Is it worth buying Turkish lira?

The very word "lira" (libra) is of Latin origin. First, it was used to refer to scales. At a later time, so called a certain mass of silver. Now this word denotes the currency of some countries, including Turkey, Syria, Cyprus. In addition, even in the twentieth century, the lyre calculated the peoples of Italy, Israel, Malta.

Until the middle of the 19th century, in the Ottoman Empire, in circulation, there were ache, couples, sultans, kuru and other types of money. In 1844, as a result of the reform of Sultan Abdul-Majid, Turkish lira appeared. Each of them was equal to a hundred golden piastres. For a time, the British pound was also used in the country . But in 1946 Turkish lira completely replaced the British currency. At the end of the last century, this currency was 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, in 2001, inflation reached 40 percent, which the 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 monetary reform with the withdrawal of circulation. In 2005, new Turkish lira appeared, each of them costing a million old. In fact, six zeros were removed. Since 2009, the name of this currency has been officially changed. The prefix "new" ("yeni") was removed. On all modern Turkish coins and banknotes there are portraits of the national hero of Ataturk Mustafa Kemal.

Each unit of this currency consists of one hundred kopecks - kurushas. Turkish lira refers to the ruble as 1:16. However, its course is rather unstable and can change literally every day. Nevertheless, recently the Turkish lira began to gradually strengthen against other currencies. 1 Turkish lira is 0.37 euros, 0.31 pounds sterling or 0.51 dollars.

Tourists can exchange their currency on the spot, but this is not necessary. In all major cities of Turkey, tourists can pay with dollars, British pounds or euros. An exception is rural or unpopular with travelers. As a rule, in such Territories plastic cards can not be used. And in large cities, even in markets, you can pay with European and American currency. But in this case, you need to take into account the exchange rate and strictly orient yourself to it. And in general, the Turkish market needs to bargain in order to save money.

Another reason for doing this is that there are no fixed prices. What is noteworthy, the import of foreign currency into the country is not limited to any sums. The Turkish lira is the fastest to buy in exchange offices. In the bank, the rate may be a little more profitable, but it takes a lot of time for the whole process. Perhaps the most acceptable option for customers is buying in mail offices. Experienced tourists noticed that at the weekend it is not necessary to change the currency, because it is expensive. This is best done on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The document stating the fact of currency exchange should be preserved. It can come in handy to the tourist at customs. As a rule, such documents are issued only in banks.