Not at all Hell... But nowhere near Heavan!!! (Dalaman Airport, Turkey (DLM))

Member Name: dewhirstj

Product:	Dalaman Airport, Turkey (DLM)
Date:	13/07/01 (951 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fairly clean, Well handled boarding

Disadvantages: Expensive, no, sorry, extremely expensive, Shop owners can turn nasty (airport only, the rest of Turkey is v.friendly)

Dalaman airport has got to be one of the most expensive places in the world or certainly the most expensive place that I have ever been to!

OK, they do have to import things, that is an excuse, but the place really is a TOTAL RIP-OFF!

I'm flying from Dalaman back home to Newcastle airport and (since I have a sweet tooth) I fancy a little bite to eat on the 'Pegasus' aircraft, along with the in-flight meal, which, I must add, was actually very good.

There are two small shops that sell everything from jewellery to sweets as I enter the airport (the cafeteria is closed at 5:00pm for some reason). I walk up to them and, as always in Turkey, a guy from one walks up to me, quite desperate for customers, I was soon to find out why. He asks me if I would like a can of Coke. "How much?", I ask. He replies; "one million five hundred". In other words 1,500,000 Turkish Lire. This is equivalent to 99p in our English currency.

"No", I say. Pointing to a Mars bar I ask again, "How much?".

"Two million."

What!? £1.32 for Mars bar, normal size, not King Size or a 'Mars Bar Big One'.

I keep pointing round to other chocolate bars. Twix, Yorkie. Two million, Two million.

Finally my finger points to a packet of skittles. "One million."

66p but they'll do.

Later on I decide, yes, I do want a Coke, so I try the other shop. I walk up with a 1,000,000 lire note, leaving the rest of my money with my money. I asked about the Coke. "One million five hundred".

"One million", I say looking despairingly at him. He asks for English coins. No. Finally he grabs a can and shoves it into my hand, snatching the note off me, looking around as if he was doing something illegal.

I couldn't be bothered with shops anymore, giving up when a fairly big packet of M&M's were offered at 'a sp
ecial price of three million, five hundred'. Er, no.

The flight after that was fine. There was no hassle getting on the plane and I finally managed to sit in peace with my skittles, coke and 'Seven Years In Tibet' (see my opinion) for the 4 and a half hour journey back.

Summary: