Aegean Coast (Bodrum) lifestyle

Bodrum itself is a shopper's paradise. Locals come together from all over the area for the weekly indoor market, which is excellent for your all important holiday souvenirs. The narrow lanes of the city centre offer everything from fantastic jewellers to fake designer shops selling clothes and handbags. The recently built Karada Marina hosts a shopping walkway with some of the more upmarket shops and boutiques selling clothes and jewellery. The Oasis Centre, which is an easy reach from Bodrum, has numerous shops, boutiques and a food hall serving excellent Turkish cuisine at extremely good prices. There are also cinemas where most films are shown in English. Wherever you're shopping though, remember the golden rule: don't hold back when it comes to haggling!

Traditionally, this area enjoys a fish and vegetable based meze diet with fresh fruits. The local drink choice with a meal like this is 'raki', a strong aniseed drink served with ice and water. There are some excellent international restaurants offering a huge variety of food and international wines. The Turkish fast food is known as 'sulu yemek', which is traditional home-cooked food featuring a variety of casseroles and vegetable dishes served with rice, yoghurt or fresh white bread. There's always a great selection of vegetarian dishes to be found at a 'sulu yemek' restaurant.

The Bodrum area has a very cosmopolitan night-life, with something for everyone. The Halikarnas open- air disco in Bodrum offers a fantastic light and laser show which dominates the skyline and is extremely popular with international guest DJs throughout the season. Gumbet also enjoys some lively night-life and you'll generally find many English bars, karaoke bars and nightclubs in many towns across the region.