jade

good afternoon Ken, I'm wondering if you, or anyone else perhaps knowing more too, have any more updates on the position of working online in Turkey, receiving payment from a foreign company (in this case Germany). I am now also in this position and it's not nice really knowing if one is working legally or not! Any information greatly appreciated. Jade

If you are looking for something to do in Antalya why not think about joining the International Sisters of Antalya? This is the info I got about them when I went to the Christmas Bazaar last Sunday: "The aim of our organization is to bring Turkish women and women from other countries together and to help them to get to know each other and each other's culture through several activities in which their familes can also participate..... Amongst the activities of the association there are social events which makes it possible for the members and their families to get to know each other and bazaarsof which income makes it possible for us to help others. This year's project is to help those who are suffering from cancer. Every woman who is over 18 and has a residence permit can apply for membership." Contact Gulsevin for more info: Tel: 0532 277 35 40 or [email protected]

I'm pretty sure you WON'T get anything cheaper on a private health scheme. I looked into this thoroughly before I joined the state health system here in Turkey last February.

For newcomers to Turkey I thought the following article might be of interest to you. State health insurance application made simple After many expats were put off joining the SGK (Sosyal Güvenlik Kurumu) – Turkey’s state health insurance – last year because of teething problems and a complicated application process, now things have improved and a much more streamlined sign-up system is in place. A brave couple who were keen to get to the bottom of the situation armed themselves with a Turkish friend as a translator and headed to the newly opened SGK office in Didim. And here’s what they discovered: If you are married, you need to take: • Your marriage certificate; • Your Turkish kimlik number (which the couple obtained by taking their residence permits to the local police station); • Proof of your address (this needs to be obtained from your local Nufus Müdürlüğü office) • Your residence permit • Your passport On returning to the SGK office, you will have to fill in a simple form that apparently takes less than a minute. The SGK staff will confirm by phone within a couple of hours that the application process is complete – BUT they do not take payments for the SGK at the office. How do you make the payment? In order to make your payment, you will need to pop along to the Ziraat Bank where you can then make the payment using their ATM machine. How much does it cost? The couple said they were charged 261TL (this includes the first month of SGK payment and application fee), but after this they will simply return to the Ziraat Bank’s ATM every month and pay the amount demanded. The average price for a married couple on SGK is around 230TL (approx. £72) per month. The couple said: “The whole process and paying into Ziraat was pretty smooth and we are glad to have done it. But we do advise people thinking of getting into SGK to take a Turkish translator or friend to the SGK office as none of the staff can speak English.” It now means that the couple can avail themselves of all the medical and health services that Turkish people enjoy. By paying monthly, they are entitled to free treatment in state hospitals and will be able to get treatment in some private hospitals at a reduced cost. Those foreign residents with a residence permit, and have been resident in Turkey for at least one year, can apply. A single monthly premium will cover a married couple and their children. However, there is no discount for single people, and those couples who are not married and simply live together have to pay separate single premiums. Source: http://turkeyguidenews.com/1ICP-1SP8I-D68DO95U71/cr.aspx

Excellent and Good Turkish Websites to learn Turkish There are several excellent and very good websites to learn Turkish. My favourites are as follows: www.turkishteatime.com EXCELLENT WEBSITE www.turkishbasics.comwww.turkishfree.webs.comwww.onlineturkish.comwww.princeton.edu/~turkish/reading1.htmlwww.turkishlanguage.co.uk EXCELLENT WEBSITEwww.ielanguages.comwww.worldstories.org.uk (click on TURKISH)www.turkishclass.comwww.totally-turkish.com

Read this today and thought it very useful. Driving in Turkey One of the many questions among expat drivers in Turkey is where they stand on the issue of the humble UK driving license. Should it be changed over to a Turkish license, does it even have authenticity on the roads of Turkey, will the traffic police fine you and basically, what options are open to you? First off, allow me to explain the technical stuff… The DVLA website advises that if you are driving outside of the European Union (which Turkey is), then you need to apply for an International Driving Permit. You can find this on the AA or RAC website and it costs £5.50 (for those living in UK). But what about UK expats who live permanently in Turkey? Well this where things can get a bit grey, as there appears to be a range of options open to you. The DVLA advises that if you move abroad, you should check with the driving authority in that country to find out how to get a local driving license. The British Consulate advises that after a year of living in Turkey permanently, you will be required to get your driving license translated and notorised. This will cost you around 750TL (approx. £275) and you can expect a fair amount of running around from pillar to post for a day. This is the standard procedure for obtaining your Turkish license: • The first step is to get your UK driving license translation and notarisation done, which will cost 118TL (approx. £43) – 50TL translation, 68TL notary fee. • Hand the notarised license to the police with a copy of your translated UK license and Kimlik (Turkish ID). You will then have to wait for them to receive confirmation of authenticity back from the DVLA. • Once that is done, the police will call to say they have received confirmation from the DVLA. After these initial stages, that may incur some waiting periods, the following can all be completed in one day… • Get some passport photos taken. • Go to the driving course school and pay 200TL (approx. £73) for the paperwork. • Go to a local doctor and get him to complete a health certificate (free if you have SGK insurance). • Go to the court and get a certificate to confirm you don't have any outstanding criminal charges. • Then go to the tax office and pay for the criminal charges certificate and you need this receipt – 334TL (approx. £122). • Go back to the driving course office with all the documents and they will compile them into a file, then go back to the police station with your compiled file and pay 101TL (approx. £37). If the above can be completed by 2pm, your license will be ready by 5pm. Alternatively, you can choose to do nothing. The cheapest and easiest way is to plead ignorant and just keep your UK license on you at all times. If you should get stopped by the police, then you can take the necessary steps as outlined above. A lot of expats have been suggesting the traffic police will not accept the UK paper license, but there have been instances which show that the Turkish police are becoming more accepting of British drivers. Another option is to get your UK paper license converted online through the DVLA to get a new plastic card license. Delivery to a UK address takes about three days. Take it back to Turkey, and then get it translated and notarised at a Notary office. This option best suits those with links in the UK. Source: http://uk-mg42.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch#mail

Although I posted this on another forum today, I thought it might bring to smile to some members! Reading: Bir öğretmen kiliseye hizmet yolundaki çocuklara sordu: “Neden kilisede sessiz olmalısınız?” Küçük ve akıllı bir kız dedi: “Çünkü insanlar uyuyor.” A teacher asked her children as they were on the way to church service, "And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?" One bright little girl replied, "Because people are sleeping." Source: LEARN TURKISH FOR FREE http://www.turkishfree.webs.com

My favourite statues in Antalya near the stadium.