edubongo

Yeah, that was my case. After a month or so, I went to the police station and voila, it was there.

Yeah, check this out: DEAD LINK Right now, the police is still taking care of residence permits, but this new directorate will establish offices for dealing with migration/rps etc. I suggest you take a good read at this: DEAD LINK

Eruza, there are foreinger's bureaus in each district of Istanbul. Where do you live?

Agree with all above, and adding a few: I like: Turkish hospitality. The closest I experienced to that was in the deep South in the US, but nothing beats the Turks. When I moved I was offered a lot of delicious dishes prepared by the neighbors. The Çay habit Kahvalti culture The way Turks love when yabancilar speak Turkish, and help us with those little mistakes I don't like: Censorship. Come on, we know those people are smoking and drinking raki. And I know what's going on the streets, why the media isn't covering? (I wish I had started living here before 2002, I guess) Queuing (anywhere) When the neighbors decide to clean their carpets... from their windows "Cold beer" means "cool beer"

Yes, you probably spoke with Mustafa -- the cool cop in Kadikoy karakol They all started being much friendlier and helpful since the announcement of the new foreign's directory. Maybe they're happy to see that they won't be dealing with this kind of stuff soon?

Thank you, Lisa. I live in Kadikoy but work just 2 blocks away from Molly's Cafe. I think I'm going to grab lunch there tomorrow and also a copy of your book!

This helped me a lot while coming back by bus from Terkirdag -- thank you, Ken!

Hey Goreme -- how do I purchase a copy of your book? I live in Istanbul and maybe I could buy one from you directly?

Ken, I don't think so. It's a pretty small store. It looks like one of those cell phone stores "sponsored" by a mobile company, rather than an official Avea store. But I might be wrong.

Nope. Found a place just by the corner, pretty close to the office where I work here in Galata. You say "sahlep", and I often see it written as "salep" too. Which one is correct?

I got my phone unblocked a few weeks ago but never updated this thread. So here's what happened. No need to go to Turkcell TIM or leave the country. I went to the tax office with my phone IMEI number, kimlik number and RP. They charged me 150 liras. They told me I could get the phone unblocked at any Avea store. So I went to the first Avea store I found here in Kadikoy and they said "no, we don't do this. You'll need to go to the Turkcell TIM". But I wasn't happy with their answer. So I went to another one in Altiyol. They said they don't unblock phones BUT told me to go to the Avea store in Bahariye to get it unblocked. So I went there and they checked my tax receipt, my passport and charged me 30 liras. They made copies of my passport and tax receipt so they could send them to the main mobile phone administration in Ankara. They also said my phone would be unblocked the next day, but it might take a week. The next morning I woke up with a familiar sound -- the sound of a sms alert! It was Avea telling me to add credits to my phone so I could start using it again, but at that point the boring "Emergency only" message had already been changed to the "Avea" roaming message. I added credits to my phone and am using it since then. Thanks for the tips, folks! And hope my experience helps someone else too, though if I could leave one message to people coming to Turkey it would be JUST REGISTER YOUR PHONE AS SOON AS YOU GET HERE.

Thank you Ellen. Managed to buy salep powder this morning and just prepared some using your recipe -- delicious! Cheers

Anybody know a good salep recipe? I've had enough of instant powdered salep.

I received the following message from a Turkish person who works for a relief organization at the same shared office space that I work from. I dont know if this 100% accurate, but am sharing anyways. Stay safe, y'all. This statement is for areas in HATAY, ANKARA AND ISTANBUL ISIS has threatened a number of areas and has released it to the media. ISIS have mentioned Hatay, Istanbul and Ankara and areas that FSA are know to be. It is recommended that areas where large gathering are happening for your own safety it would be suggested to stay away. ISIS is targeting FSA and other opposition groups. This is due to the G2 happing and the active role that Turkey is playing. this potential that their threats are real. It is suggested that no large gatherings in hotels, function halls or large conference centres and shopping centres which are hosting public events or well known expat areas over the next few days. This warning will be until the G2 is over, this will be till the weekend. On top of this it is recommender that all projects continue as normal but drivers are not to take any STL staff into the centre of the city. If you are a Staff member make sure your driver does not take you into the city find other routes. For the next three days please have food delivered to your work place and minimise exposure to public areas, if possible. http://webtv.radikal.com.tr/turkiye/6423/turkiyede-3-kent-icin-bombali-intihar-saldirisi-alarmisaniye-kaydedildi.aspx

Thanks, all. Well, it turns out that I DID leave Turkey in december to spend Christmas with my family in Brazil, so I do have an exit/entry stamp on my passport. I'll try your suggestions and see how it goes, then report back. Thanks again!