Travelling to Turkey |
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Winter voyage :)
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14 Sep 2008 Sun 11:21 pm |
I´ve found my flight to İzmir, and plan to fly out in November, where I have been told by the person I will stay with that we will be visiting Aydin and various places in İzmir.
I have a few questions that are troubling me:
:: When meeting family members, is there a certain phrase or tradition when first meeting? I´ve been told to kiss the hand of his mother, which I will do, though very nervous. I´ve been to Turkiye before as a tourist, and fell in love with the country, but in Winter I am worried that I will be an outsider.
:: What are İzmir and Aydin like in the Winter? Many places open? To visit? And is it expensive to eat/drink there? I don´t drink alcohol, I´m talking about basic drinks like milk, cola, water, juice etc.
:: I have to travel alone, bearing in mind I am only 18 years old, to İzmir airport, is it safe to travel alone? And are there English speaking people in the airport so that if there is a problem I can communicate (my Turkish is not so good)?
Any help will be appreciated very much. Şimdiden çok teşekkür ederim.
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15 Sep 2008 Mon 12:00 pm |
I´ve found my flight to İzmir, and plan to fly out in November, where I have been told by the person I will stay with that we will be visiting Aydin and various places in İzmir.
I have a few questions that are troubling me:
:: When meeting family members, is there a certain phrase or tradition when first meeting? I´ve been told to kiss the hand of his mother, which I will do, though very nervous. I´ve been to Turkiye before as a tourist, and fell in love with the country, but in Winter I am worried that I will be an outsider.
:: What are İzmir and Aydin like in the Winter? Many places open? To visit? And is it expensive to eat/drink there? I don´t drink alcohol, I´m talking about basic drinks like milk, cola, water, juice etc.
:: I have to travel alone, bearing in mind I am only 18 years old, to İzmir airport, is it safe to travel alone? And are there English speaking people in the airport so that if there is a problem I can communicate (my Turkish is not so good)?
Any help will be appreciated very much. Şimdiden çok teşekkür ederim.
Yes, it is safe to travel alone, also when you´re 18. I was at Izmir airport in January 2007 but I can´t remember if they spoke English. It´s not a big deal if not, signs are in English and with hands & feet you can make yourself clear as well. In Izmir museums were open, also were Efes, Didim, Meryamana, Prienne. It was a little chilly then but not really cold. And.... hardly any other tourists! Expensive? Depends on what you call expensive and where you´ll go to. I stayed in Kusadasi, a very touristic place and prices there were much higher than in other area of the country. Salep costed me around 8 YTL, so that is not cheap - but delicious!
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15 Sep 2008 Mon 04:21 pm |
:: When meeting family members, is there a certain phrase or tradition when first meeting? I´ve been told to kiss the hand of his mother, which I will do, though very nervous. I´ve been to Turkiye before as a tourist, and fell in love with the country, but in Winter I am worried that I will be an outsider.
Well... you probably should ask someone who knows this family if this particular family has any ´traditions´ or ´customs´, but in general, I don´t think there is any. You don´t really even need to kiss the hand of the mother, just a hug and a kiss on the cheek is fine.
You should not worry about being an outsider, if they invited you, they must feel like they want to spend time with you. Turkish families are the same as any other families - just be yourself and hopefully expressing some gratitude for their hospitality. 
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15 Sep 2008 Mon 04:24 pm |
Thank you Trudy, I´m happy because maybe I can improve my Turkish but I´m only concerned if my friend doesn´t come to pick me up ( you see, he´s not the most reliable person and thinks everything is a joke) so I´m just worried if I get stranded at the airport with not much money how I can explain my situation with my oh so basic Turkish. I know all the words to bombacomba.com by Ismail YK, but somehow I don´t think that will help me when in trouble 
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15 Sep 2008 Mon 04:29 pm |
I know all the words to bombacomba.com by Ismail YK, but somehow I don´t think that will help me when in trouble 

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15 Sep 2008 Mon 04:34 pm |
Oh and thank you also catwoman, it´s such a strange situation, me and my friend were talking after 1 and a half years, and now I´m old enough I can finally travel alone, so I said I´ll come to Türkiye to visit and he said he´s happy for that. But perhaps he´s lying and doesn´t want me to visit at all, well I´ll find out if I get to the airport and he´s not there to meet me :S Hehe.
