Currencies used in IST airport.
 

I’m flying via Istanbul airport for the first time and don’t have off-course locally currency with me.
Can I use Dollars to pay in the shops on the airport.
Or are there ATM machines ( at the duty free zone ) so i can get local currency.
And what kind of shops are there on the airport ?

Thanks for the information.

In the IST airport right now. The Starbucks has a sign that says it accepts dollars and euros but that it gives change in Turkish Liras.

There are many ATM in the baggage claim area; however, you should check to see if your ATM card will actually be usable in Turkey.

The duty free in IST is nothing special. There is one shop of interest that contains "locally" produced items and was quite interesting to browse. Besides that there is just your average booze and smokes and high end fashion, perfume, etc.

There are quite a few places to eat but from what I understand the prices are quite inflated compared to outside the airport. Even guidebooks suggest getting food for the flight prior to arriving at the airport.

Unfortunately I’m only in transit and therefore looking for an ATM machine in the duty free zone in case i can not use Dollars.

As with pretty much every other international airport in the entire civilized World, you are able to use Dollars. And yes, the food prices as wll as the prices of those "local goods" are hugely inflated. The Duty Free is pretty standard int'l duty free, all the normal brands and similar prices to everywhere else in Europe. if you are coming from the Emirates most Duty Free prices are cheaper there.

currencies at Istanbul airport
 

I was there yesterday, and paid for a purchase using Euros instead of Lira- but the exchange rate was almost 1-1! You are much better off going to the money exchange (good rates with a 4% commission)- there's one in the main hall you will be in after going through the transit desk...

If you're planning to buy a bottle of water for your flight, note that they do security at each gate and will confiscate any bottles bought inside the terminal. There are Coke machines in most gate areas that sell water but they only take Turkish Lira. (Water is 1TKL from these machines.)

How does this work for bottles bought from Duty Free ?
Are Duty Free liquids sealed in plastic bags from other airport duty free allowed to take with in the plane.
I have also some Airline ( emirates ) amenity kits in my carry on. Are they doing difficult about this as there are some very small liquid bottles inside.

Thanks for the info, flying next week Monday LHR-IST.

Duty free items purchased at IST are brought to the gate by the Duty Free store and are picked up by passengers prior to boarding the aircraft.

Is there a Burger King or KFC in the transit area?

Yes, perhaps the most expensive BK on Earth.

How much does a meal or burger cost?

About 3 times what it costs outside the airport which is about 50% more than you would pay in most places in Europe already.

That BK is notoriously bad place. Male staff has some some kind of odd mixture of rudeness and "not-give-a-...." attitude. It's always nice to pay outrageously too much for the meal and get such service! :td:

Is there a good place to sit and have a decent meal?