Travel Information:

Please note that, upon request, participants will be met at the Istanbul Airport and transferred to
their hotels.

Visa and Access Information

Please refer to the Turkey web pages prepared by the Turkish Embassy in Washington D.C. or Ministry of Foreign Affairs' web site for detailed access information. For a review of visa requirements please visit Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Visa Info web site or click here.

AIRPORT

Main airport of the city is Atatürk Airport. All international flights land there. It is about 23 kms from the city center. There are two main highways connecting the airport to the city center, namely "E-5" and "TEM". To reach the city center via "TEM" is about 30 kms, therefore more money... All taxi drivers have a tendency to use "TEM" naturally! If your arrivel is not around the rush hours, no need for that; use "E-5" instead. In rush hours use TEM, it will be fluent. However, our advice is taking the shore road which is "Sahil Yolu" in our language, instead of those high ways. So that you can enjoy the sea view, see the ancient city walls and have a chance to look over the Asian side.

TRANSPORTATION WITHIN THE CITY

There is a short metro (underground) line here, which just opened this year. There is only one line, that is, between "4.Levent (business district)" and "Taksim (city center)". Main transportation of the city depends on buses, "dolmush"s (shared taxis), and ferries. Between Europe and Asia it takes about 25 minutes by ferries. This may be from "Eminonu" to "Kadikoy" or "Besiktas" to "Uskudar" ( vice versa also ). You can also take a taxi, which is quite cheaper than that in any European country or America. All the taxis are in yellow color, with a "Taxi" sign on the top of the car.

TAXIS

You have to know a little about the taximeters. As soon as you enter a taxi there is a minimum charge (1,250.000 TL for now). After that, the fare increases at a set rate per kilometer (1.100.000 TL). After 5 minutes, it clicks 750.000 TL per minute if you wait in the traffic. Taxi meters are set at only one rate, no different rates for different districts or to the other cities. You just have to check the monitor to see if the taxi meter is set to "GUNDUZ" or "GECE". Gunduz means "Day", while "Gece" means "Night". Between 24:00 - 06:00 there is night tariff, so that the fare is 50% more expensive.

MONEY

Turkish currency is called Turkish Lira , shortly TL. Turkish Lira is fully convertible. There is no currency black market. Turkish Lira is freely sold and bought in hotels, banks and special exchange offices called "doviz burosu". You can get the best rates at special exchange offices which are open even on Saturdays. Even if you can not speak the local language, take a look at their modern electronic exchange tables which can be seen from outside.

INTERNET

You can connect to the internet connect at about a speed of 56 kbps from your hotel room, from the lobby or from one of the "INTERNET CAFE's which are almost everywhere in Istanbul.

TELEPHONE

International telephone access code of Turkey is 90. Then we have the area codes. For Istanbul it is 212 (European side) and 216 (Asian side), while the codes for Ankara and Izmir are 312 and 232 respectively. We have two mobile networks for now, and they have access codes like; 542, 532, 533 or 535. All telephone numbers are seven digits in Turkey. Therefore first dial 0, then three digit domestic code, finally seven digit number. As an example, calling a mobile number from your room will be like; 0 542 22 33 444. From European side to Asian side, first dial the code, 0 216. From Asian side to European side first dial 0 212 and then the number. To call Turkey from a another country first dial + 90 then (three digit area code), then seven digit number.

To make an international call from Turkey, first dial double zero then int. telephone code of your country, then your number. To call America will be like, 00 1 -your number-.

The best deal in calling your country is reached through using PTT (National Post, Telegram and Telephone Office) phone cards. They will come in 30, 60 or 100 credits. 100 credits will be fine for international calls. You can buy them from your hotel ( 15-30% more than the normal price), or from any post office.

CLIMATE

Because Istanbul is on the same parallel with New York, we have a very similar climate here. We live all the four seasons, also have snow in the winter, most probably in January.