Five myths about travel in Turkey
By Darren Cronian on Sunday, September 21st, 2008

I am really glad that I made the decision to ignore the negative comments about Turkey, which ranged from the Turkish people hate English tourists to Turkey is dangerous due to too many bombings on tourists. Even in resort, I heard so many English people complaining about one thing or another.

Five myths about travel in Turkey

I have written my responses to five myths about Turkey.

The locals use camels as the main form of transport

Do not laugh, a friend asked me if I was comfortable riding around on camels because this was their main form of public transport. He was deadly serious. I am sure in some parts of Turkey, camels are widely used, but no, I did not find a camel parked up outside of the hotel entrance waiting for me.

Turkey is cheap as chips

Not true anymore, it is very expensive, and I think a lot of people, myself included, were surprised how expensive it was. The price of food and drink was the same as the UK, the beer a little bit cheaper. From speaking with tourists that visit Turkey every year, prices have shot up in the last 12 months.

Turkey is dirty and unhygienic

I have done a fair bit of travelling over the years and I would say that Turkey stands out as one of the cleanest places I have visited. For a start, did you know that the refuse bins are emptied three times a day, not once a week like in Britain? The toilets in general were okay, I came across a few dodgy ones.

Locals drag you in to the shops

Up until two years ago, owners would drag you into their shop or restaurant but the government acted on complaints and asked them not to do this anymore. You will still find that owners stand outside to entice you into the shop or restaurant. It is a little annoying but you quickly get used to it.

All the locals wear red fez hats

One work colleague said that all of the locals wear red fez hats. You know what I mean, right? The hat that the comedian, Tommy Cooper used to wear. I had this vision in my head that I would walk into the airport, they would be fez hats everywhere, and I was disappointed when I did not see one.

It is funny hearing what people see when you mention a destination.


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13 responses to “Five myths about travel in Turkey”

Miss Expatria | 21 September, 2008 at 12:50 pm

That’s hilarious, no wonder they’re having trouble getting into the EU!

When I was a little kid, my family went to Hawaii. I totally thought we were going to be living in a hut and I’d be bringing fresh flowers to my mom every morning. Then we got there and were in a 30-story condo with sweeping views of an impressive skyline (and Diamond Head, but still). I could not BELIEVE it. I kept asking when we were getting to Hawaii.

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SecondTimeMom | 21 September, 2008 at 6:07 pm

Miss Expatria – what makes you wonder about Darren Cronian’s article “5 MYTHS about travel in Turkey” as to why Turkey is having trouble getting into EU? Did you read the article? As you gave a very good example with the myths on Hawaii, there may be some wrong prejudgements on any country. . The article above mentions such misjudgments on Turkey.

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Murray Harrold | 21 September, 2008 at 10:05 pm

Hate to mention this, but these were “myths” that were dispelled some time ago. Especially the Fez hats. Anyway, welcome back – though I note that you did in fact go to the Turkish answer to Benidorm. Anywhere, but anywhere in Turkey is better than Marmaris and that place just around the bay – Iclemere. It is a shame you did not have a map as there is a very nice spot called Turunc Bay, just up over the hills from Marmaris. I would have suggested Olu Deniz myself – or Bodrum as many have suggested – Olu Deniz is getting a bit tourist trappy – especially that ruddy awful factory hotel at the end of the beach the name of which has left an indelible name on my mind.

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Antidote | 22 September, 2008 at 1:08 am

I have seen and deal with so many different kind of anti-Turkish propaganda but this one is the funniest. No wonder why Turks do NOT want to join EU. No wonder why they don’t want to deal with such a racial attitude from the west. This much Turkish bashing will never built healthy relationship between the nations. Europe should learn some human manners. Otherwise, I think it’s about the time for Turkey to leave UN & NATO and look for new and real friends who may have higher IQ.

Poor blood 100% proud Turk

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Darren Cronian | 22 September, 2008 at 1:53 am

@ SecondTimeMom

No need to be so hostile. Everyone has an opinion and I welcome comments about other such myths about destinations that people have come across on their travels.

@ Murray

I hate to mention this but these myths are very much still alive. All of them were mentioned to me when I told people I was thinking about visting Turkey. The post is slighly tongue in cheek, but the myths of cheap Turkey, and it being dirty are the opinions of some.

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Darren Cronian | 22 September, 2008 at 1:58 am

@ Antidote

I think the Turkish would be mad to join the EU! I don’t think this post is Turkish bashing, more what some people think about Turkey. It’s not until they actually visit / or someone who they know, that they realise their perception of the country is nothing like they imaged.

