A wonderful young Turkish man who was truly a life saver on our trip to Turkey last year is getting married and we would like to send him and his bride a gift.

I'm just wondering if anyone knows if there are any traditional gifts (or perhaps even more important, things one should not give). If it matters, he is an educated and sophisticated young person, as is his bride. He is in a travel related business. They live in central Turkey outside of Kayseri.

Any ideas? Many thanks.

I can't offer a specific suggestion based on experience regarding weddings in Turkey, but can offer the following suggestions based on what I've learned on half a dozen trips to Turkey (mostly for work).

Many Turks are very interested in all things modern and innovative. Many like to be seen as being familiar with current trends outside Turkey as well as inside Turkey. This might be more true of those living in major cities, but since the person to whom you want to give the gift is involved in travel and has sophisticated tastes, than I would think that a gift of something that is very modern and stylish and comes from your country would be appreciated.

I would be inclined to avoid anything too closely associated with religion (either yours or hers). Some Turks are very secular, some are very devout - and it's hard to guess who belongs to which group because it is often a private thing. This also means that you probably would want to avoid anything associated with alcohol. Some Turks abstain on religious grounds, and some don't - again it's hard to know which group the groom, the bride and their families belong to.

Almost all of the Turks I met were extraordinarily hospitable. Since he's in the travel business, perhaps a gift you could offer them is an invitation to visit you (written on beautiful paper), combined with a photo book about your town/city/region. (I'm not suggesting that you pay for their trip - just give them something that symbolises the possibility of travel to see you.)

Another possibility, again with a travel theme, would be a pair of sleek leather travel wallets (e.g. something from the Levenger catalogue). Again, it's a gift that represents the future and exploration.

The traditional gifts are gold coins or money which are pinned to the couples clothes.

Thank you Kate W and Lawchick for your replies.

We won't actually be there for the wedding so we can't pin money on the bride and groom but maybe we can figure how to combine a money gift with some of the great modern ideas Kate presented. Thank you both----and as with most weddings we basically hope our friend and his wife will have a long a happy life together.

You could give them a gift certificate from Amazon.uk

I bought a present that way for an Istanbul friend. The delivery cost wasn't too bad. And appliances, etc would be 220.