
Understand Eskişehir.
Practical answers for living, moving and navigating life in Eskişehir — written by the Smileys team, with official sources linked where the details matter.
Where are you in your move?
I'm planning my move
Residence permits and where to live — the decisions to make before you land.
3 guides
I just arrived
Get in from the airport, then a working phone, a transport card and a way to pay — the first-week essentials.
5 guides
I'm settling in
Healthcare, a longer-term home, family life and the everyday systems that make a city work.
2 guides
I need urgent help
Staying safe, avoiding scams, and how to get medical help.
4 guides
Explore the Handbook

Getting Around
Transport cards, buses, ferries, taxis, airports — however your city moves, the answers are simple.
Eskart: One Card for Eskişehir’s Trams and Buses

Money & Banking
Bank accounts, tax numbers, cards, transfers.
Getting a Turkish Tax Number as a Foreigner (Vergi Kimlik Numarası)

Mobile & Digital
SIMs, eSIMs, home internet, e-Devlet, the apps you actually need.
e-Devlet for Foreigners: Getting Your Password and What You Can Do With It

Healthcare
How the system works — public vs private, pharmacies, insurance, emergencies.
Health Insurance for Your Residence Permit: What Is Accepted in Türkiye

Residence & Legal
Permits, address registration, work permits — the slow grind of being legal.
Working Remotely from Türkiye: Digital Nomad Visa, Work Permissions, Tax & Social Security

Safety & Emergencies
Emergency numbers, scams, earthquake preparedness, lost documents.
Lost or Stolen Passport, Residence Permit or Phone in Türkiye: What to Do

Language & Culture
The local language, etiquette, and the misunderstandings worth skipping.
Turkish Basics and Etiquette: Words, Customs and the Rules Worth Knowing
Latest articles

Eskart: One Card for Eskişehir’s Trams and Buses
Eskişehir’s Eskart works on ESTRAM trams and city buses, with discounted transfers within 60 minutes — physical or virtual in the Estram Mobil app. Plus the online top-up delay, student cards, the tram lines, and getting here from Istanbul by YHT.

Health Insurance for Your Residence Permit: What Is Accepted in Türkiye
Which health insurance the migration authority accepts for a residence permit — Turkish private policies, social security agreements, SGK — the circular a private policy must meet, and who is exempt.

Lost or Stolen Passport, Residence Permit or Phone in Türkiye: What to Do
Step by step: the police loss report, your embassy, replacing a lost residence permit card, telling the migration office about a new passport, and blocking a lost phone and bank cards.

Turkish Basics and Etiquette: Words, Customs and the Rules Worth Knowing
How to pronounce Turkish, the words you'll use every day, everyday courtesies, visiting mosques, Ramadan, public holidays — and the few rules (alcohol hours, smoking, tipping) that are law, not custom.

e-Devlet for Foreigners: Getting Your Password and What You Can Do With It
e-Devlet is Türkiye's government services portal. Who can use it as a foreigner, how to get your password at PTT, and what it's useful for once you're in.
Lived through something the rest of us are about to face?
Write the article you wish had existed when you arrived — it goes up under your name, and we edit it together. Tell us the topic.
Pitch a topic →