Security in Istanbul

Istanbul is a wonderful and interesting city, and people here are mostly responsive and kind, always ready to help. With security here, too, everything is fine, if you do not neglect the simplest security measures:

• Do not walk the streets at night, especially alone and especially women.
• Don't keep large amounts of money to yourself.
• When shopping in shops, ordering in restaurants, tourist services, etc. figure out the price in advance and make sure it's in lira and not another currency.
• Do not visit dubious entertainment establishments (bars, clubs), especially if there are no other tourists in them.
• If you are traveling alone (even a man), then be wary of everyone who speaks to you first. Tourist scammers most often target lonely tourists.
• Watch your pockets and backpacks carefully, there are a lot of pickpockets here.

But Istanbul would not be a real tourist city if it were not for scammers who breed tourists for money. We have collected the famous tourist layouts of Istanbul in one place so that you are ready for them, and do not fall for the bait of scammers:

The lost brush

Old as the world and very famous wiring, about which only the laziest tourist does not know, but it is still in use even at the time of writing (end of 2019). The bottom line is simple: during a walk, you will see how a shoe cleaner walking down the street in front of you drops a brush out of a drawer. Sometimes there is even a whole "brushfall" from different cleaners. You pick up the fallen brush, pass it to him, and he all thanks offers to clean your shoes. But after that it will require 50 lire or more for work.

To avoid this, never pick up anything from the floor, including wallets or money.

Random friend on the street and wiring in a club/bar

One of the toughest and most wasteful ways for tourists. During a walk, a person will approach you on the street and start a casual conversation. To ingratiate himself, he will tell you that he works abroad, or that his relatives live in your country, and that he came here to stay and he is bored alone. He will offer to go to a bar or club, where you will be bred to buy alcohol, for which they will issue an unrealistic bill. Sometimes girls are used for this, they offer to treat them. As some victims write in the reviews, they lost several thousand euros for one such trip to the club. Moreover, even if you do not have money with you, scammers demand payment under threat of reprisal. There are options for this wiring with food in cafes and soft drinks, a replacement menu for tourists.

To avoid this deception, do not give in to conversations with strangers.

And the lira turns into euros...

Very rare wiring, but there is a chance, especially if you visit nightclubs. In nightclubs, bars, restaurants, a menu with normal prices can be placed on the table for ordering, and another special menu for foreigners with prices several times higher is used for payment. There were even cases when the prices in the menu are not put down the currency, and after ordering it turns out that this price is not in lira, but in euros. A variation of this divorce is a cafe with no menu at all, where an arbitrary price will be called based on the results of the baths.

Ideally, you should avoid visiting dubious nightclubs. But if you already got into this, when ordering, specify the price, and you can take a photo of the menu with prices.

Ice cream vendors

A slight deception that we met on Istiklal Street, but maybe ice cream makers work like this in other places. When you see a traditional Turkish Show selling ice cream and ask for its price, you will be told the price of 5 or 10 lira. But when you get your cherished horn, you will be asked for a price up to 50 lire, and they will show a price plate where everything is written in Turkish.

To avoid this deception, just do not buy ice cream with the show, and you can see how it is done with others.

Volunteers of public organizations

We met on Istiklal Street. They are represented by volunteers of public organizations Red Cross or UNICEF, and even wear the appropriate symbols. Start a casual conversation with you about where you are from, of course, they will tell you that they are connected with your country and are foreigners themselves, and will demand money allegedly for donations.

To avoid this, it is better to immediately refuse to communicate with such "volunteers".

Cheating in a taxi

If you order a taxi not through the application Uber or Bitaxi with cashless payment, you can fall under a simple trick of taxi drivers. When paying for travel, you will give a bill, which immediately turns into a smaller one, for example, 50 lire into 20 lire.

You need to pay with taxi drivers clearly showing bills, pronouncing and counting money in front of the driver. And before you transfer the recalculated money into your hands, get confirmation from him that you are transferring exactly as much as you need. It is better to pay without change, especially since taxi drivers in Istanbul are notorious for selling counterfeit bills. But if you can not pay without change, then again say everything like this: "here are 50 lire, I give them to you and I will receive 30 lire change". To be honest, taxi drivers do not speak Russian or English very well, but it is quite possible to explain themselves with gestures.

Uninvited guides

At popular tourist attractions, especially near the Blue Mosque, a person can get to know you and engage in conversation. Such conversations begin with traditional questioning to gain trust and ostensibly follow you at ease. Along the way, he can say a few words about the sights, and at the end of your "friendship" will require money for accompanying as a guide.

To avoid such an intrusive service, just do not succumb to attempts to talk you, or pretend that you do not understand the language.

If, despite our warnings, you still find yourself in an unpleasant situation and you need help, call the police on 155 (a single number throughout the country), or the Istanbul tourist police – (0212) 5274503. If you can not call, the police are easy to find on Istiklal Street.

And if you have wiring in Istanbul, which we forgot about, tell us about them in the form of a comment on the forum at the bottom of this page.