Banks
Most banks are open Monday to Friday from 0830 to 1200, when they close for lunch, then re-open from 1330 to 1700.

Driving – see Getting Around

Electricity
Power is supplied in 220 Volts through sockets of 2 round pins. Visitors from the UK and Australia will be able to use these with a travel adaptor, though visitors from the US and Canada will require both an adaptor and a transformer, although dual voltage shavers will only need a pin adaptor.

Embassies
Because Istanbul is not the capital of Turkey there are no embassies here; embassies are actually located in Ankara , though there are Consulates in Istanbul .

British Consulate-General – Mesrutiyet Caddesi No 34, Tepebasi, Beyoglu, Istanbul (90) 212 334 6400
U.S. Consulate General Istanbul – Istinye Mahallesi, Kaplicalar Mevkii No.2, Istinye Istanbul (90) 212 335 90 00 Australian Consulate-General in Istanbul – 2nd Floor, Suzer Plaza , Askerocagi Caddesi No. 15, Elmadag, Istanbul (90) 212 243 1333

Emergencies

The phone numbers to call in case of emergency are:
Police – 155
Fire brigade – 110
Ambulance – 112

Hospital care must be paid for by visitors to Istanbul and costs can be quite high, therefore insurance is recommended to cover these costs.

Foreign Exchange & Money
Istanbul is still a relatively cheap city to visit when compared to similar cities around the world, and you always have a good choice of accommodation, dining etc, depending on your budget.

The currency is the (New) Turkish Lira and although up until a few years ago the Lira was spiralling out of control, the economy is now much stronger and inflation has been brought under control and hence the Lira was revalued in 2005. One Lira consists of 100 kuru s.

You will get a much better rate of exchange if you wait until you arrive in Istanbul , rather than doing so in your home country. Official bureau de change offices or exchange houses known as d öviz are widespread and will give you the best rates and lowest or no commission charges, although hotels and banks will also change your currency.

Health
Although it's not an essential requirement to have inoculations before entering Istanbul , your doctor or travel clinic may recommend having a jab against tetanus (if you're due for one), hepatitis A and typhoid.

If you have a minor illness whilst is Istanbul, usually the best course of action is to go to a pharmacy ( eczane in Turkish) as many in the city will speak limited English and be able to give you medication which you would normally need a prescription for in most other countries.

Internet
If you need an internet connection and have a laptop, many of the café's and larger shopping centres have a free wireless (WiFi) service. Internet café's are also widely available and the cost for using their services is extremely reasonable. You may also find if you're in a higher class hotel that you have WiFi there too.

Language
Obviously in Istanbul Turkish is spoken, though you will find in the hotels especially that the employees know enough English and German to communicate effectively with you. Otherwise the level of English spoken does vary – restaurant servers, for example, may have a very limited vocabulary.

National Public Holidays
The following dates are National Public Holidays in Istanbul , when offices and banks will usually be closed: January 1, April 23, May 19, May 29, July 1, August 26 (banks and offices are open July 1 and August 26), August 30, October 29 and November 10.

Police
There are quite a variety of ‘police' that you may come across in Istanbul . The Polis are the blue-uniformed, everyday security who you will no doubt see around the city. The traffic police ( Trafik Polis ) wear white caps and are generally looking after the roads and doing vehicle checks. You will probably see them sitting in their cars with the lights flashing for no apparent reason! There is also a rapid-response unit in Istanbul of motorbike police who have red and black uniforms.

Postal Services
The postal service is run by the PTT which you can easily distinguish by its black-on-yellow logo. Stamps can only be purchased at the PTT and street-side post (or mail) boxes are rare, so it's best to send your mail from the PTT building as well.

Smoking
Smoking is a very common past-time in Istanbul and although smoking is banned on public transport it can sometimes be difficult to get away from the smoke in crowded outdoor areas.

Telephone
If you need to use a public phone, the best place is at the PTT where you have a number of payment options.

Mobile (or cell) phone coverage is excellent in Istanbul , and if you're bringing a phone with you which will work in Turkey , you should have no trouble finding a signal to ‘roam' on.

To telephone into Turkey from overseas, you should dial your international access code, then ‘90' followed by the area code without the first zero, then the 7 digit number.

To phone internationally from Turkey , dial ‘00' then the international code of the country you're dialling, e.g. 44 for the UK , 001 for the US and Canada and 61 for Australia .

Time
The time in Istanbul is GMT + 2 hours.

Tipping
In the more expensive restaurants you will probably be charged a compulsory 10 to 15%, but this rarely goes to your server, so good service should warrant you leaving a little extra.

In the majority of restaurants, servers are extremely poorly paid and rely on tips for their living so generous tips should be given when deserved.

Toilets
Unless you're in a hotel or a posh restaurant, public toilets in Istanbul will be of the type where you squat and you will have to pay for the privilege of doing so. The fee isn't much and you can usually get paper from the attendant if you don't have any on you as there won't be any in the cubicles.

