TRAVEL BLOG
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Marmaris Turkey - The Marmite Coast
One of the many day trips on offer in Rhodes is to Marmaris in Turkey. It is only a 90 minute ferry ride away so it makes for an easy day trip. I had no intention of going to Turkey on this trip, but the lure of another international border proved too hard to resist. If I had of known what the ferry ticket included I probably wouldn't have gone.
The ferry ticket is reasonably priced, but it doesn't include the €19 port tax at Rhodes or the €15 tax for non EU citizens arriving in Turkey. The Port of Marmaris is not well located like the Rhodes port so as a part of the ferry ticket you get bussed into town, but not before you are taken to some shops!
First port of call was a gold shop. Gold jewellery is much cheaper in Turkey than in Europe, and the good value of purchasing gold here is spruiked to the captive audience.
Marmaris Gold Shop
The next port of call was a Turkish Delight factory. Here we were shown how the tasty little treat is made, and the all you can eat samples went a long way in soothing my annoyance at being taken on a shopping tour without my permission.
Turkish Delight Factory
The next stop was to a carpet shop in the main part of town. This was to be where we were to meet to get the bus back to the ferry at the end of the day. A presentation on Turkish carpets was given to us before we were finally let loose on the streets of Marmaris.
Turkish Carpets
Marmaris has a beautiful harbour and a castle in its old town. I'm told it is the least "Turkish" place in Turkey, with its beaches packed with scantily clad bathers.
The beaches of Marmaris has made the city very popular for package tourism and many Northern Europeans buy holiday homes here. Lots of British, Dutch and Scandinavian flags flying here among the Turkish flags.
Marmaris Beach
One thing I noticed was the amount of establishments serving English Breakfasts. In fact I think there would be more places selling English Breakfasts here per square mile than in any square mile in the UK. For this reason I wandered around Marmaris thinking of it as The Marmite Coast.
The ferry ticket is reasonably priced, but it doesn't include the €19 port tax at Rhodes or the €15 tax for non EU citizens arriving in Turkey. The Port of Marmaris is not well located like the Rhodes port so as a part of the ferry ticket you get bussed into town, but not before you are taken to some shops!
First port of call was a gold shop. Gold jewellery is much cheaper in Turkey than in Europe, and the good value of purchasing gold here is spruiked to the captive audience.
Marmaris Gold Shop
The next port of call was a Turkish Delight factory. Here we were shown how the tasty little treat is made, and the all you can eat samples went a long way in soothing my annoyance at being taken on a shopping tour without my permission.
Turkish Delight Factory
The next stop was to a carpet shop in the main part of town. This was to be where we were to meet to get the bus back to the ferry at the end of the day. A presentation on Turkish carpets was given to us before we were finally let loose on the streets of Marmaris.
Turkish Carpets
Marmaris has a beautiful harbour and a castle in its old town. I'm told it is the least "Turkish" place in Turkey, with its beaches packed with scantily clad bathers.
The beaches of Marmaris has made the city very popular for package tourism and many Northern Europeans buy holiday homes here. Lots of British, Dutch and Scandinavian flags flying here among the Turkish flags.
Marmaris Beach
One thing I noticed was the amount of establishments serving English Breakfasts. In fact I think there would be more places selling English Breakfasts here per square mile than in any square mile in the UK. For this reason I wandered around Marmaris thinking of it as The Marmite Coast.
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
Subscribe in a Reader
or Subscribe by Email
