I went to Turkey with my aunt the first time and went with an open mind and fell in love with the place.

When I met my husband I booked us a holiday there as a surprise and when he opened the present of a Turkish phrase book on Christmas morning he was disappointed! He didn't want to go. He had this impression that it was full of greasy, sweaty men who leer after girls and are rude and arrogant. He had this image of a very dirty, unhygienic country.

Anyway, we went. He loved it so much that we ended up booking to get married over there!

Then some of the guests that came the wedding said that they were very surprised that we booked to get married in Turkey instead of say, the South of France or the Caribbean. But once they went there (most for the first time) they loved it. Lots of them have been back or are planning to.

Hi Zonda

I found Icmeler by chance. I won a completion for 2 flights and one of the places you could fly to was Turkey. I had never been but thought seeing as I'm not paying for it why not.

That was over 10 years ago and I've been going every year since.

I was very luck on both accounts winning the flight tickets and finding Icmeler.

Pity I'm not as lucky on the lottery or I would be living out there

Lynn

My parents are on about buying an apartment in Fethiye ans they ain't even been to Turkey yet! Obviously I'm encouraging this whim very strongly!

For us it was never a case of "dont want to go there" just somewhere we had never thought about until my nephew married a turkish girl . He started to holiday in Kusadasi with her and her parents and woud go on and on about how brilliant it was there and how he now wouldnt go anywhere else.
so we booked , didnt fancy kusadasi but settled on the Asena beach in Olu Deniz . It was our best holiday ever and despite trying a few other places in between that we couldnt help comparing to turkey we have never found anywhere else with the same feel .(wth the exception of Egypt which we have also grown fond of) We have now almost given up tryng to look for anywhere else for our main holiday and now prefer not to take a chance and book turkey again .

lyn

Hi Zonda

First went to Turkey in 1989 with my parents (a young and innocent 19 then!) and didn't fancy it at all. I had a preconceived idea, like many, that it would be a dirty country with not a lot to offer. How wrong I was. I had a brilliant week in Kusadasi and cried when I had to leave. Took my then boyfriend to Bodrum the following year and then didn't return until 1994 with my parents again, where we had a wicked week in Fethiye. Didn't return until 2000 (had been travelling the world a bit) when I went alone to Marmaris to have a break and make some tough decisions. It was the only place I could think of where I felt safe going on my own. Like I had any time to myself! From the moment I booked into the apartments I met some people at the bar and had one of the best weeks of my life. The people running the apartments looked after me from day one and I was treated like one of the family. From that moment I fell in love with Marmaris and have been returning for the last 8 years, sometimes two or three times a year and have made some friends for life. My husband was a bit reluctant to go the first time but I persuaded him and he loves Turkey as much as I do (thankfully!) We have tried going to other places, like Spain and the Canaries, since but nowhere else compares.

we first looked at going to turkey back in 1999 but at the time our daughter was only 2 and i remember my dad having an absolute hissy fit about us taking his granddaughter to a "dirty, stinky hole with greasy men"!! so that was that!

anyway we had friends who went every year and we really wanted to try it, so 4 years ago we did (much to the disgust of my dad still!!!) but we totally and absolutely fell in love with the place and have been every year since (go again this friday!)

we have even nearly converted dad! he works with a guy who has a villa over there so he's tempted to go next year!!

My first visit was 1988 and I was excited about it. I guess things have changed a lot since then (Kusadasi). Yes, we got the holiday tummy but you would get that wherever you went.

I too know many people who 'just don't fancy' Turkey and have a perception of Greece and Greek islands as being cleaner, nicer food, nicer people etc. Having been to both reasonably regularly I have to say Turkey beats any Greek place I've been, especially if you are in cheaper accommodation for standards of cleanliness etc.

Having said all that many greek islands are lovely and even with Turkey I tend to go to a different resort each time (not counting gulet which is similar routes) so I wouldn't discount going there again. I have the same sort of 'don't fancy it' attitude to places like Tunisia and Morroco. Never say never but that's only a 'me' thing and I wouldn't dare to suggest it might be 'dirty' or have horrid people there when I've not been to comment.

To be honest that was the only thing that persuaded me to go originally, my mate had bought a villa and the holiday was free!

I also had preconceived ideas, not helped by my sis who did a daytrip there from Kos. She said it was dirty and smelly. Anyway, my husband suggested Turkey a few years ago as family of his were raving about the place and visiting very often. As it's usually me who picks where we go, I thought it was only fair to let him have a say. We booked to go and I'm so glad I did. We had a lovely holiday and it opened my eyes to the warmth of the country. We haven't been back yet but I know we will be back one day soon and when my son wanted help in choosing somewhere to go with his mates I suggested Turkey. They're in flight at the moment on their return from what seems to have been (according to texts) a brilliant choice.

