TOUR HAND BOOK
CLARK COLLAGE
BEST OF WESTERN TURKEY
TOUR DATES
OCT 07, 2006 - Oct 23, 2006

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

VISA:
US citizens need a visa to travel in Turkey.
You may obtain this visa upon your arrival at the Istanbul airport.
The fee is $20 for the Americans . The visa is valid for three months.

AIR PORT
After you leave the plane, you should first look for the VISA counter. It generally takes no longer than
few minutes to get the visa
But you need cash to pay for your vis. Please be prepared.
After the Police/immigration counter you get to baggage claim area. The baggage cars are US$1 and
you have to pay this amount cash
to the person in charge of the carts. It will be nice if you have  the change ready.

TRANSFER:
The transfer to the hotel is included in our price .
 Please let us know your arrival information.
At the airport after you leave the customs area , look for a MELITOUR sign .

!!  In case of unexpected delay or change of flight, should there be a problem in meeting the person who should be
waiting for you at the airport please call Hotel Ayasofya at 0212-51694-46 or take a taxi to Hotel Ayasofya. 
Your taxi fare will be refunded.

Hotel Ayasofya
Kucuk Ayasofya Mahallesi
Demirci Resit Sokak
Sultan Ahmet Meydani Alti

EARLY ARRIVAL
If you plan to arrive a few days before the tour to get over jet lag we can reserve a room at
Hotel Ayasofya Single US$50, Double US$70)

We can suggest itineraries for those who want to explore on their own or with a
 guide before or after the tour. Simply send us an e-mail with your request.

WHAT TO WEAR
Don’t forget your swimming suits. A scarf for mosque visits will be handy, also since we take our shoes when we enter the mosques and people's homes and easy slip on and off type of a shoe will be more comfortable. The women will need to wear a long skirt or long pants in the mosque .Through out the tour shorts are O.K.

LAUNDRY
You can have laundry done in all the hotels where we have more than one night stay.

MEALS
Turkish food has enough variety to meet every one’s need. Vegetarian menus are available.
If special diet food is required we can arrange for that easily.

EXTRA EXPENSES
Virtually everything on the tour is included except for your drinks. Your daily average expenditure while
on the tour will be about US $20 a day per person (mostly for drinks and souvenirs), though your actual
expenditure could be far lower. People on shoe string budgets have spent as a little as $100 during the
entire tour, while others have spent thousands of dollars ( usually on carpets.
)

PERSONAL CHECKS
Personal checks are honored in the big shops. If you are pplanning to buy kilims or carpets
DO NOT leave your personal checks at home.In fact personal checks are honored like cash

TRAVELLERS CHECKS
If you want to make a purchase over $100 you can pay with your traveler's checks .
But cashing traveler's checks in a bank is expensive and not always easy.
Do not rely on traveler's checks for cash.

ATMS
ATMs are available. US$ currency can be used through out the country.
If you need to change US$ to Turkish Lira, .you can do it at the airport very easily.
The rates almost all the same.

ELECTRICITY
240 V. Please do not for get to bring an adopter

FILM/SMART CARD
Some tour members have taken as much as 25 rolls of pictures some took may be 15 at an avarage.
So please be prepared bring more film/smart card than you think you will use. Film is more expensive in Turkey

CONTACTING HOME
There are internet cafes in all of the major cities that we will visit.
In case of emergency please give my cellular phone to your loved ones.
I will keep my telephone on  all the time 90 532 345 9987
If any mssg is e mailed to MELITOUR melitour@unimedya.net.tr, you will be notified immediately

SHOPPING INFORMATION
This tour is quite hectic. So you will have very little time for shopping. But amazingly people find enough time to shop .One of my groups had shopped so much in the seconds that we had time for shopping we had a garage sale at the end of the tour.

If you are interested in buying kilims and or carpets make sure you have your dimentions and colors with you. Very few leave Turkey with out a Kilim or a Carpet on these tours

KILIM, CARPET, TOWELS, FELT
However, the Turkish Carpets are so inviting it is very difficult to resist the temptation. If you already have the bug for the Turkish,Kurdish and Central Asian KILIMS you will find your self in heaven. If you have not yet developed a taste ,this might be the place to get aquatinted with that incurable bug.

PESTEMAL
In the Turkish Bath, the pestamal is used like a wrap around the body. We will be able to buy the pestemals off from a loom

WOODWORK IMBEDDED WITH MOTHER OF PEARL
Gaziantep is known for this craft which used to be favorite art/craft of the Ottoman Sultans. Mirrors,jewelery boxes, shelfs,chairs and many more tempting and carriable pieces hand made in Gaziantep are available in the souvenier shops.

BRASS WORKS
Very delicately carved trays, pots and shish kebab scewers and statuetts will be nice Christmas gifts.

MINIATURE PAINTINGS
Replicas of Ottoman paintings are favorite shopping theme for most of Melitour tour members. They are available only out side the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul

SILVER JEWELERY
Authentic or replicas of old jewelery are available at few places along the tour. Especially the jeweler at Ephesus has excellent examples of old jewelry.

TEXTILES
Material with wood block prints, scarves with OYA,  lace, suzanis

Home / Arrival Info Hotel /Map/ Itinerary/ Turkish Phrases / Frequently Asked Questions