Shopping opportunities in Turkey
The shopping options in turkey for international students is also a pleasant feature to look forward to and has a rich trade and commerce culture backdating to ancient days. Turkey being a tourist hub certainly has several shopping avenues from which students can choose from including clothing, food, accessories gadgets etc.
Turkish retailers offer to sell both local and imported products with precise authenticity, exclusivity and quality at decent prices with students always getting value or their money.
Where does one buy from?
When shopping or grocery and basic commodities, students will often have readily available local shops or Supermarkets which sell affordable goods with a mixture of both local and imported brands from as early as am to 2 am latest. For fruits and vegetables usually, street markets (conducted weekly) are the best outlets o such, with ever fresh and tempting produce that is or the most part organic.
As with any other developed world, Turkey has numerous shopping malls throughout the country which serve as all in one stop shops providing a wide variety of good n services to its consumers. Shopping malls may often have pharmacies, cafes, restaurants, supermarkets, bookshops, clothing boutiques, cinema halls etc.
To allow for ease of cash access or international students, Atm’s are always readily available and banks are a regular site around most turns in Turkey. Also, another predominant feature in turkey is the heavy use of plastic money as online payment, credit card and debit cards are largely accepted at most I nit all retail outlets.
For those worried about what to wear, where to find it and price range, clothes in Turkey are often quite cheap and affordable. International brands are also prevalent among the likes of Nike, Gucci, Adidas, and Tommy Hilfiger being common hits with students. Cheaper brands also offer quality albeit at a lesser price are also available to suit each and everyone’s pocket.
In spite students often preferring international brands, locally manufactured brands are also well produced and may be an option for students not real fussy about the labels. Most Turkish cities always offer several factory outlets where products are usually sold at a lesser price and a wide of discounts may be bargained for.
Ultimately shopping in turkey is a pleasant experience and RocAppply has compiled a basic run down to equip our dear international students on what to expect cost wise on a wide range of products and services:
- 1 pair of jeans (Levis 501 or similar) (€28)
- 1 summer dress in a High Street Store (Zara, H&M or similar retailers) (€20)
- 1 pair of sports shoes (Nike, Adidas, or equivalent brands) (€44)
- 1 pair of men’s leather business shoes (€42)
- 1 liter (1/4 gallon) of gas (€0.78)
- Monthly ticket public transport (€28)
- Taxi trip on a business day, basic tariff, 8 km. (5 miles) (€4.07)
- Basic dinner out for two in neighbourhood pub (€15)
- 2 tickets to the movies €5.36)
- 2 tickets to the theater (best available seats) (€21)
- Dinner for two at an Italian restaurant in the expat area including appetizers, main course, wine and dessert (€29)
- 1 cocktail drink in a downtown club (€5.07)
- Cappuccino in expat area of the city (€1.60)
- 1 beer in neighbourhood pub (500ml or 1pt.) (€2.18)
- IPad Wi-Fi 128GB (€283)
- 1 month of gym membership in the business district (€25)
- 1 package of Marlboro cigarettes (€1.85)
- Combo meal in fast food restaurant (Big Mac Meal or similar) (€2.73)
- 500 gr (1 lb.) of a boneless chicken breast (€1.33)
- 1 liter (1 qt.) of whole fat milk (€0.50)
- 12 eggs, large (€1.37)
- 1 kg (2 lb.) of tomatoes (€0.62)
- 500 gr (16 oz.) of local cheese (€2.31)
- 1 kg (2 lb.) of apples (€0.58)
- 1 kg (2 lb.) of potatoes (€0.37)
- 0.5 l (16 oz) domestic beer in the supermarket (€1.13)
- 1 bottle of red table wine, good quality (€8)
- 2 liters of Coca-Cola (€0.55)
- Bread for 2 people for 1 day (€0.27)