Visas
Citizens of USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and South Africa all require a tourist visa to enter Turkey though these are issued as you enter, on payment of a fee, i.e. you do not need to apply for the visa before leaving your home country.

All citizens of the above countries are issued a visa which is valid for up to 3 months, except only South Africans, who are granted a 1 month stay.

Fees vary, though for 2008 these are as follows:

USA $20 or 15 Euro
Canada $60 or 45 Euro
UK $20 or 15 Euro or £10
Ireland $15 or 10 Euro
Australia $20 or 15 Euro
South Africa $15 or 10 Euro

Please note that it's advisable to have the exact money for each member of your party. Only the above currencies are accepted, and the will not accept credit cards or cheques.

The megacity of Istanbul, historically also known as Byzantium and Constantinople, is the largest city in Turkey and fourth largest city proper in the world with a population of 12.8 million; quite naturally then, it is the cultural, economic, and financial centre of Turkey. In recent decades, numerous tall structures were built around the city to accommodate a rapid growth in population, mainly in the business and shopping districts of Levent, Maslak, and Mecidiyeköy which are situated between the Bosphorus Bridge and Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge. Turkey's major companies and financial institutions have located their headquarters in this area. The elegant Bağdat Avenue, famous for its upscale shops and restaurants was an added attraction which lent impetus to the urban expansion in the area.
It goes without saying that Istanbul is also Turkey's largest industrial centre, producing market ware like cotton, fruit, olive oil, silk, and tobacco. Food processing, textiles, oil products, rubber, metal ware, leather, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electronics, glass, machinery, automotive, transport vehicles, paper and paper products, and alcoholic drinks are among the city's major industrial products. Today, the volume of trade generated by Istanbul amounts to 21.2% of Turkey's gross national product.
Shopping Centres: Docketed figures show that Istanbul has numerous historic shopping centres, such as the Grand Bazaar (1461), Mahmutpaşa Bazaar (1462) and the Egyptian Bazaar (1660). Akmerkez (1993) is the only mall to win both "Europe's Best" and "World's Best" awards by the ICSC; Cevahir Mall (2005) is the largest mall in Europe. İstinye Park (2007) and City's Nişantaşı (2008) are two new malls which target high-end consumers and are exclusively dedicated to world-famous fashion brands, according to Nileguide 2010.
Markets:

According to article.wn.com, Bağdat Avenue, located in the Anatolian part of İstanbul, Turkey can be seen as the counterpart of Istiklal Avenue on the European side in terms of importance and glamour. The avenue runs 6 km from Bostancı to Kızıltoprak, almost parallel to the coastline of the Sea of Marmara, within the district of Kadıköy. It is a main street in an upper-scale residential area. The one-way avenue is flanked with shopping malls, department stores, fashion garment stores, elegant shops offering world famous brands, restaurants of international and local cuisine, pubs and cafés, luxury car dealers and bank agencies. Most of the retail stores are open on all days of the week, including Sundays, from 0900-1900.
The Grand Bazaar (www.grandbazaaristanbul.org)
Next to the deluxe shopping malls for world-wide famous brands, there is an alternative shopping centre, unique to Istanbul and which describes Istanbul: The Grand Bazaar. It is reportedly the world’s oldest, biggest bazaar where a variety of products are exhibited. The bazaar includes more than 3,000 shops and it is visited by approximately 400,000 people. Opening Times: Monday to Saturday 9:00 - 19:00. Closed Sundays and bank holidays. To get there, take a tram to Beyazit, Üniversite or Sirkeci. The Grand Bazaar is around 15 minutes walk from the Aya Sofya/Blue Mosque area.
Dervish : In Dervish, you can find triple skirts, hand-woven textiles and colorful kerchiefs brought from Anatolia, whereas in Muhlis Günbatı, you see colourful and appealing Ottoman style caftans and other traditional clothes. Address: Perdahçılar St. No: 48
Yazmacı: Yazmacı is the favorite place for Dolce & Gabbana and Rei Kawabuko. Among the customers of this shop are people such as Donna Karan, Jean Paul Gaultier, Rıfat Özbek, Cemil İpekçi and Atıl Kutoğlu. Caftans and specially-woven textiles were prepared in Yazmacı for the movie Troy. In the shop you can find authentic loincloths and stamped head kerchiefs.
Beyoğlu: Beyoğlu now contains Istanbul’s most important culture, entertainment and business centres. It caters to people from the high-income group and middle-aged people with high cultural and artistic knowledge. Beyoğlu has chain stores of brands such as Diesel and Vakko whose prices are above the average level, but there are also relatively smaller shops and costume-makers like Raven, Porto Bello, By Rodo, Pulp, Bondea Fashion and Çantacı and Cem who is famous for bags manufactured on order. Among the leading costume-makers are Garderobe and Merih Costumes, with costumes for all kinds of occasions.