Turkey

Good to know

• Visiting mosques — Entry is free but outside the five daily prayer times: shoulders and knees covered for everyone, headscarf for women (often lent at the entrance), shoes in hand. On Fridays around midday the main mosques stay closed to visitors for longer.
• Cappadocia balloons — Flights leave only at dawn and only in the right wind: schedule yours for the FIRST possible morning of your stay, so a cancellation can be retried the next day. Book certified operators well ahead, especially April to October.
• Driving and transport — Your national licence is enough to rent and drive as a tourist (an IDP is a useful backup); main roads are in great shape and quiet in Anatolia. Tolls (bridges and motorways) use the electronic HGS system: check your rental car has it. In cities use trams, ferries and the Istanbulkart; domestic flights are cheap and save hours.
• Safety — The tourist areas (Istanbul, Cappadocia, the Aegean coast) are safe and welcoming; usual pickpocket precautions apply in crowds and on trams. Only the provinces bordering Syria and Iraq are to be avoided — far from the classic route. Typical scams: taxis without the meter and 'friends' inviting you into bars — decline politely.
• Tipping and haggling — In restaurants leave 5-10% if service isn't included; small change for porters and guides. In bazaars haggling is expected: start from half the asking price and settle at 60-70% — always as a game, never as a fight.
• Ramadan and holidays — During Ramadan tourist life continues normally (restaurants open in tourist areas), but local rhythms change and everything pauses at sunset for iftar. On Bayram holidays (end of Ramadan and the feast of sacrifice) museums get crowded and transport fills up: book ahead.