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 definitely think you should choose Antalya. I lived in several places - like Istanbul, Cesme, Fethiye...before moving to Antalya in 1998. You will definitely not get bored in Antalya! There's always something going on. There are several expat-clubs here too which are fun to attend. Then there are the festivals - guitar festival, piano festival, film festival, beer festival etc as well as theatre, opera, ballet (if you're into that kind of thing). Kundu is on the outskirts of Antalya where all the tourist hotels are located. The beach is fantastic and never gets crowded. Apart from Kundu Antalya is not touristy at all - it's a wonderful city with rich history. The old quarter of the city is very interesting and you can go on boat trips from there too. Lara is the "in" place to live - lots of cafes, restaurants etc to suit every taste and budget. It's a prestigious district of Antalya. Then there is Konyaalti, again with a long beach - pebbly beach, as opposed to the sandy beach in Kundu, but gets very crowded during the summer months. Choose Antalya - you won't regret it! Jade

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.

hi there, yes, I agree with Hobbit here. Going to court is VERY FRUSTRATING - my court case has been running for years, it costs money and even more strong nerves. The judicial system here is extremely slow. Sometime only brute force helps to solve things here I'm afraid.

hi there, it looks as if you're looking for property in Istanbul but if you are looking for something in Antalya, please contact me - contact details below.

I just wanted to post this info to stop some people worrying when the details on their tapu don't tally up with the info on their contract. This week, and after thorough check-ups on a property we sold many months ago, the new owner of an apartment found that she couldn't register the electricity and water bills in her name because the info on her tapu was different to the info at the electricity and water boards respectively. She was told to go to the Murat Pasa Belediyesi in Lara, Antalya to get the address changed. I can understand that the lady in question panicked because she was afraid that she'd bought "fresh air" to use her own words but because I have experienced such things in the past, I tried to assure her that she just needed to get certain documents from the Belediye to be able to get her utilities registered in her own name. I am pretty sure that the lady didn't belive me so yesterday I met up with her to help her through the paperwork as she doesn't speak Turkish. This is the problem: The Belediye has its database of changed street names and changed apartment numbers registered whereas the Title Deeds Office hasn't so, of course, the Tapu is registered in the old name of the street and in the old number of the apartment, and the Title Deed is issued accordingly. This doesn't tally up with the information at the Water Board and Electricity Board, so they send you to the Belediye (Council House) where you are issued with a dome of photocopies certifying that you are the rightful owner of that particular property sobeit with a new, different number, and possibly, on a different floor!!!! (Cost: 13.80 TL) This takes around one hour of waiting around and running around from one department to another but that is pretty quick according to life in Turkey! Nonetheless, without Turkish, a pretty daunting task. With this wad of new paperwork you then regisiter the electricy and water in your own name as the present owne. The correct floor of your apartment and new number of your apartment is certified on these photocopies. It is not worth you going to the Title Deeds Office to get your Tapu changed as it's unnecessary expense. It's only a matter of time before the Title Deeds Office will have the new, updated information on their computers too so just wait...and drink tea (as the Germans say). If you want to sell the property in the meantime you also don't have to have the Title Deeds changed as you have this amazing wad of certified photocopies on you, which is official and recognized at the Title Deeds Office.

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