Why stay home when it’s cheaper in Greece?

Mehmet İşler, the president of the Aegean Touristic Enterprises and Accommodation Union (ETİK), expressed his resentment to those saying “the Greek islands are cheaper.”
 
Apparently, in our case, they use the most expensive water, the most expensive waste tax and pay the most social security benefits for their employees.

Here is the most remarkable comment: “[We do this] because we are patriotic. None of this happens on the Greek islands!”

We are so frustrated by being ripped off within the borders of the country, it seems we are collaborating with these Greek traitors.

When we go to Cunda, near Ayvalık, obviously we pass across to Lesbos, when we go to Çeşme, we go across to Chios and when we go to Bodrum, we pass across to Kos or Leros because some of us who do not pick money from trees enjoy a wonderful holiday for moderate prices on the Greek islands instead of leaving our purses at the mercy of our country. 

Greece has more expensive islands like Santorini or Mykonos. But even they are cheaper than Alaçatı, the Aegean holiday resort hear İzmir. And the price-quality relation is uncontested. At any rate, even on those islands, we are not bound by expensive restaurants.Yet we get ripped off in Alaçatı – and that’s buying a sandwich from a kiosk rather than sitting down at a restaurant. On Lesbos or Thassos, four people can get a satisfactory meal with large portions for a quarter of the price paid in Çeşme.

Let’s do a small calculation. The national income per capita in Greece is three times that of Turkey. You can get delicious calamari in Thassos for 10 euros (30 liras) while the price of calamari in Çeşme varies between 45 and 70 liras. In other words, while Greeks’ income per capita is three times that of ours, they sell the same food for one third the price charged in Turkey.

But our managements are patriotic, and those who go to Greece are traitors.

Let’s not talk about the issue of alcohol consumption. Still, that’s where there is a big rip-off. A restaurant in Turkey sells a bottle of beer for 15-20 liras which you could buy from the market for 5 liras. On a Greek island, you can get a beer that is sold for 3 euros in the market for 3.5 euros in restaurants.

Having seabass in Alaçatı will end with you washing the dishes in the kitchen. But our guys buy it whereas the Greeks serve you the fish they caught from the sea.

Who is responsible for this? Irresponsible fishing? Who were the ones selling the fish that have not yet matured, thereby leaving our seas devoid of fish?

And then there is the issue of beaches. According to our law, the coasts belong to the people. But managements delimit the beach, station some bodyguards and force us to pay. On the Greek islands, you simply go to all beaches.In Cunda (Ayvalık), the holiday resort we went to asked for 100 liras (30 euro) per person, whereas we paid three euros at the holiday resort in Thassos.

So; we are happy on the Greek islands. And if the reference for patriotism is the taxes they paid, let them announce how much they paid so that we know how patriotic they are.