Shopping in Turkey

I had been warned by Grandpa Charles that shopping in Turkey would be an experience like no other. The Turkish are huge hagglers, and refusing to haggle is an insult. I can do that. I love a bargain!! However, this is only true in the markets. If you go to the mall, then the price is firm; no haggling there.

We ventured to a small market place not too far from our home last weekend, and I have to say that I was shocked! All of the shopkeepers sit outside waiting to pounce on whomever happens to walk by. The shops are all crammed together, so as soon as you walk in front of the door, they are in your face asking, enticing, and sometimes begging you to walk in. They do this until you pass by their door, whereas the next shop keeper is waiting for you. We had to walk about two blocks to get to the day spa area, and by the time we got there, I needed a break. Even the spa owners are outside fishing up business. After our pedicures (which were only $7 by the way), we were hungry, so we made it past the same shop keepers who did the same routine, down to a restaurant. We went inside and were treated to a meal of a lifetime. We ordered cheese pastries, chicken pastries, lamb kebabs, beef kebabs, and chicken cordon bleu. We ended up with so much food, that we had to take most of it home. The entire meal was about $10 each, but we really ordered too much food. We've learned our lesson now!

This past weekend, we drove through Adana to get to the M1 mall. Getting to the other side of Adana was an experience all it's own. In most places, the road is 3 lanes, but the Turks will turn it into as many lanes as they possibly can. The horn is very revered in Turkey, too. As soon as the light turns yellow (right before it turns green) horns start blaring from every direction. We were told that the Turks honk the horn if they're happy, sad, because it's raining or sunny, because they want you to know that they're there, or because they want you to move. Basically, they honk it for any reason at all. You just have to get used to it. Also, you'll see crazy things such as 4 people on a montorcycle, (including babies) and horse drawn carts in the middle of the road. I'm telling you, it's insane!!

We finally made it to the mall, and life returned to normal for a brief amount of time. There was a metal detector at the entrance of the mall, but that' s almost common place now everywhere. Once we got inside, it was like any other mall. Some of the American brands were there, too. We took our time and walked the entire thing. We did stop at the food court for lunch, but we got there at 1130, and most places don;t start serving until 1200. We found a couple of places that were open, so we ate peacefully. Afterwards, the kids got ice cream, which is called stretchy ice cream over here. It has the flavor and consistency of gelato', but it is extra firm, and...well, stretchy. Rob and I found a vendor that piqued our interest. This is so cool...it was a cup of corn vendor. That's right, for 2, 3, or 4 dollars, you can have a cup of fresh, hot corn with your choice of seasonings on it. We love corn, so this was too cool for us. We each had our own cup, and then we perused the local grocery store. This store was like a Wal-Mart, and most of the prices were really reasonable. The grocery section was a lot of fun, and we took our time exploring everything. There were fresh meats, breads, cheeses, olives galore, and tons of fruit in the produce section. We bought some chocolate eggs, and a few odds and ends, then we left and made our way down to the Turkish "Lowes". It's called Praktiker, and it's exactly like a Lowes or Home Depot. It was awesome, but by this time we were tired. Besides, we still had to face the drive home.

We had been told to lock our car doors when driving in Adana, so we did. About 5 miles from the house, we had to stop for the light. As we pulled up, I noticed a boy of about 10 years sitting on the side of the road. I didn't pay much attention to him, but as soon as were were stopped, he starting knocking on the window. He had some small trinkets that he wanted us to look at. Rob motioned "no" to him and told us to not look at him. Well, this kid was persistent, and he began banging on the windows (even the kids windows) and trying to get in the car. The entire time, he was hollering and screaming "money", "money" to us. That was the longest red light of my life. By the time we got home, Rob wanted to go and get a massage, but I just wasn't up for it. I'd already had enough of the Turkish culture for one day. This is not a dig on the culture at all, and I love exploring different cultures; this was just a big change for me, and I needed time to process it all. It certainly didn't deter me from going out and about; we went out to dinner with friends yesterday. I'll save that experience for tomorrow, though.