Local time: GMT + 2 hrs. (Summer)
Electricity : Electricity is supplied at 220 volts.
Tap water : Can bu used for cleaning, but bottled water is adviced for drinking and can be obtained at all shops.
Weights and measures: Metric system.
Foreign newspapers: Available in large cities and touristic areas.
Interpreter - guides: Ministry of Tourism Offices and travel agents can provide professional interpreters - guides. Travel agents are obliged to provide a professional interpreter -guides on all of their tours.
Doctors and dentists: Doctors and dentists can be found in Turkey' hospitals and, in addition, there are certain f oreign-operated hospitals at most cities in Turkey.

Time Differences
Australia	+9
Germany	-1
France	-1
England	-2
Italy	-1
Japan	+6
Netherlands	-1
Austria	-1
Spain	-1
USA (East Coast)	-7

Turkish Baths are great fun and a visit to one of the ultimate Ottoman pleasures is a must for any holiday. To take full advantage of the the experience, make sure you go at the beginning of your stay so your skin leave it to the end of the holiday, your tan will be scrubbed away!

If you're travelling around with hire car and intend to visit mosques, keep a 'mosque kit' in the carto avoid embarrasment. Before entering a mosque, the head, shoulders arms and legs of ladies should be fully covered; this can easily be accomplished with two large locally made shawls, which can also be used as beach wreaps, picnic table cloths or sofa throwes when you get home. One shawl tied sarong style over shorts will enable men to enter a mosque without giving offence (with a shirt, obviously!).

Mosquito bites won't give you malaria, but can make you itchy and miserable. Buy an electric mossie repellent, and the tablets or liquid to go with it, as soon as you arrive, and turn it on before you go out in the evening. Use lots of repellent on any exposed skin, especially around sunset. If you've forgotten to bring any with you, the local brand is called KOV and is available at any chemist.

Legal Holidays

January 1—New Year's Day January 10-13—Sacrifice Festival April 23—National Sovereignty Day and Children's Day. Parades celebrate the opening of Parliament in 1920. May 19—Youth and Sports Day and Ataturk's Memorial Day. Celebrates the start of National Independence War in 1919. August 30—Victory Day. Celebrates the Winning of the War of Independence. October 29—Republic Day. The nation's biggest holiday honors the declaration of the Turkish Republic in 1923. October 23-25—Candy Festival

Religious Festivals

Other important holidays are celebrated according to the Muslim lunar calendar (meaning the dates vary by about 10-11 days each year). The biggest, comparable to Christmas, comes after the month of fasting ( Ramazan, or Ramadan ), with three days of feasting called Seker Bayram (Candy Festival). Other major holiday kept by the lunar calendar is the four-day Kurban Bayram (Sacrifice Festival).