arif
you wont have to go and find the goods.
its going to be dificult to avoid them where ever you are in turkey. enjoy!!

i don't think it really matters - you will be more or less bombarded with the stuff all over the place!!

personally i prefer to buy from shops rather than markets - although a little dearer ie: on 3 t-shirt for £10 rather than 5 but they seem a bit better quality (if you can have that for fakes!!)

a friend of ours one year thought he had a absolute bargain with i think about 10 pairs of Calvin Klein boxers for about £5 - but most of them had one leg longer than the other

Can anybody recomend any markets then

Depends where in Turkey you will be staying.

But if in the Olu Deniz, Sarigerme area go to Fethiye Market.

Lots of choice and good bargains to be had

I also, would rather buy from the shops, and if you fall upon a real gem, like the one I found in Icmeler, they are fantastic, I bought two pairs of jeans one diesel and one replay, ok they cost £25 each (cost at least £30 for a decent pair in Dorothy Perkins) but they are great.

He (the shop keeper) knew straight away from looking at me what style and size would suit me, tried on two pairs and bought them. The have washed fine and still look good 6 months later.

They even take them up for you while you wait!

what day is the market in fethiye on? what time of day is the best time to go? thanks michelle

its on a tuesday and i would recommend getting there as early as possible as it can be much warmer in Fethiye than the resorts
lally

As some of you are now aware we have booked our first holiday to Turkey for this coming may.

We are not seasoned travellers and this only being our second ever ourseas holiday (the other being to majorca) i wondered about what we should take with us in the realm of clothes.

Last year we kitted ourselves out fully with new clobber before going overseas and it was a great experiance being on holiday, in the sun, and with that new good feeling you get from new clothes.

We plan on doing the same for this trip but i'm hearing the clothes are incredibly cheap out in turkey and wondered whether it would be wise to take a smaller compliment of clothes and purchase our needs out there.

My wife is very large and is in a size 30 so i'm wondering if she will have difficulties getting anything for herself out there ?

Generally me and my son spend around £5 to £10 on a new t-shirt and the same for shorts, trousers etc. We would buy around 7 or 8 sets of clothes each.

My daughters stuff averages nearer the £10 an item and my wifes anywhere from £20 to £40 (we don't go in for designer stuff). Would it be wise to just take a few items and get our needs over there ?

How cheap and how available are clothes in marmaris ?

Any advice from the seasoned pro's would really be helpfull.

Hello,

I am pleased you have decided to try Turkey after all. We will be in Icmeler again in June - our 8th visit (5 times Icmeler)
I am not small either and normally buy most of the clothes before going out there. In Icmeler there was a large ladies shop but not sure about Marmaris. As for the tee shirts for men and younger members there is a large choice. Clothes have got dearer since we first went when we could buy 5 Ben Sherman shirts for £10 !! My husband is still wearing them.
I am sure you have made the right decision to go, have a lovely time - do try and get to see Icmeler though!

BH

With regards clothes for your wife, it may be a good idea to send a Private Message to Chelsea Boy who is resident in Marmaris. Not knowing what size YOU are, I can't help BUT for your kids just pack enough oldish clothes to tie them over for two or three days. When you get to Marmaris, go to the WEEKLY MARKET, Chelsea Boy will be able to tell you when and where this is held. We ALWAYS buy clothes from these places. Don't touch clothes that are say 8 for £10, the quality is likely to be poor. Buy stuff that is say 3 for £15 but remember to HAGGLE(English money is acceptible in note form), ie Adidas Sports Shirts & Levi Jeans, if you are not happy with the price, just walk away, if they want to do a deal they will come after you. Boxer Shorts you will get 20 pairs for £10. Feel the quality of material before committing yourself, we have bought a lot of good stuff in the four times we have been to Turkey. There is The Sook, an indoor maze of shops near the Marina, some of these you can haggle with BUT, go to the Market before buying anywhere else.

Out and about, when you and your family are walking around, you will find people outside Restaurants touting for business, it will seem daunting to you but the simple thing to do is to say hello to them, shake them by the hand and politely say,"we aren't ready to eat yet, maybe another day OR we have already eaten". Give them just two minutes of your time, they really appreciate it and love to practice their English speaking skills on you. Turkish people have very long memories and only remember people who have shown them kindness. It is said, that to make a friend of a Turk, is to make a friend for life !! Remember, Turkish people are really friendly and helpful, it is all about your attitude towards them.

