A British Express journalist went on holiday in Turkey and ran away to Greece - And he explains why

As Alex Evans reports, looking for a cheap holiday package with a low-cost flight, he and his partner decided to try the Turkey solution this year. Only the result disappointed them: "Turkey is said to be experiencing a 'massive' drop in tourism with Turkish resorts left 'empty' as tourists leave Turkey and head to Greece in panic. And that's what I did on my first and last visit to the country," he notes.

The Express reporter says his experience echoes that of other British tourists who set out to find out if Turkey is full of "delights" only to find that it was full of bazaars, citing as an example his visit to Marmaris.

“In one memorable encounter, we settled into a restaurant on the seafront for what we thought was a nice spot for a quiet meal, and at exactly 9pm, ten minutes into my main, loud music started blaring and the waiters ripped their tops off. Apparently this lovely eatery, unbeknownst to us, moonlights with male table dancers. I’ve never wolfed down a spag bol so quickly. " writes the reporter.

Hymns of the British journalist about Rhodes

 He then notes the concern expressed by the representatives of the tourism sector in Turkey about the flows of Turkish tourists with express visas to Greek islands, which they were unable to visit in previous years. "That's exactly what we did. On the third day of our Turkish holiday we had booked a ferry to Rhodes which cost around £80 each - and the transformation was immediate.

As soon as we got off the boat, we saw why so many make the same decision. Rhodes is a beautiful island with a stunning historic old town. The castle walls hug the central medieval town, a few meters from the postcard-like marina. The old town itself is full of great restaurants, interesting shops and exciting culture.

My main memory of Turkey’s retail was aggressive salesmen trying to shove ‘free’ Turkish delight samples into my hands and then demanding money, and piles upon piles of fake designer clothes shops. And every other shop was called Asda or Tesco, despite having nothing to do with British supermarkets. In Rhodes, by contrast, we ate fresh gyros, delicious local yogurt and honey, and found some authentic handmade jewelry. We then walked around the castle walls, enjoying the Greek architecture."

He was also impressed by a group of Turkish tourists holding PS5 consoles in their hands, which they had bought in Rhodes due to the increased taxation of video games in their homeland. As he says, many people take ferries from Turkey to Greece to buy cheaper video game consoles.

And the British journalist concludes: "Rhodes was more expensive, but you really do get what you pay for – and next time we'll skip Turkey and go straight to Greece."