One of the best ways to reward the inevitable hospitality of your hosts is to speak a few words of Turkish to them.  They are very proud of their nationality and they will see your attempts to speak their language as a compliment and a sign of respect. 

If you can’t make yourself understood, Turks are very good at sign language!! 

Body Language 

“Yes”  (evet) is shown by moving the head forward and down, sometimes with a slight tilt to one side. 

“No”  (hayir) is shown by a single gesture of moving the head up and back, lifting the eyebrows at the same time.  Quite often one will make the sound “tsk” at the same time. 

By contrast, moving the head from side to side doesn’t mean “no”, it means “I don’t understand”.  So if a waiter asks you if you would like something and you shake your head, he will probably repeat himself or try another language. 

If someone is trying to express “Come on, follow me” it would not occur to him to waggle an upright hand, (unless perhaps he was being vaguely obscene!) he would wave his hand downward and towards himself in a scooping motion. 

Don't be rude

Turkish current-day etiquette stems from the times of the Ottoman Empire which was highly organized and very formal.  Every encounter among people became a mini-ceremony full of the flowery “romance of the East”.  Although things have changed somewhat since that time, you will still notice signs of those courtly days.  Should you learn Turkish you would learn many polite phrases which are repeated on cue to many daily situations, for example: 

Afiyet olsun            -  enjoy your meal (literally “may it contribute to your health”) 

Hoşgeldiniz            -  welcome 

Hoşbulduk              -  answer to welcome (literally “we have found ourselves welcome’) 

Use these often and the Turks will appreciate your efforts!  

Some everyday European mannerisms that may be considered rude and offensive here are:

• Never point your finger directly at a person.
• Never show the sole of your feet or shoes towards anyone.
• Don’t blow your nose in public, especially in a restaurant.
• Don’t use a  toothpick openly, instead cover your mouth while doing this.
• Don’t hug and kiss a person of the opposite sex in public.
• When visiting someone’s house, remove your shoes at the door.  You may be told to keep them on, but this is just politeness.

Language

The Turkish language uses the Latin alphabet though some letters use special makings to obtain different sounds, for example: 

“Ç”      is pronounced “CH”      -  as in cheers 

“C”      is pronounced “J”          -  as in jolly 

“S”       is pronounced “SH”      - as in shopping

“Ğ”      is un-pronounced         - as in night