Turkish currency
The main currency of Turkey is the Turkish lira. 1 Turkish lira = 100 kurus, or piastres, 1 kurus (piastre) = 40 paras.
Since January 1st, 2005 a new Turkish lira was introduced into circulation (international notation TRY), equal to 100 kurus. The new banknotes were issued with nominal values of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 “new liras”, coins – 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 “new kurus” and 1 “new lira”. The nominal value of the new currency is 1 million times smaller than that of the old liras (TRL)
Many stores, especially in resort areas, accept US dollars and Euros, but usually do not give small change. All types of checks and credit cards are accepted, but not everywhere and not always, sometimes a special tax is charged for using credit cards (usually there are no warnings and 5-7% of the cashed amount is simply taken out of your account).
There are plenty of 24/7 ATMs in Turkey. Many hotels use special magnetic bracelets or special colored marbles to pay for drinks. These bracelets and marbles can be purchased ahead of time and cannot be traded back in case of excess.
Travel checks are accepted only in the capital of Turkey, Istanbul and large resort areas. Among travel checks the best conditions are present for American Express and Thomas Cook. ATMs can be found in every Turkish city or town and most of them accept international bank cards. Most of the ATMs feature several interface languages.
Currency import is unlimited, but Turkish liras can only be carried across the border in amounts not exceeding a $1,000 equivalent. The exchange rate in Turkey can fluctuate considerably and due to this it is difficult to say precisely what the exchange rate of the local currency will be.
Sales taxes are charged at 15%, which is almost always included in the price of the goods. Hotels usually combine it with the service charge in an amount of 10-15%, while restaurants add 15% to the service cost. In order to receive a sales tax refund you should present the receipts at the customs. When you return home send the receipts to the stores and you should receive a refund check (in practice this system doesn’t always work). When you purchase some expensive item, like a carpet, for example, you should ask whether or not the sales tax is included in the price of the item.
There are no fixed prices, like everywhere in the East. In a marketplace you should bargain for every lira. If a compromise is not reached you can safely walk away with a smile and the salesman will either chase you down and agree upon the last offered price or a similar item will be available at a neighbor storefront and at a lower price. Turkish restaurants usually do not offer a menu, except for the most expensive restaurants.
