The (soon to be) Fethiye Harbour Bridge

We've been wanting to do another update on the goings on along the new Fethiye harbour for a while but to be honest, it's at that funny stage that new buildings go through. That stage where the building seems to pop up from nowhere in a matter of days and then it looks the same for ages until it's finished.

That's what it's like with the harbour. We walk into Fethiye town centre most days along this route. The workmen are there...and they're all busy doing stuff...but everything still looks the same. We think the electricians are putting all the wiring in the buildings and there's possibly a couple more raised garden beds being built just over the bridge, if you can see in the photo.

Fethiye harbour just got safer

The bridge is about the most exciting thing that's happened actually. You might remember we were chuffed a while back because the workmen had started building a bridge and it meant we no longer had to balance along the wall and risk a tiddly (okay, proper drunk) tumble into the sea at daft o'clock on Sunday morning. Well, we're still balancing along the wall...but, joy of joys, not for much longer. Look at the contraption that is being put up. That's gonna be one sturdy bridge!

Sunday Fethiye weather report - not too great. Rain, thunder, wind. We made a dash to the shop before to get some fresh air (and some Efes Pilsen) during a gap in the rain and the gap didn't last long enough. We were about 50 metres from the house and the rain just pelted us from nowhere. We've now got jackets and shoes strategically placed so they can dry in front of the fire. Of course, the rain stopped as soon as we got in. The things you do for a beer!

Turkish Food - Pickles. It's official...They're good for you!

My homemade turşu - Turkish pickled vegetables

One of the good things about starting this blog is we find out loads of information we didn't previously know - some of it because you feel like you have to do a bit of research then you don't write complete rubbish all the time and some of it because other people pass on their info when you write about something they know about.

So, as you know, we've been writing about Turkish pickles recently and my own love of pickles and pickle juice. Well, I feel I have to write about this lovely food (and drink) again. This is because we received a link the other day from Sarah, the writer of the Foodbridge blog. She read our post about me being a closet pickle juice drinker and sent us this link. Can you believe this? There is a website for PICKLEPOPS!!!

Us closet pickle juice drinkers are apparently quite big in number and someone has designed ice pops in the flavour of pickles! And, even better, this website claims that pickle juice is good for you. That's me sorted then. This photograph is my current batch of Turkish pickles which, unfortunately, are not ready for another week and a half yet. I can assure you the vinegar will not be going to waste! I'd never had pickled carrots till we came to Turkey. They're lovely. This is the first time I've done my own though so we'll have to see how they turn out.

Well, the weather in Fethiye has been lovely today. It almost felt like spring. We walked along the harbour to have a couple of the old Efes Pilsen and sat outside without coats. The harbour was packed. Think everyone was out to play because it was so nice. I've just been informed cold weather is on its way though so glad we made the most of it today.

There's some development on the new harbour. The steel frame for the bridge has finally been put in place. I took a photo so will put that on the post tomorrow. Also, we reckon the new (possible) McDonald's in Fethiye is going to have a roof terrace. Looks like there's some sort of wall being built around the top of the building.

Trekking? In Turkey? Why?

A little bit of explanation today as to why we're so excited about the new trekking routes in Turkey and all the holidays that are being advertised around the routes (that I wrote about yesterday). When we first came out here to live (well, we didn't actually come out here to live but that's a story for another day) we already knew the area pretty well from previous holidays and we used to go trekking a lot in the Lake District in England so we had a rough idea of how long it would take us to trek from Fethiye to Ölüdeniz via Kayaköy.

View of Ölüdeniz Lagoon from the Kayaköy path

We told one of our Turkish friends what we were thinking of doing and there was just a look of shock and disbelief on his face - and then worry. 'You can't trek from Fethiye to Ölüdeniz. There aren't enough daylight hours in the day. And why do you want to trek from Fethiye to Ölüdeniz? You can get the dolmuş or I can take you in the car.' The conversation went something like that. Apart from a few people, at the time, trekking was just not really done as a pastime here. Why walk when you can go in the car?

And so, on that day when we decided to do the trek our friend made his wife arrange to meet us at checkpoints in the car - because he was convinced this walk was impossible. We'd worked out we could do it in 5 hours, including a stop for an Efes beer refreshment in Kayaköy. We didn't know other routes to Kayaköy at the time so we walked up the steep, winding forest road that goes up past where Kale restaurant is now. The disbelief continued there. Not one single car passed us without stopping and the driver shouting, 'Get in.' 'No thanks, it's okay. We're walking.' 'Why?' How do you reply to that without feeling like you're stating the obvious: 'Because we've come out for a walk.' Look of puzzlement and they drove off. Nice to be offered a lift though, even if it was six or seven times, with the same conversation each time, along one stretch of road.

So, our poor friend had to meet us in Kayaköy in the car and then she drove on to Ölüdeniz to meet us there as well. Actually, that bit was much appreciated because we had a drink there and then got a lift home.

The waymarked path from Kayaköy to Ölüdeniz, the Lycian Way and other routes in Fethiye and the rest of Turkey have now put trekking in Turkey firmly on the map (oops, pardon the unintentional pun there) so now, nobody looks at us like we're complete nutters when we set off with our little rucksack and walking boots.

Incidentally, we managed the Fethiye to Ölüdeniz trek in the estimated five hours, including the break in Kayaköy so there were enough daylight hours. We'll put a detailed description of the route on the next time we walk it. The photograph is the view of the lagoon at Ölüdeniz as you hike down the hill from Kayaköy.

Trekking in Turkey - Kate Clow and The Lycian Way

We love this photo. I took it when we walked along the (old) first part of the Lycian Way last March. People who've done the paragliding from the top of Babadağ will have seen higher views than this but as you're never gonna catch me with a parachute strapped to me (or a pilot for that matter), this is as high as I'm going to get until we venture to the top of the mountain itself. Terra firma all the way for me.

