Andy Probert

RECEIVING and paying bills are a part of the everyday nuts and bolts of living the dream in our Turkish paradise.

However, there are quite a few novel ways of avoiding paying the bills: whether it’s a flit, flight or fight you’re only delaying the inevitable as the authorities in Turkey know your number and can track you all the way to the airport for payment.

Some second-home owners will opt to delay their bill paying until their next holiday having probably spent too much on living it up and eating out without a care in the world. Except when they roll up on their next break, the likes of Aydem and Aydin are waiting to deliver a few subtle reminders.

From what I know, if you don’t pay a bill for two months, the authorities can switch you off.

The feasible option is to go direct debit and avoid the pain of arriving on your next break in the dark and remaining in the dark when the electric doesn’t work! Equally, when all you want is a shower after a night’s travel and there isn’t a drip in sight. All frustrating, but easily preventable.

But coming to the way we pay, we don’t use direct debits. We are happy paying the only way we know– once a month we head off, normally on a Friday, to visit our favourite venue for a chow down and walking out somewhat lighter in pocket.

You’ve jumped to the conclusion, haven’t you? That we blitz the offices of TTNet, Aydem, Aydin and once a year now Didim to pay our bills. Well, not quite.

By the time we get our acts together we are hitting the lunch time trade, the traffic and the throngs leaving the local mosques as Friday is one of the most popular days.

No, the way we avoid paying our bills – albeit temporarily – is facing a locked door as the workers go to lunch. We always seem to time it just right.

So, in that case, amid the shopping sprees we inevitably do around Bim, A101 and Migros, we seek out a brief pitstop for a pide (4TL) and Ayran (1TL) at a favoured small family pide restaurant just the other side of Didim Library at Yenihisar Park.

The smiles are genuine, the pide, which the husband makes in front of you, is freshly cooked and right. The son happily serves and we pay the wife and off we go. A reflection of how Turkey used to be.

Back on the road, it’s like a well timed drill. Aydem first, TTNet next and Aydin’s Water department last. It seems others have the same routine and runs, we’ll bump into each other, and have a laugh. You don’t get that with direct debits.

So if you want to avoid the bills, check out the lunchtime closures among the opening times below, slow down your life and have a feast of Turkish food for an hour. It’ll make paying those pesky bills a little bit sweeter in the long run!

Summer opening times:

Aydem: Weekdays 8am-12 noon, 1pm-6pm

TTNet: Weekdays: 8.30am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-5.30pm

Aydin Municipality’s water department: Weekdays: 8am-12 noon, 1.30pm-5.30pm. Saturdays: 8am-1pm