Guess we were lucky. Would we use a Solicitor next time? Yes.
No, you weren't lucky. Believe it or not, the vast majority of sales to foreigners in Turkey go through without any issue. When you consider the number of properties built and sold over the past 10/15yrs, the actual incidences of scams and bankrupt developers only make up a fairly small percentage.
Locally, in the Fethiye area, there have been a lot less of the problems seen in places like Altinkum and Akbuk where folks have lost their money or their property, or sometimes both. Many of these folks used (at the time) highly respected local solicitors, and thought they were protected - in reality, they were no more protected than if they'd used an emlak.
At the end of the day, do what you feel comfortable doing. There are a few decent solicitors in this area, a quick forum search will turn up theirs names and let you see some feedback from others that have used them.
JF