The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Saturday, October 17, 2020

Grocery prices in Turkey, and our first hike here

Friday morning, we left the apartment at about 10:30am. We were actually aiming for earlier than that, but it just never happened. We wanted to hike up the dirt path I found that leads into the hills behind our apartment building, and of course the morning is the coolest time to do it.

And it was definitely starting to warm up by the time we got going. They were calling for a high of 27C (81F).

First, we had to walk through some of the residential area to get to the path.

Someone had left a comment here the other day about the fact that dogs are not as common as cats in Muslim countries, and that is certainly true here. We have seen a few dogs, but very few... while cats are very common.

Cats outside this apartment building.

The cats don't bother with this rooster at all.

Heading up hill.

Tiny flowers.
It's amazing how a plant like this even survives after four and a half months with no rain!


Looking back at where we came from.

We made our way over the hill to a view of greenhouses in the other direction.

Most of the greenhouses apparently grow tomatoes. I read an article that described an abnormally cold period in January of 2016 when the temperature here went down to -2C (28F) and the growers installed wood stoves in the greenhouses to keep crops from freezing.

Ruth spotted another rock tomb.

I went in to have a closer look. We had read that these rock tombs (dating to around 300 BC) are all over these hills, and that does appear to be the case.

I couldn't get up high enough to see inside.

On the way back, a vine caught my leg and it had these sharp thorny things that left a scratch.

As we were walking along, we both wondered out loud what kind of wild animals might be around. A few steps further, we came across some quills of some kind. I did some research, and apparently the Indian Crested Porcupine lives here although it is an endangered species in this area.

Porcupine quills.

A few steps further, and we came across this...

This tortoise was getting some sun.

Nice view looking back at Fethiye.


Me, exploring another rock tomb.

More rock tombs.

We made our way back to the outskirts of town and then a detour to a produce store that we had walked by before but never stopped in. We had bought a few items of fruits and veggies already, so we knew that they were inexpensive... but we hadn't realized just how cheap.

They had a good supply and the produce was in really good condition so we stocked up on a few things...

Total cost for everything?
33.8 lira ($5.60 CAD, $4.25 USD)!!

So, we know that we won't go hungry in Turkey! 

Beef looks to be a little cheaper than in Canada, but not by much. We haven't bought any yet. And chicken is reasonable and so is fish depending on what you buy. And of course pork is hard to come by in a predominantly Muslim country. We splurged and bought some salmon that was actually pretty expensive at 60 lira ($10 CAD, $7.60 USD).

Alcohol is pricey, due to high taxes. Most Muslims do not drink alcohol in the first place, and 98% of the population in Turkey is Muslim. Although, we notice so far (at least in this area) that it's a much more moderate version of Muslim than when we were in Morocco. A 500ml bottle of local beer is 12 lira ($2.00 CAD, $1.50 USD) in the grocery store which is only slightly cheaper than in Canada. We found a cheap 750ml bottle of wine that we like that costs 27 lira ($4.50 CAD, $3.40 USD) but the vast majority of wine available is double that.

In the afternoon, I had a nap and then booked us a place to stay when we leave here. We will head about 100 kms (62 miles) northwest up the coast to a farm stay where we have our own fully equipped cottage and we will spend two weeks. We will have a car rental so it will be easy to do lots of day trips from that location.

Yet another beautiful sunset.

Ruth did a great job baking the salmon
It was melt in your mouth delicious!

Gotta get going.,. today we are headed out on a boat trip and we are being picked up soon!

Total distance walked in Turkey 30 kms (18.6 miles).

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And in Canada...



17 comments:

  1. We are all living vicariously through your posts. Turkey sounds amazing. Thanks so much.

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    1. We are so happy that you are enjoying our posts. We are thrilled so far with Turkey and we haven't really seen very much of it yet. It is definitely going to be an great adventure. :-)

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  2. We eagerly await each new post. We spent two weeks in Turkey a few years back but did not see the coastal area you are in. We are enjoying every photo and all the descriptions.

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    1. So happy that you are enjoying our pictures and our posts. We are surprised by how many of our readers have actually been to Turkey before, some only for a day and others, many many years ago. We are always happy to rekindle memories. We aren't really beach people but this kind of seaside landscape is the kind that we really love. Hopefully we can entice you back to Turkey to see the coastal areas, we don't think they will disappoint you.

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  3. Great pictures and interesting facts about the part of Turkey you are in.
    Catching up.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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    1. Thank you! Turkey is definitely an interesting country and one that is full of history and culture. :-)

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  4. Sounds so exciting so far. Enjoy!

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    1. It has been exciting! Because we did this trip so last minute we really didn't have a lot of time to do research and we weren't totally sure what to expect. So far Turkey has not disappointed us one bit. We already know that we are going to love our time here and we are looking forward to seeing more of Turkey over the coming three months.

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  5. Doesn't look like there are many trees in the actual city!

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    1. Actually there are quite a few but they aren't tall trees so maybe that is why it doesn't look like there are very many there.

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  6. Your posts are amazing. I agree with JennKenn above. My travel will have to be vicariously from now on. I would never have desired visiting Turkey, but "going along" with you is doable. Looking forward to more of your adventure.

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    1. Thank you so much and we are so happy that we can bring Turkey and our adventures to you virtually. We hope that you will enjoy the places that we will take you too. :-)

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  7. Loving your posts and photos! Thanks! I may never get to Turkey so your blogs are the next best thing! Stay safe!

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    1. We are happy to hear that you are enjoying our pictures and post. We will do our best to bring Turkey to you through our eyes. :-)

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  8. Wow, you two are eating good! I'm glad you 2 didn't see any ghosts around those tombs! Unless they were friendly ghosts! Keep the pictures coming, Rawn

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    1. We sure are!

      We told you that we would take lots of pictures for you and our other readers. :-)

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    2. We appreciate all the pictures!

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