I keep forgetting to mention the Turkish bathrooms and related custom. Somewhat to my surprise, the Turkish toilets are unable to handle the use of toilet paper, by means of flushing anyway. I guess the pipes are too small and clog if toilet paper is flushed. This is not to say that toilet paper is not used at all, it is indeed used (thankfully), however instead of being flushed it is deposited in a waste basket next to the toilet. This definitely takes some getting used to. I'm trying to view it as a half step between full blown 'western' toilets and the squat toilets I will undoubtedly encounter in Asia and elsewhere. In fact I have encountered a squat toilet in Istanbul, but luckily didn't need to go quite that bad.
In addition to modified toilet paper use, there is another bathroom related custom that I'm still getting used to: you have to pay to use the toilet. That is to say that almost every restaurant bathroom and certainly every public bathroom has someone sitting outside, usually an elderly person, with hands open to receive a payment, roughly 25cents, for bathroom usage. Sometimes you pay at the beginning and sometimes at the end, at which time it is usually a courtesy and I have had to be reminded several times. Adam informs me that these payments are to maintain the order and cleanliness of the bathrooms...
In addition to modified toilet paper use, there is another bathroom related custom that I'm still getting used to: you have to pay to use the toilet. That is to say that almost every restaurant bathroom and certainly every public bathroom has someone sitting outside, usually an elderly person, with hands open to receive a payment, roughly 25cents, for bathroom usage. Sometimes you pay at the beginning and sometimes at the end, at which time it is usually a courtesy and I have had to be reminded several times. Adam informs me that these payments are to maintain the order and cleanliness of the bathrooms...
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