Turkish Carpets

The first and most important question is, what can be bought in Turkey? The answer is very simple, Hand Made Turkish Carpet. Carpet weaving is a tradition and this is a diying art in Turkey. Turkish carpets are famous with their beauty, durability and different designs of different regions. That's why, hand made Turkish carpets are the most important shopping products for foreign visitors. It is possible to visit a carpet weaving factory during Izmir Ephesus Tours. No obligation and pressure to buy. But this is the best way to seehowhand made carpets are made and how the silk produced by silk cacoons.

Ceramics and Pottery

Ceramics / potteries are also hand made products that are made in the factories and workshops. Ephesus is a major place for excellent hand made potteries / ceramics that can be used in the kitchen and also for decoration. Beside them,handmade tiles, plates, cups and bowls can be found and made in the factories in Ephesus. The people have a big chance to visit a pottery factory to see how they are made during the Ephesus Private Tours.

Leather

Leather production is a big industry in Turkey. Leather jackets in Turkey are mostly produced by lamb skins that are stronger and softer. You can find best quality of leather products like jackets, leather shoes, bags, cushions, hats, trousers. Especially, Ephesus is famous with reversible leather jackets.The visitors add a stop to visit a leather factory during Guided Ephesus Private Tours.

Jewellry

Hand made, gold and silver jewelry are well found in the area. Good place to find enuique jewelry handmade collections.

In hot times of the year ( from May to October )

Comfortable shoes are recommended for visiting archeological and historical sites if you join one of Izmir Ephesus Tours. Some Ephesus Tours involve walking, so comfortable low-heeled shoes and casual clothes are recommended. There is no dress code in Turkey, you can wear what you wished. Sun glasses, umbrella or hats are recommended, You can take light, cotton summer clothings.

In winter ( November to May )

Rain gears are needed in the winter since it might rain in some regions. Most of the country is not cold, So, very heavy woolen clothes are not recommended. Umbrella or rain coats are recommended if you have Private Ephesus Tours in the winter. Turkey's land mass is 774.815 sq km. Most of the people know Turkey as Anatolia that is a high plateau region. This is a country that you can see very green land. There are many lakes, rivers, mountains in Turkey. The greatest lake Van is larger than some inland seas.

Espcially, if you join an Ephesus Private Tour, your tour will be in Selcuk that is a small firming town and very green with peaches, oranges, olives and fig trees. Turkey is a peninsula that is covered with four seas and its coastline is around 8500 km. long.

Turkey is a countru that you can feel four season. Enjoy the climate changing from the temperate and rainy climate of Black Sea to the continental climate of the interior, then , to the Meditarenean climate of the Aegean and the Mediterranean Coastal regions.

Summers are hot, springs are warm and winters are usually cool. But, there is not very cold weather in touristic area of Turkey. Autumn is nice for the entire duration of September and October. Then the wheather starts to cool down.

During the Tour in Ephesus area, umbrella is always recommended for sun in the summer, but for rain in the winters.

The Turkish Republic is based on a secular parliamentary system. There is election for president in every 4 years. Agriculture in the main industry in Turkey and plays an important role in Turkish economy. Turkey is the one of the most important and biggest food exporters in the world. The main crops are wheat, rice, cotton, tea, tobacco, hazelnuts and fruits. Turkey is one of the greatest wool and cotton producers in Europe.

The second biggest industry in Turkey is tourism. Turkey has become a major touristic destination in Europe, in addition for cruise ship stops as Kusadasi ( Ephesus ) , Istanbul, Bodrum and Antalya. With the rapid development of summer and winter tourism facilities, people from all over the world are able to enjoy the cultural, historical and natural sites of Turkey.

Turkey has around 85 millions of population. 99% of Turkish people are Muslim. Istanbul is the greatest city having over 15 millions of inhabitants.

Turkey is a modern and secular country, so everyone has freedom for their choise of religion.

Turkish society have modernized after the revolutions and reforms of Ataturk-the founder of Turkey. Westernization is high at cities but traditions of Turkey are different from West. The people at the country side are more conservative and traditional.

The children in Turkey has an obligation to have 12 years education. After high schools, private colleges and universities are available. If the people want to study in government university, they have to pass an exam. The money in Turkey is Turkish Lira. But, in touristic cities, USD and EURO are useful as well. Exchange rates for foreign currencies are published daily. You can use USD, EURO or credit card if you want to buy something during Izmir Ephesus Tours. Tipping is not obligated, but recommended in restaurants, hotels and tours if you have a personal service. The people do 10 -15 % of the service fee if they have a Private Ephesus Tour. Electricity is supplied at 220 volts. Plugs have two round prongs, this is difefrent than USA. You can use electricity everywhere like hotels, shops and restaurants. If you stay at a hotel, most of the hotels have laundries. Self laundries are not very common in many touristic cities. In Turkey, mostly tap water is not recommended since they can not be enough clean to drink, but enough clean to use in the kitchens, toilets and washing the clothes. Bottled water is suggested to drink and it is very easy to find bottled water everywhere in Turkey.A cold bottled water is highly recommended during Izmir Ephesus Tours. Doctors and dentists can be found in Turkish major hospitals and clinics, in addition, there are certain foreign-operated hospitals in every toursitic cities. Most of the private clinics and hospitals accept insurance, so the people do not pay anything for hospital if they have acceptable insurance by hospital. Especially, old generation like to smoke in Turkey, but most of the young people do not smoke. Smoking is forbidden by Turkish Law in closed public areas (such as buses, shops, public buildings ). Smoking is not allowed in Ancient City of Ephesus, so it is strictly forbidden to smoke during Ephesus Private Tours. Most of the shops are open until midnight in touristic cities.

Officially, Government offices open at 8:30, close at 17:30. (12:30-13:30 noon break)

Jan 1 = New Year's Day.

Apr 23 = National Independence and Children's Day.

May 19 = Ataturk Commemoration and Youth and Sports Day.

Aug 30 = Victory Date.

Oct 29 = Republic Day.

Religious festivals such as Ramazan and Kurban Bayrami are also official holidays. Since these festivals are according to Hicri calender, their dates change every year.

Wrestling was Turkey's traditional sport. But, today the most popular sport is soccer. Then comes the basketball. Other different kinds of sports are done all around the country. Some interesting ones: Underwater diving, wind-surfing, golfing, airsports, caving, hunting, winter sports, mountaineering, trekking.