My friends are going to Turkey and Italy and would like to get a cell phone to use. Is there a way that they can purchase one and minutes on the cheap? Thanks.

ttt

tell them to use two alum. cans and a long string....

Hi G,

Do they want to use the phone a lot or just for emergencies?

Your title is "Turkey and/or Italy" but you really want to know about cell phones. I would re-post w/ a better title -- something like "Best cell phone options for Turkey and Italy?"

I was there last month. I brought my unlocked GSM quad band phone. I used Turkcel as my carrier. Cellphone coverage is everywhere. 100 "units" cost ~14 lira.

I was there for two weeks, my brother for three. At the end of 2 weeks his phone was deactivated. Supposedly foreign phones can be deactivated after 1/2/3 weeks in the country. To re-activate it, you need to go to a shop and they will re-activate it. But the issue can be resolved by ensuring that you get a contract when you first activate the phone. We did not know this and the seller did not ask us.

You also may want the seller to activate the phone and extra minutes, since the instructions are in Turkish.

I used my phone sporadically, and my 100 units lasted almost the full 2 weeks.