Looking towards Belcekiz Beach and Ölüdeniz lagoon from the Lycian Way

Anyway, we've been meaning to do a post on the Ovacık to Faralya stretch of the Lycian Way for a while but we're intending on walking it again soon so we'll do the post after that just in case anything's changed. The reason we're writing about it today is because we like a bit of trekking (as you may be working out by now) and Britain is very fortunate to have so many walking routes backed up with Ordnance Survey and other walking maps. These don't exist in Turkey (except within the military services) so we were stumped until a couple of Turkish friends showed us their local trekking routes a few years ago. These are routes we use on a regular basis now and fortunately, the views are great on all of them so we never get bored of them.

Then, along came the Lycian Way. Kate Clow lives in Antalya and is a major trekking bod. Ten years ago, she and volunteers waymarked the Lycian Way from Ovacık, all the way to Antalya. It was Turkey's first official long distance trekking route. It's altered and grown in popularity since and she has now done other routes in Turkey too: St Paul's Trail and walks in the Kaçkar mountains of Northeast Turkey. Other routes are now also being opened up, so it's exciting times for trekking in Turkey. We've heard that these routes are from Turkey to other countries; one of them going as far as Austria. We don't know if this is definite or rumour but we'll no doubt find out soon enough.

Closer to home, a new website is being developed so that people, including families with small children, who want to book accommodation or have a guided holiday along the Lycian Way can do. Obviously, you don't have to do the whole walk in one go (although many have!) and we've only ever done little stretches of it. It's just good to know there are waymarked tracks out there to explore.

The 9 Lives of Fethiye's Kont The Dog

This is the second time we've posted about Kont. The first time was when we said he was a clever dog - and he is a clever, lovely dog - because he could sense the earth tremors in Fethiye a while back.

Poor Kont The Dog has had a funny old life - and he is getting a little bit old now. Aww. He's been looked after by various people throughout his years (us included at one stage). He's been made better by the Fethiye Animal Rescue Centre when he was poorly, he was brought back to Fethiye and now he has finally settled on the Deep Blue Bar family.

The lovely Kont the Dog

In the past, he's come home with us when we've left the bar so we got a phone call last Monday from the bar owner asking if Kont was with us. No, he wasn't.

Well, that starts you wondering then, doesn't it?

He's not with us, not at the bar, not with the owners. It was playing on our minds so we had to go for a little scout around Fethiye, round all his haunts. Nowhere. Can (pronouned Jan - or Mehmet to some), the owner of Deep Blue Bar, had phoned the animal rescue place to see if he'd been picked up and taken there again. No.

Then, on Thursday, we were on the bus coming back from Fethiye and Barry saw him crossing the road so we knew he was okay. When we got to the bar on Saturday night we gave him a big cuddle and asked what had happened. 'Oh, haven't you heard?' they asked. Can's dad was checking Can's brother Cem's (yes, pronounced Jem's) apartment after the rain. Unbeknown to Can's dad, Kont followed him inside 'his Uncle Cem's apartment' - because he loves his uncle Cem. Everything was okay in the apartment so Can's dad locked up and left...with Kont still inside. The day after, Can was outside and heard a familiar bark so he did his whistle. Again he heard the bark. Can went up to Cem's apartment and then realised poor Kont was inside. Of course he was very happy to be rescued...but he hadn't done a poo or a wee inside his Uncle Cem's house. We told you he was clever.

What To Do In Fethiye In Winter...Head To The Mountains

I've mentioned a couple of times in the past that last winter was really cold and that meant extra snow in the mountains. It was fabulous. The snow's arrived this year - finally - but I'm guessing not as much as last year.

The road in the photograph is only a 30-minute drive from Fethiye centre, can you believe? (Actually, it's the Denizli road that the cyclists taking part in the 46th Presidential Tour of Turkey will come along before descending to Fethiye.) It was beautiful, blue skies in Fethiye that day and we jumped in our friend's car all wrapped up to go and play in the snow. We'd been up there a few years before so thought we knew what to expect. We certainly didn't expect the carnival, holiday atmosphere that was waiting for us when we got up there.

Slowly making our way towards Üzümlü in treacherous conditions

Sunday is playing out day for a lot of Turkish families and I think all of Fethiye must have had the same idea as us that day. People just drive up there, park at the side of the road wherever they can and get the barbecues and teapots out. It was freezing and snowing and there were just barbecues on the go everywhere...and then, if you ever get the chance to go up there at this time of year, cast your eyes to the hillsides. I was expecting to see sledging kids. Well, it's sledging EVERYBODY and when I say sledge, I mean anything slippery that will help you career down a steep hillside towards a snow-covered main road at breakneck speed. The trick seemed to be throw yourself off to the side before hitting any oncoming traffic! Not my idea of fun (everyone had a go except me - I'm a wuss).

Notice as well that I said 'everyone.' EVERYONE was expected to join in the fun. So, I was stood there in the snow with camera trying to get a few pics of my mates sliding down hills on carrier bags that other families (obviously more seasoned professionals at makeshift sledging) had offered to lend to us. And then you notice their sledges. There is grandma, all wrapped up in her winter woollies and headscarf, whooping with joy and shouting, 'Geliyorum,' (I'm coming) and hurtling down the hill in a plastic washing up bowl!! You couldn't make it up.

Anyway, this photo shows the scene on the way back to Fethiye. We'd all had so much fun that nobody (except me actually cos I'm the professional worrier) had noticed how much it had actually snowed. The roads were covered and the jandarma (a bit like the police) had to come out to guide all the Fethiye traffic slowly back down the mountain. There was a huge patch of black ice that only one car at a time could slide over...and then, as you wind down the mountain, you can see all of Fethiye Bay bathed in sunshine. Weird. A couple of red wines (actually, I think me and Barry had Efes beer - uncultured) at the wine house in Üzümlü in front of the roaring log fire and then we were back in Fethiye within ten minutes. Two different worlds.

January Weather in Fethiye - Better Than Last Year!

