Can you drink the tap water in Turkey? The locals say NO, the government says YES! 
the Turkish government has been running campaigns for some time to convince people that the tap water is drinkable!
But why do the locals say otherwise?
This issue has its roots in the past. As recently as 10 years ago, the tap water was not drinkable! Apparently it had unpleasant smell and taste, and often caused, well, lets just say stomach problems. However, during that time the government used to say that the water was safe to drink! So its burned deep into the mind of the locals that the water is unsafe.
Even today, in some parts of the country, the water has a strange taste to it but it is safe for human consumption. This odd taste is generally associated with the addition of chlorine.
Even if the water is safe to drink, if your city has rusty water pipes, its still a good idea to buy purified water.
What can you do?
Well, you can either buy a home water purifier, or buy bottled water.
water purifier might seem like an expensive choice, but in the long run, it will be the cheaper option. cost issues aside, by purchasing a water purifier, you reduce the plastic usage which is better for us all.
however, if you prefer to buy bottled water, here is an option:
You can easily order 19 liter bottled water. these are called Damacana in Turkish which depending on the brand, have different prices. When you first purchase one, not only you have to pay for the water, you are also charged for the bottle. But later on, you will just pay for the refills.
to make the use of these bottled waters easier, you have to buy a water pump as well. these pumps are sold by the water company as well, or you can purchase it from a store yourself. these pumps come in manual or electric forms.
the prices of these options vary, but it usually costs around:
12-20 lira for water
35-50 lira for the bottle
20-50 lira for the manual pump, or
40-300 lira for the electric pumps.
the Turkish government has been running campaigns for some time to convince people that the tap water is drinkable!
But why do the locals say otherwise?
This issue has its roots in the past. As recently as 10 years ago, the tap water was not drinkable! Apparently it had unpleasant smell and taste, and often caused, well, lets just say stomach problems. However, during that time the government used to say that the water was safe to drink! So its burned deep into the mind of the locals that the water is unsafe.
Even today, in some parts of the country, the water has a strange taste to it but it is safe for human consumption. This odd taste is generally associated with the addition of chlorine.
Even if the water is safe to drink, if your city has rusty water pipes, its still a good idea to buy purified water.
What can you do?
Well, you can either buy a home water purifier, or buy bottled water.
water purifier might seem like an expensive choice, but in the long run, it will be the cheaper option. cost issues aside, by purchasing a water purifier, you reduce the plastic usage which is better for us all.
however, if you prefer to buy bottled water, here is an option:
You can easily order 19 liter bottled water. these are called Damacana in Turkish which depending on the brand, have different prices. When you first purchase one, not only you have to pay for the water, you are also charged for the bottle. But later on, you will just pay for the refills.
to make the use of these bottled waters easier, you have to buy a water pump as well. these pumps are sold by the water company as well, or you can purchase it from a store yourself. these pumps come in manual or electric forms.
the prices of these options vary, but it usually costs around:
12-20 lira for water
35-50 lira for the bottle
20-50 lira for the manual pump, or
40-300 lira for the electric pumps.