OK OK so we all want to know more about Türkiye and it's culture. so I decided to start with a question hoping that people would share experiences to help people understand the whole of Türkiye etc.

Where have you been in Turkey? what did you like about it? and what was the culture like?

You can add more questions and answers to this forum if you like. I just started it to help people find more information, so that one day they may even be intrigued to visit other places!

Hope this helps

This is a great idea. I have to say that I had the most amazing experiences in Turkey while riding the bus. YES, this is true. But when taking long 10hr. rides I got to talk to people who spoke no english and I only had a spanish/turkish dictionary. It is amazing how you can communicate flipping pages of the dictionary! On two different occasions I met families, on the bus, and they 'adopted' me. They invited me to eat with them, made sure I was ok at every stop, offering to buy me things, inviting me to pray at the mosques at the bus terminals with them and when we reached the final destinations really wanted me to come home with them. One woman even took a necklace off her neck and forced me to take it. I refused but she insisted. I really learned a lot about humility and true kindness. My only travel advice would be to take the bus!!!

I used bus to travel from Istanbul to Antalya (11 hours) and back and I have to say that it was heaven, compared to the Greek buses I was used to. The vehicle was nice and there was a service which provided us with water,coffee, tea and some simple snacks all the time. The bus driver was changing every 4 hours I think and we had a safe trip without problems both times. Not to mention that the ticket was really cheap

Of course there are many different companies that travel to the same destination, of which some are good and some not. Maybe I was lucky (I travelled with METRO) but it was a really good trip.

I used busses a lot when I was in Turkey for 37 days in May and June this year, I guess I have travelled about 4000 km with them. They are most of the time well equipped, airconditioned. But, to people who never used Turkish buses, I have some warnings and tips.

First: when at an otogar (bus station) always check the different companies. There will be a lot of touts offering you a ticket but not always the best schedule times or the cheapest. Just ignore them and check it all by yourself at the desks of the many companies. Pick the one you like best, with best times, best prices and/or nicest people. Check the price they tell you with the written price on the list on the desk or next to the office walls. It is not much but a few companies try to get some more money from you, like 5 or 10 lira.

Second: always carry water with you on a long trip. Most of the bus companies offer you tea, coffee and/or water but some don't. I had two companies of which the conductor pretended not to understand my English and even not my (poor) Turkish question (lutfen, bir su).

Third: be sure they bring you to the city you want to. For exemple if you want to go to Goreme in Cappadocia almost all companies will stop at Nevsehir. Decent companies will give you service for free to Goreme with a minibus but they are not all decent. Or some companies will drop you off just at the side of the road at the outskirts of a city. It happend to me in Mardin and the bus was gone before I could ask anything.

Fourth: most companies will offer you extra service to the city center because most otogars are at least 4 km from that. Just ask 'service var mi?' and they'll point you to a minibus. This minibus is included in your ticket, you should not pay extra. Some cities though don't have this service like Urfa in the south-east.

Fifth: are you a woman traveller alone? Don't worry about sitting next to strange men. They will give you a seat next to another woman or even just by yourself.

Most important: have fun!

What is really enjoyable in Turkia, especially if you're in the mood for it, is bargaining.

I m the perfect customer. I never bargain, I rarely try the clothes I buy, I never change them even when I go home and find out they don't fit me and I feel obliged to buy something, when they have taken time to show me more than one products (I feel too ashamed to just thank them and go away). There was one night though, at Kusadasi, when I was really in a mood to bargain. I was looking for a sweater for my brother but nothing seemed good enough to me. Till I found it! A fantastic black Diesel sweater and most important of all, it was an original one.

The shop owner, around my age, came to help me. I asked to see it and I said I liked it. Asked for the price and I have to admit that I didn't like what I heard about it :-S I would buy it anyway (after all I have only one brother ) but I decided to bargain. The guy started crying about the expenses of his shop and swearing that he was giving it for a few liras only, over it's real cost. I said I don't bite, lol and asked for a discount. He took the price some more down, but not enough. I said come on, I m an accountant, I know how these things work. 'Hadi hadi, do something better'. He said he couldn't so I thanked him for his time and tried to go. He called me back and when I turned, he showed me his wedding ring. He said 'let me tell you the truth. I WILL earn many liras from this cloth if you buy it. But as you see I m married. I have a veeeeeery greedy wife. She always asks for more and more. How can I cover all her expenses eeeeeee? She ll kill me! Please show some mercy!' I couldn't resist laughing while listening to his story. In the end he started laughing as well. I told him that I would buy it anyway, since I was tired of looking and in fact, I was never planning to leave, I was only trying my chances. He offered me a tea, I paid it in the first price, didn't accept the discount he had given me and left, wishing him all the luck on earth with his wife. Then he called me back again and gave me a woolen sweater for my daughter for free, to thank me

Oh Twinny, I loved your story! I am a sucker for a sob story and useless at bargaining because of it! Like you I never try things on and my wardrobe is full of ill-fitting clothes, still in their carrier bags! Maybe we would be rich without this habit?

hello i am ifigeneia from greece..i've found this site today by chance and i am happy about it..well sophie this is ok...we are women and shopping clothes is what women love in all world..what can you say about me buying a kilim from kapalicarsi last time,when i visited istanbul
i hope i am spelling right the turkish words..

actually its not only for women
that shopping crissis hits me often aswell... thats why i keep myself away from shopping malls hahaha