So far, the weather in Fethiye has been much better this year than it was last winter. Last year was very wet and cold - lots of snow on the mountains to play in though - but this year has been much more normal. On Friday, I posted the lovely sunny photos of when we went trekking round Fethiye peninsula. Whilst I was doing that, what a difference. The weather was as you can see in the photo below.

Stormy Fethiye

We don't mind the odd stormy day in Fethiye though. There's always something happening because we don't just get a bit of rain. It absolutely buckets down - as you can see in the photo - and there's high wind, thunder and lightening. Of course, this brings with it the inevitable temporary power cuts, which means you miss crucalo moments of TV, but it's all part of the fun.

The last couple of days have been absolutely glorious. Crispy clear and a cold breeze but it is winter so there should be a cold breeze. I told you about the snow finally falling on some of Fethiye's lower mountains the other day. They've been covered in cloud since but I managed to get a photo yesterday (seebelow) while we were waiting for the dolmuş. Neither of us have any idea what this mountain is called actually - must find out. Does anyone else know? We don't even know the name of the mountain range. Research needed I think.

Snow-capped winter mountains in Fethiye

Well, as it was Sunday yesterday and the weather is feeling a bit more wintery, we decided to get a few Efes beers in and a bottle of wine and get all settled to have a night in with a film. We decided to watch Avatar. Rubbish! We'll say no more on the matter.

We did treat ourselves to some corned beef though and I made lobbies for tea to finish off the red cabbage. Lancastrians of Britain will know all about lobbies. Fresh crusty bread from the bakery for dunking in as well. Lovely! (We do love our Turkish food but sometimes you've just got to have an old favourite.) Barry actually managed to make the little key work all the way round as well to get into the tin. I usually end up having a fight with the tin because the key spirals and snaps and then I have to jab knives in. It all went very smoothly.

Turkish Food - Pickled Vegetables (Turşu)

We're starting to think we must have been Turks in a past life. It's the pickles, you see! We love them! For me, when I was a kid, I used to love eating pickled onions or red cabbage straight from the jar followed by a few spoonfuls of the vinegar. I got no end of telling off from my mum for this - bad for me, I'll get stomach ache, bla bla. I used to eat a couple of the onions from the jar as soon as I got in from school before she got in from work. A secret pickle eater - which wasn't very secret once she realised the jar was empty of pickles and half the vinegar! So really, I don't know where this love of pickles has come from but love 'em I do! I can't say I ever ventured as far as the pickled onions and pickled red cabbage though. I never liked anything else. Well, that's all changed since moving here. It's all just pickles now and the pair of us are happy to eat the lot.

Pickles on Çalıs Market

So, we've just got back from the Sunday market in Çalış and we had gözleme (Turkish pancake) as usual. These huge plastic tubs of pickles are the norm at the gözleme and kebab stands and you get a little plate to put them on. It's every pickle-lover's dream. We were a tad disappointed today because we couldn't get on a table with other pickles. The good people of Turkey will pickle any sort of veg so you get tubs of pickled carrots, aubergines and parsley, cauliflower, cucumber, garlic, beetroot - usually with a couple of chillies thrown in for a bit of spice. Notice I'm saying 'tubs'. No point messing around with little jars here. They wouldn't last two minutes. I pickled some red cabbage a couple of weeks ago and we've nearly eaten it all. I can't say much of it has been eaten with our meals either. Every time I go in the fridge for something, I have to have a spoonful of it - not a forkful because you can't get enough vinegar on a fork.

Pickles are an essential for street food in Turkey

But...I no longer have to feel like a secret pickle eater and vinegar drinker. Our Turkish friends came back from Istanbul a week ago and she put some photos on Facebook of one of the street vendors selling drinks. I didn't think anything of it until she told me he was selling cups of vinegar that had been used to pickle beetroot. It's watered down a bit and some extra spices thrown in. Wow!!! See, I must have been a Turk in a past life. They drink pickle vinegar. 

We're going to Istanbul next month and we will be in that queue for a cup of the spicy stuff - oh, yes we will! Mmm Mmm Mmmmmmm...I wonder if there are any more people out there who get excited about a trip to Istanbul - the 2010 European Capital of Culture and home to some of the most famous buildings in the world - just so they can drink a cup of pickle juice, quite openly, in public, and not look like a complete weirdo...

Hotels in Fethiye & The Karagözler

A major facelift for this Fethiye hotel

When we did the trek around Fethiye peninsula on Thursday I have to say that for once, we were lost for words. Let me tell you why. Most of the hotels in Fethiye centre are along the Karagözler, over looking the bay and the marina. When we used to come here on holiday, we always stayed in this area and along with Paspatur (the old town), this is our favourite part of Fethiye.

Fethiye’s Karagözler is divided into two; 1^st Karagözler (Birinci Karagözler) and 2^nd Karagözler (İkinici Karagözler) and it runs the full stretch of the bay. You can see it in the photos from yesterday’s post – a beautiful stretch. As we walked along towards the start of the walk, changes were already afoot for the start of the 2010 summer season. Amazing!

In Turkey, nobody thinks anything of tishing a building and doing it up. It’s just not a big thing. The builders just go in and get on with it. So what normally happens is…well, nothing over winter and then about a week before the first charter flights are due it’s all hands on deck. And like I said, very often it’s not just a quick scrub up. Full scale building work will go on and it will be a race against time.

Even the restaurant area is being demolished

Now, to be fair, the race against time is usually won but I can never help thinking, ‘Could you not have done all this months ago so you could take your time and do it exactly how you want it to be?’ Well we're not sure what’s kicked people into action along the Karagözler but there is major work going on in FOUR, yes 4, of the hotels in Fethiye.

The Irem Hotel on the first Karagözler is now called Hotel Status. It’s all very colourful but I didn’t get a photo because the workmen were busy and I didn’t want to disturb them. On the second Karagözler, the Yacht Plaza (Yeni Yacht) Hotel (top right photo) is having major work done and we suspect is going to be very posh, maybe aiming for the boutique hotel feel. It looks like all the rooms in the Ata Park Hotel are having new electrics and a lick of paint.

