Istanbul Price Overview | January 2025

Today there will be an informative story. There is a myth that Turkey is a cheap country to live in, for tourists and travel. But, unfortunately, this has not been the case for a long time. Today I will show you an overview of prices in four popular places in our residential area. These will be prices at the bazaar, fruits, vegetables, as well as prices at Starbucks, McDonald’s and a regular grocery store. Let’s see how cheap it really is here, and compare prices. Well, let’s go!

Prices at the bazaar (Turkey, January 2025)

So, we came to the bazaar. We will find out the prices now. By the way, we haven’t been here for a long time, so this will be a bit of a novelty for us. Let’s go! There is a very tasty flatbread in lavash with butter at the bazaar. There are men here who make tea in a large kettle. Look at the radish — it’s just a giant mutant! So, the prices:

Fruit

• Tangerines — 35 lire per kg
• Large tangerines from Izmir — 50 lire per kg
• Red apples — 40 lire per kg
• Green apples — 40 lire per kg
• Pears — 50 lire per kg
• Oranges — 100 lire per 3 kg
• Kiwi — 60 lire per kg
• Grenades — 50 lire per kg
• Quince — 50 lire per kg
• Grapes — 80 lire per kg
• Kishmish grapes — 50 lire per kg
• Persimmon — 50 lire per kg
• Bananas (local) — 55 lira per kg (foreign — more expensive)
• Kumquat — 60 lira per kg
• Dragonfruit is on sale, probably cheaper, as it is local
• Mango — 40 lire per piece
• Dates (fresh, on branches) — 150 lire per kg
• Ginger — 50 lire per 100 g
• Avocado (3 pieces) — 50 lira
• Avocado (small, pitted) — on sale
• Pineapple is on sale

Vegetables

• Cauliflower — 60 lire per kg
• Broccoli — 60 lire per kg
• Pumpkin (already sliced and peeled) — 35 lira per kg
• White cabbage — large heads, cut into quarters
• Purple cabbage — 70 lire per kg
• Tomatoes — 70 lira per kg
• Regular red tomatoes — 50 lire per kg
• Cucumbers (smooth) — 55 lira per kg
• Sweet pepper is on sale, prices are not specified
• Potatoes — 100 lira per 5 kg (there are large and early new potatoes)

Greens and root vegetables

• Spinach — 50 lire per kg
• Fennel — 70 lira per kg (presumably)
• Beetroot — 40 lira per kg
• Radish — 40 lire per kg
• Black radish — 40 lire per kg
• Leek — 50 lira per kg (give the white and green parts)
• Carrots — 40 lire per kg
• Arugula (local) — 20 lire per bunch
• Mint — 15 lire per bunch
• Dill — 15 lire per bunch
• Green onions — 20 lire per bunch
• Salad (head) — 40 lire
• Parsley — 10 lire for a large broom

Eggs and pastries

• Eggs — from 6.50 to 8 lire per piece
• Huge rustic bread and tortillas are on sale (price not specified)

Olives and cheeses

• Green olives — 270-280 lira per kg
• Black olives — 150-300 lira per kg
• Homemade cheese — 200 lire per kg
• Chechila—like cheese – 270 lire per kg
• Fresh, unpeeled olives are on sale, they look like grapes

Fish

• Palamut — 175 lira per kg
• Mackerel is on sale (price not specified)
• Levreck (1 piece) — 70 lire
• Mutton — 150 lire per kg
• Unidentified rainbow fish — 150 lire per kg
• Stavrit — 120 lire per kg
• Chupros (similar to dorado) — 150 lire per piece
• Black Sea salmon — 300 lire per kg

Mushrooms

• Champignons — 125 lire per kg
• Oyster mushrooms — 175 lire per kg

McDonald’s prices in Turkey (January 2025)

So, we’re moving to McDonald’s. This is my flower. Sasha bought it for me near the bazaar for 50 lire. I hope it will be as blue as its box. So, we’re really heading to McDonald’s. Thank God it was opened right next to our house, and we don’t have to go far. Well, let’s see the prices. Let’s choose the Russian language so that everything is clear. So, let’s start with the menu.

• Big Mac — 190 lire
• Hamburger — 135 lira
• Cheeseburger — 140 lire
• Double Big Mac — 210 lire
• Big Tastie Classic (double) — 210 lire
• Big Tastie with chicken — 180 lire
• Big Mac Combo — 250 lire
• Bucket with wings — 185 lire

For 185 lire, you can order a bucket with wings, strips, nuggets, onion rings and potatoes. And there’s also something like a cheeseburger—or rather, a chickenburger.

I like one promotion in the Mac Cafe: a drink and a cake for 95 lire. It’s more profitable than at Starbucks. Honestly, the toys in the Happy Mile are some kind of terrible hell. What is it anyway? The horror! I’ve already been tormented by these minions. I think it’s time to remove them, because they’ve been here too long. But the penguin, by the way, is not bad. He’s very cute. The interior is fresh and brand new, because it opened just two weeks ago, maybe a week and a half. Here you can sit outside, on the terrace, or inside the cafe itself.

Prices at Starbucks (Turkey, January 2025)

Well, let’s move to Starbucks. There will be a menu here, and you can click on pause to view the prices. We’ll try cappuccino soon. As always, they offer sandwiches here.

