Lonely Planet İstanbul Guide

Shops 10am–7pm Monday to Saturday

Post A Post offices are known as PTTs (peh-teh-teh; Posta, Telefon, Teleğraf) and have black and-yellow signs. A İstanbul’s Central Post Office (Merkez Postane; MAP ; % 444 1788; www.ptt.gov.tr; Büyük Postane Caddesi; h 8.30am-5pm; j Sirkeci) is several blocks southwest of Sirkeci train station. A The yurtdışı slot is for mail to foreign countries, yurtiçi is for mail to other Turkish cities, and şehiriçi is for mail within İstanbul. A Mail delivery is fairly reliable. For more information on PTT services, go to www.ptt.gov.tr. Public Holidays Banks, offices and government services close for the day on the following secular public holidays. New Year’s Day 1 January National Sovereignty & Children’s Day 23 April Labor & Solidarity Day 1 May Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth & Sports Day 19 May Democracy and Freedoms Day 15 July Victory Day 30 August Republic Day 29 October Religious festivals are celebrated according to the Muslim lunar Hejira calendar. Two of these festivals (Şeker Bayramı and Kurban Bayramı) are also public holidays. Şeker Bayramı is a three-day festival at the end of Ramazan, and Kurban Bayramı, the most important religious holiday of the year, is a four-day festival whose date changes each year. During these festivals, banks and offices are closed and hotels, buses, trains and planes are heavily booked. Though most restaurants and cafes open to serve non-Muslims during the holy month of Ramazan (called Ramadan in other countries), it’s polite to avoid smoking, eating and drinking in the street during this period.