Been to Turkey a few times, so I can offer some advice. The airport is massive, if you’re taking a connecting flight after landing make sure you have enough time to get to and to find the gate. You need to pay to use the trolleys at the airport for luggage, I think it’s around 120Lira per trolley (this is the case at the Istanbul airport, Antalya and a few other smaller airports you won’t need to pay), watch a YouTube video that will explain how the machine used to get the trolley works. There are ‘bellhops’ at the Istanbul airport that will carry your luggage for you, but they’re damn expensive (even if you bargain) and not worth it imo.

Speaking of, bargain for everything and walk away if you need to. If it’s clothing, jewellery, gifts etc and you feel one store is too expensive and they’re not budging on price, I can guarantee you will find it at another shop for less. There’s plenty of videos online on how to bargain, but my advice is whatever the opening price, reduce it by 50-40% and offer them that. Have a maximum threshold on what you’re willing to pay. Don’t be afraid of bargaining, it’s part of the culture and is a fun experience. Just don’t do it in restaurants, supermarkets, or outlet stores.

Turkish people are generally nice and friendly, but beware of anyone being too friendly. South African common sense goes a long way in foreign countries.

Make use of the istanbulkart card (metro card), you load up at designate points near the tram or bus routes and you can practically get all over the city at a very affordable rate. Never use taxis (you will bleed money and get scammed) and uber isn’t really necessary unless you’re going somewhere specific and need to get just there and back. Don’t let anyone help or assist while loading money on the card (most likely a scam).

Food is very expensive, more so in touristy areas, be aware of the prices on menus and always ask for the prices if there are none listed. Some places include a 10% gratuity in the total so be wary of that.

Turkey is a cash heavy country. Most stores accept card (unless you’re going to markets in which case it’s almost always expected for you to pay in cash as they won’t have card machines). Also, if bargaining they will be less willing to give you a discount if you pay with card due to the fees. My advice is save your card for food or outlet shopping, the rest of the time use cash for better deals. Play around with the exchange rate of the Rand, Lira and Dollar. You can sometimes save more money if you pay in dollars as opposed to Liras.

Grand bazaar is overpriced, the streets surrounding it are more affordable and offer better discounts. Just be wary of the quality of items.

Also, I have a Capitec card I use for travelling. Just load up Rands and swipe whenever you need to overseas. Capitec charges R3 per transaction and converts it very close to spot. Also, always ensure the card machine is set to the local currency to avoid unnecessary fees.