Places To Eat And Drink In Fethiye

Apart from our Fethiye Must-Sees tab that you can see at the top of each page on our blog, one of our other intentions has always been to have an 'Eating & Drinking' tab...but the more we think about it, the more difficult it seems. People enjoy different eating and drinking experiences and our perfect dining out experience might be someone else's worst nightmare. But in the end, it's got to be a 'Barry n Julia's list' of where we eat and drink. After all, it's a blog about our life in Fethiye and Turkey.

There are also many different eating experiences available to you in Fethiye. For instance, there are ocakbaşı restaurants. Ocakbaşı restaurants specialise in grills and kebabs cooked on what is basically a huge barbecue. There are cafes, lokantas, pide salons, kebab places, tost kiosks, posh restaurants, places by the sea, places on the sea, seafood restaurants, places on roof terraces, places tucked away in side streets. We're thinking we're going to have to separate places by category.

Balık Ekmek eaten ON the sea

Okay, we might be making this a tad more difficult than it needs to be, but you can see the problem. Then there's the issue of, do we keep it just Fethiye or do we include immediate surroundings such as Kayaköy, Ölü Deniz and Çalış? It's a can of worms and we are keeping the lid firmly closed at the moment.

The good thing about blogs is they are easy to update and change. This will come in very useful for the (future) 'Eating and Drinking in Fethiye' tab. This being Fethiye, restaurants are opening and closing all the time or changing their chef or menu. At least we'll be able to add / remove places as and when. It's going to be a fluid page I suspect.

We'll hopefully get round to our 'sit-down' this week sometime and then we can get the list done - whichever form it may take - and add the new tab to the top of the page. Watch this space.

Update 17/08/10 - Well, we finally got round to our Fethiye Eating & Drinking page! You should now be able to see the tab at the top of the page - or just click here

Around Fethiye - Paspatur Part One

Over the winter months, we've been saying that as soon as the season started, the weather had warmed up and Paspatur was fully awake after its winter semi-hibernation, we would do a post on 'Paspatur, Fethiye's Old Town.' 

One of the many entrances to Pasaptur. (Paspatur is to the right of this shot.)

Well, it's taken till now to get round to writing it for a few reasons; one of them being that we needed to take a few 'walking around Paspatur' photographs. We finally did that about a fortnight ago, so what the excuse is now, as to why we're only just doing this post, we're not entirely sure. There's loads we want to write. Maybe that's the main reason. There is going to be much more than one post on Paspatur.

One of the many gift shops in Paspatur

There's a saying in Fethiye that once you taste the water of Paspatur, the place will be in your heart and you will always want to return to Fethiye, wherever you may be. Well, the first time we came to Fethiye on our holidays, we spent a lot of time in this area and certainly drank a lot of liquid here, albeit of the alcoholic variety, in the form of the great Turkish beer, Efes Pilsen. We've been Paspatur addicts ever since. Is that because of the 'water' or just because the old town is just a great, chilled place to be?

This is an out and out plug for this beautiful corner of Fethiye because, for a few reasons, we think, it often gets overlooked. Wherever you go in the world, if there is an 'old town' you will see signposts galore pointing you in the right direction. Well, burası Fethiye (this is Fethiye) and you will not see a single sign anywhere. A lot of our friends who come to Turkey to visit us stay in other resorts and when they come to Fethiye, they say they would never have found Paspatur, or even known that it existed if we hadn't walked with them from the dolmuş station. When we do take them there, they soon love it as much as we do.

The old mosque that sits on the edge of Paspatur

Maybe another reason is that the Tuesday market in Fethiye has become such a big attraction. Coachloads of people are continually brought to Fethiye from nearby resorts such as Hisarönü or Ölu Deniz and from further afield - the likes of Kaş and Kalkan - but these people are here for the market only and rarely stray any further than that. It's a postive and a negative at the same time and that's the nature of organised tourism - you are taken where the travel company wants to take you. It's a shame that so many people miss out on seeing Paspatur.

One of the many shaded streets of Pasaptur

If you read Turkey's For Life a lot, you will know that we are huge supporters of markets. However, the first two times we came to Fethiye on holiday, we never ventured anywhere near the markets and didn't even entertain the idea. The main reason? We were in Fethiye in the height of summer. Why on earth would we want to walk around a huge, hot market when we could be sat by the pool or enjoying the cooling shade of Paspatur - okay then - and an ice-cold Efes. Also, we do go to the markets for our fruit and veg and in this weather, we have been known to get tetchy with each other - we've all been there!

So, if you're ever in Fethiye in the height of summer and you can't face the market, you'll get everything you need in Paspatur and you'll be in welcome shade, away from the crowds. There are loads of bars, restaurants, cafes and snack bars in Paspatur too...but that's another day of photograph taking and another post.

If you are unsure of how to get to Paspatur, Deep Blue Bar is marked on our Google Map of Fethiye. As the bar is located in the Paspatur area, you will be able to get directions from here.

Eating & Drinking - Kendin Pişir Kendin Ye - Cin Bal

We've already done a post on 'Kendin Pişir, Kendin Ye' (Cook it yourself, eat it yourself) and for us, Kayaköy is the home of Kendin Pişir, Kendin Ye and Cin Bal (pronounced Jin Bal) is the pioneer of this type of al fresco dining. It was an idea of genius as far as we're concerned and Cin Bal, for us, is the place to go for your barbecue; a barbecue without the hassle of getting it to light properly and no cleaning up afterwards. Always a winner!