But the one that has shocked us the most – and if you know this Fethiye hotel, you’ll be shocked too – the Mediteran Hotel is also having a major refurb, including all the grounds. The rooms are completely stripped out, some of the roof is off and their already lovely outside area is having a major facelift.

So, the Karagözler has always been the posh address in town. It looks like the hotels in Fethiye are going to make it even more posh. A lot of people say Fethiye needs some really nice hotels to attract more tourism. Well, it looks like the hotels in Fethiye are indeed going to be really nice. Work has started in January. Wow. Can’t wait to see the end result. As usual, we’ll keep you posted.

Compare prices of Fethiye hotels on Turkey's For Life

Trekking in Fethiye - A Hike Around Fethiye's Peninsula

We love this walk (it’s actually more of a hike) because it's circular and there are constant views of the sea. It's 8 miles (just under 13 km) round with a start and finish at the Marina Vista Hotel in Fethiye. Although it's a road walk, the road isn't heavily used and you'll only be passed by a vehicle every 20 minutes or so. And besides, the tarmac makes it very easy underfoot so you can concentrate on enjoying - and taking photographs of - the beautiful scenery of Turkey's Turquoise Coast and the Gulf of Fethiye.

Marina Vista - your start and finish point

So, outside the Marina Vista Hotel, you'll see a road sign pointing left to Hillside and right to Letoonia. As it's a circular road, it doesn't matter which way you go but we always take the road to the right and walk round in an anti-clockwise direction. We do this because it means we can drop down to the Marina Vista at the end - fantastic views over Fethiye Marina and the boat yard and a lovely cold bottle of Efes Pilsen waiting for you at the seaside bar.

Views of Fethiye along the trek

The road rises and falls, initially giving fantastic views back over the Karagözler and the rest of Fethiye. After 15 minutes or so, you will pass the first of Fethiye’s small bays, Aksazlar Koyu. The road climbs up past this bay and on towards Letoonia. Once you’ve passed the Letoonia Holiday Village, your views open out across the whole of the gulf. We sometimes sit at the side of the road here, legs dangling over the side, and have a snack and drink break. Şövalye Island and Red Island with its distinctive lighthouse are either side of you and the mountain road towards Dalaman is opposite.

View of the gulf of Fethiye

You can’t get lost on this walk because you’re just following the road and taking in the scenery. We don’t recommend it in the height of summer because there’s very little shade but if you do this walk in the early or late summer months, there are four different bays were you can stop for a swim if you feel the urge. Each bay has a little snack bar as well. (NB: The snack bars are only open in the summer season).

Take the road to the left towards Fethiye

Just as your legs are getting really tired and you feel like you can’t go any further, you will come to this crossroads. Recognise it? It’s the same crossroads you come to on the walk from Fethiye to Kayaköy. Of course, if you’re feeling spritely, you can hike straight on up the track to Kayaköy but this crossroads is always a welcome sight for me. We’re taking the road to the left and dropping straight down to the Park Marina Vista for that ice cold bottle of Efes beer we told you about.

Trekking Fethiye Peninsula: Useful Information

• You can get to the Marina Vista Hotel by jumping on the Taşyaka - Karagözler dolmuş (it's frontage is orange) in Fethiye or you can walk along the Karagözler and marinas as part of your walk. 
• Comfortable shoes will do the trick for this trek. Hiking boots are not necessary.
• Take water with you because it’s a good ‘leg stretch’ and as we said, there's little shade.
• Should you decide to take a swim stop and then feel the need to laze around on the beach rather than continuing the walk, the Taşyaka Karagözler dolmuş does drop-offs at the bays in summer. Check the boards by the bay entrance for times.

Have you tried this walk? We'd love to know how you got on with it. Let us know in the comments below. 

Seasonal Food in Turkey - Purple Carrots

Purple carrots for sale on Çalış Market

Look at these. We'd decided not to write about food for a while but then I remembered last night that I took a photo of some purple carrots at Çalış market last week. I was playing around on the internet last night and for once, remembered about the purple carrots and googled them before I wrote about them.

We'd heard that carrots were originally purple and that it was the patriotic Dutch who made them orange for the House of Orange. We decided to check up on this just to confirm and make sure it's not urban myth. Anyway, if you type 'purple carrots' into Google a website comes up called carrotmuseum.co.uk. It's amazing what people are interested in isn't it? This group of people have spent a lot of time trying to trace the history of the carrot! I actually sat and read it just because I couldn't believe this website even existed.

It turns out there is some truth in the House of Orange story but most of it seems to be to do with the make up of soil in different parts of the world and, certainly Eastern Turkey, if not West, will have grown purple carrots in days gone by. Incidentally, purple carrots are supposed to be better for you than the orange ones. Think we may have to purchase some soon. Wonder if they taste the same as the more familiar orange carrot...

Our Town - Fethiye, Turkey

Since we started writing this blog, we constantly get ideas jumping in our head about what can be included in it. The list is constantly growing and a lot of it will take an age to be included because there's always something else that comes to mind when the 'write a new post' page is opened.

While we were making the list, we realised that we'd written about a couple of places you can visit from Fethiye but not actually done a post about Fethiye, the town that grabbed us and made us stick around. So here it is, our town. This view of Fethiye is one of our favourites but this part of town (the Karagözler) is north facing so every time I try to get a photo, the sun is always spoiling the shot. I've not advanced past 'guided edit' on Photoshop yet but it seems to have done the trick with this photo. The original one was terrible! 

The beautiful sight that is Fethiye Harbour, Southwest Turkey

We first came to Fethiye on holiday in 1998. Most people we speak to who come to Turkey for the first time can't believe how green it is and I was one of those people in 1998. I'd seen the Turkish Delight adverts on tv in the UK and I was expecting deserts - the media's got a lot to answer for. I can't even say I was particularly looking forward to spending a fortnight here and now look what's happened.

