As Im sure many of you have noticed that in the last 12 months the mighty british pound has been in steady decline against the Dollar and the Euro which has made visiting most european resorts prohibitly expensive. Not so in Turkey! Turkey has yet to adopt the euro and still has a very favourable exchange rate with the British Pound. Therefore a holiday to Marmaris is not only cheaper than other european destinations to visit, the shopping there is fantastic and many bargains are to be had and taking an empty suitcase is a must!

Marmaris is a wonderful example of all the above and despite the small rise on the value of the Turkish Lira, it is still one of the best places within a four hour flight distance that can offer some wonderful bargains. Gold and silver is sold in abundance as are semi precious jewels and diamonds and the great thing about buying jewellery in Marmaris is no one item will ever be the same; most of the jewellery shops have their own workshops and designers hence the outstanding selection of designs including original designs, if you wish you can even present your own design to them and they would be more than happy to accommodate you for a small fee, so instead of the samey sameness of UK branches of cheap jewellery shops just wait till you holiday in Marmaris and shop till you drop (this is an extra special note for the fellas and the gals out there considering engagement rings and wedding rings) . Now apart from the wonderful selection of jewellery you also have the very legendary carpet weavers that still weave rugs and carpets on hand looms the same way they have been weaving for several hundred years, with natural materials like hand dyed sheep's wool, silk and cotton and as all dyes are made with natural dyes sourced from the same materials that colour was always sourced from they will last practically for ever. And even though you may find similarities in some of the designs, no one rug or carpet is ever the same, so you are guaranteed quality and something special that no one else has.

Of course all local arts and crafts with a selection of paintings from local artists and pottery and other local finery are plentiful and of very good quality, so well worth looking at along with all locally sourced honey and of course the ubiquitous selection of t-shirt and 'designer' items, plus lets not forget the best bit of shopping in Marmaris is the VAT free shopping so you can collect a tax refund on departure (you need to keep receipts for this).

The best time to go nuts on a spending spree is between September and end of October when the weather in Marmaris is perfect, as all retailers want to sell off all their stock before the end of the Summer Season so you can truly gorge on the abundant shopping deals. Just remember this is 'barter-town' and frankly it is rude not to barter it is an ancient and time honoured custom, you need to be fearless, very cheeky and indifferent, and you will need all your cajoling and negotiating skills to charm the wits out of the shop keeper in front of you. Remember not all shop keepers will match your personality so if shop number 1 flatly refuses you, then you simply and casually saunter to shop number 2. It's a great game and really lots of fun, there is no room for embarrassment in this activity.

Lastly Marmaris holidays offer such a brilliant little hotchpotch of almost everything you may want or need from your week or your fortnight away, that just for your shopping pleasure, Rhodes has been conveniently placed just across the water from Marmaris a couple of hours away by boat so you can pop over there and shop even more!