In Istanbul’s old town, with all the touristic high lights, many public restrooms are not in a good condition. Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş recently announced a plan for 2012 to renovate existing facilities, including those in mosques, and construct new, modern ones.

“There are often questions surrounding the cleanliness of public restrooms, so the municipality will initiate a project to convert public toilets into modern ones, especially in touristic areas. The municipal workers assigned to deal with public facilities will be maintaining the toilets’ cleanness.”

The municipality plans to renovate 25 public restrooms and construct 15 new ones in touristic places in Istanbul.

Squat toilet. Photo: Slawomira Kozieniec

Rest rooms in mosques are all squat toilets, also known as a toilet alaturka. These kinds of toilets are also commonly used in Asian countries and France. The toilet is used by squatting, rather than sitting. It is basically just a hole in the ground. Put your feet on foot rests, facing the entrance to the cubicle. Beware that there is no toilet paper available, only a plastic watering can. After washing your hands you can take some paper at the counter where you pay – 75 or 1 Turkish Lira – to dry them.