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Istanbul Customs

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Every city in the world has its own identity which manifest through its rich culture. Oftentimes, each
particular city has its known knack for doing certain things. Some of it is special while some may have
similarity with other cities, but nevertheless, this uniqueness eventually defines how people live their
lives.

Let us begin with addressing people in Istanbul. Surnames were only introduced in Istanbul in 1934.
Because of this, most people in Istanbul address each other by their first name.

The more polite form of address is made by adding ‘Bey’ (Sir) to the first name of a man, or ‘Hanim’
(Ma’am) to a woman’s name. A man with the name Mehmet Özkan, then, would be ‘Mehmet Bey.’
Sometimes Turks also address people by their profession- a doctor, for example, may be called ‘Doktor
Bey’ (Doctor Sir), or a taxi, bus or dolmus driver can be referred to as ‘Soför Bey’ (Driver Sir) and a waiter
as ‘Garson Bey’. Teachers are often simply called ‘hoca’ while tradesmen/women such as plumbers,
builders and electricians can be addressed as ‘Usta.’ Official such as police or civil servants can be
addressed as ‘Memur.’

Another common form of address is the use of the words ‘abi’ (older brother), ‘abla’ (older
sister), ‘amca’ (uncle) and ‘teyze’ (aunt). These words can be used to address people older than you
- whether you known them or not – and is a sign of respect. While ‘abi’ and ‘abla’ are usually used
for young to middle aged people, ‘teyze’ and ‘amca’ are reserved for the older generation. ‘Nine’
(Grandmother) and ‘Dede’ (Grandfather) can also be used to address the elderly.

Next custom common in Istanbul that’s often overlooked yet very essential is the greetings and body

language. Turks tend to use a lot of body language in everyday life. Greetings usually take the form of
kissing on both cheeks (for men and women) or shaking hands if you are less familiar with the person.
If the person is a devout Muslims, however, you should avoid shaking hands or kissing a person if they
are of the opposite sex. In this instance you can use the Arabic phrase ‘selamin aleyküm’ (‘may peace be
upon you’). The person will usually respond with ‘aleyküm selam’.

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