r/AskTurkey

A little story so you understand the question.

On last friday, 3rd of July, we were just crossing the border from Bulgaria to Turkey, coming to Kusadasi in a vacation, from Romania. At the Turkey customs, we were stopped for 12 hours because my dad, in 2018 , drove a car that was not his, he only had a "power of attorney" paper (not sure of the translation here, we call it procura) and left it in Turkey. The car has been in the Turkish system for the last 8 years, and has not left the country. The reason for him driving is beacuse a friend kindly asked him to drive the car, in return of a very small amount of money. (not knowing the consequences)

The whole 12 hours were a disaster, no one spoke english good enough to understand each other, we had to google translate everything, no one wanted to deal with us and we kept getting passed from one place to another. We were given 2 fines, one of around 600 euros, the other around 4000 euros. The customs were holding for the entire 12 hours the car documents, my dad s ID and my ID, even tho I had nothing to do with it, I was only driving the car. The car that we were driving in right now was my dad's.

After understanding that we can t do anything to leave, and talking to family and friends, we have gotten that 4600 euros and payed the fines.

Alongside the actual vacation, we have payed around 6000 euros for 6 days in Turkey:)

Now that the story is out of the way, I want to ask this, can something be done to get some of our money back ? We will still be at the hotel until this Thursday, so we have around 2 days to do anything. I have all the receipts of payement, fines and documents they gave us.

Thank you !

60k borcum var 30k taksidi 2 ay gecikti eve kağıt gelir mi? Ailemin görmesinden korkuyorum

Hi guys! My family and I are visiting Kocaeli and the girls want to get mani-pedis. We went to the mall and it was like 1800 and it was just one lady working. Are there any spots that have multiple women working and decent prices?

A while ago I asked this community about my plan to move to Turkey someday and my intention to learn Turkish. The responses were very helpful, and i realize something: learning a language through art might be one of the best complements to actually speaking it. Books, films, music and other forms of art give words a context, an emotional weight and a cultural meaning.

So I'd love to start exploring Turkey that way.

If you had to recommend the books, films, TV series, albums, poets, photographers or any other works that you think every learner should experience, what would they be?

Not necessarily the most famous ones. I'm especially interested in meaningful works that reveal something about everyday life or the way people think.

And if you feel like explaining why you chose them, I'd love to read your perspective as well.

Thank you all!

En iyi sosyal hayat ve öğrenci profili ve kalitesi açısından en iyi üniversiteler ve en kötü üniversiteler sizce hangileridir?

Merhaba arkadaşlar,
Bir konuda yardımınıza ihtiyacım var.
Şu anda tatil için Samsun’dayım ve tatilimin üçüncü haftasında maalesef ciddi şekilde hastalandım. Gece ateşim 39,5 dereceye kadar çıktı. Mide bulantısı, titreme ve aşırı halsizlik yaşıyorum.
Kız kardeşim beni hastaneye götürdü. Hastanede serum takıldı ve doktor bana Klamoks BID 1000 mg antibiyotik reçete etti ve IbuCold C. Kagita Üst solunum yolunun hastaligi yaziyor.

Doktora, Almanya’da çalıştığımı ve iş yerime vermek için hastalık raporuna ihtiyacım olduğunu söyledim. Çünkü Almanya’da tatil sırasında hastalanırsanız ve bunu resmi bir raporla belgelerseniz, hastalık nedeniyle kullanamadığınız izin günlerini daha sonra geri alabiliyorsunuz. Sonuçta tatil dinlenmek içindir, hastalığı geçirmek için değil.

Ancak doktor, çalışamayacağıma dair kısa bir yazı yazmayı kabul etmedi. Hatta tedavi gördüğüme dair bir belge alabilmek için bile birkaç kez istemek zorunda kaldım. Doktor oldukça yorgun ve ilgisiz görünüyordu.

Bu durum Türkiye’de normal mi? Doktorların bu şekilde rapor veya çalışamaz belgesi vermemesi yaygın bir uygulama mı? Böyle bir durumda ne yapabilirim? Benzer bir durum yaşayan veya bilgisi olan varsa yardımcı olursa çok sevinirim.
Şimdiden teşekkür ederim.

I used chatgpt to translate. The Message is originally written in German.

Hi everyone!
Has anyone rented a car in Turkey and returned it in a different city? We’re thinking of renting in Izmir and dropping it off in Istanbul. Any recommendations for reliable and affordable companies? Also, how much credit card deposit do they usually block, and how long does it take to get it back? 😊

I'm a behavioral analyst thinking about moving to Türkiye for a while but I'm not sure if I could find a job as a private behavioral coach in Türkiye. Do people often hire personal coaches like that?

I am not quite knowledgeable about the turkish culture but I work with executives, founders or rich families. I work exactly on helping them assess human threats (deception, negative behaviors, etc), building confidence and improving communication and influence skills.

Yaklaşık 3-4 gündür navigasyonumuz doğru çalışmıyor. İzmirden Muğlaya doğru hareket ediyoruz. Her yere navigasyon ile giden biri olarak çok zorlanıyoruz 🫠 2 Samsung, İphone ve Google pixel olmak üzere 4 cihazımız var. Hepsinde de aynı problem. Merak ediyorum bu sorunu yaşayan başkaları da var mı?

?

Selamlar, boyum 188cm ve 132 kiloyum. Yaklaşık 1 yıldır da gut hastasıyım, 2 ayda 1 atak geçiriyorum ve ataklarım sırasında topallıyorum ( ilk 1 2 gün yürümek zor oluyor daha sonra topallanarak yürünüyor). Topallamam yaklaşık 2 hafta sürüyor. Askerlikten çürük alabilme ihtimalim var mıdır? Riske girip techili bozmak mantıklı mı (Şubat ayında techilim bitiyor).

