Overview Turkey

Insights into the regulations, traditions, and logistics of Turkey.

Currency: Turkish Lira
Calling code: +90
Area: 783.562 km²
Population: 80.144.878
Density: 102.28 people per km²

1. Are there typical greeting rituals?

Good friends, regardless of sex, give each other cheek kisses on both sides; even two men. This is a very typical one. Formal or business greeting is coming face-to-face and shaking hands while asking each other how they are. A weak hand shake without eye-contact will not be an amicable sign.

2. What business rules are to be followed?

Understanding customers' needs and respecting them. One of the most common ways to make the respect visible is being flexible on your own rules. Offering the customer some flexibility would build up trust. Negotiations on the price of goods and services are usually long processes. So, a good salesperson should be patient and allow some reasonable time for negotiations.

3. What prejudices are there and which of these are actually true?

Although Turkey's biggest part of land is indeed a Middle-Eastern location by geography and some cultural features are shared, mass urban population which is higher than that of rural, doesn't identify themselves as Middle-Easterns. Rather than meticulous organizations and plannings; quick, sometimes last-minute solutions are more broadly employed in affairs in Turkey.

4. What subjects are discussed during small talk?

Conversations about the hometowns and small talk about the origins are quite common.

5. What commodities play an important role in the country and to which countries does it export to and from which countries does it import from the most part?

a. Export:
Textiles and Clothing (~18%), Transport Equipment (~16%), Agro-Industry (~11%) and Iron and Steel (~9%)
To: Germany (~10%), United Kingdom (~8%), Iraq (~6%) and Italy (~5%)

b. Import:
Fuel (~14%), Chemicals (~14%), Machinery (~14%) and Transport equipment (~11%)
From: China (~13%), Germany (~11%), Russia (~8%) and the United States (~6%)

6. What special logistics obstacles/difficulties are there on location?

Logistic infrastructure, sea-ports and railways have been obsolete until early 2000s. Government spends huge budgets for renewals and maintenance tough. Custom clearance procedures are often long and costly.

7. What goods were the most exciting or unusual that were transported by Fr. Meyer's Sohn or of which you have heard?

Transformer and parts were transported from Switzerland via the port of Izmir to the city of Manisa in 2012. This is one of the most exciting.

8. Are there traditional dishes that are eaten on specific holidays, for instance?

There's a number of traditional dishes in Turkey. Eating roast of chopped sheep meat on Sacrifice Days with family is a strong tradition. Fresh-baked small bagels are eaten on religious feast days. There are very typical dishes for Ramadan dinners; pide is a special bread and Gullac is a traditional Ramadan dessert which is served with rose sauce. Besides, Turkish coffee and Turkish tea are widely consumed in daily life.