There have been three points in life where my relationship with markets was distinctly defined. The first was in my tender early years in the environs of North West England where I was forged in a furnace of fog, rain, and grit. “Winter is coming “ we used to say as we gnawed on whippet bones. Here my memories are of trudging round the puddle moated stalls in never-ending battle with my younger brother, hoping for child-burdened Mam or Gran to buy us a bag of broken chocolate coated biscuits as a treat for being marginally less annoying than usual. Only the fish markets held any allure, like being at a huge dead aquarium inspiring dreams of what lurked in the murky brine off Southport or Prestatyn. Occasionally a dripping lard butty from Bolton market would make it all worth while but it was no picnic for all concerned.

The second stage was a fleeting period of visiting farmers markets set up in assorted town centre’s but mainly the agriculturally bereft parks and squares of London. Here I could marvel at lumpy misshapen useless veg (Celeriac!) and tiny clumps of leggy herbs costing 3 times the price of the local supermarket produce. Tanned ex-stockbroker smallholders, furtive allotment owners and canny suburban farmers driving in from the Home counties to flog their tatty wares to us city dwellers starved of a taste of rural life. Much tastier than the local hypermarket goods of course, but when the green and orange part of your meal cost more than the meat it never quite lives up to the satisfaction a good feed should induce. Maybe I’m being a tad harsh on farmers markets, but having once paid £5.50 for a fried mushroom sandwich that lasted 2 bites I feel vengeful and it’s me driving this blog with the pedal to the metal.

And the third? Being perpetually skint and having a thirst for the bright lights and murky gloom of pub,club, festival and anything else promising the sniff of a bar-persons apron ,my travelling days started comparatively late. I was in my early twenties before I finally held it together long enough to save up for an overseas ticket. Then I caught the bug and have travelled extensively ever since and that’s when I fell in love with markets. The noise, spectacle, urgent bustle of money changing hands, the colours and scents, dodgy dealings, artisans, chancers, the big players with uniformed-staff at full length stalls and the single old soul sat on a blanket selling off a handful of fish/fruit/clay pots/you name it. It’s that magical buzz of single-minded community you get at race courses, music festivals and nudist camps.

I suppose it’s this fascinating ambience I enjoy, where Yabancı (foreigners) also get to blend into the crowd. A timeless gathering involving trade, socialising and tradition. Shopping is so often a sterile, tedious experience of same brands, bored staff, an out of town shiny facade of monotony. Markets like Köyceğiz (and Ortaça & Muğla) involve interaction with all kinds of people, touching and tasting the goods, negotiating prices or at least searching out the best cost/quality combination. At the same time the constant chatter, laughter, cheeky calls across the market, and people wheeling sacks and crates up and down the narrow space between stalls. Occasional dramas break out and die down, the call to prayer rings out and over it all the smell of boiling buttery corn, roasting chickpeas, innumerable spices and the fish restaurants. This isn’t 21st century shopping- this is vibrant life as it’s meant to be.

So here we are, Köyceğiz Pazarı (bazaar or market). If you’re just reading this for the basics- it starts early Sunday evening for a few hours then all day Monday. You can get a boat from Dalyan to the lake-front main square or a bus from everywhere else to the Otogar (main bus station) on the edge of town then a 20 minute walk or quick dolmuş down the road. It’s still refreshingly untouched by the ravages of tourism. No aggressive vendors, silly prices or multiple stalls of generic fridge magnet souvenir tat. Köyceğiz is worth a visit at any time as I’ve written elsewhere in this blog but market day is something special and not to be missed.

It’s mainly a fruit and veg market with a sizeable clothing and fabrics section starting by the town square. There’s also seed & plant sellers, dried fruits & nuts, spices, farming equipment, superb cheeses, olives of all hues, kitchen ware, shoes, woven & carved implements and odd village items including large pats of gamey butter, village loaves and carrier bags of local mountain herbs. There aren’t animals on sale thankfully, though you do see the usual disreputable cats venturing in from the nearby fish restaurants and a couple of presumably vegetarian street dogs that race happily round the market , urchin-like, snatching up the odd dropped morsel.