Merhaba aranızda hiç isviçreye veya herhangi yurt dışındaki bir ülkeye göç edeniniz var mı ? Araç teknisyeniyim ve yaşım 22 yurt dışına yerleşmek istiyorum öncelik olarak isviçreyi düşünüyorum fakat ne yapmam gerek nereden başvurup neler yapmam gerecek konusunda bir fikrim yok . Bütün fikirlerinize açığım saygılarımla...

Greetings! I am traveling to Turkey (for the first time) from the US to attend my foreign exchange daughter’s college graduation. She is not a Turkish native but can speak the language. I speak fluent Spanish, and would love to speak it in Turkey if it helps me make connections!

I will arrive at the Istanbul airport at 5:45am, and would like her to meet me at the airport as I am nervous about getting scammed by a cab company. She lives in Mahallosi Gencosma. 1. I am wondering, what options are available to her that early in the morning to get to the airport?

2. I am pregnant and am getting travel medical insurance. In case I would have a medical issue, which hospital would you recommend for maternity concerns?

What I want to do more than anything else while in Istanbul is go fishing and see a really olive grove. I don’t want to do one of those tourist fishing excursions (also don’t have enough people to make it affordable.) I host exchange students and have studied and lived abroad and I deeply value getting to know the true people and culture of a place.

3. Does anyone know any connections I could make for going fishing with people who either fish just for fun or even as their livelihood? I don’t even have to catch the fish myself, just want to experience what fishing on either the large seas there is like and get to know more of the Turkish people and culture.

4. Does anyone know or have connections with someone who owns/operates an olive grove that would allow me just to come walk around in it? 😊 As close to the city as possible would be best as I would have to rely on public transportation.

Also- when at home I love inviting strangers and travelers to my home to share a meal and get to know them. It is one of the things that brings me great joy and I would love to maybe make a connection with someone similar in the Turkish culture.

And finally to add- what advice can you give me that I don’t even know to ask for? I am not interested in bars/nightlife or your typical tourist destinations, just really want to get to meet people.

Thank you for reading and for your time!

Selamlar, celp sevk baka vs askerlik terimlerine hiç hakim değilim, hatam olursa affola. Kısacası en erken tarihte askere gitme planın var. Gitmemi engelleyecek bi sağlık, kilo vs problemim yok, aktif yl tecilim de mevcut. Yarın şubeye gidip başvursam en erken ne zaman gidebilirim? Aile hekimi, elverişlidir belgesi, para yatırma işlerinin aynı gün içinde hallolacağını varsayarsak. Sanırım ayları sıralıyomuşuz ama ağustosu 1’e yazsam taa 13 ay sonraya denk gelmez mi? Belirli sevk dönemleri var sanırsam matematiksel olarak beni ilk alacak dönem nedir? Teşekkürler

Ben daha içmedim ama içmeyi planlıyorum. (16M)

I haven't had a drink yet, but I plan to. (16M)

Erdogan and his party have been governing Türkiye for about a quarter century now.

In that time, a lot of things in the country itself, the region and the world changed.

Before Erdogan, Türkiye used to be much less involved in foreign policy. They almost completely ignored any country east to them. In the Balkans, their involvement in the 1990s wars was minimal too. At most, the foreign policy focused on Western integration. The only exeption was Cyprus, but one could argue that this was more of an internal issue do to the population there being of Turkish ethnic orgin.

Now, a lot is different. Ankara is a major player in a lot of regions. They are the biggest backer of the new Syrian government, have a defense pact with the KSA and Pakistan, are at least somewhat involved in a lot of African countries (like Somalia and the construction of its port). Towards the EU, the relationship seems to be more like "business-only", and has cooled down a lot. They are also at least a bit more involved in the Balkans.

If a new government comes to power, how would Turkish foreign policy change? Would Ankara continue its path and only modify or would we see a complete roll-over of existing ties, a reverse to something that is more or less similar to Turkish foreign policy before 2003?

Hey everyone,
We’re 3 guys, all around 26, heading to Istanbul this November for 4 days. First time in the city and looking to make the most of it.
We would love some more local / fun suggestions for things to do.
Specifically looking for:
Day activities:
Cool neighborhoods worth exploring beyond the main tourist spots
Unique experiences (food tours, hammams, rooftop views, etc.)
Any hidden gems people usually miss in 4 days
Nightlife:
Best areas for bars / clubs (we’ve heard Taksim, Karaköy, Kadıköy, etc.)
Good clubs with decent music and crowd (EDM / hip-hop / commercial mix)
Chill bars for pre-drinks and rooftop spots
Strip clubs if there are any
Social vibe:
Places where a young international crowd hangs out
Bars/clubs that are actually good for meeting people and having a fun social night out
Also open to any general tips:
What to avoid and all
Appreciate any recommendations from locals or people who’ve been recently 🙌

I'm a student who wants to join the molecular biology and genetics UG Programme. I hope I can know about the opinions between these two universities.

May it be infrastructures, students, laboratories, equipment etc

Thank you!

Merhaba. Bağış yapabileceğim kurum arıyorum. sadece annesi ve babası olmayan çocuklara yardım yapmak istiyorum. Büyükşehirdeyim geze geze annesi babası olmayan yetim çocuk veya genç bulamıyorum maalesef, çok denedim. O yüzden kurum üzerinden yardım etmek istiyorum. Önerileriniz nedir?