Country guide · TR

Türkiye

5 destinations & festivals · 4 etiquette rules

Photo: Julvsel · CC BY-SA 4.0

Before you go

Read before you go

Red lineEntry

Illegal; can bring a fine and 5 to 12 years in prison.

Red lineEveryday manners

Not carrying photo ID is illegal; checks are common in Istanbul and elsewhere.

TabooEveryday manners

During Ramadan, check shop opening hours and be patient with people who are fasting

Eating, drinking, smoking or chewing gum in public during the day (including in a car)
Playing loud music, dancing or swearing

It offends people who are fasting.

TabooDress

It offends local people; inappropriate dress is more likely to cause offence during Ramadan.

Places & local life

FoodIstanbul, Türkiye

Unfiltered coffee — and when you finish, the grounds in the cup can 'tell your fortune'.

Classic landmarkNear Selçuk, İzmir Province, Türkiye

The two-storey façade of the Library of Celsus and a great theatre for 25,000 bear witness to the prosperity of Rome's eastern provinces.

Classic landmarkDenizli Province, Türkiye

Snow-white travertine terraces cascading down the hill, with the Roman spa city of Hierapolis on top.

Classic landmarkNevşehir Province, Türkiye

At dawn hundreds of balloons rise over valleys of 'fairy chimneys', above cave churches carved by Byzantine monks.

Classic landmarkFatih, Istanbul, Türkiye

Religious layers of a capital that ruled empires for 1,600 years — a Byzantine church, an Ottoman mosque and a bazaar open since 1461 in one nei…