Work
Some travellers come to Turkey for a week and end up staying for months, or even a lifetime. However, jobs aren’t all that easy to find (Turkey has a high unemployment level) and most people end up teaching English, though there are other opportunities of course. Job hunters may have luck with the Turkish Daily News and the expat websites www.mymerhaba.com, www.expatinturkey.com and istanbul.craigslist.org.
Business hours
Government departments, offices and banks usually open from 8.30am to noon and 1.30pm to 5pm Monday to Friday. Shops are open from 9am to 7pm Monday to Saturday. During the summer the working day in some cities, including the Aegean and Mediterranean regions, begins at 7am or 8am and finishes at 2pm. During the month of Ramazan the working day is generally shortened to 2pm or 3pm.
In tourist areas food and souvenir/carpet shops are usually open from around 8am to 11pm or later if it’s very busy. Elsewhere, grocery shops are usually open from 7am to 7pm or 8pm daily; other shops are usually closed on Sunday. Friday, the Muslim Sabbath, is a normal working day in Turkey.
Many museums close on Monday, especially in İstanbul. From April to October museums usually open half an hour earlier and close 1½ to two hours later.
Internet cafés usually open from around 9am until late at night, or until the last customer has left.
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Turkey
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