Travelling to Turkey |
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Do´s and Don´ts
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1. |
31 Jul 2008 Thu 02:30 am |
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
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2. |
31 Jul 2008 Thu 02:41 am |
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.
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3. |
31 Jul 2008 Thu 05:02 am |
- 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!
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4. |
31 Jul 2008 Thu 07:18 am |
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
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5. |
31 Jul 2008 Thu 11:26 am |
Quoting Elisabeth: - If you are invited to someones home, take your shoes off outside the door.
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Never!
He said he´s going to İstanbul for business, not for a family visit. If you take your shoes off when you´re in your suit, it will be very inappropriate.
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6. |
31 Jul 2008 Thu 05:57 pm |
Quoting mltm: Quoting Elisabeth: - If you are invited to someones home, take your shoes off outside the door.
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Never!
He said he´s going to İstanbul for business, not for a family visit. If you take your shoes off when you´re in your suit, it will be very inappropriate. |
Which is exactly why I said IF YOU ARE INVITED TO SOMEONES HOME. But again thanks for correcting me, mltm. You must be very busy policing all the forums.
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7. |
31 Jul 2008 Thu 06:03 pm |
Quoting Elisabeth:
Which is exactly why I said IF YOU ARE INVITED TO SOMEONES HOME. But again thanks for correcting me, mltm. You must be very busy policing all the forums. |
Why don´t you try to think for awhile that you could have made a mistake before writing sarcastic comments?
I read it well. You may not know it but surely not in all houses in Turkey you take off your shoes. If it´s a business dinner forexample in a house, you don´t take off your shoes, they will look down on you if you do.
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8. |
31 Jul 2008 Thu 06:06 pm |
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?
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9. |
31 Jul 2008 Thu 06:26 pm |
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.
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10. |
31 Jul 2008 Thu 06:28 pm |
Quoting teaschip: This isn´t really isolated to just Turkey. |
Exactly! In Japan and other Asian countries too. Plus in my house!
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