Fethiye is a stunning natural harbour (we think it's stunning anyway), surrounded by pine tree-covered mountains. Buildings nestle into the hillsides, gülets (traditional Turkish boats), luxury yachts and fishing boats bob about on the water. 
Fethiye's old town, Paspatur, is a little warren of shops, bars (Deep Blue Bar is here) and restaurants that becomes our second home in summer because it's so cool and shaded. 
If we fancy a bit of breeze, we can head to Çalış Beach by bus or by Çalış water taxi and if we fancy a day at one of the most photographed beaches in the world (Ölüdeniz) we can jump on the bus to there too. 
We can walk out of our front door and go running or trekking without having to drive to somewhere that's worth trekking in. Whilst there are many smaller walks you can do, Fethiye is home to the start of one of the world's top 10 long distance walks (as voted for by Times Travel), The Lycian Way. The views on this beginning stretch of the walk are amazing. Oh - another blog post we need to add to the list.

Do we need to give you any more reasons why we're here? The weather in Fethiye is summery in summer and mild in winter...we could go on...

Seasonal Food in Turkey - Rodos Kabağı AND Fethiye Kabağı

Well, here we are again, doing the research after the event. We wrote about Rodos Kabağı yesterday and then we decided to Google it last night. Apparently, it's also known as a spiky pumpkin and a Fethiye Kabağı as well. I wonder if they're only grown in Fethiye in Turkey? Nice to have a food with the Fethiye name on it anyway. We'll use that name from now on.

Fried Fethiye Kabağı

So, the photo above is my attempt at dealing with the Fethiye Kabağı. When I cut into it last night it wasn't what I expected. There's a very soft core with only one seed and the texture and colour was like an unripe honeydew melon. It felt more like a fruit than a vegetable because it was slighty sticky too. And the taste; a bit like deep fried courgettes but with a hint of sweetness. The side dish of natural yoghurt was the perfect accompaniment.

If you're in Fethiye any time soon and you fancy trying this Turkish dish, here's what we did:

• Get your yoghurt sorted first then the flavours will work more.Crush a SMALL garlic clove and add it to about 3 tablespoons of natural yoghurt. If you want, you can also mix in a pinch of hot paprika / chilli flakes. Add a pinch of salt, give it a stir and stick it in the fridge.
• Peel and core your Fethiye Kabağı and cut into chip shapes.
• Sprinkle some flour (just enough to coat your chips) and some hot paprika (optional) onto a large plate and toss the chips in it.
• Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and fry your Fethiye Kabağı in batches. They only take 3 or 4 minutes.
• Put them on some kitchen roll when you take them from the pan to soak up any excess oil.
• Put what's left of your Fethiye Kabağı on a plate (I was munching on the cooked ones while waiting for the next batch to cook), get your yoghurt and dip the chips into it.
• Mmm Mmm Mmmmmmm

That was just a starter too. We ate well last night. There's a blog we follow called Food Bridge and a Turkish meatballs in smoky eggplant sauce recipe appeared on there recently so I made that for a main meal. It was, as we say in the north of England, beltin! (Sublime!)

Seasonal Food in Turkey - Rodos Kabağı

Oops, sorry to anyone who looked at the blog yesterday only to find we hadn't written anything. The weather in Fethiye yesterday was gorgeous - at least 20 degrees - so we went for a walk down Çalış Beach and ended up at Güven's. They're extending into next door and it's going to be massive. The beach itself was as busy as it is in summer. Sundays is playing out day for a lot of Turkish families so the path along the beach was crowded with promenading families and couples. Lots of people were fishing from the beach as well (apparently, there was a competition on) and some of the men had no top on. It really was that warm. If you're now feeling jealous about the lovely Fethiye weather, you'll be pleased to know it's cloudy, damp and misty today and quite cool.

Rodos Kabağı

Anyway, the Rodos Kabağı. This is another object that we've seen on the market quite a lot and have never known what it is. Last Sunday, we went to the market with a Turkish friend and she told us what they were. It all made sense once she said 'kabağı'. 'Kabak' is the Turkish word for any type of squash so this vegetable you can see in the photo above is basically a lumpy courgette / zucchini (literal translation - Rhodes Squash). We went to her house for dinner on Saturday night before going on to Deep Blue Bar and we were supposed to be having Rodos Kabağı. We never got round to it because there was so much other amazing food that she'd made. We were all completely stuffed so she told us how to prepare them and sent us home with them in a bag.

Apparently, we have to peel it, cut it in half down the middle and take the middle out and then slice it into chips / fries (I'm trying to be all international now as I've realised recently that there may be a few people reading this blog who wonder what I'm going on about sometimes). The chips are then rolled in flour and fried in olive oil. They're served hot with natural yoghurt on the side. As it's us, we're going to put some garlic and chilli flakes in our yoghurt. I'm going to fry up Rodos Kabağı tonight so I'll let you know how we went on. If they taste anything like deep-fried courgettes, they're gonna be good!

Turkey in the News
Some other little Turkey updates for you. İstanbul officially became European Capital of Culture at 20:10 on Saturday night. There were 7 concerts on all over the city with Tarkan (king of Turkish pop) playing Taksim Square. Also putting Turkey on the world map is Nuri Bilge Ceylan. We love the films, Iklimler and Uzak. Uzak has just been voted as one of the world's top 30 films of the last 10 years by a respected film magazine, The Times and The Telegraph (British newspapers). My fantastic knowledge again. I think I read that in Hürriyet Newspaper Online and I can't remember the name of the magazine now. One of these days I'll get organised and start doing some proper research before I give you my pearls of wisdom...one day.

Cycling in Fethiye and Turkey

Last April, Fethiye was chosen as the finish line for one of the stages of the 46th Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey. All very exciting and we went along to watch. As you can see from the photo, it was a lovely day and a really good turn out - oh, the competitors don't half go fast. I thought I'd get loads of photos but I missed half of the cyclists because they just careered by before I'd even pressed the shutter button. Anyway, we've found out today that Fethiye has been chosen again as the finish point for the 5th stage of the 47th Presidential Tour of Turkey so if you're in the Fethiye region on 15th April, come along.

