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Public Behaviour
Acceptable public
conduct
Shake hands
firmly when greeting
or being introduced
to a Turkish man or
woman. It is not
customary to shake
hands again upon
departure.
Turks may greet
a close friend with
a two-handed
handshake and/or a
kiss on both cheeks.
Elders are
respected in Turkey.
For example, if you
are seated, rise to
greet them when they
enter a room. When
being introduced to
a group of men,
shake hands with
each one, starting
with the eldest.
The traditional
Turkish greetings
are 'Merhaba'
[MERH-hah-bah;
'Hello'] and
'Nasilsiniz?'
[NAHS-sulh-suh-nuhz;
'How are you?'] The
response to the
latter is 'iyiyim
teshekur ederim'
[ee-YEE-yihm,
tesh-ek-KEWR
eh-dehr-eem; 'I'm
fine, thank you!']
Turks will
appreciate any
effort you make to
speak their
language.
Keep both feet
flat on the ground
when sitting.
Displaying the soles
of your shoes or
feet to someone is
insulting.
It is rude to
cross your arms
while facing
someone.
Keep your hands
out of your pockets.
Avoid blowing
your nose in public,
especially in a
restaurant. If you
must, turn away from
the others and blow
as quietly as
possible.
While Turks
indicate 'yes' by
nodding their heads
up and down, the
gestures for 'no'
are different. Two
ways to indicate
'no' include:
Raising the eyebrows
in a subtle way to
indicate 'no.' This
arch look may be
accompanied by the
sound 'tsk.'
A broader way to
indicate 'no' is to
accompany the
eyebrow-arching with
a backward tilting
of the head and
lowering the
eyelids.
To attract
attention, Turks
wave [palm out] with
an up-and-down
motion, rather than
from side to side.
The Turkish
'follow me' gesture
is done with the
entire curled hand
moved in a downward
'scooping' motion,
not by curling an
upraised index
finger . It is
considered rude to
point your finger
directly at someone.
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