Deepo

On the bus to Antalya, we saw this shopping centre and Jason mentioned that he would like to pay a visit on another day. So, on the day that we were supposed to go home and we were told that we wouldn't be, we decided it would time to jump on the bus and head up to Deepo. I wasn't totally up for it, but was persuaded by the promise of a Starbucks. Unlike in Glasgow, Starbucks are not on every street corner in Turkey, so if you find one, grab it! Off we went to Deepo and were greeted with an.... x-ray machine! How unnerving. The mall itself was very nice. It was lovely to visit a place with price tags and professionalism. Freedom to wander round and look at things before buying.

When we were in Perge, our guide informed us when we were walking down one of the ancient market streets, that there would have been down the centre of the street a water feature that would run down the whole street. It had a couple of uses. Firstly, asthetic. It would have been pleasing to hear the trickling of the water, especially on a hot day. Secondly, there were circular holes intermittently placed at the botom of the feature so that every so often water could be leaked out onto the pavement and shoppers could have a damp, cool street to walk down. The reason I'm explaining this is because there was a modern feature just like this in Deepo. A water feature that ran down the middle and the whole length of the centre. Obviously, now just asthetic, but funny how the ideas that the Romans had stick with us today.

I got a lovely wee top in this mall and Jason got one too. Some of the shops were quite expensive. And I was blown away by some of the chic style. I have to admit, I didn't see too many stylish Turkish women, but they sure had some lovely choices. I took a picture of this blouse and skirt combination for our inspiration board at the studio.

Lastly, the pictures of the kids and dolls. Thursday was some sort of National Day for the Turks. Something to do with their liberation. It was unclear, we only pieced this much from watching Turkish tv, but children were definitely involved. They were the crux of the celebration. That's why the kids were in the mall, practising for their show. Aww. They all wear this cute uniform regardless of what school they are at. Blue with a white collar. The colour of their uniform is dependant on age, not school.

We topped our trip off with a Starbucks and then had a trip into Antalya for some final purchases. We knew after this trip out that we would probably be captive at the hotel waiting for our flight so we got everything we needed to, fake designer bags, apple tea, etc, and headed back to the hotel. Our adventures in Antalya were over. From now on, we would be kicking about the hotel waiting for a departure time.

Waterfall

So the waterfalls at Manavgat are not really very high. I wouldn't worry if I fell in. It was very pretty so we took advantage of the time and tried out our "portrait" buttons on our cameras and got some lovely close ups. We had about 15 minutes here and beside the waterfalls were more market shops. I remember in one of my Japan blogs that I commented that you were very never more than 100 yards from a vending machine. Well the same goes in Turkey. Not vending machines, but full on shops. Selling mostly overpriced scarves and bags. Back to the bus for the next leg.

Textile Factory (the all important hard sell)

Worse than Primark.

That's the note that I made in my journal after visiting this shop. It was the middle part of the Side & Mangavat tour. You got to stop at a "Textile Factory". I knew it was the hard sell part of the tour, but I was romantically thinking that it might have old lady Turks, complete with headscarves, working a loom, running off peshtemels and maybe even some nice cotton or linen garments for sale. "Oh, I like your blouse." "Thanks, I got it in a textile factory in Turkey. I watched the lady spin the cotton that made it." Yada yada yada.

It was a shop in the middle of nowhere. It was called Dickman. Yes, Dickman. It reminded me of What Every Woman Wants, just before the receivers were called in.

It was full of terrible, terrible clothes for men, women and children. Worse than Primark. And it wasn't even cheap. That's the thing!

Obviously, the tour guide is on commission. The shop is probably half way between Side and Manvagat and serves as a useful toilet stop for the tours and that's why it's on the tour. Textile Factory. The tour guide said that it contained clothes made from the finest materials in all of Turkey.

Manavgat River Cruise

By the rivers of Manvagat, where we sat down. Etc, etc. Lunch was included in our tour price and was basic but delicious. We boarded the very large vessel and were allowed to select a seat in the sun or the shade. Thankfully, when you holiday in April, nothing is ever full as the summer season is just starting, so we got some lovely seats at the front of the boat. Lunch was served as we were setting off and was buffet-style. Whole grilled fish, meatballs, pasta (bizarrely, without a sauce), lovely mixed salad, bread and orange slices. [Antalya provides Turkey with 90% of its oranges. They are abundant here and delicious. One of our favourite things about breakfast is that the orange juice is FRESHLY SQUEEZED.]

I don't think I've ever had a whole fish before but beggars can't be choosers and it was delicious. We set off down the river and out to a place where the sea and the river are separated by only a small section of sand. It was a nice boat journey but stopping at the sea was a bit superfluous considering that everyone on the boat had their own stretch of beach that they could lie out on every day of the week. How and ever, that's where we spent the next hour. Jason and I had a fine beer and read while topping up the tan.

Hassle

Turkey just doesn't get it.

But it's so incredibly simple. I want to buy a bag. You want to sell me a bag. I want to LEISURELY look at your selection. I find a bag. I wonder if I can afford to buy it so I look for a price tag. It's £10. Great, I'll buy it. I hand over some money and I leave the shop with my bag.

No.

For the most part in Turkey I don't get to set foot in your store because you think if I'm left to my own devices then I definitely will not buy a bag. You have to follow me around because my eyes will deceive me and I will not find a bag on my own. You don't price your bags because you want to price the bag on the ridiculous notion that I have all the money in the world and if you price your bag, then there is a chance that I would have paid more for it and that stops you sleeping at night. So you base the price on how much I want the item. I don't know, Turkey, (and Lord knows I hate to generalise this way but I must) where you learned this as a selling tactic. Seriously. And the extreme leftys will tell you it's because you're so poor and desperate. But I don't think it's as simple as that. I have seen a lot of big cars in Turkey and not so many old bangers. I can't imagine your rents are too high. There are a lot of tourists come through here. You would make many many sales. If only you would LISTEN.

This post has just became a rant. I didn't really mean it to be. It was just extra prevalent in Side. There was a lot of shops there, and I did want to buy a bag. And I just was given no peace to do so, so I didn't. And neither did any of the other 30-odd folk on our bus who probably would have bought something if they were allowed to browse.

Rant over.

Clash of the Titans

How cool is this? It totally looks like the Clash of the Titans movie set. The original, I mean. It's tucked in at the end of the lovely little village of Side. As you enter Side, there is an excavation site similar to Perge, but you have to pay for it. Also, without a tour guide, it's just indiscernible rubble. So we decided to wander down into Side instead and at the end of the village is this magnificent site. We enjoyed wandering here very much. Another super spot for outdoor theatre.

The Village of Side

The last of our trips saw us on a 9am-4pm trip to Side, Manavgat, the river in Mavgat (its name escapes me) and a visit to a "textile factory". The trip had highlights (see the Clash of the Titans post) and lowlights (see the Hassle and Dickman posts below).

Side was a nice little picturesque village that was about 1km square of cobbled streets and shops. For those of you that have been, it struck me as being like a little town in the South of France. It was pretty to walk round. It's obviously quite established and has had government help in creating this little village atmosphere. After our Clash of the Titans photoshoot, we stopped for a cappuccino at a harbour restaurant. Prices in Turkey are not cheap; they are comparable to back home. 5 euros for two coffees. What a blessing all-inclusive is, otherwise a trip to Turkey would cost you a fortune! If I was to return to Turkey (and I haven't made up my mind about this yet), I would only do so on an all-inclusive basis.