Tour of Turkey arrives in Fethiye

You can have a look at the official website for the Tour of Turkey here. Last year, the cyclists came to Fethiye from Bodrum but this year, you can see on the route map that they're coming from Denizli. We don't know if you've ever been on that mountain road through Çameli but it's a proper crumper. We got the bus back to Fethiye from Denizli once and I remember thinking, 'Surely we can't climb any higher,' and we did keep climbing higher and higher. I don't envy the poor cyclists. I don't know much about cycle road races but I presume they'll be doing a 'king of the mountain' thing at this point. It was on Eurosport last year. If they show it this year, you'll be seeing Turkey in its full glory.

Well, staying on the subject of cycling, we wrote a post a while back about Oli who is cycling from London to Brisbane with a cricket bat and it's all for charity. It fits in with our blog because we love cricket and he had just reached Turkey on his bike. As I write, he's cycling from Cappadocia to Adana before crossing into Syria. If you want to donate to any of his charities or read what he's up to, we've got a link to his blog on the left hand side of your screen.

Also on charities. We can't ignore the horrendous earthquake in Haiti this week. I'm sure you've seen all sorts of appeals from different charities and maybe made a donation already. We've chosen to add this link to the Unicef blog. It's being updated all the time by staff working there and it gives you a better sense of how important your money is to them. Although their buildings were damaged, they were lucky not to lose any staff so they were able to get into action straight away. The blog tells you better than I can about what they are doing day to day so give it a read. There are loads of links on there as well if you want to make a donation.

Seasonal Food in Turkey - Ceviz (Walnuts)

Sacks of walnuts on Çalış Market

Strictly speaking, ceviz (walnuts) are not seasonal food in Turkey because you can buy them throughout the year but there are more of them about at this time of year. Maybe they're in season in Turkey at the moment and then they come from abroad at other times of the year? We're not sure. I took this photo at Çalış market last Sunday and, as you can see, there are sackfuls on this stall.

When we first came out to Turkey to stay around for a while we went to a restaurant with a Turkish friend and he ordered all the meze dishes, which included a dry-looking crumbly cheese. I've never been a connoisseur of cheeses but thought I'd give it a go. I've since found out that this cheese is called tulum. Anyway, it's very strong on its own. The nearest description I can think of is parmesan. I didn't like it at first but then the lavaş bread came (the big flat puffed-up bread you get in some of the restaurants) and a side plate of tulum with broken up walnuts on it. We watched and learned. Break off a piece of bread, sprinkle some of the cheese on top followed by the walnuts and you're away. Lovely! The walnuts take some of the tang of the cheese away and they go together really well. Try it next time you get the chance.

Well, after the doom and gloom of yesterday my positive thinking must have paid off. Life is good! England cricket team are getting absolutely whupped in the final test in south Africa but they've just got rained off. Great! It's Friday = we can have an Efes Pilsen or 4! Also, we got up this morning and the sun was shining so we put our running gear on and off we went. When we got outside - beautiful! It must have been cold overnight and Babadağ and Mendos (the two mountains dominating Fethiye's skyline) have got their first snow of winter! We were beginning to think it would never come. The other, higher mountain ranges are covered in snow now as well. It had started to melt because it's been so warm but they were glowing white in the sunlight this morning, summits peeping above fluffy, white clouds. Of course, I didn't have my camera with me. I wanted to take a photo of them for today's post but when I went out later to take a photo the bigger, nastier cloud had got there first! Typical. Lesson learned - always carry your camera! 

Rain!! In Turkey but not South Africa...

Ohhh, we're gonna get cabin fever if this relentless rain carries on. Even our little fisherman isn't around today. The weather in Fethiye has turned to its usual winteriness (not a word, I know) now. When it rains, we either get fantastic thunder storms and high winds or we get like it is today; very still, an all over greyness, misty and continuous, heavy rain. Great big droppers they are. We managed a quick dash to the supermarket last night and that's about it. We've not been able to go jogging for three days either so here I am, sat on the couch getting slobbier by the minute.

Fethiye's resident pelicans

I watched the tennis this morning and then we decided, 'Great. Cheer ourselves up by putting TMS on and listening to the final test in South Africa.' Well, it's just one of those days isn't it! Aggers said the match started at 11am (Turkey time) so we put it on then. Not only had we missed the first few minutes of the game, we were already 7 for 2! 7 for 2. Can you believe that? What's going on at all? We've eeked up to 94 for 4. Lordy. Poor Geoffrey Boycott's gonna burst a blood vessel. He's not been able to construct a sentence for a while and his brain is only allowing him to spurt, 'Rubbish. All rubbish. Rubbish cricket!'

Anyway, mustn't digress from the aim of our blog - to be all things positive about Turkey. We must tell ourselves that all this rain is replenishing the reservoirs of Turkey which, a couple of years back, were struggling a tad. There, that's positive isn't it. Oh, and Paul Collingwood has just hit a 6 on the last ball before lunch. 100 for 4. This positive thinking is paying dividends. We might get to venture outside yet as well. Here's hoping.

A happy photo today as well. The two resident pelicans of Fethiye. I took this last Sunday on the way to Çalış market. They've been in Fethiye for a couple of years now - they've got good taste. We like to see them bobbing about on the water; where they should be.

Turkish Music - The Eurovision Song Contest

Spot the difference. The photo on the left was taken about 20 minutes ago and the photo on the right was taken this time last year! A classic example of old habits die hard. This man is fishing in this same spot every time it rains - must be a good place to catch them in wet weather. And wet it is. I wrote yesterday that it might rain and it might not. Well about 10 minutes later it started pouring down and it's not really stopped since. We get stir crazy when the Fethiye weather is like this and I start taking photos of random fishermen.