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15 Sep 2008 Mon 05:05 pm |
Oh and thank you also catwoman, it´s such a strange situation, me and my friend were talking after 1 and a half years, and now I´m old enough I can finally travel alone, so I said I´ll come to Türkiye to visit and he said he´s happy for that. But perhaps he´s lying and doesn´t want me to visit at all, well I´ll find out if I get to the airport and he´s not there to meet me :S Hehe.
If you are not sure whether your friend will pick you up, you should look up ahead of time whether there are bus stops nearby and/or how to find one that will take you to your destination. It will be easier for you when you know what you are looking for, instead of trying to find someone who speaks English to tell you everything then.
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19 Sep 2008 Fri 05:38 pm |
On one hand I´m very happy for visiting Turkiye again, but after reading more about females travelling alone I must admit I am starting to feel afraid. My purpose to visit Altinkum for 2 weeks is to visit a friend and also to try and improve my Turkish. I am a blonde female with blue eyes but I don´t drink alcohol and I certainly do not dress or behave provocatively, and I have no respect for the female tourists who sabotage our reputation. My friend who I plan to visit says he cares very much for me because I am so reserved. I have real respect for the way other cultures conduct themselves and wherever I go I try to adapt accordingly. But after reading so much I am very scared to even leave my apartment now. I have been to Altikum and Side with my family when I was younger and was only hassled as a joke, but my father was always with me to protect me. Now I am wondering whether I should cancel my trip altogether. I could ask my friend to stay with me for the 13 days but I don´t want to give him the wrong idea either.
I´m very confused. If I was to stay in Altinkum in the summer season perhaps I could befriend some other tourists, but in late November I think there will be no other foreign female tourists, and if there are, I would not want to wander the streets alone to find them.
Any suggestions or advice? I hate to sound so pessimistic, it´s just unfortunate that there are so many sites full of people creating controversy and worry out there 
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19 Sep 2008 Fri 06:31 pm |
Carla, I don´t know Altinkum, so I can´t help you with any specific advice... but in terms of general information - I think you will be fine. Do stay on the safe side and arrange things ahead of time - both plan A and plan B. Find out how you can get where you need to get in case your friend doesn´t pick you up, so that you are not stranded and unable to communicate and not know what you are looking for - that´s a recipe for trouble! There may be lots of over-friendly people who might try to take advantage of you in such a situation. So learn about everything you need to learn ahead of time - the travel from airport to the final destination, where you will stay, who you will stay with - if you are going into unknown places, always have someone with you who knows the area, always have a cell phone and a number you can call if you need help... And such. If you stay on the safe side, I think you will be fine And try to not look like you need help 
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19 Sep 2008 Fri 06:36 pm |
Carla, I don´t know Altinkum, so I can´t help you with any specific advice... but in terms of general information - I think you will be fine. Do stay on the safe side and arrange things ahead of time - both plan A and plan B. Find out how you can get where you need to get in case your friend doesn´t pick you up, so that you are not stranded and unable to communicate and not know what you are looking for - that´s a recipe for trouble! There may be lots of over-friendly people who might try to take advantage of you in such a situation. So learn about everything you need to learn ahead of time - the travel from airport to the final destination, where you will stay, who you will stay with - if you are going into unknown places, always have someone with you who knows the area, always have a cell phone and a number you can call if you need help... And such. If you stay on the safe side, I think you will be fine And try to not look like you need help 
I would think that Altinkum would be quite quiet in November if its anything like here - most of the bars and restaurants will be closed. Apart from cat´s advice perhaps you could ask in the forums for translation of a few useful phrases which you could write down and take with you - easier to show someone something in writing sometimes. I think the most important thing is to get safely from Izmir Airport to your apartment in Izmir.
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