Tourist disappointed after holiday in Turkey: “The whole country is a scam”

A tourist describes several scam attempts and threats during her vacation in Turkey. In a sobering text, she warns other travelers not to visit the country.

On Reddit a woman describes her experiences from her vacation in Turkey and writes: “I am leaving Turkey with a broken heart. I feel like the whole country is a scam.” Her post was viewed as valuable tens of thousands of times and commented on by other users.

The woman reports several cases of fraud and threats during her three-day stay in Istanbul. Her excitement about the trip quickly gave way to great disillusionment and disappointment.

Turkey holidaymaker reports theft

In her long text, the holidaymaker, who has family ties to the country, describes how she and her partner were cheated and threatened several times. She describes how an airport taxi tried to charge the couple three times the price. The driver locked the doors and threatened to call the police. She also reported on excessive “tourist prices” in restaurants and the aggressive methods of street vendors.

In addition to the “shoe shine trick,” there was also a theft in which the perpetrator reached directly into the woman’s partner’s pocket and stole the equivalent of 20 euros, the entire contents of her wallet. “It’s my fault because I didn’t warn her, so I’m ashamed. She’s also the nicest person I know, so it feels even worse,” the vacationer said in her text.

Tourist appalled by lack of respect and threats

The tourist was particularly shocked by the lack of respect and threats she was subjected to. For example, she wanted to take a photo of a building where her grandfather had worked. The security guard shouted at her and demanded money after she tried to explain using Google Translate why she wanted to take a photo.

In another shop, the couple were eventually charged four times more than advertised for the purchase of Turkish delight. They ended up paying and are now trying to reverse the card payment. “We are two women in a foreign country, so it’s not like we’re constantly arguing with some random man we don’t know,” the woman said.

Hotel employees behave “double-tongued”

Leaving the hotel also led to new experiences of fraud. They demanded that half the price be paid in cash and that a good online review be left when checking out. The employees behaved in a “double-tongued” manner and ignored problems such as non-functioning WiFi.

The author of the Reddit post is disappointed by the passivity of the local police and what she sees as the widespread culture of fraud. She writes: “There is almost no way to seriously report something like this.” The woman is particularly disappointed because her grandmother always had fond memories of Turkey. However, the holidaymaker’s current experiences have only made her sad about the changed image of the country.

She will probably not return

She stresses that not everyone in Turkey is like that, but that the culture of deception needs to change. These events have had a lasting impact on her image of Turkey and she will probably not return.

Most of the comments agree with the woman. However, some users also show understanding, as economic problems such as high inflation have plagued Turkey for several years. Therefore, people who work in the tourism sector are trying particularly hard to make up for the losses.

Family experiences price shock on holiday in Turkey

The Heinz family from Cologne also experienced a shock on their holiday in Turkey. For years they have spent their summer holidays in a four-star hotel in the country. Normally they pay around 3,500 euros for two weeks all-inclusive and close to the beach. But this year the hotel suddenly wanted 9,600 euros. Angelika Heinz, who books the holiday every year, was shocked: “We were completely shocked.”

The hotel justified the price increase by saying that demand was high and the rooms were fully booked. However, a lawyer for the hotel stressed that prices for various room types had increased by 30 to 38 percent, not 175 percent. The family eventually decided to stay at another hotel in Albania.

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