City Statistics
Location: Northwest Turkey.
Country dialling code: 90.
Population: 15,000,000 (metropolitan area).
Ethnic mix: 90% Turkish, 6% Greek, Armenian, Jewish and other minorities, 4% Kurdish.
Religion: 97% Muslim, 3% Christian, Jewish and other minorities.
Time zone: GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).
Electricity: 220 volts AC, 50Hz; round two or three-pin plugs are standard.
Average January temp: - 5°C (23°F).
Average July temp: 30°C (86°F).
Annual rainfall: 654mm (25.8 inches).
Cost of Living
Turkey has had more than 12 years of 100% inflation and although statistics for 2002 indicate that this has been reduced to 60%, the unstable political situation offers no guarantees. Visitors may expect to be counting their Turkish Lira in billions rather than millions, with the largest note, 20 million Turkish Lira, worth approximately US$12 in October 2002. For this reason, prices are given in US Dollars. The general economic upheaval, however, has led to lower costs for visitors, including restaurants and some consumer goods.
One-litre bottle of mineral water: US$0.25/TRL400,000
33cl bottle of beer: US$0.70/TRL1,000,000
Financial Times newspaper: US$0.75/TRL1,100,000
36-exposure colour film: US$5.25/TRL7,700,000
City-centre bus ticket: US$0.50/TRL700,000
Adult football ticket: US$12/TRL17,500,000
Three-course meal with wine/beer: From US$12/TRL17,500,000
100,000 Turkish Lire (TRL100,000) = £0.04; US$0.07; C$0.10; A$0.11; €0.06
1 American Dollar (US$1) = TRL1,459,000; £0.61; C$1.37; A$1.53; €0.85
Currency conversion rates as of June 2003
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