Greetings members,

I´m traveling to Istanbul in a few weeks, for business, and would like to know of any social customs, mores, etc. that I should be mindful of, so as not to offend anyone. I´d like to be a gracious guest.

Tesekkür ederim,
Max

I don´t think there are any significant Do´s and Don´ts, especially when you go to Istanbul. It is a very Western city. Just general courtesy rules is all I can think of.

- If you are invited to someones home, take your shoes off outside the door.
- Do not make eye contact with salesmen unless you want to buy something. (They will suck you in....don´t do it!)
- If you know 2 or 3 words in Turkish...don´t be shy...they don´t get offended if you don´t say it right.
- Bring a roll of travel toilet paper....they never seem to have enough in the ladies rooms. Can´t say anything about the mens room.
- Enjoy!

Thanks! I´ve spent some time in Saudi Arabia and recall all of the rules and customs I had to learn prior to the trip, so I´m glad to hear it will be a bit more relaxed in Istanbul. I´m also happy to hear that most people will be forgiving of my grasp of Turkish...or lack thereof!

Thanks again,
Max

Taking shoes off or not, doesn´t that depend on the people who live in that particular house instead of the meaning of the visit?

Here´s a thought...Why don´t you simply just ask if they want you to remove your shoes...When I go into someones house, I always ask would they like me to remove my shoes. This isn´t really isolated to just Turkey.