Main guide
Visiting a Turkish home: shoes, slippers and tea
What usually happens at the door and at the table when you are invited into a Turkish home, and the one phrase worth learning before you go.
Section 07 · topic dossier
Everyday life
Everyday Turkey beyond the paperwork: what happens when you visit someone at home, how to read a price tag, and the few words that help at a market.
The topic in brief · a short read
Small customs that make a new country feel less foreign
Not laws or rules: habits that many people here share, and the words that go with them.
Paperwork decides whether you can stay. Everyday customs decide how the first months feel: what to do with your shoes at someone’s door, how to read the number on a price tag, what to say at a market stall.
Customs differ between families, cities and generations, so this section describes what is common, not what is required. Every custom and phrase here is checked against at least two independent sources, and Turkish spelling against the dictionary of the Turkish Language Association (TDK).
Pronunciations are our own approximations for English speakers, not a substitute for hearing the words. Start with the three short articles below.
Topic dossier
Explainers, checks and practical scenarios
Published and reviewed material for this section.
Article
Reading Turkish prices: the dot, the comma and the numbers to say them
On a Turkish price tag the dot separates thousands and the comma marks decimals. How to read the number, and how to say it.
Article
Bazaar Turkish: three phrases for asking the price
How to ask what something costs, say it is too much and ask for a small discount, and where bargaining is normal.
Article
How a Turkish flat works and what to prepare for
From heating and water to school and the doctor: what to find out about the building and the area before you live there.
Article
What aidat is and why listings leave it out
What the building charge can include, where heating ends up inside it and which documents to ask for before you sign.
Article
Eşyalı or unfurnished: what the difference really is
What ‘furnished’ actually promises, why you need an inventory and who is better off with an empty flat.
Article
What to check at a viewing
Three layers of checks, by eye, by question and by document, so you do not discover the terms of the lease after you move in.
Article
Brüt and net: how much floor space you actually get
Which area is called brüt, net and genel brüt, where it is really recorded and why you will not find it on the tapu.
Article
Electricity, water and gas: how to put them in your name without inheriting debts
Which documents the distributors ask for, what ‘subscriber’ and the deposit mean and how to check the previous tenant's arrears.
Article
SIM and IMEI: what to check so you do not lose your signal
How to check the status of an imported phone, the SIM card and the subscriber details separately, and work out why a line may stop working.
Article
A child moving in winter: school, documents and denklik
How to ask about enrolment in the middle of the school year, prepare documents from the previous school and check how they are recognised.
13turk · service desk
Next comes a conversation
We publish no properties. Options are assembled around your dates, budget and citizenship — and discussed in person.