The main focus of the market being fruit and vegetables it’s a good idea to wander around and get an idea of what you want. There’s a notable difference in quality and variety between vendors and there will also be a few surprises such as huge oyster mushrooms, Samphire, Purslane, bags of courgette flowers. Last week I saw sprouts for sale, a distressing sight I’ll never speak of again. Aegean Sprouts- who knew? The items sold are largely seasonal and price is dependant on early or late season, variety, field or polytunnel grown, imported or local. You’ll pick up the jist of things by browsing and observing. You’ll hear the refrain “buyurun” which is a polite invitation to come see the goods. It’s a courteous greeting and if you don’t speak Turkish then a polite smile and nod will suffice if you want to pass by. If you want to see what’s for sale then step forward and look, there’s no pressure to buy even if a free sample is offered. Within reason try anything offered if you wish though there should be a genuine interest, not a way of filling yourself up instead of buying a meal. I suspect some of the more negative interactions I hear of at resort town markets stems partly from tourists not appreciating the need for people to make a living rather than be a source of free samples and photographs.

As well as the fantastic array of fruit and vegetables available I can recommend picking up local cheese and olives from the stall holders operating along the centre of the hall. Here you can taste and buy the sort of cheeses you’d usually have to go to Fortnum & Mason for. Sheep, goat and cow cheese of various maturity and flavours. I usually buy 2 year old Kapicyo which is a nutty, hardish Pecorino type cheese. For the extreme gourmand you can buy a crumbly goats cheese here that’s made in the animals skin, a hairy, taxidermists oddity but the cheese is tasty if you’re not averse to the unmistakable taste of Heidi’s best mate. There’s all shades and sizes of olives to sample too. I’m reluctant to choose one seller over another but I tend to use the friendly Ulalı Kardeşler stall.

The non-food goods are fascinating to someone like me with a short attention spell and general hatred of shopping. The underwear on sale here is a marvel to behold. The biggest, most shapeless pants (whether male or female-no-one can confirm) are displayed shamelessly in a broad range of grey, white and greyish white. No bum deserves to be adorned in such passion killing garments, only the truly deviant could find a shred of eroticism in these joyless under garments. I’ve never seen them sold to anyone so am confident they’re a devious tax fiddle, probably decades old handed down from generation to generation since the Ottomans ruled.

The rest of the clothing stalls, much of which sells good quality, is a mix of brand copies (polite way of saying fakes), towels, curtains and bedding. There are no changing rooms obviously so be sure any purchases fit, clothing sizes in Turkey can be shall we say….deceptive. Sheep bells are sold here, for real sheep and goats, some of which live a few streets away from the market on remnants of village land. Amongst other tools, the ironmonger’s sell sickles and scythes that the careless could easily lose a couple of fingers to on the way home. Wooden bakers paddles, blades and rollers for the making of Turkish breads and pastries as well as huge carved spoons which are used for the stirring of yoghurt and the beating of raki sodden husbands.

Tourist visitors to Köyceğiz market generally come over on one of the boats found advertising trips along the Dalyan riverfront. This is a cheap and pleasant way to arrive with gorgeous expansive views of the lake on the way over. There are a number of boat operators offering the trip, a few with good reputations are listed below. Tomas Boat Dalyan , Dalyan Boat Trip, Villa Duran , Tailoringtours Altay

Taking a day boat does restrict your time in Köyceğiz somewhat so a little planning goes a long way. Köyceğiz has lots of excellent venues for food & drink but on market day I’d restrict it to a few options. For a fuller guide to eating here read this! https://onthemooch.blog/2023/05/15/eating-drinking-in-koycegiz-the-lake-front-guide/

There are a few restaurants in and around the market hall itself, selling fish and typical meat and meze dishes. These are licensed for alcohol too. For me the pick of them is Arabin Yeri . This atmospheric open fish restaurant gives you a grandstand view of the market bustle but most importantly some of the best cooked fish found in the region. The way it works here is too order your meze and salad from the chilled cabinet and then walk to the fish display (belonging to the next door fishmonger) and pick your freshly caught piscine choice. You can buy alcoholic drinks from the restaurant or bring your own. Raki and Hamsi (whitebait) is a particular tradition for locals here. When you pay your bill will be split into two with the fishmongers cut listed separately. A tip if buying the smaller fish such as Hamsi or sardalya – 250 – 350 g per person with a couple of mezes and salad seems about right for a good filling meal.

