|
The New Turkish Lira (Yeni
Türk Lirasi, YTL or TRY), introduced
on January 1, 2005, is how the bill
for your Istanbul
hotel, your rental
car, a nargile (water
pipe) or just a glass of Turkish
tea will be denominated.
Here
are current
exchange rates.
It's usually best to obtain
your YTL in Turkey rather
than before you leave home, as the exchange
rates outside Turkey are usually
not as good as those inside the country.
It's easy to obtain YTL while
you travel in Turkey by using your
home bank ATM
card,
or exchanging cash US
dollars, Euros or GB
pounds. More...
The New
Turkish Lira (usually
called YEH-teh-LEH or yeni
lira) is
equivalent to one million (old)
Turkish
Liras (TL). In other words, six
zeros were dropped from
the old TL to make the YTL.
The New Turkish Lira is
divided into 100 New Kurus (Yeni
Kurus, yeh-NEE koo-roosh).
YTL notes (bills)
are in denominations of YTL1,
5, 10, 20,
50 and 100.
YTL coins are in
denominations of YKr1, 5, 10, 25 and
50 (New Kurus) and YTL1.
Old Turkish Liras (TL)
The YTL replaced
the old Türk Lirasi (TL, TRL). Old
Turkish liras were withdrawn
from circulation during 2005.
Note that you should not accept old
Turkish Lira notes any more. They
are no longer legal for payment. Insist
on receiving only New
Turkish Lira notes!
Old
TL notes may now be
exchanged for YTL only at Turkish
Central Bank (TC Merkez Bankasi) offices
or, in the absence of a Central
Bank office, at a TC Ziraat
Bankasi office, until December
31, 2016.
After December 31, 2016, old
TL notes and coins will no longer be legal tender
(ie, official currency). In other words,
they will be worthless except for their
curiosity or collectors' value.
Counterfeiting
With
the change to the New Lira, there's
been an increase in counterfeiting of
the new Turkish money, especially of
YTL50 notes. It's done two ways:
— Counterfeit notes are printed
that do not have all of the official
security features
— New
Turkish Lira notes with
the official
security features are
altered to show a higher value (ie,
a YTL1 note is altered to look like
a YTL50 or YTL100 note)
Look carefully
at any higher-denomination YTL
notes/bills to
make sure they are legitimate. A
few seconds' inspection often suffices.
Turkish
ATMs (Automated Teller Machines)
Currency
Exchange Offices
Credit
Cards
Travelers
Checks
Exchange
Rates
Old
TL Bills/Notes
Tipping
Money
in Turkey
Travel
Details
Turkey
Travel Planner Homepage
|
