Istanbul

According to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mongolian citizens with ordinary and official passports may stay visa-free for up to 30 days for tourism. A passport valid more than 6 months beyond arrival is the safe choice. Border officers may ask for your hotel booking and return ticket, so have them on your phone. Work or study needs a separate visa.

Istanbul's private hospitals (Acıbadem, Memorial, American Hospital) are international-standard and English-speaking, but expensive without insurance. Get cover for medical costs, flight cancellation and luggage. If you take medication, bring an English copy of the prescription.

Tip: Keep your policy and a passport copy offline in your phone's Files.

April–June and September–October are best. Winter (December–February) is not UB-cold but damp, windy and rainy — waterproof shoes and a jacket. Summer is hot and dry. For mosques, women need a scarf for their hair and everyone needs knees and shoulders covered. Istanbul is hilly and cobbled — comfortable shoes. Plugs are European type C/F.

Tip: A large scarf doubles as mosque cover and as a layer against the wind on ferries.

The Turkish lira (TRY) has high inflation, so prices change fast — think in the exchange rate of the day you leave, not an old one. Bring US dollars or euros; cards are accepted almost everywhere. Sultanahmet is next to the historic sights and quiet at night; Karaköy, Beyoğlu and Kadıköy have the food, nightlife and local feel. Central Sultanahmet hotels cost more but everything is walkable.

No paper form; your passport is stamped. The foreigners' queue can be long — with several arrivals at once expect to wait well over half an hour. After baggage, the exit hall has exchange counters, SIM stands (expensive) and Istanbulkart machines.

The airport's official Havaist buses run directly to the main points of the city such as Taksim, Sultanahmet/Beyazıt and Kadıköy; comfortable, with luggage holds. Pay on boarding by card (Visa/Mastercard) or Istanbulkart — no cash. Journey time varies a lot with traffic.

The M11 line runs from under the terminal to Gayrettepe, where you change to the M2 for Taksim, Şişhane (Galata) and Yenikapı; for Sultanahmet take the T1 tram from Yenikapı. You need an Istanbulkart — buy and top up at the machine. With lots of luggage or children, allow for stairs and crowds at the interchange.

Buy Turkcell's tourist pack (data + minutes + SMS) with your passport at a Turkcell shop; you can also order online in advance and collect in a shop within 90 days of arrival. With an NFC phone and a biometric passport you can self-activate an eSIM in the Turkcell app. Vodafone and Türk Telekom have similar packs. Coverage in the city is excellent.

Tip: Airport stands cost noticeably more than city shops — if you can wait, buy in town.

In Türkiye a foreign phone used with a local SIM for a long time must have its IMEI registered for a high fee. That rule only kicks in after a few months, so it does not affect a 30-day trip. If you are staying for months, ask at a Turkcell shop.

Tip: Frequent visitors can keep one SIM and top it up on each trip.

For a short trip an international eSIM such as Airalo is not the cheapest but needs no registration or queue. Hotels, cafes and some ferries have Wi-Fi; Istanbul Airport has free Wi-Fi but you register with passport or phone number. Keep roaming on for your Mongolian number so bank SMS codes arrive.

Metro, tram, bus, Marmaray, ferries and Havaist all take Istanbulkart. Buy it from the yellow machines (Biletmatik) at metro stations, the airport and some kiosks and top up with cash; the card's own price is not refundable. One card can be tapped several times in a row for several people — one card is enough for a family. Transfer discounts apply automatically.

Tip: Switch the machine to English and use small lira notes — some machines give no change.

The T1 tram links all the main tourist points along Kabataş — Karaköy — Eminönü — Sultanahmet — Beyazıt (Grand Bazaar), but is packed by day. The M2 metro runs Taksim — Şişhane — Yenikapı. The Marmaray tunnel links Europe and Asia under the sea — Sirkeci to Üsküdar in a few minutes. Watch for pickpockets at peak times.

City ferries (Şehir Hatları) from Eminönü, Karaköy and Kabataş to Kadıköy and Üsküdar take Istanbulkart, come with Bosphorus views and cost a fraction of a tourist cruise. Sit on deck with a tea. For the long Bosphorus trip the city ferries also run a special route — cheaper than the tourist 'tours'.

The airport rate is poor — change only enough for the first bus and meal. In town, exchange offices marked 'Döviz' (around the Grand Bazaar, Eminönü, Taksim) charge no commission and beat the banks; compare the 'Alış' (buy) rate on the board. US dollars and euros are best; clean, new notes. Some places accept foreign currency directly but at a poor rate.

Tip: Changing a lot at once is risky if the lira drops — change a few days' worth at a time.

Visa/Mastercard contactless works in restaurants, shops, museums, metro machines and Havaist — Istanbul is a card city. Small eateries, markets and some taxis want cash. For lira from an ATM use a bank's (Ziraat, İş Bankası, Garanti); if offered 'conversion', press decline to get your own bank's rate. Fees depend on the ATM.

