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I'm currently in Istanbul but will soon head west to the Romania/Bulgaria border (hitchhiking) and intend to buy a cheap tent and sleeping bag on the way. I don't need a famous brand. Just something that will keep out the weather and bugs and not break within a couple of months of use. Either a one-man or two-man tent.

I know from previous experience that camping is not very popular in some countries and that in some countries it can be very hard to find a shop selling camping supplies, or only expensive places like North Face are easy to find?

Would I have better luck in Turkey or Bulgaria?

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    Shopping recommendations are generally frowned upon in these sites. But this is a "Travel" site and the community is going to ask about specific, local destination issues. I'm not sure shopping concerns are one of them. Travel community may need to get much more involved in meta to hash out the scope of this site. This question feels out of place to me, but I'm just not sure where to draw that line, yet.
    – Robert Cartaino
    Jun 26, 2011 at 16:08
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    @Robert... I think it's entirely relevant to ask whether it's better to buy essential travel gear in country X or Y. Specific product / store recommendations may be somewhat out of bounds.
    – dbkk
    Jun 26, 2011 at 16:25
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    Yes I'm not asking to recommend a shop or a brand. I'm asking as an experienced traveller who found tents extremely difficult to find in Korea for instance due to its lack of camping culture. Bulgaria is much cheaper than Turkey generally, but that won't help me if they also don't have a camping culture.
    – hippietrail
    Jun 27, 2011 at 1:24
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    True. The question is pretty specific and the answers are not really likely to run run afoul of the concerns outlined in blog.stackoverflow.com/2010/11/qa-is-hard-lets-go-shopping
    – Robert Cartaino
    Jun 27, 2011 at 2:10

2 Answers 2

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I live in Turkey and travel to Bulgaria regularly. (~20 times now). My general idea would be that this might be easier to find in Bulgaria as long as you were in one of the major cities. Turkey doesn't seem to have this stuff just anywhere.

That being said, it's cheap-ish generic gear can be found at some major markets in Turkey, so I'd be inclined to hit up a few stores and pick something up before I hit the road.

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  • I was advised to look in the textile district behind the grand bazaar in Istanbul yesterday and found almost nothing. I'm hoping there will be one of those megamalls on the outskirts of one of the cities along the way that are common in countries further west.
    – hippietrail
    Jun 29, 2011 at 6:55
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    There is a camping/hunting store in a textile district here in Izmir but it's kind of an oddity. The megamalls -- Kipa / Courfour / Metro -- would be where I would check. You're more likely to find a bag than a tent, but sometimes you'll find both.
    – Caleb
    Jun 29, 2011 at 7:40
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    I ended up getting it very cheap in a Carrefour in Burgas. Thanks.
    – hippietrail
    Aug 27, 2011 at 15:50
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I do not know Bulgaria well but I can tell you where you should look at for this kind of outdoor stuff.

Karaköy is the best neighbourhood for buying outdoor and camping gear. You can find famous brands for good prices and average equipment for less. There are tens of outdoor shops there.

Do not forget to negotiate the prices since there is at least 30% discount margin if you are paying in cash.

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