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We
all use the toilet (tuvalet) several
times daily, and for your trip
to Turkey it's important to know
about them:
Toilets are
marked with "WC," Tuvalet, or "00" and
the words Bay (Mr, male)
or Bayan (Ms, female), or
with pictograms, or with gender-marker
items such as a tobacco pipe for
men and a fan for women. (Turkish
Language Guide)
Most
of the toilets you'll encounter in
Turkey are of the standard Western
raised-commode type, and
the newer models (like the one in
the photo to the right) have two-flush
mechanisms
which make a small flush for liquids
and a large flush for solids in order
to conserve water.
The
sign above the flusher panel in the
top photo to the right says "Please
help us save water! Push flush button
twice," which is counter-intuitive
to say the least.
You
may also see the older, flat "elephant's
feet" type of toilet
on which you squat rather
than sit.
To
squat on a flat toilet may seem scary
to someone used to the raised commode,
but it's actually quite
hygienic once
you get used to it (if ever), because
only your feet touch the toilet.
It also puts you in what doctors
might call an "anatomically
correct
position for the swift and
efficient completion of the business
at hand.
Just don't
let all the stuff fall out of your
pockets into the flat toilet
while you're squatting! ;-)
Although
you'll see more of these flat alaturka toilets
in public toilets and in the less
developed regions of the country,
both styles of toilet are used by
the local population, so even new
buildings will have flat toilets
installed along with the commodes. If
you see only flat ones, look around
for a stall with a raised commode.
There's probably one close by.
Both
types of toilet have a spigot and/or
a container of water for washing
the left hand after use, because
the bare left hand, not toilet paper,
is traditionally used to splash water
on the bum to cleanse it. In the
second photo to the right, note the
small pipe and valve to the
left of the commode. These provide
water to the small white nozzle at
the back of the bowl for washing
the left hand after it has been used
for splashing and wiping.
Many
toilet stalls may be furnished with toilet
paper, but it's traditionally
used not to wipe but to dry your
bottom and your hand after the splashing.
Some older
plumbing is not able to deal
with wads of soggy toilet paper
and will jam and overflow
if much toilet paper is flushed
into it. A waste bin is
placed near the toilet and users
are asked to put used toilet paper
into the bin instead. This is fine
if the paper is used only for drying,
but unsanitary if
the paper is used for wiping.
Those
who use paper for wiping may want
to dispose of the first paper in
the toilet, and any later papers
in the bin—a usually-workable
compromise.
Public
toilets usually charge a small
fee (about YTL0.50) for use. A
few may differentiate between büyük
abdest (bowel movement) and küçük
abdest (urination) and charge
more for the former than for the
latter, but nowadays it's mostly
a flat fee for whatever you might
need to do.
The
World-Famous Turkish Bath
Turkish
Language Guide
Travel
Details
Turkey
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