About Turkish Music & Eurovision
You might remember we wrote about the Turkish verb ending, 'miş' the other day. Well, there's a big 'miş' being talked about and written about in Turkey at the moment. It's been going on for a while now but more stories in the Turkish press have appeared this morning. The big news is, maNga might be representing Turkey in this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo.

Now, if you watched the MTV Europe Music Awards towards the end of last year you'll probably know that Turkish rock/hip-hop band, maNga won Best European Act. They also won Best Band in the MTV Türkiye Awards. This band are one of Turkey's most respected groups (they're really good - look maNga up) so why on earth are they thinking about doing Eurovision, we hear you ask. Well, that's because Eurovision is a serious business in Turkey. In the UK we love the Eurovision because we camp it up and choose either complete unknowns or C-rate celebs to represent us. We don't care because we know nobody will vote for us anyway so we have a lot of fun with it.

Sertab Erener, who won the Eurovision for Turkey in 2003 with 'Everyway That I Can,' is famous internationally, not just in Turkey. Two years ago, one of our favourite Turkish rock bands, Mor ve Ötesi represented Turkey. I nearly fell through the floor when I found out. This was when I realised how seriously the Eurovision was taken here. I think they only came 7th though. Last year was the turn of Hadise. Much admired by males across Turkey (and probably the rest of Eurovision land), her song was really catchy but she only managed 4th place. Headlines in one of the main newspapers suggested it was because her outfit was just all wrong. Too plain and boring. (Regulars in Deep Blue Bar seemed to agree!)

And so, is it the turn of maNga this year? One of the leading newspapers seems to think so. We'll have to ask friends' opinions at the weekend to check the 'word on the street'. Another name in the frame to represent Turkey was/is Emre Aydın (also good) who won Best European Act at the 2008 MTV Europe Awards in Liverpool.

Hmmm, if Turkish acts keep winning 'best in Europe' music awards every year, then surely it should follow that they should win the Eurovision every year?! Ahh, but having grown up in the UK, chuckling at the observations of the lovely, cynical Sir Terry Wogan, us Brits know better than to think a great song is going to win the Eurovision. For instance, a win for the UK might mean ... errrm, it's not gonna happen is it?

Eating & Drinking - Cafe Pazar

It's one of those funny (as in funny, odd) nothing days today. The Fethiye weather is just grey, no breeze at all, a bit misty, might rain, might not. That sort of day. We're off to Fethiye market in a few minutes. That might liven the spirits up, a little.

Speaking of markets, we went to Çalış market on Sunday and that leads us nicely on to Cafe Pazar. We've known the owners for years so we go to see them occasionally on a Sunday. If you spend most of your time in Turkey in the summer months, you'll know how hot it is walking round the market with all your purchases. Cafe Pazar is perfectly situated just 100 metres or so down the main road from Çalış market and they specialise in very cold Efes Pilsen - an absolute necessity for thirst quenching in the mad heat. (We know you're supposed to drink water but beer/lager lovers everywhere will agree with us that you just can't beat a beer when it's hot and you're relaxing). If you're there in winter, they've got a real fireplace to keep you cosy.

The all-singing, all-dancing Cafe Pazar

We've not eaten there very much. When we have, I've always had a köfte sandwich (served on the traditional Turkish crusty bread and the köfte is expertly home-made) because they're lovely. If you get withdrawal symptoms from lack of pub-type British food when you're in Turkey (pie and chips, Ploughmans' etc) then you won't be disappointed with the menu at Cafe Pazar.

Come to think of it, Cafe Pazar caters for most withdrawal symptoms. There's a separate TV room for sports. We prefer this system because it's depressing listening to all the full-blast football commentary coming from different bars when we just want to have a chat. (Can you tell we're not  football fans?!) There's a games room as well with a good quality pool table, dartboard, a couple of computers for the internet and a book swap. Oh yes, you can book airport transfers and Avis car hire from here as well. Not a lot they don't do really is there?

Update 06:04:2012 Since this post, Cafe Pazar has also had a few live music performances. Click here for some great live Turkish rock.

Weather in Fethiye Bad? Go Bowling

As usual, we had a different post planned for today but we've just got back from an afternoon of ten pin bowling with friends so we're going to give that a mention instead. Everyone associates going abroad for their holidays with sun, sea, beaches, swimming pools and a bit of sightseeing thrown in. But sometimes, all doesn't go according to plan and you get those days where it just absolutely pees down all day. You're bored, the kids are bored and the bowling alley could be the answer to your prayers!

Fluorescent lighting at the bowling alley

We normally go to Kumsal Bowling in Ölüdeniz but there's also a bowling alley in Fethiye (called 'Fethiye Bowling' originally enough) and that's where we've been today. It's just across the road from Tansaş on the main road to Çalış. The Sahilden dolmus between Fethiye and Çalış goes right past it so it's easy to get to. I've really enjoyed it today because I scored over 100 - a rarity for me - so it's always going to be a little happy memory for me now. As well as the bowling lanes, it's also got two of those fantastic air hockey games that you used to see everywhere in the '80s and a couple of decent pool tables and a billiard table.

Ladies beware...

In summer it's about 5 lira per game, per person. You can get drinks in there as well but we've slipped up today. We didn't ask the price of an Efes beer! I'm not concentrating because I'm not drinking alcohol in the week. We had a çay (Turkish tea). What's the world coming to at all?

So, if you're on your holidays in the area and the Fethiye weather isn't behaving as it should, you can save your sanity by going for a game of bowling and after that...well, you're just going to have to find a good bar and get comfy!

(A word of warning to the ladies: Choose the colour of your underwear carefully! Look at the lighting in the photo and you'll understand why.)

Flickr and Turkey Photos

I just want to put some feelers out today really. As you might be guessing by now, I love taking photographs. I'm no expert but I enjoy playing about with my camera - this is because I'm not technical and so have no idea what all the buttons do etc - and sometimes, amongst all the rubbish, a good photo comes out of it. Anyway, all these photos are on my laptop and only some backed up to disc and I would be absolutely gutted if I lost all of them because the laptop breaks / gets stolen or whatever.

