Work
After sampling the manifold delights of İstanbul, many travellers decide to stay. Jobs aren’t all that easy to find (Turkey has a very high unemployment level) and most of these people end up teaching English at one of the many private colleges or schools; others get work as nannies (check www.anglonannies.com) or in the tourism industry.
If you want to get a job at one of the well-paid private language schools, you’ll need to have a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certificate or equivalent, and a graduate degree (it doesn’t matter what it’s in).
Other jobs are advertised in the Turkish Daily News and on the expat websites www.mymerhaba.com, www.expatinturkey.com and craigslist.org.
For loads of practical information and advice about information on living, buying real estate, working and doing business in Turkey, get yourself a copy of Pat Yale’s excellent A Handbook for Living in Turkey, published by İstanbul-based Çitlembik Publications and available in most of the city’s English-language bookshops.
DEIK (www.deik.org.tr) is the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey. Its website has useful links and economic and business information.
Business hours
Opening hours vary wildly across businesses and services in İstanbul. The following is a very general guide:
Banks 8.30am to noon and 1.30pm to 5pm Monday to Friday.
Grocery shops 6am or 7am to 7pm or 8pm.
Offices Government and business hours are usually 8am or 9am to noon and 1.30pm to 5pm Monday to Friday; however during Ramazan the work day is shortened.
Post Offices 8.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 5.30pm.
Shops 9am to 6pm or 7pm Monday to Saturday; some shops close for lunch (noon to 1.30pm or 2.30pm); some stay open late and others are open seven days.
Istanbul
Things to do
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- Hotels & hostels
