Travel guides
Lonely Planet
Order the Lonely Planet Istanbul now for only 11.96 US$ If you plan to visit more countries in the Middle East, the LP on the Middle East is propbably a more economical (and less heavy) option. It has info on Turkey, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE and Yemen. It has 912 pages, edition 1/2000.
Order the Lonely Planet Middle East now for only 19.96 US$ Rough Guide
I used this guide during my second trip, and it's at least as good as the LP. The 4th edition is from 8/2000.
Order the Rough guide Turkey now for only 15.96 US$ Let's Go guides I don't like them, but I understand they are popular amoung American students. They are written by first time travellers/students to the region. As one competitor said: "just like a sex guide written by virgins".
Order the Let's Go guide Turkey now for only 15.99 US$ Guide du Routard This is a popular guide in French speaking countries. I used it on both my trips, but it's really not worth taking with you. There's 1 big exception: their description of walks in Cappadocia is unique and very good, and their restaurant section is also good, but then again it is a French guide of course.
Other books 
If you can't make up your mind, click on the Amazon.com logo and search for more books
Hotels
You can find excellent value for money in a lot of places. Cappadocia is well known, but also Van has good places.
On the Mediterranean Coast however, prices will be a surprise after coming from Eastern Turkey.
Sightseeing
Apparently closing days have been changed in some museums in Turkey from Tuesday to Wednesday. This is the case for Karye Camii in Istanbul.
A student card can be worth it's weight in gold here. In most museums and sights you can get good discounts, often 50 % or more.
Another good option is GO-25 card. Ani or Efes are free with this.
Medical matters
Hepatitis A If you travel with a backpack and don't mind eating in cheap restaurants, it's easy to catch Hepatitis A. Chances of getting infected range from 1/300 to 1/50 per month depending on your standard of travelling. It's not dangerous, but you will be sick for some weeks.
There is a good vaccination for Hepatitis A nowadays, so ask your doctor. You ne
ed 2 shots (used to be 3 shots) at 0 and 6 months, although if you can it's even better to postpone the second shot till after 12 months. They are expensive, but they protect you for 10 years.
Hepatitis B You can only get this through sex and blood transfusion. It might be wise to get vaccinated. Get your shots at 0, 1 and 6 months. They are equally expensive as hepatitis A.
Typhoid fever There is also a good vaccination consisting of 3 pills to be taken every 2 days. Take them early enough before you leave since it's better not to combine them with malaria pills, although these guidelines have recently changed (meaning you can combine them). The vaccination works for 3 years.
Travellers diarrhea We always have antibiotics at hand in case of diarrhea. We take Ciproxine 250 mg two tablets at once and then another 3 tablets, one tablet every 12 hours.
Weather
My first trip was in August and September. It was of course quite hot, but nothing unbearable. Nevertheless, it's best to go either before or after summer. From October onwards till April, it can get very cold especially in Northern and Central Turkey. It's best to avoid this period. It's usual to have snow in April in Cappadocia f.i.
Sports
You can do some good trekking in central Turkey. Especially Cappadocia is really marvellous, but there are also some mountain treks to be done.
The first Turkish long distance walking path is scheduled to open around December 1998 between Antalya and Fethiye. The whole trip would take 40 days, but you can do it in parts. Good trekking is in Kackar Mountains near Trabzon. Northern side is quite wet and lush, but southern slopes are rather dry. On northern side is lot of termal springs, southern has lot of georgian old churches. Overcrossing of main mountain range is possibl and takes about three days.
Telephone
Telephoning abroad is easy and cheap. You just buy a phone card with 30, 60 or 100 units for about 1 to 3 US$. With this card, you can phone from almost any public telephone.
In Eastern Turkey however, I didn't manage to get a connection abroad. The tense political situation might have something to do with it, however a more recent report told me there were no problems and there was good GSM coverage.
Shopping
Turkey can be a shopper's paradise, but in the meantime you should be careful not to get ripped off. Especially when buying a carpet, it's really difficult for us to estimate the real value of it. The price depends on different things:
- The number of nods per cm³: 25, 36 or 49.
- The material: silk or wool
- The region were it was made: Hereke near Istanbul is the best, don't believe that they sell Hereke in Kayseri.
They will undoubtedly try to persuade with false stories like:
- "If you buy a carpet here, you will be able to sell it at home for much more" and they will also show you letters to prove their case.
- "We are a cooperative, so you get a better price"
- "We produce the carpets ourselves, so you get a better price"
- "We are wholesalers, so you get a better price"
- If he goes out of the shop "to get a carpet from the storage", he in fact goes to his neighbour to get a carpet, so you'll pay the usual price plus his commission.
Go on to "Istanbul"
