Should I buy Turkish Lira?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The very word "lira" (libra) is of Latin origin. At first it was used to denote scales. At a later time, this was the name given to a certain mass of silver. Now this word denotes the currency of some countries, including Turkey, Syria, Cyprus. In addition, back in the twentieth century, the peoples of Italy, Israel, and M alta were calculated with lira.

Until the middle of the 19th century, Akçe, couples, sultani, kuru and other types of money were in circulation in the Ottoman Empire. In 1844, as a result of the reform of Sultan Abdulmecid, Turkish liras appeared. Each of them was equal to one hundred golden piastres. For some time, the British pound was also used in the country. But in 1946, the Turkish lira completely replaced the British currency. At the end of the last century, this currency has seriously depreciated. It is worth mentioning at least that the smallest coin was a denomination of five thousand lire, and the largest banknote was ten million. In addition, inflation reached forty percent in 2001, which Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan described as a "national disgrace."

In the early 2000s, 1 dollar was worth 1.65 million Turkish liras. The government had to go for a monetary reform with the withdrawal of circulation funds. In 2005, new Turkish liras appeared, each of them was worth a millionold. In fact, six zeros were removed. Since 2009, the name of this currency has been officially changed. The prefix “new” (“yeni”) was removed. All modern Turkish coins and banknotes have portraits of the national hero Atatürk Mustafa Kemal.

Each unit of this currency consists of one hundred kopecks - kurush. The Turkish lira is related to the ruble as 1:16. However, its course is quite unstable and can change literally every day. Yet in recent years, the Turkish lira began to gradually strengthen against other currencies. 1 Turkish Lira is 0.37 EUR, 0.31 GBP or 0.51 USD.

Tourists can exchange their currency on the spot, but this is not required. In all major cities of Turkey, tourists have the opportunity to pay in dollars, British pounds or euros. The exception is the area is rural or unpopular with travelers. As a rule, in such

territories plastic cards can not be used. And in large cities, even in the markets, you can pay with European and American currencies. But in this case, you need to take into account the exchange rate and strictly focus on it. And in general, in the Turkish market you need to bargain to save money.

Another reason to do this is that there are no fixed prices. Remarkably, the import of foreign currency into the country is not limited to any amount. Turkish lira is the fastest to buy in exchange offices. In a bank, the exchange rate may be a little more profitable, but there for the wholethe process will take a lot of time. Perhaps the most acceptable option for buyers is to buy at post offices. Experienced tourists have noticed that on weekends you should not change the currency, because it is expensive. This is best done on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. A document stating the fact of currency exchange must be kept. It can be useful to a tourist at customs. As a rule, such documents are issued only in banks.