Spring Just Sprung In Eastern Turkey - And We're Loving It!

At the moment, we're on the final leg of a bit of a trek around Turkey. If you remember when we wrote about our Turkey travel plans (so far) for 2013, we said we would go north from Fethiye by bus up to Eskişehir, across to Ankara by high speed train and then we would take the overnight Van Gölü Express train from Ankara to Lake Van in the east of Turkey.

A few train issues later, we persevered and finally got a train to take us east to visit our friend who is currently teaching in the town of Patnos, just north of Lake Van (we've got blog posts coming up on all of this in the future). Patnos, like many other places in central Eastern Turkey has a harsh winter and it's still cold - but the weather is on the turn. We've only been here a few days and the scenery has already changed dramatically.

View through the windscreen - note the crack

This is our friend's first year of teaching in the east and she said that when she arrived for the start of term last September, all you could see was scorched brown hills, after the dry summer. Scorched brown hills became white as the snow started to fall over winter. And now we're here in springtime and the white - still topping the higher hills and mountains - is turning green. And it's getting noticeably greener by the day - really special to watch. It's the first time she's witnessed the greenery, too.

But what's more special is the red you can see in the photo. This is a sure sign spring has arrived to the eastern side of Turkey. We've just completed a mini road trip of the area - and on early Saturday evening we drove into the town of Iğdır to stay the night for a rest. Today, on the way back to Patnos, we again drove along the same road, out of Iğdır, and from half a mile or so away, we could see a carpet of red that wasn't there a couple of days before. 

Poppies flooding the plateaus of Eastern Turkey

We decided it might be poppies (I was really hoping it would be poppies) so we decided to make a quick stop when we reached the area. For years, we've looked at photos of the region around Lake Van and read about the masses of spring flowers, and to be honest, we hadn't seen too many until we were driving back today. This must be the time of year they appear and it's as though they've sprung to life over night. 

Springtime

It was poppies! Happy days. We were travelling in convoy with friends in another car so we all pulled over to get out and go over to take photos. It's impossible to describe the vast open areas, the immense space, the mountains, plateaus, rivers and streams around Eastern Turkey - we'll let our hundreds of photos do that for us over the coming weeks - and this mass of poppies was a real sight. 

Do you know what type of caterpillar this is?

And if you read this blog a lot, you'll be aware that our knowledge of flora and fauna is sadly lacking and, apart from finding out the names of a couple of the wildflowers around Kayaköy, doesn't stretch much past the wonder that is the poppy. So again, we're not sure what these yellow wildflowers are, but these too have burst onto the scene in abundance, lining the roadsides and occasionally partitioning the crowds of red.

We set about photographing these too, getting up close and personal - and then one of our group pointed out the caterpillars that were all over them. Unlike the processionary caterpillar, a quick search online hasn't given us any information about this little being, so we have no idea if it's dangerous. A quick couple of photos was enough for us before we left them to get on with life...and if they all become butterflies around the same time, imagine what a sight that would be.

As usual, if you know anything about either the yellow wildflowers or the caterpillars that so enjoy them, we'd love to hear from you. Thanks.

Getting Around Turkey - Fethiye To Eskişehir By Intercity Bus

As you'll know if you read this blog a lot, we love to get around Turkey by intercity bus and, where possible, by train. Many of our friends prefer to make use of Turkey's budget airlines, particularly as these are increasing their flight network all the time, flying to more and more of Turkey's smaller city airports...but flying just seems like such a hassle to us. It's one of those perpetual discussions we'll always have to have with Turkish friends but we're more than happy to stick with our story. 

From Fethiye otogar, it's possible to get to many of Turkey's larger towns and cities on a direct bus - but our recent trip to Eskişehir was slightly different because we needed to change. Lots more to come about Eskişehir in future posts but first, let's look at the journey there. 

Fethiye to Eskişehir - The Bus Journey
Unlike the bus to Izmir, we travel at night. If you remember, when we posted about our 2013 travelling Turkey plans, we guessed the route the bus might take, and aside from being told there is no direct bus, we weren't far wrong. 

