🚨 Emergencies in Türkiye: 112, health and useful apps

Call 112

The Ministry of Interior’s official message is simple: in an emergency there is one number, 112. You use it for ambulance, police and fire. Older lists still print 155 for police or 110 for fire, but 112 is the number to learn and to dial. Tell the operator where you are, and say “İngilizce biliyor musunuz?” if you need English — the 112 system can arrange interpretation.

“İmdat!”, “Yardım edin!”, “Polisi arayın!” and “Ambulans çağırın!” are in the Emergencies unit, with audio. If you lose a passport, “Pasaportumu kaybettim” and “Konsolosluğu aramak istiyorum” are there too.

Health and pharmacies

For a medical emergency, call 112. For everyday needs, pharmacies (eczane) are easy to find and often the first stop for advice on a simple medicine. After midnight, look for a nöbetçi eczane, the duty pharmacy that stays open; a closed pharmacy will usually display the address of the one that is on duty, or you can ask “Nöbetçi eczane nerede?”

Travel insurance is a good idea; I am not giving medical or insurance advice, and I will not pretend that a foreign health card works the same way in every case. For a lost passport, contact your consulate and the police.

Tourist police and other useful numbers

In an emergency, still call 112 first. Istanbul also has a tourist police service. visit.istanbul, the official visitor site, lists the Tourism Police number as +90 212 527 45 03, and a tourism information line as 176. Istanbul’s municipal help desk (Beyaz Masa) is 153.

Write these down before you need them, and also save your hotel’s address in Turkish so you can show it.

Useful apps on a normal day

Once you are online (see the SIM page), these are the apps residents actually use:

• Food delivery: Yemeksepeti, Getir and Trendyol Yemek are the three names you will see in cities. They list restaurants and, in many neighbourhoods, groceries too. English is often available in the app. You usually need a local address and a card or a local payment method.
• Maps: Google Maps works well. Yandex Maps is also widely used in Türkiye and is often strong on traffic and public transport. Metro and bus apps, and İstanbulkart Mobil, help on the Istanbul network.
• Translation: Google Translate is the practical choice, including the camera for menus. A few spoken phrases still go further than a phone pointed at someone’s face — start with the restaurant and bazaar lessons.
• Taxis: BiTaksi and, in Istanbul, Uber, as described on the taxi page.
• Official alerts and e-Devlet are aimed at residents; visitors rarely need them except for the official e-Visa and, if it applies, IMEI pages.