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Useful Hints About Kusadasi
Do not drink tap water. Stay with the bottled water; it's safer and tastes much better.
Government offices and banks are open Monday through Friday between 9:00 and 17:30 and have lunch break between 12:30 and 13:30. Some also open on Saturday.
Shops in Kusadasi are open between 9:00 am and 12:00 pm, 15 hours a day during summer season which starts May 1st and ends October 31st.
Turkish post and telephone offices are easily recognizable by their ' PTT ' and 'Turk Telekom' signs. The major post office in Kusadasi operates between 8:30 am and 11:30 pm.
When making a phone call you can either use coins (not recomended for long distance), Turk Telekom calling cards or your own credit card.
The national monetary unit is New Turkish Lira (YTL).
Major credit cards like VISA, Mastercard, Amex and Dinners Club and traveler's cheques are accepted in almost all the businesses. However, make sure to ask before you purchase a product or service. You will get a lower price on most of the goods when paid by cash for two reasons:
- Shops pay 7 % commission on credit card sales to banks
- Tax.
You are better off changing your currency at an exchange office or bank since you are more likely to get a better rate. Foreign currency rates change daily
You can listen to news in English, French and German on Tourism Radio. Frequencies for this station in Kusadasi is 101.9 and in Izmir it is 101.6.
Annual Kusadasi Festival happens mid July and International Izmir Fair takes event between late August and beginning September.
Friday market is the place where one can buy fresh vegetables and fruits for a very low price. This market is held every Friday and it's a pleasure to catch a good bargain for food or textile products. Watch out, prices are higher in the morning and tend to fall down in the afternoon since it's a one day market and sellers are willing to let go towards the end.
Nightlife in Kusadasi tends to go on until 5:00 am.
Shopping in town requires bargaining. When buying a Turkish Carpet your bargain range is 50%, leather products 40 % and jewelry 40 %. These ranges are the highest discounts you can get depending on the product of course. If you can get more discount it means you get an amazing deal or the business is going out of business.
If you are planning to visit Ephesus and the House of Virgin Mary during the months of summer due to the hot weather the best time to go is either early in the morning, before 11:00 am or late in the afternoon, after 5:00 pm.
Tipping in Kusadasi is more than welcome. While dining out arround 10% tip is normal. Some restaurants,however, include service charge in the bill. Do not tip if you don't like the service you get.
English is spoken by many and German and French are also commonly spoken by the locals.
There are many ATM machies arround town. You can use your credit card to execute any transaction you want.
Hospitality is a common virtue in Turkish culture. However, in the past customer harrasment became common in the bazaar of Kusadasi which has recently been stopped by customer harassment law brought out by the municipal government.
Most Turkish citizens speak foreign languages by translating directly from Turkish in their minds. Therefore completely strange and different meanings can come out from what they say. When involved in a conversation with a Turk do not get upset by what you think he or she is saying because it is probably the opposite of what you think it is.
Taxi meters run double between 12:00 am and 06:00 am. Do not get surprised if you are charged double for the same distance after midnight.
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