General Information
|
REGISTRATION DESK
Registration Desk will be opened as of 21st of November at 8 a.m. and located at the R floor of the Conrad İstanbul Hotel.
INFORMATION SERVICE
Hospitality Desk is located at the main lobby of the hotel and will be open as follows:
-8 a.m. to 18 p.m. on Saturday, 21 November
-8 a.m. to 18 p.m. on Sunday, 22 November
Hospitality Desk will be at your service for accommodation, tours and travel, reconfirmation of plane tickets etc.
BADGES
All participants and accompanying persons are kindly requested to wear their identity badges throughout the Conference in order to be admitted to the lecture halls and other scheduled activities. Wearing badges is also very important for security reasons.
TRANSPORTATION ARRANGEMENTS
Buses and mini buses will be available for the accompanying person's program activities and at all social events. All details will be available at the Hospitality Desk and the Registration Desk.
LANGUAGE
Official language of the conference is English.
SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETATION
Simultaneous interpretation will be provided from Turkish to English and vice versa. Headphones will be available to participants every morning free of charge. Participants are requested to leave their headphones on "Headphones Desk" at the foyer.
PRESS SERVICE
A Press Service Desk will serve within the registration area throughout the conference. Journalists wishing to attend the conference must receive accreditation from the Press Service of the CBRT in order to obtain the necessary documentation and identity badges.
INTERNET and PHOTOCOPYING SERVICE FOR DELEGATES
Internet access will be available throughout the conference. Internet service will be located at the R22 room and the photocopying service will be obtained at the R23 room.
TIME
Local time is GMT + 2 hours. Same time zone is used all over the country.
CLIMATE
İstanbul's climate is generally mild. Average temperature in November is about 11.2°C
ELECTRICITY
220 Voltage is the standard voltage throughout the country. 110 Voltage is also found in 5-star hotels.
MAIL SERVICES and TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Turkey's postal services are well organized and efficient. Centrally located offices are open between 08:00 - 24:00.
Telephone: All cities are linked by an efficient direct dialing system. Public telephones have two different systems. They work with two different types of cards. They are both sold at Telecom Offices.
All over Turkey, phone numbers consist of two sections; area code (3 digits) and the number itself (7-digit).
Calls within the city just dial 7-digit number Inter-city calls 0 + area code + number International calls 0+ 0 + country code + area code + number
NEWSPAPERS
Foreign newspapers can be found one day after publication and only in big cities. Turkish Daily News is a recommended paper to keep up with daily events in Turkey.
PHARMACIES
Pharmacies (Eczane) are open from 09:00 - 19:00 on weekdays and Saturdays. They are closed on Sundays but there is always one, open 24 hours in each neighborhood. Each pharmacy supplies the name of the nearest open one, called the Nöbetçi Eczane (on duty pharmacy) for that Sunday, evening, statutory and religious holidays by placing a display in its window. A list of pharmacies around the Conference venue are listed below.
YAĞMUR ECZANESİ Müverrih Sadettin Sok. No: 18/1 (Beltas Saglik Ocagi Yani) Ortaköy Besiktas GÜNES ECZANESI Yildiz Cad. No: 67 Besiktas +212-258 6878 YENI SIFA ECZANESI Dereboyu Cad. No: 81 Ortaköy Besiktas +212-258 8928 SABA ECZANESI Hattat Tahsin Sok. No: 13/A Besiktas +212-258 3907 LALE ECZANESI Dereboyu Cad. No: 60/C Ortaköy Besiktas +212-327 7100 SHOPPING
Shops are usually open between 09:00 - 19:00 and closed on Sundays under normal circumstances. Turkey is well known with its hand made products such as carpets, rugs, gold, silverware, ceramics, leather goods, ornaments fashioned from alabaster, onyx and copper.
Shopping Alternatives
The Covered Bazaar (Kapalı Çarşı), in the old city is the logical place to start excursions. This labyrinth of streets and passages hosts more than 5.000 shops. Still the commercial center of the old city, the bazaar is the original shopping mall with something to suit every taste.
Turkish crafts, the world-renowned carpets, brilliant hand-painted ceramics, copper and brass ware and meerschaum pipes are charming souvenirs and gifts. The gold jewellery, leather and suede goods of excellent quality can be bought at a relatively cheap price. The Old Bedesten, in the heart of the bazaar, offers a curious assortment of antiques.
Mısır Çarşısı or Spice Bazaar takes you to the tempting scent of the mystical East. The enticing aromas of cinnamon, caraway, saffron, mint, thyme and every other conceivable herb and spice fill the air.
The sophisticated shops of Taksim, Nişantaşı, Şişli districts contrast with the chaos of the bazaars. On İstiklal, Cumhuriyet and Rumeli Avenues, you can browse in the most fashionable shops that sell elegant fashions made from Turkey's high quality textiles.
Ataköy Galleria Mall in Ataköy, Akmerkez Mall in Etiler, Kanyon Mall and Metrocity in Levent, İstinye Park in İstinye and Cevahir in Şişli have branches of İstanbul's most elegant shops such as American and European brands. Bahariye Avenue, Bağdat Avenue and Capitol Mall on the Asian side offers the same shopping opportunities.
FOOD
Turkish cuisine is considered to be among the best in the world. The richness of variety Turkish cuisine possesses is due to several factors. In summary, the variety of products offered by the lands of Asia and Anatolia, interaction with numerous different cultures over a long historical process, the new tastes developed in the palace kitchens of the Seljuk and Ottoman empires have all played a part in shaping the new character of our culinary culture.
Turkish Cuisine, which in general consists of sauced dishes prepared with cereals, various vegetables and some meat, soups, cold dishes cooked with olive oil, pastry dishes and dishes made from wild vegetation has also produced a series of health foods such as pekmez, yogurt, bulgur etc. The eating habits which reflect the tastes changing from one location to the next, gains a new meaning and near - sacredness on special occasions, celebrations and ceremonies.
INNER CITY TRANSPORTATION
Apart from public buses, trains and trams the most common means of transportation are taxis, ferryboats, sea buses and dolmus.
Dolmuş: It is a kind of shared taxi, which sometimes takes the form of a large car, a station wagon, a regular taxi or a minibus. It follows a specific fixed route. Passengers pay according to the distance traveled and can get in and out whenever and wherever they want to by informing the driver. It is a very practical means of transport and much cheaper than a taxi. The dolmus fares are determined by municipalities according to distances.
Taxis: Taxis are numerous all over Turkey and are recognizable by their yellow color and lighted "taxi" signs on top. Each taxi is metered and there are two different rates. After midnight (24:00) till morning (06:00) it will cost 50 % more than the daytime fare. Additional expenses like ferryboat or bridge crossing fees are extra for passengers. Tipping is not necessary however leaving the change or rounding up the fare is customary.
Ferry Boats: The busy city of İstanbul sits on the shores of Europe and Asia. Many of the inhabitants live on one continent but work, study or socialize on the other. Apart from the two bridges on Bosphorus, ferryboats are the only means to connect the two continents and are therefore vital. The ferry service is reliable and safe operating throughout the day and until midnight.
Hydrofoil: With fewer boats than the ferryboat system these fast and smooth services by air-conditioned powerboats offer very efficient commuting from one point to another across Bosphorus. They are more expensive than the ferryboats. They also offer light snacks and beverages.