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AIRPORT & TRANSPORTATION |
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Esenboga International Airport is an airport in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. The airport is located northeast of Ankara, 28 km from the center.
The Airline Companies operating direct flights to Ankara Esenboga Airport are;
* Ariana Afghan Airlines (Kabul) * Atlasjet (Ercan, Istanbul-Atatürk, Siirt, Van) * Austrian Airlines (Vienna) * Azerbaijan Airlines (Baku) * British Airways (operated by BMED) (London-Heathrow) * Germanwings (Cologne/Bonn) * Iran Air (Tehran-Imam Khomeini) * Izair (Antalya, Bodrum, Izmir) * Kibris Türk Hava Yollari (Ercan, Frankfurt) * Lufthansa (Munich) * Motor-Sich (Kiev-Borispol, Simferopol) * Onur Air (Antalya, Diyarbakir, Izmir) * Pegasus Airlines (Diyarbakir, Ercan, Istanbul-Sabiha Gokcen, Trabzon, Van) * Turkish Airlines (Adana, Adiyaman, Agri, Amsterdam, Antalya, Brussels, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Ercan, Erzincan, Erzurum, Gaziantep, Istanbul-Atatürk, Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen, Izmir, Kahramanmaras, Kars, Malatya, Mardin, Munich, Mus, Sanliurfa, Stuttgart, Trabzon, Van, Vienna, Zurich)
If you arrive in Ankara (either via Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, German Wings), you will complete both the visa & passport control as well as the customs clearance in Ankara and you will exit from international terminal.
If you arrive in Ankara via Istanbul (without a stop-over), you will complete your visa and passport control in Istanbul. You will pass through the domestic terminal to get your Ankara flight. Your customs clearance will be done upon your arrival to Ankara and you will exit from Ankara international terminal.
If you arrive with a stopover in Istanbul, you will complete both the visa & passport control as well as the customs clearance in Istanbul. You will get your Ankara flight from domestic terminal. You will exit from Ankara domestic terminal.
Transportation to the city center is by taxi (around $35 one way) or through the Havas bus line (approximately $9 one way).
BANKING & CURRENCY
The currency in Turkey is Turkish Lira (TL) as of 1 January 2005. 1YTL equals to 100 New Kurus (KR). Banknotes come in 1TL, 5TL, 10TL, 20TL, 50TL & 100TL and coins come in 1, 5KR, 10KR, 25KR and 50KR and 1TL.
Currency exchange facilities are available in all banks, hotels and airports. 24 hour cash machines providing banking services by different banks are available.
US dollars and Euros are also widely accepted. Credit cards are accepted at most restaurants and shops (the most widely used ones are MasterCard & Visa). Please kindly note that American Express, Diners Club and JCB Cards are not commonly accepted.
BUSINESS HOURS
Banks are generally open from 09:30 16:00 hours Monday Friday. General office hours are 09:00 17:00 Monday Friday. Post offices operate within these hours.
LANGUAGE
Official language of the Conference is English.
PASSPORT & VISA
Most of the travelers to Turkey require a visa. For most of them visas can be obtained at the port of entry in Turkey or from the Turkish Consulate General or Turkish Diplomatic Missions of their home countries.
Sticker type visas are issued at the port of entry and allow staying in Turkey for up to 90 days.
It is advisable to have a minimum of six months validity on your passport from the date of your entry into Turkey.
For more information, please visit the web site of Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
TIME ZONE
Local time is equal to GMT + 2 hours. Same time zone all over the country (seven hours ahead of U.S. eastern standard time).
ELECTRICITY
Turkey operates at 220 volts, 50 Hz, with round-prong European-style plugs that fit into recessed wall sockets/points. Check your appliances before leaving home to see what you'll need to plug in when you travel in Turkey .
Many appliances such as laptop computers and digital cameras with their own power adapters can be plugged into either 120-volt or 220-volt sockets/points and will adapt to the voltage automatically. But you will need a plug adaptor that can fit into the recessed wall socket/point.
Read the technical stuff on your power adapter to see "INPUT: A.C. 100-240V". If it reads that way, it can operate on either 120 or 220 voltage. If it says something like "INPUT: 100-125V", then it can't run on Turkey 's 220 volts and you'll need to bring a voltage converter.
SHOPPING
Shops are usually open between 8:30 - 19:00 and usually closed on Sunday.
Turkey , due to its geographical location, is a treasure-house of hand-made products. These range from carpets and kilims, to gold and silver jewelry, ceramics, leather and suede clothing, ornaments fashioned from alabaster, onyx, copper, and meerschaum.
When purchasing carpets, jewellery or leather products, it is advisable to consult your guide or do your shopping at a reputable store rather than in the street from vendors. |