The Istanbul bus takes you to Eskişehir

Whenever we can, we book with the Pamukkale bus company. This is personal preference, and again, if you're ever travelling in Turkey, ask any Turkish person which is the best company to use and you'll get recommendations for just about every company that operates from Fethiye otogar...complete with strong arguments for why one company is better than the other. All part of the fun. 

The bus we need for Eskişehir is our usual 9 pm bus to Istanbul. We know the route well, but this time tactics need to be a bit different. We need to try to get some sleep as soon as possible because our change of bus means waiting around for an hour in Turkey's famous porcelain-producing city of Kütahya.

We're more comfortable than usual. Pamukkale are always introducing new services to try to entice travellers away from the flight option. They were one of the first, if not the the first, companies to introduce personal TV screens and internet connections by way of their 'technobus,' and, for this journey, we're happy to be placed on the new 'Pamukyol' bus. This bus has two seats down one side and one on the other...therefore much wider seats and much more legroom. 

Afyon service area

The usual fitful sleep follows and we don't bother to get off the bus for a leg stretch in Afyon because we know we'll be in Kütahya an hour later at around 3:30 am. Typical then that we both fall sound asleep here and have to be woken up at Kütahya by the bus steward. We need to wait here now, groggy and sleepy, till 4:45 am for our connecting bus so we take it in turns to wander around - there are a few shops open, selling porcelain, as you might expect. One shop sells nothing only bleach and chocolate. An interesting mix that takes up a few minutes of time as we each study the window display to try to work out exactly what the thinking is behind this.

Groups of young lads are milling around trying, like we are, to kill time. They've all got short or shaved hair and each group looks to be an unlikely bunch of friends. We're half asleep so it takes a while for the penny to drop. This is a military area and youngsters doing their military service are waiting around for buses back home. 

Eskişehir is very quiet first thing in the morning

At 5am, our bus sweeps into the station. Its final destination is Bursa but, fortunately for us, the bus steward is again more aware than we are and gently wakes us up in Eskişehir at 6:30am. Early morning in an unfamiliar city - but Eskişehir looks immediately accessible; it doesn't sprawl into the distance and, at this time, the roads are quiet. 

We wander aimlessly out of the otogar and eye the tram waiting at the stop. Then we glance at the taxis. Then we consider walking (we know our hotel is only a mile or so away) and just at that point, I spot the Pamukkale service bus. We tell the driver we want to go to the centre. Where in the centre? How would we know? 

So it's at 6:45am on a Friday morning with a chill in the air that we find ourselves sitting on the marble doorstep of a shop, looking at our map on the tablet. We work out where we are, where we need to be...and then we head off to the nearby börekçi to go and join the local road cleaners for a breakfast of pide and çay. It leads to the first of a good few of Barry's Eskişehir heartburn experiences. 

Fethiye To Eskişehir By Bus - Useful Information:

• Most buses to Istanbul (your bus for the first leg of your trip to Eskişehir) leave Fethiye otogar around 9pm.
• Depending on which bus company you use, you will change bus at either Afyon or Kütahya.
• Don't worry about falling asleep and missing your stop. The bus stewards know where everyone is going and will wake you up when it's time for you to get off.
• We can't speak for other companies but Pamukkale offer a free shuttle service into the city centre once you are in Eskişehir. If you have a map, show the driver where you are staying and they'll drop you off in the nearest place and point you in the right direction.
• Before you go, use our blog to compare prices on different travel websites for hotels in Eskişehir.

Fethiye World Music Festival - Our Playlist

If you follow our blog regularly and like our Facebook page, you'll know that we loved the recent Fethiye Culture and Arts Festival.  We enjoyed a low key afternoon in Kayaköy, listening to the musicians-  and a major part of the festival was the consecutive nights of World Music which took place in Beşkazı Meydanı on Fethiye harbour. We went along to the final evening...