Leave 5–10% in restaurants, after checking whether 'servis' is already on the bill; many places cannot add a tip to a card payment, so carry lira. Round up taxi fares. Give hammam attendants a little. Bargaining is normal in the Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar — starting at half is fine; where prices are labelled in shops, do not haggle.

Kebab (Adana, İskender), döner, pide (Turkish pizza), lahmacun, köfte (meatballs), balık ekmek (fish sandwich at Eminönü), meze, mantı (tiny dumplings!), çorba (soup). 'Kahvaltı' is the lavish breakfast of cheese, olives, eggs, honey and tea. Sweets: baklava, künefe, Turkish delight (lokum).

Tip: Skip Sultanahmet restaurants — eat with locals at a 'lokanta' in Kadıköy, Beşiktaş or Fatih.

A lokanta is a cheap canteen where the day's dishes sit in trays and you point to order. In tourist areas, ask prices BEFORE sitting down anywhere without prices on the menu — 'fish by the kilo' and 'unlisted meze' produce shocking bills. Send back bread and meze brought to the table if you did not ask for them — they may be charged.

Simit (sesame bread ring), grilled corn, roast chestnuts, midye dolma (stuffed mussels — careful in summer), kokoreç. Tea (çay) in small glasses all day, many times — hard to refuse, so accept. Do not drink the grounds of Turkish coffee. Ayran is similar to Mongolian tarag.

Sultanahmet, İstiklal, the Grand Bazaar, the T1 tram and the metro at peak times — bag in front, phone not in a back pocket. In crowds there is the 'two-person squeeze': one stops to ask something, the other works your pocket. Passport in the hotel safe, a copy on you (Turkish police sometimes check).

Tip: Do not leave your phone on a restaurant table — thieves grab them from the street through open windows.

1) The shoe-shiner drops his brush — pick it up and he 'thanks' you with a shine and a bill. 2) For men: a new 'friend' on the street invites you to a bar; the bill is hundreds of dollars. 3) Taxis: fake notes, 'meter broken'. 4) 'Come for tea' at a carpet shop, then hard pressure. 5) Fake museum tickets. Decline politely and walk on.

Istanbul is in an earthquake zone — look once at your hotel's exits and assembly point. Walk around protests and police cordons near Taksim; foreigners may not take part. Swimming in the Bosphorus is prohibited and the currents are strong. Do not walk alone at night in the side streets off Taksim or in Tarlabaşı.

Tip: Go back to the hotel at night by BiTaksi and follow the route in the app.

The Blue Mosque, Süleymaniye and Hagia Sophia — free or ticketed, all working mosques. Shoes off and into your bag (plastic bags are provided); women cover hair, shoulders and legs (scarves are lent), men no shorts. Tourists are kept out during the five daily prayers — Friday noon prayer is the longest. No photos of people praying, keep quiet, no holding hands.

Tip: Go early in the morning — fewer queues and less heat.

Insulting Atatürk, the Turkish flag or the state is a crime — not even as a joke. Do not photograph military sites or police cordons. Drones need a permit and are banned at historic sites. Selling e-cigarettes is banned, but bringing one for personal use is not a problem. Drugs — severe penalties.

Tip: If you see a demonstration, move away without taking photos.

Turks are very hospitable — accepting an offered tea is good manners; to decline say 'sağol, teşekkürler' (thank you). Elders are respected and given priority in queues, much as in Mongolia. Even when bargaining, smile and never get angry. Say you are Mongolian and you will hear about Chinggis Khaan and 'we share the same roots' — a warm welcome.

Tip: 'Merhaba' (hello), 'teşekkürler' (thank you), 'ne kadar?' (how much?) — three words are enough.

Türkiye's main taxi app: hails a nearby yellow taxi, records the route and the metered fare in the app, pay by card or cash. You can register with a Mongolian number (SMS code). If the driver does not come, cancel and call again — waits are long at peak times.

Real-time routes for Istanbul's metro, tram, bus, Marmaray and ferries — more precise than Google Maps in Istanbul. Shows bus numbers and stop names in Turkish, handy for showing a driver your screen.

Walking routes, restaurant ratings, opening hours. Download central Istanbul offline — signal drops in the metro and inside the Grand Bazaar. Useful for following a taxi's route.

Security at the terminal door and again after passport control; the gate area is huge. Leave earlier than usual for an international flight. From town, Havaist or the M11 metro are immune to traffic; a taxi from Sultanahmet at peak time can take twice as long. Food and coffee inside the airport are expensive.

In shops marked 'Tax Free', show your passport on purchases above a minimum amount and get a Tax Free form. At the airport, BEFORE checking in your bags, show goods, receipts and forms at the customs desk for a stamp, then collect the refund in lira or to your card at the refund counter or kiosk. No customs stamp, no refund. Worthwhile for carpets, gold and branded clothes.

Turn leftover lira into dollars before you fly — it cannot be exchanged in Mongolia and the airport rate is poor. Istanbulkart balances are not refunded — top up only what you need on the last day and keep the card for your next trip. Spend the last coins on a simit at the airport.