When greeting friends or strangers in Turkey

When greeting friends or strangers, one shakes hands and says Nasılsınız? (How are you?) or Merhaba (Hello). A typical response to Nasılsınız is İyiyim, teşekkür ederim (Fine, thank you). Greetings among friends are followed by polite inquiries about one's health, family, and work. Unless they are conservative Muslims, close friends of the same (and sometimes the opposite) gender clasp hands and kiss on both cheeks when greeting. The hands of an older person may be kissed and touched to the greeter's forehead to show respect. Young people often greet each other with Selam (Salute). When parting, people say Hoşçakal (Stay well), Görüşürüz (See you later), Kendine iyi bak (Take care), or even Bye-bye.

Upon joining a small group, one greets each person individually. When addressing others formally, one uses professional titles. Otherwise, the title Hanım is used for women and Bey for men among peers or with younger persons. These follow the given name: Leyla Hanım or İsmail Bey. In informal situations, one addresses older people with Abla for women (Fatma Abla) or Abi for men (Ahmet Abi). These terms mean “big sister” and “big brother” respectively. When greeting someone much older, one uses Teyze (Aunt) and Amca (Uncle) after the first name. Urban people generally do not greet strangers they pass on the street.

Breakfast usually is eaten around 7 a.m., or earlier in rural areas. Lunch is at midday and dinner is around 7 p.m. Dinner is the main meal, and the family generally expects to sit down together for this meal.

Eating habits vary with the region and the food being eaten. Turks generally observe the continental style of eating—the fork stays in the left hand and the knife remains in the right. Some foods are eaten with the hands. In rural areas, people may sit on the floor around a low table. To begin or end a meal, one might say Afiyet Olsun (May what you eat bring you well-being). One may compliment the cook on the meal by saying Elinize sağlik (roughly,