If this festival can take place every year, Fethiye is going to become firmly placed on Turkey's cultural events map because the whole event was just fantastic. During that final night, we were torn between just sitting back and enjoying the show or taking photos and videos. Photos and videos won the day - not surprisingly - and we now have a Facebook album of each act that performed on the night.

While I was taking photos, Barry was busy filming each act and, over the last few days, has put together a dedicated playlist on YouTube for anyone to watch. The first video is a couple of minutes long and is a fun montage of the night - and then each video after that is a full length track performed by each act. 

(If you are reading this in your email or in a reader, you might need to click through to the Fethiye World Music blogpost to view the video or you can watch it on YouTube.)

Thanks to events like the one in Fethiye and the following social media updates, performers like this can get more recognition. There are already many videos on YouTube from the Fethiye World Music Festival that are being shared around the various social media outlets and we'll be, and have been, happily passing them along. This playlist is our contribution to that and, if you couldn't be there on any of the nights, hopefully you can get a feel for the atmosphere of the final show. 

If you enjoy any or all of the videos, please give them a share so others can enjoy them, too. Thanks for watching - and thanks again to all the organisers of the Fethiye Kültür ve Sanat Günleri. We're already looking forward to next year!

Fethiye Events - Once More To Kayaköy For World Music And Exhibitions

Where arts and culture are concerned it's been a busy fortnight in the Fethiye area, and events are set to continue through this week too. A couple of weeks ago, it was the Kayaköy Cultural Connections Festival. And, on Saturday afternoon and into the evening, it was the turn of Kaya Village photography exhibitions, art and live music performances, organised by Kaya Art Camp and friends. After our Kayaköy photo post last week, we decided to head up there again to see what was going on.

We loved this fun piece of art

We're glad we did. Fethiye's Beşkaza Meydanı (the new town square) has been the scene for fantastic, nightly world music performances. One or two of those musicians took time out to head to the upper church and Poseidon in Kayaköy to do some more low key performances, fitting of the atmosphere that's special to Kayaköy.

Singing inside the upper church

Apologies to these ladies because we don't know where they were from but they sang acapella inside the upper church while people milled around outside, looking at the photo and art exhibitions.

Bulgarian folk singers

There was an easy, relaxed feel to the afternoon. No one was in any rush to perform. No one looked as though they were working to a timetable - we don't know if there was any fixed timetable. These children from Bulgaria performed two songs before a group performed some English folk songs.

Upper church performance

This lady had the most beautiful folk singing voice, and the acoustics in the church courtyard were just perfect for her sound. The fiddler on the left has been very much a feature of the Fethiye Culture and Art Festival and he was a feature of the day in Kayaköy, too.

Folk music in the upper church at Kayaköy

He treated us to a solo performance while the other musicians accompanied him.

Food, drink and dancing at Poseidon
And then we started to make our way back down the hill and to Poseidon. There, the guys from Cafe Park Teras were preparing complimentary glasses of punch (of the alcoholic and non-alcoholic varieties) and complimentary canapes were brought round for everyone. These had a distinctly Turkish twist to them of course: sigara böreği and mercimek köftesi served with cocktail sticks.

The smallest saz we have ever seen

The youngsters from Bulgaria entertained us all while we ate - and then this guy had everyone up dancing - you wouldn't believe the sound this little saz can make! 

Performing at Poseidon

And then it was back to our friend the fiddler again. This time he was singer, too, and accompanied by guitar. 

The day at Kayaköy continued into the evening, but we took the opportunity of an early lift home from a friend. Why? Because the Fethiye Culture and Arts Festival is running through to May 11th. Lots more opportunity to take part in this great event.

Below is a short video of the performance by the folk musicians singing in English. We hope you enjoy the lady's singing as much as we did. (If you are reading in email and the video doesn't appear, then view the full blogpost here.)

Events for the Fethiye Culture & Arts Festival (Fethiye Kültür ve Sanat Günleri) run through to May 11th. Most events are taking place at Beşkaza Meydanı and the Fethiye Culture Centre (the big blue building on the edge of the square).