Looking for information about the money and currency in Turkey? Want to know the exchange rate? We’ve got it all here.
The official currency of Turkey is the Turkish lira (TL), although the money was called the Turkish pound in Ottoman Turkey. There are 100 Kurush to every unit of Turkish currency (TL) but because inflation is so high in Turkey Kurush are rarely used. Metal currency in Turkey consists of coin money that comes in 500, 1000, 2500 and 5000 Turkish lira. Paper currency in Turkey comes in 1000, 5000, 20,000, 50,000 and 100,000 money notes although with inflation continuously on the rise it is likely that money of higher denominations will be introduced in future.
Exchanging Currency and Money in Turkey
It is best to take the currency you have from your country and exchange it for Turkish currency in Turkey because the rates are better there. When you go to exchange your currency for Turkish money make sure you take your passport with you as other forms of identification may not be accepted. You can exchange your money for Turkish currency in any post office although there are currency exchanges in most big towns and cities in Turkey such as Istanbul and Izmir. Depending on what type of currency you take with you to Turkey you will find that when you are shopping many places will be willing to exchange your money for Turkish currency but at a lower rate than usual. If you are staying in Turkey for a long time its better to exchange your currency for Turkish money once every few days in order to get better rates. This is because the value of Turkish currency is always dropping.
Using traveller’s Cheques in Turkey
If you decide to take travellers cheques instead of using money in Turkey be sure to keep the receipts as you may need this when you are exchanging Turkish money back to your currency at the end of your trip. The best place to exchange traveller’s cheques for Turkish currency is in one of the main banks although they are likely to take some money as a commission so it’s worth shopping around. There are some banks that consider it a hassle to give you money for your traveller’s cheques and will prefer you to go elsewhere. Most of the four and five star hotels will give you Turkish currency for you traveller’s cheques although the rate is generally poor.
