Shops in Turkey are quite different from those you're accustomed to at home. We're here to guide you through the intricacies of the grocery, stationery, construction, bakery, and other types of Turkish stores, so you have a better idea of what's for sale and where, as well as any additional services available.
Grocery Stores.
Firstly, we'll start with groceries. If you need a substantial shop, head over to a chain supermarket.
The most budget-friendly chains in Turkey are A101, BIM, and Şok.
Items are a bit more expensive at Migros, which offers a variety of store formats, from small local venues (Migros Jet) to enormous supermarkets (Migros 5M), where you can find virtually anything, including pork.
The European chain Carrefoursa and Metro hypermarkets are also quite active in Turkey.
Turkey also has supermarkets that sell elite imported products, such as imported cheeses, drinks, and confectionery. The most renowned chain is Macrocenter.
In major cities, organic food stores are increasingly popular, selling the finest foods brought in from different regions of Turkey. In Antalya, for instance, this is a chain operating under the brand Çağlarsoy.
Bakeries.
Bread is a separate topic for every Turk.
Bakeries in Turkey are literally everywhere, as bread is well-respected and served at every meal.
Many bakeries open at 6 AM, while others stay open 24/7. Most stores have attached bakeries, ensuring that the bread is always fresh and often still warm.
In addition to white bread (beyaz ekmek), bakeries offer a broad assortment of baked goods: flatbreads, cookies, buns with various fillings — cheese, olives, meat — as well as pastries and cakes.
Here, you can also buy milk and other drinks, and there's vending machine coffee. In some bakeries, you can have a snack at a table and enjoy a tea. Recently, due to high demand for the bread types we all know, large chains mentioned earlier started offering bread types such as Borodino, Darnitsky, rye bread, gingerbreads, croutons, and even bagels to their customers.
However, Turks prefer buying true Turkish bagels, wood-fired in bakehouses, exclusively from Simitçi.
Cakes, pastries, and all sorts of sweets can be purchased at stores called Pastane (Pastane). However, shopping for the most famous Turkish sweet - Baklava (Pahlava) is best done in speciality shops.
Butchers.
If you're looking for a butcher, search for a Kasap sign.
At the butcher's, you can buy beef, lamb, poultry, and have your chosen cut prepared to your specifics. They can ground it to mince, remove membranes, cartilage, and sinews - this is free.
Pork isn't found in butcher shops; you can buy it in pork shops (pork shop), but such stores are few and mostly operate in tourist areas.
Also, meat is sold in Turkey and in big supermarkets. Interestingly, meat is not sold at all in Turkish markets - only fresh fish.
Shops near home.
For goods of first necessity, there are small shops near the house, which are called Bakkal (bakkal). Here, you can find necessities: groceries, toilet paper, salt, and so on.
If there is no such shop near your residence, look for a chain supermarket - A101, BIM, and Şok.
Large retail chains can afford to maintain lower prices for in-demand goods and products, hence they gradually displace small shops.
Veg shops.
There are veg shops in Turkey, called Manav ("manav") — these small stores located in high-traffic areas, often not far from public transport stops.
The choice of vegetables and fruits there is not too big, mainly it includes the most popular choices.
Once a week, a market with farm products operates in each city district, there you can find fruits, vegetables, fresh cheese, olives, nuts, yoghurt, and much more.
The market operates in one place for a day, after which it "moves" to another district. This is convenient for city residents — on other days, the location might be, for instance, used as a parking, and it’s easier to maintain cleanliness — after the market leaves everything is thoroughly cleaned up.
Nuts and dried fruits shop.
For nuts and dried fruits, go to Kuruyemiş (Kuru yemiş). The range here will impress even a gourmet.
There's a bit of everything here!
All kinds of nuts in raw, roasted, and pounded form (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, peanuts, hazelnuts, cashews, macadamia), dried figs, dried apricots — are just a small part of the treats on sale.
Here you can also buy souvenir sets of nut mixes, baklava, Turkish delight, sugar-coated chickpeas, herbal teas, coffee beans. By the way, they can grind the coffee for you right there and it's free of charge.
Foreign food stores.
Missed your home country's products? That's not a problem in Turkey (at least, in tourist areas).
In Antalya, for example, a chain of grocery markets "Valet" operates, which was established by a repatriate from Ukraine.
Products like sausages from their own brand are sold there, popular items in the post-Soviet space like frankfurters, wieners, plus things that can’t be found in the usual Turkish shops: buckwheat, millet, herring, etc.
Fish shop.
You can buy fish in Turkey both in specialized small fish shops, and in big supermarkets or the market.
Here they always sell very fresh fish, frozen fish is not held in high regard in Turkey.
Other kinds of shops.
Local natural herbs, teas, oils, honey, sweets, coffee or syrup are presented in popular Turkish small shops, which are called Aktar ( Aktar ).
Stationery shops, Kırtasiye(“kir-TA-see-yeh”), are also very popular in Turkey. You can find them in any district within walking distance in big cities.
Besides stationery items, you can purchase board games, toys, souvenirs, holiday items like candles, greeting cards, balloons in these shops. Almost all shops provide printing and copying services too.
Shops selling sewing and knitting supplies are known as Tuhafiye. They can be found in every district. In these shops, you will find a wide range of fabrics, threads and yarn, needles, knitting pins and hooks, as well as other accessories – buttons, rivets, zips and much more. Some of these shops also have on-site dressmaking facilities where you can have clothes repaired, trousers hemmed, etc.
For fabrics (kumaş), it is best to visit shops bearing the same name, whereas for curtains and drapes, go to a Perdeci.
Tailors who can assist you with all your clothing needs can be found in small shops called Terzi. For laundry and dry cleaning services, you can visit stores named Kuru Temizleme or Çamaşır Evi in Turkey.
Hardware stores.
Construction goods, home goods or repair items are available in Turkey both in small local shops and in large specialized retail chains like Bauhaus, Ikea, Koçtaş, Tekzen.
Furniture can also be found in these and many other furniture shops, which offer not only a complete set of furniture but also free delivery and assembly services.
Small electrician or glazier shops can be found in almost every district of a city.
Sports shops.
For sports goods, clothing and footwear, Turks go to shopping centers known as AVM - Alış Veriş Merkezi.
Almost all of these shopping centers have brand-specific departments for Adidas, PUMA, Nike, Reebok, New Balance and Vans.
Prices are medium-European, and the variety is quite impressive. Furthermore, Decathlon - a very popular chain among Turks for buying sports or leisure goods.
Moreover, we can't overlook the topic of Turkey's online shops where you can buy both goods and groceries.
The most popular among them for purchasing groceries or food and delivering to your address are Migros, Getir, Yemeksepeti, and Trendyol.
And the online shops Hepsiburada, Trendyol, Amazon, N11, and Gittigidiyor will help you to buy and deliver any product to your address quickly and safely.
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