@ Murray

I forgot to ask when was the last time you went to Marmaris? (I agree with you on Icmelar) Yes, it had nightclubs, and stupid Brits, but in general I think its got alot more class than Benidorm. I actually loved Marmaris, the castle, the harbour area, and the beachfront.

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Joanne Sharples | 22 September, 2008 at 11:45 am

I loved Marmaris too, a lot of people told us it was tacky and like Benidorm, however having been to both places I failed to see the similarity. I went to Marmaris at the end of June this year, I thought the place was lovely, especially around the harbour, the people very friendly, the food gorgeous and the weather amazing. I had a fantastic time and would not hesitate to go back to Turkey. Darren I totally agree, when I told people this was my holiday destination I was told so much rubbish I nearly cancelled. I am so glad i didnt.

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Darren Cronian | 23 September, 2008 at 6:22 am

@ Joanne

I am glad someone agree’s with me. I don’t know when Murray went to Marmaris last, but I was surprised by his comments. I’m not the partying type, and I’ve been to Benidorm and it doesn’t compare.

I think we have to becareful about giving our false impressions of destinations, but then like I mentioned in yesterdays post everyone has different thoughts on what makes a good and bad holiday destination.

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Soultravelers3 | 23 September, 2008 at 10:21 pm

Funny! Hard to believe some people believe these myths. I thought Americans were bad on their myths about Turkey!

I have to disagree though with it not being cheap any more. We have been all over Europe, including the UK. We found Turkey MUCH cheaper than anywhere else. We also found it more modern than many places in Europe ( which surprised us) …things like big bathrooms that work well, great free wifi, great food etc. We also found it to have the best hospitality bar none!!

We did all independent travel which is very easy to do there and stayed far away from built up places like Marmaris or Bodrum. We enjoyed Rhodes too, but the price and quality of the room compared to Turkey…well no comparison. Turkey was far superior and far cheaper than what we found on Crete or Rhodes or Mykonos.

We traveled like locals mostly and used the buses and an overnight train ( cheap and first class, new!). The buses were the best we had ever been on, including movies and snacks!

Turkey is still cheap and a fantastic bargain!!

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Darren Cronian | 23 September, 2008 at 10:29 pm

@ Soultravelers3

I suppose compared to some other European destinations it’s cheaper. When I ever go on holiday I am always comparing prices back home in the UK, and I found Turkey expensive.

Prague on the other hand was dirty cheap. I spoke with other holidaymakers who travel alot to Turkey and all of them have said it has got a lot more expensive in the last 12 months.

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Edizkan Ata | 26 September, 2008 at 12:09 am

The observations are right on. I wish my country had Camels for transportation. The country is crowded with cars and people. Though, the locals use a lot of Camels but as in Camel Filters. That’s one good tobacco ;) Yes, the country, compared to past 5 years, has become a very expensive place. Though, that hardly applies to tourists, since the group discounts for the air fares, hotels, bnb and such are beyond cheap. I was very disappointed the last time I visit my country to learn how expensive textile products were (and I’m shopping at the local stores which the tourists don’t know about). The dragging business…I’m not sure, since the Turkish businessman became more aware that the Eurpeans and especially Americans are not wealthy at all. They know that they can’t sell a rug for $10,000 to an avarage Joe. I believe red faz hats, turbans and such are forbidden in Turkey through the constitution. Though what’s the problem with wearing a red fez, a turban, or a cowboy hat…? All serve a good purpose. Whatever. I’m not going into EU business at all, which is very irrelevant to the topic. Marmaris::: Yes, that’s one of my favorite spots as well, especially Icmeler. Beautiful nature, sand, sea, luxury hotels and not noisy like Bodrum or crowded like Istanbul. I heard Antalya is becoming more and more a popular destination than it used to be (been there last in 1994 and didn’t like it). My favorite destinations in Turkey are: 1- Istanbul (a must see) 2- Bursa (not so much for the tourists) 3- Bergama 4- Marmaris

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Darren Cronian | 30 September, 2008 at 7:41 am

@ Edizkan

Thanks for your comments. It’s great to read your thoughts on Turkey, especially around the European Union which from speaking with a few Turkish people on my travels they were dead against it, and I do not blame them.

Yes, the rugs seemed incredibly expensive, and no one was buying them. I would love to visit Istanbul, it’s now on my list of cities to visit. I am so glad that I did not listen to family and friends and visited Turkey, it’s a lovely country, with nice welcoming people.

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TT | 19 April, 2009 at 8:02 am

Funny article! It certainly addresses some common misconceptions.

You can still find the Fez style hats in the bazaars so it’s mostly only tourists wearing them for fun nowadays!

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