The British High Street abroad!

Last week I headed to Turkey for a last minute week in the sun with my family. We were based in the south west of Turkey with the nearest towns being Oludeniz and Fethiye. In light of what I do at LDC I could not help myself but take a tour of the Turkish high streets and markets in our vicinity and was surprised in a number of ways.

Firstly, whilst I appreciate that where we were was very geared to the British tourist, I was surprised as to the way the local Turkish businesses have adjusted to attract the British Pound and I mean Pound as the traders would take anything from Turkish Lira, to British Pounds, Euros and even US Dollars. This just shows how important foreign currency is to these economies and the flexibility and lengths these businesses go to achieve sales.

Secondly, aside of the tour operator and a few gift shops the Turkish high street very much reflected the British High Street. Whether this has always been the case or is purely as a result of tourist demand I do not know having been my first visit. What was noticeable was the high level of fast food takeaway and sit down along with a very prominent number of tattoo parlours. In our local village I counted six! Barbers and bathing (Turkish baths and massage) was also a key feature of the high streets I walked.

Finally, to make us feel totally at home many of the shops had plays on the UK fascia. My photographs show this but examples include Azda, Saintsbury’s, Nexst, Nanndos, Selfridgez, and Marc Spencer. In addition you could buy every top UK High Street brand as a fake be it on the high street or in the markets – Superdry, Beats, Armani, Rayban and many more. You name it and you can buy it s a fake! Entrepreneurship is alive and well in south west Turkey!