Seasonal drinks

• Toffee Nut Latte — 120 / 135 / 145 lear
• Toffee Nut Cream Cold Brew — 120 / 135 / 145 lear
• Toffee Nut Frappuccino — 120 / 135 / 145 lear
• Gingerbread Latte — 120 / 135 / 145 lear
• Gingerbread Frappuccino — 120 / 135 / 145 lear
• Gingerbread Cream Iced Chai Latte — 120 / 135 / 145 lear
• Fudge Brownie Hot Chocolate — 120 / 135 / 145 lear
• Pumpkin Spice Latte — 120 / 135 / 145 lear
• Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino — 120 / 135 / 145 lear
• Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew — 120 / 135 / 145 lear

Espresso and more

• Latte Cafe — 89 / 99 / 109 lear
• Tea latte — 105 / 119 / 132 lear
• Mocha with white chocolate — 120 / 135 / 145 lear
• Americano — 75 / 85 / 95 lear
• Filter coffee — 70 / 80 / 90 lear
• Latte macchiato — 89 / 99 / 109 lear
• Cappuccino — 89 / 99 / 109 lear
• Caramel macchiato — 115 / 130 / 135 lear
• Mocha — 115 / 130 / 140 lear
• Hot chocolate — 105 / 119 / 132 lear

Snacks and more

• Sandwich — 120 lira
• Sweets — from 95 to 130 lira
• Bun with bread and cheese — 100-120 lire
• Bun with bread and cheese — 120 lire
• Lemon cake — 75 lire
• Muffin — 85 lire
• Thermostat — 490 lira
• Turkey—themed mug – 400 liras
• Set of two glasses with lids — 480 lire

By the way, did you know that Starbucks is changing green aprons to red ones closer to the New Year to create a festive and cozy atmosphere? I really love this Starbucks — it’s beautiful and huge. There is a lot of space inside, there is a second floor.

FILE Grocery Store Prices (Turkey, January 2025)

So, well, we’ve already moved to the grocery store. The store is called “FILE”. It seems to me that this is an analog of the “Crossroads” in Russia. At least we have a very similar store in Rostov. Let’s look at the main products and their prices.

Butter and dairy products

• Butter 250 g (branded) — 82 lira
• Butter 250 g (other company) — 100 lire
• Butter 350 g — 170 lire
• Yogurt 140 g — 30 lire
• Kefir — 43 lira
• Lactose—free kefir – 60 lire
• Milk 1 liter — 35 lire
• Cottage cheese 400 g — 87 lire
• Processed cheese for burger — 125.90 lire

Meat and meat products

• Beef tenderloin 1 kg — 525 lire
• Beef for goulash 1 kg — 450 lire
• Steak 1 kg — 860 lire
• Chicken legs 1 kg — 105 lire
• Chicken fillet 1 kg — 200 lire
• Chicken liver 1 kg — 57 lire
• Chicken wings 1 kg — 140 lire
• Chicken thighs 1 kg — 110 liras

Sausages, ham and sausages

• Chicken sausages 260 g — 155 lire
• Turkey sausages 430 g — 145 lire
• Smoked turkey 60 g — 22 lira
• Beef ham 90 g — 170 lire

Eggs and semi-finished products

• Eggs 15 pcs — 81.50 lira
• Crab sticks 250 g — 205 lire

Cereals, legumes and pasta

• Ordinary rice 1 kg — 53 lira
• Rice of another brand 1 kg — 120 liras
• Rice 2,5 kg — 150 liras
• Bulgur 1 kg — 43 lira
• Quinoa 500 g — 200 lira
• Chickpeas — 52 lira
• Buckwheat — 90 lire
• Green lentils — 106 lire
• Red lentils — 40 lire
• Barilla pasta — 42 lira

Sweets and snacks

• Milka chocolate (at a discount) — 55 lire
• Bueno Kinder chocolate — 34.50 lire
• Lay’s fluted chips 96 g — 35 lira
• Lay’s regular chips 100 g — 35 lire

Drinks

• Coca-Cola 1 liter — 35 lire
• Coca-Cola Light 1 l — 35 lire
• Fanta 1 l — 35 lire

Bread

• White bread (670 g) — 35 lire
• Brown bread — 30 lire
• Baguette — 28 lire
• Bread with seeds — 42.50 lire
• Bread with bran — 35 lire

Butter and sugar

• Vegetable oil 1 liter — 73 lira
• Vegetable oil 5 l — 280 lire
• Sugar 1 kg — 26 lire

Household chemicals

• Fairy Apple dishwashing detergent 1.5 l — 117 lire
• Perwoll washing powder for color 3 l — 125 lire
• The average powder price for other fabrics is 170 liras.

What I want to say at the end. Unfortunately, Turkey is not spared by inflation. Prices are rising. When we arrived, a cup of coffee at Starbucks cost, in my opinion, 35 lira, but now it’s more than 100. With the same exchange rate against the ruble, prices can really change every day, because inflation in Turkey is very high and fast.

Unfortunately, I have never noticed that prices are falling. Well, maybe there were a couple of times, but I think it’s related to the adoption of some laws. Yes, it’s more an accident than a rule. Therefore, Turkey has not been a cheap country for a long time. Many people say that it is even more expensive here than in Europe. I can’t say for sure, since I haven’t been to Europe myself and I don’t know the current prices.

That’s it, bye everyone, thanks for watching! All the best!

✅ Comparison of Russian-speaking neighborhoods in Istanbul

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