28.06.2026 10:11
In Istanbul's Eminönü district, a taxi driver mistook a Turkish passenger speaking English with a foreign friend for a tourist and insisted on charging 300 Dollars instead of the 300 Lira shown on the meter. When the passenger responded in Turkish, saying 'What dollar, man?,' the driver immediately backed down, saying 'I thought you were a tourist, sorry,' and adjusted the fare to the normal rate. This video shared by the young woman has brought the issue of exorbitant pricing and attempted fraud by Istanbul taxi drivers targeting tourists back into the spotlight.
A new "tourist tariff" crisis involving taxi drivers in Istanbul has emerged. In a video shared on social media, a young Turkish woman who took a taxi from Eminönü and spoke English with her friend experienced an unbelievable situation. The taxi driver tried to charge 300 TL shown on the meter as 300 dollars, assuming the passenger was a tourist, but his scam ended when the customer spoke Turkish.
"NO TL, DOLLAR DOLLAR!"
According to the claims in the video shared by the young woman, the incident occurred on the Eminönü-Sultanahmet route. After getting into the taxi, the young woman chatted in English with her foreign friend. When they arrived at Sultanahmet, she saw 300 TL on the meter. She took out Turkish Lira and handed it to the driver, but received an unexpected reaction. The driver refused the money, saying "No TL, no TL. Dollar, dollar," demanding payment in dollars.
MADE A U-TURN UPON HEARING THE TURKISH RESPONSE
Unable to hide her surprise at the driver's insistence, the young woman intervened by speaking Turkish. After the woman said, "Bro, what are you saying, for God's sake, what dollar?" the driver's reaction turned into a tragicomic scene. Realizing the passengers were Turkish, the taxi driver immediately backtracked, saying: "Oh dear, are you Turkish? I thought you were tourists, sorry, 300 TL."
"WOULD YOU HAVE SCAMMED US IF WE WEREN'T TURKISH?"
Criticizing the exorbitant price imposition on social media with a humorous yet reproachful tone, the young woman expressed her reaction by saying, "Okay, bro, but would you have scammed us if we weren't Turkish?"