Turkish Riviera

On the border / visa
A flight to Antalya is probably the best way to get to the Turkish Rivera. From the airport in Antalya, set out to tourist resorts such as Antalya, Belek, Side, Kemer, Alanya.
Every visitor immediately after arriving at the place is obligated to buy a tourist visa for 15 € or $ 20, it is available at each border crossing point. During the trip to Turkey, your passport must be valid for at least 6 months. The visa is valid for 30 days and it is single use only.

Vaccinations
Travelling to Turkey, no vaccinations are essential.

Climate / When to go?
The Turkish Riviera is the part of Turkey most visited by tourists. It is characterized by a dry continental climate. Most years are very dry and hot, winters cold and snowy. The tourist season starts from April. Even then, the weather is sunny here, and the temperature is around 25oC. At the beginning of the summer season there are also a few rainy day, generally the rain lasts until noon, and in the afternoon the sun comes out. The warmest period is July and August, temperatures range from 35 - 38oC. In September, the weather begins to change and get a bit cooler, and October is rainy.

Currency
The currency in Turkey is Turkish Lira (1TLR, divided into 100 kuruszy).

Language
The Language in the region of the Turkish Riviera is a course of Turkish, written from left to right, but in all tourist resorts people can easily communicate in English, Russian, German, French and Italian.

Current / Cell phone network coverage
In all hotels on the Turkish Riviera standard voltage is 220 volts from a two pin plug.
There is no problem with the use of mobile services. In some, the smaller towns, you only get a limited range. In such cases, it is worth buying a phone card to call from local telephone booths.

History / Customs
Turkey has a rich history. Turkish Riviera does not differ here from the rest of the country. In the cities you can feel the atmosphere of the ancient ages. Belek's origins date back to the fourth century BC. For years, it was under the influence of first, the Hellenes and later, the Romans. Different periods are reflected in the architecture of the city.


Customs / tradition
The Turks love children. In hotels and boarding houses children are very well taken care of. Everywhere you can find seats for children, games rooms, swimming pools. Tourist Villages offer child minding for children at a fee. The best hotels on the Mediterranean coast will provide places for children to play, and places the adults can relax peacefully on the beach. The Turks are very positive about life. Always smiling and willing to help.
In view of the fact that many areas are Islamic we must remember not to violate certain rules. Such as in religious buildings - regardless of whether they are Muslim, Christian or Jewish - do not come in wearing shorts and T-shirts.Before you enter a mosque, it is essential to remove your shoes and for women to cover their head.

It should also be remembered that in addition to this, women should not wear revealing clothes too much in tourist areas. Not because it is dangerous, but it avoids the constant staring and harassment. Lovers should not be flaunting. Nude sun bathing is unlawful here. However, on many beaches of the south, where many tourists, either within the large hotels, topless sunbathing is not a problem in most cases.

Culinary Specialities

Like many other things in Turkey is a kind of fusion cuisine. Characterised by Turkish dairy products such as yoghurt. Asian, fish and chicken and sophisticated snacks with nuts and chickpeas - from Arab countries. Immigrants from Russia and the Balkans brought the cake (börek). Finally, the Mediterranean climate provides fresh fruit, vegetables, various herbs and olives. All these ingredients can be found on the menus of good restaurants. Turkish breakfast is more generous than the French, but more modest than the German. Exceptions are buffets at five-star resorts and hotels - where everything is available.
Turks drink black tea (Cay) in the morning.
The main meal is eaten in the evening. Most hotels offer HB or ALL INCLUSIVE. In all holiday resorts, there are cafes serving foods such as pizza, omelettes, pancakes, or an ordinary sandwich. In places where the kebab is served stone stoves must be very hot so you dont have to wait for a long time. They serve food such as turkish pizza covered with minced meat (lahmacun) or thin bread (pide) with cheese (peynirli), minced meat (kiymali), chopped into pieces of meat (kuşbaşi), ham (pastirmali).In the premises, which serve döner kebab you can also try a delicacy called Iskender (with tomato sauce and butter), or request sandwiches.

In the evening, people usually sit down at the table just before sunset. Aperitifs are served in larger hotels, sometimes in holiday villages. Foreign imports are much more expensive than domestic products. Therefore, so it is better to try the Turkish beers or wine from the Aegean than their more expensive counterparts. For 10 years, the wine making process has much improved - worth recommending are the following brands: Antik, Angora and Sarafin. The alcoholic spirit worth a taste is raki, a local vodka.
For dessert, eat typical Turkish sweets - baklava (pastry with nuts) or Helv (Turkish honey). Both are very sweet. They are often eaten with fresh fruit. At the end of a meal Turks sometimes drink coffee.
Restaurants are open daily in season. In the month of fasting, Ramadan, many venues are closed during the day - but are opened just after sunset.

Lifestyle
When it comes to the lifestyle of the Turks, according to me, especially in the summer, it is quite slow. This is due to the prevailing temperatures during this period in the region of the Turkish Riviera. Kyraathane is a special pub for men, where you can sip a cup of tea, play traditional games and smoke hookah (water pipe). Kyrathane pubs are strictly for men, but that does not mean that ladies can not drink tea in Turkey, but kyraathane are exclusively reserved for men.

Sights
When one speaks about the Turkish Riviera, you think of the endless beaches, stretching from Antalya to Alanya. There is about a 150 km long stretch of coast, housing the most popular tourist resorts.
The ancient town of Pamfilia has lots to offer:it has one of the largest Roman amphitheatres in the world, swimming at the temple of Apollo in Side, Alanya castle, rivers and canyons in the hills. Highly recommendedn are trips in the Taurus Mountains. The east of Antalya grows oranges, lemons and vegetables. Moreover, thanks to the great temperatures, tomatoes, eggplant and lettuce are grown throughout the year. In late summer, when the white fibers are released from the fruit buds of cotton, the area looks like it is covered with snow.