New Turkish Lira (YTL) was introduced on January 1st 2005 and joins Turkish Lira (TL) as legal tender – the latter is currently being phased out and will become unusable on January 1st 2006. 1 YTL = 1,000,000 TL. Old Lira can be exchanged at Central Bank for New Lira, and this service will continue for 10 years after Old Lira becomes obsolete. New Lira note denominations come in the form of YTL100, 50, 20, 10, 5 and 1, and coins are available as YTL1 and as 50, 25, 10, 5 and 1 New Kuru (Ykr).

Old Turkish Lira is available in notes as TL20,000,000, 10,000,000, 5,000,000, 1,000,000, 500,000, 250,000 and 100,000, and coins are in denominations of TL250,000, 100,000, 50,000, 25,000, 10,000 and 5000. Some restaurants and shops also accept US Dollars and Pounds Sterling, with prices shown in all accepted currencies.It is easy to change currency in a number of places – banks, hotels, post offices and shops are likely to have bureau de changes in them, and there are a lot of standalone bureaus available too, often not charging commission. Traveller’s Cheques are accepted in the most part, but it is recommended they are exchanged in banks or post offices, as these places are the most certain to accept them. All money exchange receipts should be kept in case it is necessary to present them to officials.

ATMs are available in most towns, and some suggest that living solely off a credit or debit card is easily achieved in Turkey – though obviously it is always wise to have a contingency plan if, for example, a machine throws a strop and eats a card. See:

Visa:               http://www.visa.com/atms/
MasterCard:  http://www.mastercard.com/cardholderservices/atm/

There is no limit to how much foreign or domestic currency that can be imported, but as always it is recommended that those bringing large amounts into the country declare it on arrival and make sure it is specified in their passport. Domestic currency can be exported up to an amount of $5000 but no more, and foreign currency can be exported up to $5000 but no more than was initially imported and declared.

Currency Converter: http://www.xe.com/ucc/