site.btaTurkiye Celebrates Valentine's Day; Flower Prices Increase

In many places in Turkiye, people in love celebrate Valentine’s Day on Friday. Since the beginning of the week, festive decorations have been set up in many central places in Ankara. 

The streets of the Turkish capital are full of stalls selling traditional heart-shaped balloons (mainly red, but also pink, purple, blue, white), as well as teddy bears and all kinds of other stuffed toys. In the area of ​​​​the central Kizilay Square, flower sellers have also become more active, with their stalls full of all kinds of bouquets.

The most preferred flower for Valentine's Day in Turkiye remains the red rose.

However, flower prices in Turkiye have increased significantly for February 14.

Prices for a single rose have been much higher in the last few days, with customers paying from TRY 100 to TRY 250 (from BGN 5.20 to BGN 13) per rose, while the price of a single rose when purchased wholesale from greenhouses is TRY 20. Most roses are grown in the southern Turkish province of Isparta, where rose oil and rose water are also produced.

The prices of rose bouquets currently range between TRY 700 and TRY 6,000 (from BGN 36.35 to BGN 312).

A large number of customers prefer to order bouquets online because they are significantly cheaper compared to flowers sold at stalls and flower shops.

In the center of Ankara, a rose costs between TRY 100 and TRy 200, the BTA team in Ankara said.

Regarding the high prices of flowers, the merchant Haydar Toprakcoglu told BTA that there has indeed been a significant increase, which is why unfortunately there are not enough customers. He explained that  due to the current Turkish economy, flower merchants are also in a very difficult situation, having to throw away bouquets that wilt because they cannot sell them.

Yucler Meral, another flower seller in the Kizilayı Square area, said that in his opinion there has been no significant change in the prices of bouquets. Meral, who is optimistic, told BTA that he manages to earn relatively well from selling flowers, not only on holidays such as February 14.

A survey conducted between January 25 and February 2 in connection with Valentine's Day, indicated that every fifth Turk supports polygamy.

According to the data from the survey, conducted among a total of 5,276 people (an equal number of men and women) in 38 districts, 68% of the participants said they believe in love. Some 25% indicated that they do not believe in falling in love, and 7% said they had no answer, the Turkish Statistical Institute (Turkstat) reported.

The results of the survey indicate that most Turks, however, do not believe in love at first sight (according to 49% of those surveyed).

Some 40% of respondents said that communication problems are the main factor that "kills" love, 35% of respondents said that distrust destroys love, 7% pointed out that disrespect is a major factor in this, and 18% were of the opinion that economic reasons destroy love.