A female tourist is looking at bags sold at Mahmutpasa neighborhood in Istanbul, Türkiye, on June 19, 2023. (Photo by Omer Kuscu/Xinhua)
ISTANBUL, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of small shops along the steep slopes of Istanbul's Mahmutpasa neighborhood have been the main destinations for the Turkish people's renowned tradition of "feast shopping."
In this one of the city's oldest neighborhoods, a superb collection of items are provided, ranging from evening gowns, wedding dresses and suits to school supplies, suitcases and bags.
The stores used to be crowded with shoppers before each religious feast, who come to buy new clothes for kids and gifts for friends and relatives. But this year, citizens' preparation for the upcoming Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha was largely squeezed in the face of inflation-induced price surges.
People walk around the shops at Mahmutpasa neighborhood in Istanbul, Türkiye, on June 19, 2023. (Photo by Omer Kuscu/Xinhua)
"We don't have the enthusiasm for the old festivals. Everything is overpriced, expensive," Ilyas Orgen, a shopkeeper, told Xinhua, noting that even though Eid al-Adha is only a week away, few shoppers visited the Mahmutpasa bazaar.
"We used to do the shopping, especially for the children. Their clothes had to be brand new for the feasts, from shoes to T-shirts to trousers," he recalled.
Orgen said he used to buy two items for each of his children but can only afford to buy one or none this year due to a limited budget.
A female tourist with her children is looking at bags sold at Mahmutpasa neighborhood in Istanbul, Türkiye, on June 19, 2023. (Photo by Omer Kuscu/Xinhua)
The vendor said he has to do some extra business to support his family of four. He usually acts as an intermediary in land and home sales and receives commissions from the trading.
Bunyamin Guzel, who has been running a tiny shop to sell women's outfits in Mahmutpasa for 40 years, also suffered bleak sales this year.
"I have never experienced such a recession in the feast shopping period. It is really very troubling in terms of our sales," he lamented, noting that "nearly all the shopkeepers here spend the day without making a pitch."
He has seen a 70 percent drop in sales compared to last year, while the daily turnover has dropped to 7,000 Turkish liras (284 U.S. dollars) from the previous year's 20,000 liras.
Osman Bilge, another shop owner, told Xinhua that his feast sales also dropped significantly this year as the price of every item in his shop has tripled since last year.
A dealer works at a livestock market in Ankara, Türkiye, June 19, 2023. (Mustafa Kaya/Handout via Xinhua)
"Everything is very expensive. People only do the shopping when they have to," Bilge said.
Türkiye's annual inflation fell to 39.59 percent in May after hitting a 24-year high of 85.51 percent in October last year, according to official data.
In a recent statement, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his government would focus on reducing inflation to single digits under the rule of his new economy team.
"Türkiye is heavily dependent on the dollar," Murat Tufan, an analyst with the Ekoturk broadcaster, told Xinhua, adding that "this is actually an important reason why the country has chronic inflation."
Türkiye's central bank on Thursday raised the interest rate from 8.5 percent to 15 percent, the first such hike in 27 months.
The bank also hinted that the monetary tightening would continue "in a timely and gradual manner until a significant improvement in the inflation outlook is achieved."
To help people cope with inflation, Türkiye also announced on Tuesday a rise of 34 percent in the monthly minimum wage to 11,402 liras, starting from July 1.
The Eid al-Adha will start on June 28. The Eid al-Adha holiday has been extended to nine days this year instead of the traditional four days in Türkiye. ■