There is also the time to walk down to the riverfront and eat good food at Ayakligol or Avantgart, both excellent and with the ridiculously picturesque lake view at table side. These both serve alcohol, which isn’t available everywhere in the town. By Donerçı between these two, down the craft stall alley, is a great little place serving superb İçli köfte and incredibly tasty doner. Another regular personal choice however is to go to Sema ve Mehmet’ in yeri (Sema & Mehmets place- no alcohol but try the Pomegranite juice!) which is a gozleme restaurant next to the market on the little precinct area between both entrance roads. Sema is very friendly, and makes delicious fresh crisp gözleme plus several other dishes. Ask for the English menu for the full selection. Gözleme is a cheap and filling flatbread cooked on a hot stone with a choice of fillings, usually arriving with a small salad. The food comes reasonably quickly if the restaurant is not too busy and then there’s plenty of time to walk down to the lake for a drink by the water.

An alternative to the boat trip is drive in or get a dolmuş to Köyceğiz Otogar. Köyceğiz is on most bus routes and easily connected to via Ortaça . Arriving early or the previous night allows a relaxed mooch taking in the atmosphere of the town on it’s busiest day. Köyceğiz is a place where the casual visitor is allowed to blend in. I once had “lubbley jubbley ” said to me by a stall holder but he was an outsider covering for his cousin and I’m man enough to put it behind me. This isn’t Fuengirola for God’s sake! An overnight stay or early arrival enables a market trip combined with a wander to the furthest ends of the promenade (Kordon) to the Sweetgum forest or town beach. The lake really is breathtaking at times and there’s no shame in spending time staring gormlessly at the horizon from a promenade bench or in the shade of a cafe terrace. With a longer day you can also sample the many different places to eat which I’ll write about in later posts.

A particularly breathtaking season to explore the area is in Spring. Book a night or two at the Flora hotel, hire a bike from Nitro bisiklet and go mooching . The scent of Orange blossom is everywhere and there’s an energy in the town that flags a little come mid-summer.

It’s possible my humble scribbling hasn’t sold a day at the market to you which is abject failure on my behalf. Take it from one who would rather have his fingernails pulled out than go shopping that to lose yourself in the hubbub of the Pazarı is a delight to the senses. Not only that but one that’s disappearing the world over. The encroachment of huge supermarkets, tourist driven tat and the strain of keeping going a smallholding risks the dwindling and extinction of the traditional market. Get yourself in there, buy a big bag of firm tasty sun-ripened fruit and veg and marvel at how you’ve ever existed on the pale contraband they sell back home. Not the sprouts though, there’s no need to encourage the sprout sellers. They can do one.

A much better introduction to the market and the general Muğla area than my ravings are the YouTube films of Ellis Flipse -At home in Turkey. These are great for tourist and resident alike and I’d recommend subscribing to or browsing her site. I’ve linked to her 2019 film on Köyceğiz market.

As I’m pontificating on the subject of markets I should recommend the second hand & crafts market held here roughly on the last Sunday of the month. It wasn’t held on a couple of the hottest summer months so worth checking before setting off. Message me via this site if in doubt. Here you can pick up all sorts from homemade food, clothing, jewellery to musical instruments, inventive art items, books and the unexpected. If you have a home in Turkey it’s an ideal way to find oddities and ephemera and make contact with useful tradespeople and artists. For tourist’s it’s a good day out and there’s plenty to see & buy for those days back home when a whiff of the Mediterranean lifts the spirits. The craft market starts in the main square and spreads along the lake front.

For literature lovers who still appreciate an actual paper book rather than electronic there’s a gorgeous book cafe hidden off the main street cornered by Köyceğiz bal. . I’ve written of Lutra Lutra elsewhere and can’t recommend it enough. At last count there were around 500 English language books for sale and the secret garden out back is a sanctuary from the heat of the day. The friendly owner, Yilderim, serves tea and coffee for the lingering bibliophile.

For a traditional view of Turkey ensure you make the trip to Köyceğiz and sample this eclectic scenic towns wares, food and friendliness.