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The unit of Turkish money is
the Turkish Lira (Türk
Lirası, TL or TRY).
From 2005 through 2008,
Turkey's currency was called the New
Turkish Lira (Yeni Türk
Lirası, YTL
or TRY). In 2009, new
banknotes were introduced. More...
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Turkish Lira
symbol |
As of January 1, 2009, the
"New" (Yeni) has
been dropped. The currency is again
simply called the Turkish Lira, although the international 3-letter sign (ISO 4217) continues to be TRY.
On 1 March 2012 a unique symbol ( ) was introduced by the Turkish Central Bank to denote the Turkish Lira.
Here's
the current exchange rate
for the Turkish Lira.
It's best to wait until you get to
Turkey to exchange money for Turkish
Liras. Exchange
rates outside of Turkey are usually
not as good as those inside Turkey.
The Turkish
Lira is divided into
100
kuruş (kurush; that's
koo-ROOSH). Here's
how the 2009-series notes/bills
look.
Although you can sometimes use foreign
currencies (euros are
best, US
dollars are good, UK
pounds sterling are
accepted in some places, but no
Scottish notes!)
for larger transactions, and using
non-Turkish currency is legal, you
will want to use
TL most
of the time.
The
easiest way to get cash liras is
to stick your home bank card or credit
card into a Turkish
ATM (bancomat/cashpoint, cash
machine). Travelers'
checks are a much less efficient
way. More...
You
can exchange foreign-currency
cash at a Currency
Exchange Office (Döviz
Bürosu). More...
Many
people in Turkey will not accept
large bills/notes for small payments,
so it's good to juggle your TL cash-on-hand
so that
you always have some smaller amounts.
Get in the habit of paying with bills/notes
that are about equal to
twice the amount you're
paying (so pay for a TL23
meal with a TL50
note, which gives you TL27
in change). If you give notes that
are three times or more than the
price, you're liable to get a dirty
look and a request for smaller notes.
Old
pre-2005 Turkish Lira notes and coins and
2005 to 2008 New
Turkish Liras have
been withdrawn from circulation. TL1.00
is equal to (old, pre-2005) TL1,000,000
and YTL1.00.
In other words, a million old liras
equals one new lira, but you
should not accept old pre-2005 liras
or 2005 to 2008 New Turkish Liras! More...
A
century ago, one Ottoman Turkish
lira was worth US$5 (and that
$5 was worth about US$100 in today's
dollars).
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