I first went in 1989 and I was realy looking forward to it, Turkey seemed like a really exotic place. I loved it when and went back several times afeter, then in 2003 I planned to spend 6 months there and ended up living there for 2½ years, I even married a Turkish man out there.

I guess you could say I love the place

I first went to Olu Deniz in 1988. It was really small place and there was nothing at all in Hisaranu. My friends have since been back and said it's changed quite a lot.

We've never been to Turkey but keep thinking about it as we like to try places we haven't been to before. We're going to Crete for the first time this year and have booked The Algarve for next year also for the first time.(both in September) We have the option to cancel The Algarve for next year and are wondering what to do.
There are some apartments in Turunc or Kumlubuk which we could go to but hubby isn't sure about Turkey. That seems to be a recurring theme for people who haven't been there.
I'll post another thread about those 2 places so as not to go off topic

Turkey was always somewhere I never fancied going.... About 5 years ago, we were looking for a cheap week away somewhere, and there was a cheap holiday to Gumbet. We decided to give it a go, on the promise that if I didn't like it, we would have a week away somewhere else in the October.
Anyway we went and we loved it!!! Since then, we have been around 10 times or so (to different resorts) and have loved everyone of them. They have all been excellent, in one way or another.
The Turkish people are just lovely and so friendly and will do anything to help. We have since introduced my son, daughter in law and grandchildren to Turkey, and they love it as well.

What does annoy me though is, when I tell some people where we are going on holiday, they pull a face and say 'what do you want to go to that dirty country for'!!. When I ask them where in Turkey they have been, they reply they have never been!!! They don't know what they are missing, do they?
And as for being a 'dirty country', every hotel we have stayed in, whether it be 2* or 5* has been absolutley spotless!!!
Can't wait to go back.....
Denny

the first time i went was in 1982, many years ago , we only went to turkey because we had taken 2 years off to travel and were travelling to many countries staying for weeks to mths at a time in a motor home, and decided to give istanbul a visit on our travels, we loved it and have been visiting ever since sometimes up to 5 times a year. i remember back then electric items were hard to come by and we sold our portable tv to a turk after lots of hassle from them wanting it lol,entertaining bears in the streets in istanbul , thankfully thats been stopped

Totally agree with your second paragraph denny.53 and have since converted 4 friends who go back year after year to different resorts and am in the process of trying to convert 2 more couples, the women are totally up for trying Turkey, having been to Greece before and loving it, but the men are tougher nuts to crack. They are coming round though and I'm sure they will love the place as much as we all do. There is something special about stepping off the plane at Dalaman - for us it's like coming home.

Went in 1996 when I was loved up in a little family unit and absolutly loved the place.

No longer a family unit but a "statistic" single parent and I cant think of anywher I would rather go. I know the people are friendly, its clean and cheap and we will have a great time.

Three weeks today to Hisoranu and cant wait!!

sha33a

My wife and I first went to Turkey in 2003,I did not fancy it at all but It was my wifes turn to choose where we went so I went along with it.We arrived in Icmeler about 5 oclock in the morning at the hotel efendi and went straight to bed for a few hours sleep.When I got up and went outside I felt really strange,Turkey really looked like a foreign country to me compared to Spain etc.I must admit,it took me a couple of hours to get used to the place but when I asked the waiter in the hotel for a couple of beers he said"do you mean a couple of ice cold EFES"I knew that everything was going to be perfect.Everyday from then on just got better and better and we have been going every year since then because I now love the place so much.Going back in August for 2 weeks cant wait.

We were looking to go somewhere for one week in July 2006 as we were planning to go for 2 weeks (somewhere) in September. The only cheap deal we could get was Marmaris and we were not that keen after having had a 1 day trip to Bodrum from Kos many years ago. Anyway, took the cheap deal and within 2 hours we had fallen in love with the people and the place.

We returned 2 months later in September for 2 weeks, and since then have been going back 3 times a year. We cant bring ourselves to go anywhere else at the moment. We have made some fantastic friends and even travelled to meet their families last year - out of this world, wonderful hospitality.

The friendship of the Turkish people just do it for us every time.

same here. I have never fancied turkey and neither has my partner we were looking at holidays and had a much better price for turkey after alot of deciding we have decided to give it a go. friends have raved about it who have been the ones that havent dont fancy it and my mate in work had opted for cyprus as her husband was not to keen at all. two and counting so ill go with an open mind and let you all know the outcome. not somewhere i would have chooosen but a last minute school holiday break there wasnt much left. i hope my reasons for not wanting to go are unfounded.