Excursions, again, Chelsea Boy may well be able to give you a few pointers in this respect. Local Tour Operators do the Trips cheaper than your Rep will be able to, shop around. On this Forum, state what you and your Family are interested in doing and you will get lots of recommendations from the members. Going back to Restaurants, again, people on here will give you recommendations if you ask. Make a note of them, try them and assuming you get to go to Marmaris, make sure you do a Holiday Report on your return. By the way, we ARE, going to Turkey in May but to Kalkan, down on the South Coast then we return to Turkey in September, this time we will be in Kusadasi. Wishing you all the best and sincerely hope you get to Marmaris, you won't be disappointed !!!!

do what i do ,buy new here and there, must admit i dont buy many clothes there my teens are fussy and wont wear fakes no matter how good ,i buy bags and shoes,sports teeshirts are everywere if you like that kind of thing ,,be aware of the tracksuits ,,friend bought 3 lacoste and the red 1 ran her son is now wearing a pink top towels are another good buy ,also jewelry .i got a good deal in a tiny shop in icemeler beat all others hand down and he even cleaned my old kneckless and earings i was wearing ,if you buy from the bazzar try them on in shop as trying to find the shop again if they dont fit is like looking for a needle in a haystack ,im sure you will love turkey the people are lovely .we made friends 2 years back and in july and august we are staying free of charge in his 5 bed house ,friends for life or as he says my english family .respect earns respect ,be open minded and you will love it ,dont take their hassle to personally and you will be fine ,

Thanks for all your advice so far.

I have to admit im not too keen on the bartering thing as its obvously alien to us but i'm sure i'll get the hang of it.

Now im not sure whether to buy my clothes here or there 3 items for £15 does sound tempting i have to confess.

Back to the bartering do they ever take offence if you offer them less ?

Also is it better to barter with English or Turkish currency ? So they accept english over there ?

Buy your clothes before you go in the UK.

If as you say this holiday is more than you have ever spent ever then why scrimp.

Make this holiday a holiday to remember.

Buy your wife and children the best clothes that you can afford to in the UK as this will be the start to your holiday.

Take as much money as you can AFFORD to to Marmais and spend it all on a good holiday and look for yourself and barter in every shop except a shop that sells just essentials like smokes and drinks.

The most important bit of advice that you have yet to be advised of is read this forum from page 1 to the last and then you will have a vast amount of knowledge already digested when you arrive in Turkey.

John

Shopping is not the be all and end all, to be honest some of clothes last year were not that cheap (for fakes) and clothing is not as expensive in the UK

In fact I don't think you could get as cheap as Primark anywhere int he world

1 always ask how much in english ,then you know were you stand,say youre lowest, try halfing it or saying 3 for a tenner if its 15 ,then walk away .they will shout after you if thats acceptable.my husband did offend over a pair of shoes once ,you will know, the air was blue but stand youre ground ,i mean if something was to dear at home then you just wouldnt pay it ,would you ,when i was in india were ppl are poorer i hated bartering as things were for nothing ,but in the end i went the other way to the amusement of my husband ,hed say what the ruppee was in english and id argue over 5p lol .you will learn love it though it can be hard at first , i seem to get the best deals in the bazzar as theres that many shops that are empty, the bazzar makes a change for a night out when you get sick of the eating and drinking ,,we always do a night shopping trip for that reason

ooo i forget to mention take a lot of tenners its easier

hi
there are some bargains to be had but i would not rely on getting all you need there. My daughters had a field day (T shirts , shoes etc) but less so for me. British money is very welcolme but only in note form and they have to be in pretty good condition.

i agree lally .its ok for a ebayer i suppose

thanks again for all your advice. Its not about scrimping as such on clothes but that if i get out there and find loads at an incredible price i won't be able to resist and then i'll have twice as many to bring back.

one thing i don't much like the sound of from what i'm reading is that its going to be very hard to browse (and this is what we do best).

So crisp £10 notes. Thats a handy tip. We aim to take around £1000 in total for 2 weeks but would like to do the jeep safari and that mud place (sorry you can tell we have never been :).

I don't know how much there will be in the budget for buying clothes etc as we are self catering and we are not sure on the costs of things like meals etc. Although i am starting to get a better picture througn reading thesen forums ...