Guide

Republic of Türkiye Travel Guide

Türkiye, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country whose territory lies mostly in Anatolia, with a small part in Thrace, the southeastern extension of the Balkan Peninsula. It is home to a city with a great past and immense value: Istanbul, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Türkiye, whose tourism has been climbing steadily up the rankings in recent years, is a country for historical, cultural and nature…

General Information About Türkiye
Capital: Ankara
Population: 83,154 (according to 2020 data)
Currency: Turkish Lira (TRY)
Religion: 96% Muslim
Languages Spoken: Turkish, Kurdish
Türkiye’s Geographic Location
Located within the Middle East and made up of 81 provinces and 957 districts, Türkiye borders Georgia, Armenia, Nakhchivan and Iran to the east, Iraq to the southeast, Syria to the south, and Bulgaria and Greece to the west.
Türkiye’s Currency
The currency in use in the country is the Turkish lira. 1 US dollar equals 6.98 Turkish lira, and 1 euro equals 7.55 Turkish lira. (According to April 2020 data.)
Türkiye’s Ethnic Makeup
78.1% Turkish, 13.4% Kurdish, 1.5% Laz and 7% Other
Getting to Türkiye
Visa
Citizens of 117 countries are either exempt from a Turkish visa or can apply for an e-visa online. Citizens of 83 countries must apply for a visa at Turkish diplomatic missions. Türkiye switched to the e-visa system in 2014.
Countries whose citizens do not need a visa for Türkiye for up to 90 days: Germany, Argentina, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Morocco, Finland, France, South Korea, Hong Kong, Honduras, Iran, Israel, Sweden, Switzerland, Iceland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malaysia, Monaco, Nicaragua, San Marino, Singapore, Chile, Tajikistan, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uruguay, Vatican City, New Zealand, Greece.
Countries whose citizens do not need a visa for Türkiye for up to 60 days are Russia and Croatia, and for up to 30 days, Costa Rica and Kyrgyzstan.
While Türkiye exempts some EU countries from visas, it requires visas from the Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, the United Kingdom and Spain. A visa is also required for the United States.
The visa application fee for Türkiye is 353 Turkish lira.
International Travel
Turkish Airlines, the national flag carrier, offers flights to Türkiye from 124 countries. There are also 56 airports in 50 provinces across Türkiye. (Including Atatürk Airport)
Intercity Travel Within the Country
Air, road and rail are used for intercity travel in Türkiye. Road travel is the most popular option, followed by air and rail. The route between Ankara and Istanbul is the busiest transport corridor in the country. All 3 networks of the transport system are similarly priced. Getting around Türkiye is quite affordable, easy and comfortable.
Getting Around the City
For travel within cities, every province in Türkiye uses a transit card. Each province’s card is its own and cannot be used in another city. Buses and dolmuş minibuses are the two most common means of urban transport, followed by trams and the metro.

Türkiye’s Economy
The Turkish economy is defined by the International Monetary Fund as an emerging market economy. Türkiye is considered one of the world’s newly industrialized countries.
Türkiye is ranked as the world’s 18th largest economy by nominal GDP and the 13th largest by PPP GDP.
As of 2016, Türkiye is the second largest economy among Muslim-majority countries after Indonesia, followed by Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Public Holidays in Türkiye
January 1: New Year’s Day
April 23: National Sovereignty and Children’s Day
May 1: Labor and Solidarity Day
May 19: Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day
July 15: Democracy and National Unity Day
August 30: Victory Day
October 29: Republic Day
Ramazan Bayramı and Kurban Bayramı are celebrated as well.

Gifts to Bring Back from Türkiye
Türkiye offers plenty of options for gifts to take to your family, friends and loved ones on your way home or on your travels. As for objects, there are copper cezves, kilims, evil eye beads and prayer beads; as for food, there are Turkish coffees (Sade, Dibek, Menengiç) and Turkish delight above all, as well as Gaziantep baklava and pişmaniye. Also, don’t forget to add a postcard to the gifts you buy when leaving Türkiye.
Accommodation in Türkiye
Accommodation options in Türkiye are mostly hotels and guesthouses. The hostel system is not used in Türkiye. Some hotels and state institutions (such as teachers’ guesthouses) offer shared rooms. Home and room rentals have also become widespread across the country. There are no 7-star hotels in Türkiye. However, there is actually no 7-star rating system anywhere in the world; the 7-star hotels recognized only in countries such as Dubai and Italy are called 7-star because they offer their guests more than 5-star service.
Getting a SIM Card in Türkiye
There are 47 GSM operators across Türkiye, but only 3 operators’ lines are widely used. The other 44 are not officially recognized by Telkoder. The three are Turkcell, Vodafone and Türk Telekom. Line prices and packages of the competing operators in Türkiye vary for many reasons. The operator with the most subscribers is Turkcell.
Türkiye’s Cuisine
Turkish cuisine, one of the richest cuisines in the world, surpasses those of many countries with its cooking methods, variety and flavor. With a very wide range, Turkish cuisine shows its richness through its regional divisions, such as the Southeast, Central Anatolia and the Black Sea. Gaziantep and Hatay from Türkiye are also part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, founded in 2004, in the Gastronomy category. Türkiye’s 81 provinces have 2,205 varieties of local foods and drinks. Here is a list of the 10 most famous foods and drinks in Türkiye that you must try:

Türkiye, Gaziantep: Fıstıklı Baklava

Türkiye, Adana: Adana Kebap

Türkiye, Kayseri: Kayseri Mantı

Türkiye, Bursa: İskender&Döner

Türkiye, Şanlıurfa: Lahmacun&Yayık Ayran

Türkiye, Tokat: Zeytinyağlı Sarma

Türkiye, Hatay: Künefe

Türkiye, Rize Turkish Tea& Diyarbakır Dibek Coffee

Türkiye, Adıyaman&Gaziantep&Şanlıurfa: Çiğköfte

Türkiye, Van: Van Breakfast

Places to Visit in Türkiye
Home to history, playing a very important role as a crossroads of the world, and a land of four distinct seasons, Türkiye has important travel destinations worth seeing from East to West and from North to South. First and foremost, there is Anıtkabir in Ankara, the mausoleum of Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Türkiye, and Istanbul, the capital of the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Empires; beyond them, it is a country wide open to historical, nature and cultural travel across 79 more provinces. In Türkiye, every season, summer, autumn, winter and spring, brings travel its own color and its own beauty. The 20 most important places to visit in Türkiye are:

Türkiye, Ankara: Gazi M. Kemal Atatürk’s Mausoleum/ Anıtkabir