:: 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.
The ´traditional´ greeting, is to kiss the hands of the parents and bring that kissed hand to your forehead. There are families who actually dont do such things anymore, my bfs family to take an example, but they will always appreciate yout ook time to learn this, and next time you may jsut kiss them once on each cheek.
You won´t be an outsider, there are maybe few tourists, but there still will be, and there always are foreigners living there.
:: What are Ãzmir 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.
Yes many places are open. As Trudy said, the touristic sights such as Efes, Bergama and Meryems house are opened. Also general cafes, restaurants etc, they are all open. Prices vary. In Ãzmir city, it is pretty cheap to eat and drink, also alcoholic beverages are at reasonable prices. This is ofcourse different if you take a drink at a restaurant that belongs to a touristic sight such as Efes. For example, a regular water costs 50 kuruþ, but in touristic sights you can pay 2 to 4 liras just for water. Normal price for ´us´ though 
:: I have to travel alone, bearing in mind I am only 18 years old, to Ãzmir 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)?
Yes, Ãzmir airport is safe. It is small and enough security. There arent too many english speaking staff there, but they will bring you to the ones who do speak English Anyway all signs are in english as well and it is so small you can barely miss it!
Thank you to everyone who has replied here.
I must admit I´m pretty worried now, my friend told me that there is a lot of trouble in Turkiye (esp. Southwest) at present and that maybe it´s dangerous to go there? I think he´s actually Kurdish and he tells me there are some troubles? Plus I hear it is illegal for people to collect people from the airport now? And that I will be questioned on entry to Turkiye? Please help! Any advice appreciated. Bearing in mind I land at Izmir and will go to Altinkum...
It is not illegal to collect people from the airport as far as Im aware. I picked up my girlfriends from Ãzmir airport last summer, so at least then it wasnt illegal. After picking up your luggage you just go through one door and tehre the people are waiting for you. I dont think his being Kurdish would cause you any problems there, and I dont know what trouble you are refering to? I didnt notice much last 2 months in summer that would have made me feel uncomfortable being a young foreign girl there.
I have never been questioned in Turkey, they might just go through your luggage. And dont forgot to bring money for a visa as there is no chance to get money from an atm before you go through customs, and they dont always have money back. I think it is 10 pounds for an English passport, and 10 euros for a european one.
There are busservices to the main busstation, but I cant recall what they cost. I think around 7,5-10 liras. If I were you I would take a taxi. It is a little more expensive (from airport to city centre is about 20 minutes and costs around 40 lira. to the busstation must be less than that.) but it saves you all the trouble.
For a bus company I suggest Kamýlkoç and Varan. In case you go by Kamilkoç, see if they have ´Rahat Hat´ bus tickets to Didim. They are around 10 liras more expensive, but you get a bigger seat, you can take a single seat (no person next to you) and you get to keep your phone switched on during the trip so you can stay in touch with your hosting family (other bus companies dont allow you to have your phone switched on so you can only make calls and sms in the break).
