hi i want to take my mobile over and use a turkish sim init. some one told me i have to take the receipt to customs at dalaman airport and then they will stamp it and unlock it when i get to marmaris, does any one no where customs is in dalaman airport.
thanks for any help x x

Stephie

Hi just been there and it doesn't work like that. are you just on holiday ?
The reason I ask is this. I got a new phone for my boyfriend and took it over and when i got to dalaman they said the rules had changed since Nov 2006 and you could just go to the ptt (post office) and register it. But the systems were down in Marmaris and we could not register it ( i think it was also to do with the change over of turkcell) plus because my boyfriend already had his old phone registered we had to go to Mugla and try and register it there. Because he didn't not take it from the uk to turkey they would not let him register it but after an hour explaining to them I ended up registering the phone in my name (plus they gave me a new number) which is not a problem as I am over and back every couple of months but it's not as simple as i thought it was going to be. After 4 days we finally got confirmation that the phone had been registered.

I tried to register mine at Dalaman, they didn't have a clue what i was on about!

Someone else told me to go to customs at Fethiye harbour, which I did. Sat outside with them for ages, lots of tea and general confusion, and lots of curiosity from other workers!

Eventually, they took all the details,& stamped some forms. I then had to get it all photocopied and take it back. They said it was all done, and for me to go to the Telsim shop and would all be done.
Telsim & Turkcell shops said it has to be done in a big city and said to go to Mugla, Ankara or Antalya!
If you're just going for holiday, don't bother, otherwise buy a cheap Turkish handset!

Yeah absolutely I agree, just get a cheap phone if you really want to use it over there. Hopefully the government will step in here and lower the pricing for roaming, watched it on the news yesterday, fingers crossed..

I took a UK mobile, bought a local sim card and used it for the 2 weeks whilst I was in Didim. No problem, for short term use, that's what I've been told.

The rules changed and phones registered outside Turkey and operated with a Turkish sim card are eventually de registered. The software Turkcell use is quite sophisticated and mine was cut off after 2 weeks!. Another friends only lasted one call. Taking it to get registered was a huge hassle as I did not have a receipt to prove the cost (Its about 3 years old). Phones can be purchased however legally you are supposed to show a residents permit but visitors often put the phone in the name of a friend however if they already have a registered phone and the computerised system does a periodical swoop one or the other can be de registered on the spot. Also if not used for 6 months the sim is automatically de registered. Makes communications quite an experiment in patience!.

Any help appreciated, going round in circles!
H xx

The main rule is that you can't bring a foreign phone to Turkey and use a turkish simcard with it. Paying the fee is going to work for a while but eventually the phone won't be able to find a signal.