Bodrum Shopping

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from swanky boutique along the marina to souvenir shops in carsi, you'll never run out of things for your bucks in bodrum.

i forgot the name of the shop, but there's this one silver accessories shop almost beside the mosque near the seaside along the main neyzen tevfik street where we bought a lot of silver stuff like bracelets, rings, necklaces. if u know how to haggle u usually end up getting it at half their initial price most of the time or even less. we bought some souvenir stuff and evil eyes at the carsi and also the big souvenir shop (open sides) along the marina near the castle, there are a lot there in fact.

there's also a cluster of swanky boutiques (mavi, polo, and other designer brands) near the marina yacht club.

What to pay: not much, prices are mostly the same as the prices in istanbul carsis

Milas is another lovely town, 50 kms away from Bodrum. You can go by minibuses or "dolmus in Turkish". Milas carpets are famous. And I strongly recommend you to buy them if you are keen on that wonderful objects. There are many alternatives for shopping but do not forget to negotiate...

What to buy: OTHER MARKETS ARE:
Bodrum market-on Fridays-fresh vegetables(borulce and ocra is recommended) and fruits
Gumbet market-on Sundays-fresh vegetables and fruits-small but a lovely alternative
Milas vegetable market-on Saturdays and Sundays-real opportunity to see authentic goods and environment.

I saw these beautiful plates when strolling the streets of Bodrum. I couldn't buy to take home because of my small Baggage allowance.
They come from the Turkish city of "Kutahya" and are painted a lovely Blue, often with a Tulip motif on them. Tulips originated in Turkey, even though we associate them with Holland.

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I am not a big shopper and this was a rare impulse buy. In the outside display case of a jewelry shop in Gumbet, I spotted some torquoise rings. The one I asked about only cost 10 euro, so I finally got brave enough to actually go INTO a shop. Ths owner of the shop, a silversmith and a very pleasant man, brought a ring from the back of the shop and it was just what I wanted. I also bought a torquoise necklace on a silver chain.

What to buy: Torquoise and silver were especially good value here and alterations could be carried out while you waited. The jewelry here is really beautiful, good quality and the nicest I'd seen.

What to pay: For the ring and pendant , I spent about EUR 55. This was extremely good value and about half of what I could expect to pay for these items at home.

The Tuesday Market in Bodrum is a great place for shopping. There are endless rows of stalls, selling mainly clothes, shoes, watches and foodstuffs. Business is brusque but an advantage of the crowded market place is that you get a chance to look at the merchandise without being hassled too much - that is, if the stall hoder is already busy with another customer. It's not picturesque, being held inside a huge, ugly enclosure, opposite the bus station but the sheer energy and chaos makes this a great experience. Most amusing, were the cries and antics of the stall-holders as they vied with each other to grab the customer's attention.

What to buy: This is the place to buy your genuine fake designer threads and your designer watches. My husband has lusted after a Breitling watch for as long as I can remember but as they cost in the region of EUR 5,000, Santa hasn't yet delivered it. To his absolute joy, he got a fake Breitling for 18 Euro and he hasn't stopped showing it off ever since. He already has a good watch so the Breitling is just for fun. It looks really impressive and without detailed examination, very hard to tell the difference from the real thing. So, one very happy shopper at Bodrum's market.

What to pay: For a fake designer watch, around 15-20 Euro.

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There are some little street around the castle full of souvenir shops. There you will find the classic magnets, post cards, glasses etc You can also buy carpets, local sweets (lokums are great!).

If you are there for more than a day buy fresh fish to cook on your own! You can ask for them in the restaurants too but you have to pay much more :)

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The centre of Bodrum is home of a range of food, clothes and accessory shops. There are shops selling trips and car hire and shops purely for tourist trinkets but you get a real feel of the bazaar like nature of Turkey when you enter the covered shopping area which extends from beside the castle to the other side of the harbour (by the statue of Ataturk on horseback at the large taxi rank on Neyzen Tevfik Caddessi).
This covered shopping area serves two main purposes:
* IT IS COOLER THAN ON THE ROADS! Bodrum is so hot from 10am until late really and it is hard work shopping in the sweltering temperatures, the covered shopping area gives a small respite from the blazing sun and the heat.
* There are some surprises in there too! There are banks, sandal and carpet shops, sports wear shops (there is actually a great shop selling genuine Turkish football shirts at very good value rather than the fake versions that can be bought anywhere.
When shopping lok out for the Nazar trinkets, the lemon lotion that refreshes and soothes you in the heat, bottles of raki to take home (very cheap present if you have any alcoholic friends!!) and the local specialities of lather and footwear. THis shopping area is covered with bouganvillea and leaves and all of a sudden Bodrum looks like a completely different place :-)

Fresh fruit and vegetables can be bought in the vegetable market every Thursday and Friday in Bodrum. There are bargains in clothing (such as cheap t-shirts and jeans but don't expect those great bargain levi's to be the authentic items!), fabrics (like the lace specialities from the peninsula) and household goods can be found in the dry good markets on Tuesdays. The markets are to be found quite close to the bus station.
Tour operators offer other market day tours around the peninsula to places like Bitez and Turgetreis.