Fun and fashion on ‘girl’s’ trip to Turkey
By Lisette Felix
The 4-hour flight from London’s Gatwick to Antalya in southwest Turkey, dragged on. My friend Janna slept blissfully whilst I tossed, and fidgeted restlessly in my economy seat; no movies or music to quieten the raging nerves that frequently appear when I fly. When mountains and hills appeared on the breathtakingly beautiful horizon as the captain announced our imminent landing, I thanked God, relieved, as always, that I would soon be back on the ground.
The rugged terrain with its houses perched precariously on the edge of the mountains at first reminded me of my parents’ tranquil birthplace – Dominica. But that is where the similarity ended.
In this seaside city, driving is a sport. Seemingly without a care for safety for neither themselves nor their passengers, taxi drivers careen at top speeds of around 90 mph or more without seat belts, talking and sometimes even playing slots games on their cell phones. Suffice to say we were relieved to arrive at our hotel in one piece.
My five semi-retired friends and I were on a week-long trip to Turkey where we hoped to relax, shop and get some sun. We had never travelled together before or to this location, but when a mutual friend, Yvonne, mentioned she had a connection to cheap deals – the only ‘catch’ being that you had to find a partner to share a room – we were in. Note that though this is a Muslim country, you don’t have to cover up, but you must adhere to the religious practice of women covering their hair and shoulders when entering a mosque.
Anyway, after settling in, we breezed through the ‘compulsory’ sales chat from our assigned tour guide, deciding on the ‘Jeep Safari’ that would give us an overall appreciation of what Turkey had to offer. It featured stops at a mosque, a waterfall, a traditional ancient stone cottage where families live as they did in the 19th century and a market selling local fare.
That selection turned out to include an unwelcome surprise – a water fight reminiscent of a Star Wars’ dual. It was cool, around 15 – 18c (approximately 59–63f), when safari participants started spraying us with the ‘ammunition and water cannons’ that we were offered and refused at the beginning of the trip; and we were not amused. In fact a couple of women in our party got into a very heated argument with enthusiastic water fight participants in two other Jeeps. We were already extremely wet and cold, when at the end of the tour, adding insult to injury, our ‘tormentors’ decided on a grand finale of water games directed squarely at us
Thankfully, our accommodation made up for this faux pas. The Alaiye Resort and Spa, offered spacious, comfortable rooms with air conditioning, TVs and a private balcony. The staff, who spoke good English, were attentive and polite and the location was ideal. Everything we could want from beaches, to shopping to tours was within a few minutes’ walking distance and if we wanted to go further, we could, for a cheap bus ride [40 Turkish lira around £1].
Our package cost just £475 and everything was included, although when not in the main dining areas, there were additional charges for cocktails. Massages and Turkish baths were also extra.
No girls’ trip would be perfect without some shopping. Luckily, there was plenty available with shops surrounding the perimeter of the hotel open until 11pm. We were in bliss.
We spent hours, sometimes a whole day in shops selling designer knock-offs – everything from high end shoes, to clothing and perfumes. I picked up a Dior handbag, while my friends bought Fendi purses and Van Cleef earrings and bracelets. We were able to negotiate for whatever we wanted, simply because it was ‘low season’ and there weren’t many tourists around. We also visited a local bazaar, enjoying local merchants selling their wares under individual tents.
Bargain hunters also come to Turkey for cheaper plastic surgery, including hair transplants, breast augmentation, dental veneers and a whole host of other body altering treatments. A full set of dental implants in the UK, for instance, can cost between £10-£20k, while in Turkey, they are about 70% cheaper.
Both Janna and Yvonne had their teeth cleaned and buffed and were very happy with the results. They each paid about £40 as opposed to the £72.00+ it costs to have the treatment privately in London.
Would I go back to Türkiye? (the country’s name in Turkish) Of course I would. The shopping is fabulous and the people are friendly. And after this experience, we hope to go to other places in the future – so long as they are cheap!
The details:
How much: During April/early May, if purchased at least two months in advance, [if you are willing to share] you can expect to pay £375, which includes flights, hotel transfers, hotel stay, all meals, gym facilities and sauna. Later bookings will increase the price. I paid £475 [for the same package] after booking about one month in advance. Cheaper deals are available in the low season [March to mid-May and November]. Between June and August and December and February the price doubles.
Getting there: EasyJet (and other tour operators) offer very competitive deals during the low season. Flights are from Gatwick and expect incredibly early departures. Right now Cheapflights.com are offering flights from many of the major UK cities including Cardiff, Birmingham and Manchester for as little as £276, per person for 14 nights for roundtrip travel in May 2025.
https://www.tui.co.uk/flight/deals/www.easyjet.com
We made our arrangements with Roman Travel.
Travel Agency: Roman Travel Limited, 453 Roman Road, Bow London, E3 5LX!
Telephone: 0208 981 6666
Website: https://romantravelltd.com
Agent: kash@romantravelltd.com
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Fun and fashion on ‘girl’s’ trip to Turkey
Travellers focus on the unknown
By Lisette Felix
“There are no foreign lands. It is the traveller only who is foreign.” [Robert Louis Stevenson in the book ‘The Silverado Squatters’].
Travelling often means discovery of unknown locales, but as a child, I noticed that the only place my parents ever went to was their birthplace in Dominica and, I suspect that for the longest time, all other Caribbean families did the same. We were encouraged to ‘go back home’ to discover what living there was really like.
For my generation who had no guilt, we went on holiday to experience a new place like everybody else. We were seeking, sun, sea and the occasional sexcapade; if I can say that.This was, of course, after you did your duty in visiting the home country.
My friends and I visited Brussels, France, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands , far enough that you knew you were somewhere else, but close and cheap enough that you didn’t have to fly.
Brussels was amazing to me – travelling on the hydrofoil with my mum to Ostend when I was 18 and being helped off this funny sort of boat onto a waiting bus with the tour guide babbling incoherently in French and hurriedly translating her words into broken English. I was mesmerized as I passed through markets of cascading baskets upon baskets of fruit, shiny vegetables and beautiful twisted shapes of seeded bread and rolls. I had never seen anything like it.
Today, our children – the second generation born and raised in the UK, take planes like we used to take buses and trains. If they can get there, they will go – Australia, Peru, China, Cambodia, Japan, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines and beyond. There is no limit.
My daughter, Nadine and her husband Gee are fearless travellers. In October they decided to take a trip to Romania to see her friend Leanna and some designer shopping in Turkey. Well, her university days had brought her into contact with other students of varying nationalities and they both now have friends in many parts of the world. One in particular had moved to Romania in Eastern Europe for a job in the capital Bucharest. Naturally my daughter was invited to come for a visit.
For one week they visited famous and less well known parts of the country. It’s a fascinating place with ancient castles and a very rich history. Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula, was set in and around Romania, and was loosely based on the exploits of Vlad the Impaler, who liked to impale his enemies, after torturing them, on the gates of his castle. Nadine visited Bran Castle, and was surprised at how nice it was.
“After driving for about three hours we came upon a small castle. I was pleasantly surprised, I had been very anxious on the drive to the castle, I had expected it to be a huge, dark foreboding place. Instead I found a quaint country house in a very picturesque location.”
The pair has many exciting plans for future destinations, including visiting Japan and Dubai. “We travel because we like meeting new people, seeing new things and experiencing different cultures,” they said.
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