People have always loved gadgets. For centuries alongside important tools and machines such as levers and wheels, people also invented gizmos and gadgets. Some have taken on serious uses and have become crucial to everyday life.You’d never believe that not that long ago telephones were a luxury item here. When I first came to Turkey, the waiting list was so long people would put their newborn babies on the list! The telephone industry in the early 1990s was privatized, and since then, Türk Telekom has made great technological advances.
There is wide usage of cell phones, and your Turkish friends will be astonished if you don’t have one.
Turkey uses the European system, and an American phone will not work in Turkey unless it is multiband. Major cities and most of the rest of the country are well covered by GSM operators.
You can buy a prepaid hazır kart to put in your own cell phone for a Turkish telephone number -- cheaper than using your international number if you are staying for a long time. But if you have a foreign phone that doesn’t take a SIM card you won’t be able to take advantage of this!
If you are staying in Turkey more than a few weeks and have brought your cell phone with you from abroad, you need to register the phone or it will stop working after a couple of weeks. The only warning you get is a message in Turkish! But it is a simple task -- just take your passport and the phone to an office of a cell phone company, and they will do this for you.
Telephone courtesy in Turkey differs from some other cultures. It is not necessarily rude to have your phone on during a meeting or even in a restaurant. However, when traveling on an intercity bus, fast ferry or plane, phones must be turned off.
Pay phones are less common since the mobile revolution; they normally need a prepaid card. In hotels the charges for phone calls are extravagant.
Normally you dial 00 for an international dial tone before the country code. To call a different city in Turkey, dial 0 and then the city code.
For those of you who have been around for awhile, you can verify that regular mail is not so reliable. Things can go astray or in fact never arrive!
It is recommended to mail letters at the post office rather than in one the few public mailboxes, as these are not regularly emptied.
When I first came to Turkey I had to learn the basics of how to address an envelope as the address is written differently from how I was used to doing it.
For example, put your name details on the top left after the word, gönderen, meaning sender. If you are sending a letter within Turkey, the envelope should be addressed in this order: name, neighborhood, street followed by apartment name, and last, city (indented, capitalized and underlined). A village address can be looser -- terms such as behind the mosque or by the courthouse can be used.
Don’t forget! Mail can be slow or can go astray; to guarantee that a letter reaches its destination, send it by registered mail or cargo. Private cargo companies can provide 24 hour service and are reliable and affordable.
With the development of the Internet and it being widely used in Turkey, communication has become easier. Internet cafes are inexpensive and widespread. The Internet operates by dial-up and ADSL systems. Restaurants and hotels often have wireless networks.
It is easy to reassure your friends and family that though it seems you are going to the other end of the earth, you are only a phone call or e-mail away!
Having come to Turkey when telephones were rare, it’s hard to imagine life now without the mobile and Internet. Telephones were much larger and heavier just a few years ago and cost much more. Now you can get a 3G plug-in for your laptop and communicate wherever you go! These days who needs regular mail or e-mail; you can just text message your friend or Twitter… That’s right! Even in Turkey!
Note: Charlotte McPherson is the author of “Culture Smart: Turkey, 2005.” Please keep your questions and observations coming: I want to ensure this column is a help to you, Today’s Zaman’s readers. Email: c.mcpherson@todayszaman.com
