Current travel to Turkey

[Gylden]

Hello all,
Just back from a three week vacation to Turkey and thought I would write a couple of things I believe might be usefull.

First, visas can be purchased in either US dollars, Pounds or Euros at the airport in Antalya. There are different rates, depending on which passport one holds.

Second, it seems that Turkey has changed their currency lately and the new "game" in the bigger cities is to give change using some of the old currency. It isn't such a big problem, as the old notes can be changed at the central bank until some where in 2016, but it can be a little extra trouble and most merchants will refuse to take the old notes. Here is a link to read a little about it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_lira

Emission 9 is the current issue.

[BC]

TU is one of my fav destinations.

Did you have fun Glyden?

[tfcrew]

Currency did a number in Turkey.
In 1966 I was in Istanbul [my young Navy days]
$1=9 lira

1966 — 1 U.S. dollar = 9 lira
1980 — 1 U.S. dollar = 90 lira
1988 — 1 U.S. dollar = 1,300 lira
1995 — 1 U.S. dollar = 45,000 lira
1996 — 1 U.S. dollar = 107,000 lira
2001 — 1 U.S. dollar = 1,650,000 lira
2004 — 1 U.S. dollar = 1,350,000 lira
2005 — 1 U.S. dollar = 1.29 new lira (The use of New Turkish Lira, which drops 6 zeros from the currency-Turkish Lira-, is implemented in 2005. Turkish Lira and New Turkish Lira were used together in 2005. After 2009, New Lira was converted to Lira, but New Lira used as currency until 31 December 2009)
2007 — 1 U.S. dollar = 1.26 new lira
2008 — 1 U.S. dollar = 1.55 new lira
2009 — 1 U.S. dollar = 1.48 new lira
2010 — 1 U.S. dollar = 1.41 lira (Last updated on October 8, 2010)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_lira

[Gylden]

BC,

Yeah we had a blast, drove from Antalya to Bodrum and every little road to the coast in between. Met many characters! We found the best food was from the "off tourist" small restaurants on the back streets. Normal prices for dinner at the touristic places was 60 to 120 lira and in those back street places the most we paid was 15 lira (of course including beer). They spoke less English in those places, but we got by just fine. At one of those back street places, when I produced a 100 lira note to pay, he didn't have change and told us just to pay later when we had the correct amount.

We liked Datcha and Kas the best.