• melsaskca@lemmy.caEnglish
    4·
    5 小时前

    I used to order my cheese from Constantinople but I eventually picked it up in Istanbul.

  • cosmicrookie@lemmy.worldEnglish
    101·
    10 小时前

    Border shopping isn’t different anywhere else

    In Denmark we drive hours to Germany to buy cheap beer and tobacco

    In Greece they travel(ed) to Turkey for cheap leather clothing

    • RaivoKulli@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      4·
      6 小时前

      We Finns travel to Estonia (and to Latvia) for cheap booze. Russians used to come to Finland for cheese which always makes me lol

    • Cort@lemmy.worldEnglish
      121·
      13 小时前

      Did somebody forget to tell them? There’s no whey they can’t know.

  • cosmicpancake@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    271·
    13 小时前

    This is wild and depressing. Driving hours across an international border just to buy cheese and olive oil at sane prices is a perfect snapshot of how messed up Turkey’s economy still feels for ordinary people. Celebrate the bargain hunting all you want, but the real story is that millions are being forced into these little escape routes because domestic policy failed them for years.

    Also, good for Alexandroupolis I guess, but this is not a tourist boom anyone should be proud of. If your average household needs a day trip to stretch their grocery budget, the political class in Ankara has some explaining to do. Fix the inflation, or stop pretending a few cross-border shopping sprees are a solution.

    • iegod@lemmy.zipEnglish
      7·
      14 小时前

      For a third of the price, at scale, I think that’s an easy yes. It’s only 40km.

        • P1nkman@lemmy.worldEnglish
          21·
          10 小时前

          What? I stige 45 km one way to work every day and it takes me 43 minutes. Where’d you get 4 hours from??

          • spongebue@lemmy.worldEnglish
            2·
            2 小时前

            Literally the first two paragraphs (hell, the first two sentences) of the article

            Almost every month, Mr Cihan Citak gets into his car, passport in hand, and sets off from Istanbul to Alexandroupolis, a Greek seaside city 40km from the Turkish border.

            After a roughly four-hour drive, he walks the crowded aisles of the local supermarket, filling his cart with wine, cheese and other groceries that cost a fraction of what they do back home.

            He’s not starting from the border, he’s starting from Istanbul, which is not anywhere near the border.

            • iegod@lemmy.zipEnglish
              1·
              1 小时前

              Hmm, yeah that’s rough. I guess if he lads up and reduces number of trips it might be worth it. It’s definitely a run-the-numbers calc.

          • azuth@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
            2·
            7 小时前

            Alexandropolis is 45km from the border, Istanbul is another 200km on a straight line (thus more).

            There’s an international border crossing in between and probably potential for heavy traffic around Istanbul.

            Edit: stupid math mistake

          • icelimit@lemmy.mlEnglish
            2·
            8 小时前

            In the snow, uphill both ways, carry an old granny across the ravine on a tightrope.

            Also traffic jams more likely.