A flower in our Fethiye Garden

This week, I was thinking about it and I've decided to sign up with Flickr and upload most of my photos to there. I've started the process - it's going to be a long job. Part of the reason is to use it as a second backup and the other reason is to share my photos with anyone who wants to see them and also so I can nosey at other people's photos and get some ideas. At the moment I've only uploaded photos of friends and family and have them marked as private so I'm assuming nobody can see them but I'll be uploading all my other photos soon.

As I've only had my camera for a couple of years and we live in Turkey, most of my photos are taken here and most of them are of the lovely Fethiye scenery. So, if any of you out there are reading this and you have an account on Flickr, it would be nice if we could link to each other. My account name is JuliaInTurkey. Thanks.

Day Trip From Fethiye - Kalkan

Just before we started this blog we went to Kalkan and Kaş for the day and I've been meaning to write about Kalkan ever since. 

Traditional house in Kalkan

I've lost count of the amount of times we've been to Kaş and, in the process, driven straight past Kalkan to get there. It's just one of those places where we always meant to visit and never got round to it. You can see the bay as you drive along the main road at the top of the hill and my brain always half said, 'Must go down that hill to Kalkan one day.' Well, we finally got round to it in November.

Kalkan is much easier to reach from Fethiye now since the new road has been built. It means you can skip Yeşilköy (the bus still goes through Yeşilköy) and cut about 20 minutes off your journey whilst enjoying amazing views of open Mediterranean sea from the high mountainside road. As it is the same road (the D400) as the Kaş road, the same advice applies as in my last Kaş post. Take your time to take in all the scenery - the Xanthos Valley and coastal views.

We'd like to return to Kalkan in season because there were only a couple of places open in November (as opposed to Kaş which was the busiest we've ever seen it) but what we saw was very pretty. Steep, cobbled streets, traditional buildings - its Greek past is very much in evidence. These days, there's obviously a lot of money around in the village because there's a marked difference in prices compared to Fethiye. 1 lira for a postcard (I buy a postcard from every place I go to and stick them in a scrap book). Now you see, this might not seem a lot, but us Fethiyeites (or whatever we're called) are used to getting a good few postcards for 1 lira! I was gobsmacked. Highly recommended for a visit though. If you're like me and you like driving, you can visit Kalkan and Kaş easily in the same day.


Check Out Prices For Hotels In Kalkan on Turkey's For Life

Fethiye Rumours - McDonald's?

There's a fantastic verb ending in the Turkish language; 'miş' (pronounced 'mish'). The lovely miş eliminates the need for people to say, 'Apparently...' 'Somebody told me that...' 'So I've heard...' You can just say your sentence and stick a 'miş' on the end. You'll hear it a lot if you listen to a Turkish conversation because there are a lot of subtleties in the use of 'miş' - it's not all just rumours being repeated.

Is this the new McDonald's?

'Miş' popped up into my head because the English language hasn't got anything like that and it is perfect for when talking about the goings-on in Fethiye. For instance, one thing you get used to when living in Turkey - and probably lots of other countries - is that you only ever have a rough idea of what any new constructions might be. It really is a case of 'it will be what it will be.' If you're lucky enough to see the projected outcomes - like we did for the new harbour a couple of years back - this can also mean absolutely nothing. The harbour has changed from that original plan beyond all recognition. (The tram track in the original plans is now our running track).

For us, this all goes to make life in Fethiye very interesting. Fethiye is fast-growing and there's always a rumour circulating (sometimes many different rumours) about what is going on. I like to take all in and then follow developments and wait and see what the final outcome will be. No walk into town is ever boring that way. Photo snapping and predictions (usually wrong) see to that.

And so, the latest rumour is that Fethiye is getting a three-storey McDonald's (miş). Great for the people that want it (most of our Turkish friends can't wait). Not a big fan miself but I'm sure they'll survive completely well without my custom. Burger King seems to. The rumour is that the new McDonald's is going to be near to the entrance to the Tuesday market where the canal goes into the sea. So, could the building in the photo be the new McDonald's? Oh, the suspense. Will keep you posted.

Fethiye McDonald's Update 18/03/10

Fethiye McDonald's Update 26/04/10
Fethiye McDonald's Update 21/05/10

More Fethiye Harbour Happenings

We had a lovely walk into Fethiye this afternoon and I remembered my camera so I could take a photo of the bridge - or, eventual bridge. Not much happening on it today. It looks like they've filled the edges with concrete so we're presuming that will have to dry before any more progress can be made. I reckon we'll be safely skipping over it in the next couple of weeks though which will put an end to balancing precariously along the wall. Well, we're allowed to be optimistic as it's so early in the year.

This has also appeared. It looks like we're getting another park on the opposite side of the road from the harbour. In true Fethiye fashion, the park has been built but the area around it is still a building site. Should the park not be the last thing to go in...?

It's a nice looking park anyway. I'm sure the kids'll not let a bit of rubble and the odd crane and digger spoil their fun.
We've seen more foundations being marked out today as well - right in front of the Karayolları - and the shapes look very similar to the buildings that are already being built further along the harbour. We're beginning to dare to hope that this stage of the massive Fethiye harbour project might actually be finished at some point this year and we might get a real road / path that we can walk along. Splodging along sloppy 'roads' and scraping mud from our shoes has been a part of daily winter life for the last three years so you'll have to excuse the excitement. We're easy pleased!

Well, we walked into town in t-shirts this afternoon because weather in Fethiye is just so warm. I stumbled across something on BBC's weather website yesterday that said the weather is experiencing a sea saw effect at the moment. The UK is getting Arctic winds from the North which is therefore pushing warmer temperatures to us in the Med. That means we probably won't be able to go to the mountains and play in the snow over the next few weeks (there's very little snow about for this time of year). Oh well, we'll get over it. Warm sunshine it is!