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In my experience, laundry
service at "formal" hotels
in Turkey (luxury, five-star,
four-star and even some
three-star) can cost nearly
as much as some garments are worth (underwear,
etc).
In less formal hotels (inns, small
hotels, pensions, hostels), the service
is usually much better and far cheaper.
Sometimes you just hand your
laundry to the housekeepers and it comes back
cleaned and pressed, often the same
day, for not much money.
Some pensions, inns and hostels have
washing machines that guests can use,
either
for free or for a small fee.
There are
not many laundromats/laundrettes/washaterias
in Turkey, so that's usually not an
option.
I often wash my own clothes because I move fast and there may not
be time
to have them washed for me.
For this,
bring a drain plug! Very
important!
Because of Islamic tradition,
sinks
in Turkey rarely have closures (the
Kur'an advises that washing should
be done in running water), and the
local plastic drain plugs—when
you find them, which is very seldom—don't
work very well.
Before leaving home,
buy a rubber or pliable plastic
drain plug like the one in
the photo in the lower right-hand column
of this page—>.
Turkish sink drain holes tend
to be 1.5 inches/37 mm in diameter,
so get
a plug that'll fit that size hole.
Bring
laundry detergent (I
prefer liquid), or buy it at any corner
shop in Turkey:
çamasir deterjani (chah-mah-SHUHR
dey-tehr-zha-nuh),
or just deterjan.
From June through September in
most of Turkey the warm, dry
air will dry your laundry
in an hour or less—great for washing
out cotton undies. During the chill,
rainy winters it may take more time.
Dry cleaning is kuru
temizleme (koo-ROO
teh-MEEZ-leh-MEH). Shops
are scattered around most cities.
Ask
at your hotel
for one nearby. Same-day
service is
available at many shops (for an extra
charge) if you delivery your garments
first thing
in the morning.
Travel
Details
Turkey
Travel Planner Homepage
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