraded round the city in the days beforehand and takes it home. Early on the first day of the festival the most senior male member of the household performs the sacrifice. The animal is then flayed and butchered and a sizeable amount of the meat distributed to the poor. The rest goes into the pot and is cooked up immediately into a family feast. As with Ramazan Bayrami, the festival is a time of heavy social visits to relatives and friends.

WORKING HOURS

Offices are open weekdays between 08:00-12:00 and 13:00-17:30. Some private sector companies also work a half day on Saturday.

Shopping hours vary according to area and type of store. As a general rule of thumb, trading begins at 09:00 and finishes at 18.00. Shops are open all day Saturday, but usually not Sunday. The two notable exceptions are the new shopping malls, which trade on Sundays, and the local corner shops (bakkal), which seem to open every day of the year, including public holidays, from dawn until the late hours of the evening.

With museums and palaces there is little consistency as far as either opening times or days are concerned. The safest way to avoid a wasted trip is to check at tourist information beforehand.

BARBERS

The Turks have been accused of being vain about their appearance, but once you have tried their barbers you will find it easy to forgive them. A haircut is never just that, but such a relaxing and refreshing experience that even if you'^ve no hair to spair it's well worth considering a shave. Don't worry about the language barrier as you'll soon find them to be very professional, as well as in most cases epitomising the Turkish ethic of good service. You'll likely as not be treated to a good neck message, though don't feel shy about refusing at least some of the copious quantities of cologne with which you'll be annointed. And all of this is given for a very reasonable price in an atmosphere that can give an insight to the contemporary local way of life. Not to be missed.

POLICE STATIONS

The police in Istanbul seem to be omnipresent, and in the unlikely event of trouble there should always be one around, as witnessed by the low crime rate. They are generally very helpful to tourists, and this can be aided by always carrying your passport with you, as required by law. There is a branch of Tourist Police with whom you should deal if you have any problems, though for more urgent matters any of them will do their best to help.

DRUG AND ANTIQUITIES SMUGGLING

The penalties for smuggling drugs is most severe, even small quantities for personal use. Long prison sentences are the normal punishments.

The Turkish authorities are also severe in cases of smuggling antiquities.

COMMUNICATIONS

Postal, telegraph, and telecommuniciation services are handled by the PTT, although the telecommunications division is now in the throes of being privatised. Post offices, recognisable by their yellow signs, are situated all over the city, the main branches being in Sirkeci on the European side and Kadiköy on the Asian side. Stamps (pul) are sold only at post offices, which now operate express mail, courier-type services (acele posta servisi), as well as special delivery (ekspres) and registered (taahhutu) services.

In addition to the PTT, several private sector firms offer both motorbike courier services within the city and international express delivery services. There are also companies specialising in freight deliveries overland or by air. Some of the bigger intercity bus companies have their own cargo subsidiaries, too.

Telephone calls, national and international, can be made from inside post offices on an operator-assisted or direct dial basis. The cost of calls is worked out according to the number of units used. The other, and more comfortable, alternative is to use the city's numerous call boxes, which either take tokens (jeton) or phone cards. Both can be bought at post offices and often from stalls by the call boxes themselves. International calls can be dialled direct from the card-operated phones, but not from the older jeton-operated ones which are now being phased out. Local calls can also be made from most corner shops, cafes, bars and restaurants.

The post offices also offer telex and fax services. With faxes, the procedure can be fairly laborious, and it is usually necessary to submit a photocopy of the pages being sent. It may be easier to go to a hotel and use the business services there.

ANIMAL

If Istanbul has a booming human population, the same can be said of its street animals. Vagrant dogs and cats become king of the street by night, but tend to keep a lower profile during the day. While mostly harmless, they are best avoided bearing that rabies is around, if uncommon. Most public institutions and restaurants will not accept animals on the premises.

TIPPING AND BARGAINING

Tipping is standard practice in bars and restaurants, although not obligatory. Generally 10% is an acceptable rate, but even if service is included, a small token is excepted. On the other hand, there is no need to tip taxi drivers, unless some special service has been provided. For hairdressers, barbers and hotel staff tipping is again the norm, but entirely discretionary. The most demanding destination in terms of tips is the Turkish bath (hamam), where you should except to distribute around 30% to the various staff that have attended you.

Bartering is very much an integral part of Turkish culture, a ritual that is generally excepted of the customer and enjoyed. Obviously, though, this is not true of the modern stores where price tickets are non-negoitable. The process itself may be lengthy and involve intense courting on the part of the shop-keeper, often in the form of apple tea. It is always best to work out your top price beforehand and start well below with a view to meeting in the middle. Good humour will score points in your favour, but it is considered very bad form to go though the whole process, conclude a deal and then walk away empty-handed.

AUTO PARKS

In Istanbul, parking is a severe problem. To avoid towing try to park in a manned garage. In case your car is towed, don't panic. You should check the parking lots around, pay your fine and drive away.

MEDIA NEWSPAPER

Besides the many Turkish language newspapers, the only daily published locally in English is the Turkish Daily News. Most big international newspapers can be found at news stand in the major tourist areas and at the larger hotels. The same is true of large-circulation magazines such as Newsweek, Time, and Der Spiegel.

ELECTRIC CURRENT

The electrical current in Turkey is the same as in Europe - in other words 220 volts, 50 cycles. Plugs have two round pins and come in two sizes, the smaller variety being more common.The larger ones are always grounded.

The ongoing population surge in Istanbul puts a severe strain on electricity resources, so that fluctuations in current and power cuts are not unusual.

HOUSE RENTALS

Istanbul's recent population explosion has turned the city into an enormous expanding urban mass, with many buildings still under construction, and a transport infrastructure that has yet to catch up with the new demands that are being made of it. It therefore makes location a very significant consideration in the choosing of accomodation, and proximity to intended destinations should be carefully taken into account, of course dependent on your means of transport. Prices vary greatly from region to region, with anything that has a view of the Bosphorous commanding, for obvious reasons, very high prices- though it may surprise some to learn that property along some parts of the shore are indeed more expensive than in Beverly Hills. More modest houses though will be found to be in general much more reasonably priced, especially in comparison to other major European cities, but a couple of important factors should be noted. To find the property you should make use of any local contacts that you may have and keep an ever vigilant eye out for advertisements in windows, noticeboards of any description, and, for the more select locations, newspapers. Failing this there are always the agents (Emlakci) who may very well be able to help, but generally demand commission charges alongside the often hefty deposits. You should also bear in mind rented accomodation is almost always completely unfurnished and will take an initial outlay to render habitable.

WORK AND RESIDENCE PERMITS

There are, as there always have been, a large number of foreigners living and working in the cosmopolitan city of Istanbul, and you do get feeling that this is encouraged, which closer ties with the Eurpoean Community should only reinforce. The inevitable bureaucracy may sometimes belie this impression when you are in the middle of it, the only solution at times seeming to be the help of someone who knows, but no problems are insurmountable and usually a bit of patience should do the trick. A work permit is obtainable from the relevant government departments in Ankara, but the residence permit comes from the police in Istanbul, though requirements should be checked out in each particular situation, and some circularity will be found in the progress of the one permit being dependent on that of the other. Knowledge of Turkish is essential at many stages of the process, and eventually the matter is best handled by your employer.