There are a couple of reasons for our undying love of Cin Bal. The first one is, the guy who opened Cin Bal originally opened a sheddy place, selling raw meat, meze and salads and provided a lit barbecue for you to cook your raw meat on and the business has been slowly built up, year on year. Every year, there's been some form of aesthetic improvement made to the restaurant - there's never been any need to alter the food! 

Welcome respire from the sun at Cin Bal

The second reason is purely sentimental. When we first came to Fethiye on a package holiday in 1998, we met two fantastic people (who we are still friends with today) and they took us to Kayaköy for the day and then on to Cin Bal. I remember walking into this place and thinking, 'What the hell are we doing here? Please don't let us be eating here!' We were 'eating here' as it turned out so I braced myself. It just so happened to be the highlight of our fortnight and we now go back there on a regular basis. 

There are other 'kendin pişir, kendin ye' places dotted about around Kayaköy and they're all good...but there's always that little biased thing in us. You must have it yourself about places you love. We go to the other places with friends and go, 'Yeah, it was great.' Which, it was...great. There was nothing wrong with them. But then we add, '...it wasn't Cin Bal though, was it?' 

No meal is complete without meze

Last week it was Barry's birthday. The evening was planned; Deep Blue Bar, of course! In the daytime, we decided to go to Cin Bal for a barbecue. The first time ever that just the two of us had been, we realised. An interesting change.

It's not important what the temperature is like in the 'real world,' outside the environs of Cin Bal. Kaya is high enough above sea level to make it a good few degrees below the searing temperatures in Fethiye and, as you can see in the top photo, Cin Bal is completely shaded by vines. You can feel the temperature cool as you enter.

We were the first customers of the day so I had a chance to take some photos of the outdoor area.

Would you sit here or at a table?

All around the edges of Cin Bal are these köşk seating areas. It depends on which friends are with us but we generally sit in these areas. When we first went to Cin Bal in 1998, it was a choice of one of a few Formica tables and chairs dotted around a piece of gravel wasteland. Now, we can sit and relax on these cushions, chatting, cooking, eating, drinking, lounging...they're just comfortable!

When you go to Cin Bal, go inside the main building to the fridges to choose your meze and order whatever meat you fancy. Vegetarians, keep eyes firmly to the right unless you're curious at looking at meat hanging in fridges. Meatetarians, this is good quality meat and a not very common sight in restaurants. Take all in and appreciate.

Yummy lamb tandır

We just cannot go to Cin Bal and not order lamb tandır (lamb cooked very slowly in the oven). We usually order half a kilo between four of us but as there were only two of us last week, we got 300 grams. Well, it was Barry's birthday! When my dad comes out on holiday, he skips the barbecue altogether these days and we go straight in for the tandır with loads of chips.

It's possible to order a variety of meze and barbecue food from Cin Bal. For the barbecue, there's cheese-filled mushrooms, chicken in various shapes and sizes, köfte , kokoreç, liver and the loveliness you can see in the photo; kuzu pirzola (lamb chops). We ordered three pirzola each.

Cook it yourself, eat it yourself

I remember the groan I used to let out as a kid when my mum said it was lamb chops for tea. I never saw the point in a big chunky bone with a little knot of meat tagged onto the end. Well, the Turkish lamb chop is a slightly different cut and has been a revelation for me in that I've realised lamb chops are actually fabulously tasty - and meaty! There is a point to them after all.

Cin Bal Restaurant - Useful Info:

• When your (lit) barbecue is brought to you, your meze, tandır (if you've ordered it), drinks and salad will arrive. 
• Your meat will arrive a few minutes later, along with long green peppers, onion slices and fresh tomatoes, all for the barbecue. You can cook your food in your own time. 
• If you are a large party and the cooking seems a bit daunting, a waiter will usually offer to cook the food for you and serve it.
• Public transport instructions - times and prices - for getting to Kaya are available in the Kayaköy post. Tell the dolmuş driver you are going to Cin Bal and he will drop you near the entrance. 
• If you're getting to Cin Bal by other means, the restaurant is on our Google map of Fethiye.

Seasonal Food in Turkey - Titchy Cucumbers.

We were walking around the fruit and vegetables of the Tuesday market in Fethiye this week and these little cucumbers caught my eye. Fortunately, they were displayed next to your average cucumber so you can get an idea of the size. Sometimes, these small cucumbers are labelled as 'turşuluk' which basically means 'these cucumbers are ideal for pickling.' We bought a kilo and today they have been transferred into their rightful place in the pickling tub and placed in the fridge where they will stay for two weeks...ish, before we eat them.

Baby cucumbers - perfect pickles

So, it's all getting a bit pickle-ish again. We had a bit of a pickle writing fad over winter and wrote my pickle recipe in one of the posts. Well, our love of pickles has never waned (and never will it wane!). We're still eating them, in various guises, with most meals and we've been taking a lot more notice of the pickles we're eating when we go to Fethiye and Çalış markets for gözleme. We've even asked the owners of one of our regular haunts how they make their pickles. This means I can now extend my repertoire of great Turkish pickle recipes.

So, tucked away in the fridge, right at this very moment, is a pickling tub filled with turşuluk salatalık (pickling cucumbers), biberler (peppers), acı biberler (chillies) and patlıcan (aubergines). Yes, I am pickling aubergines. We've had them at the markets and in meze dishes in Kaya and they're gorgeous. I could just never quite work out how it was done. We've now asked and I've tried it out tonight...I'll post the recipe in a fortnight's time if the new pickling attempt is successful. 

Change To The Visa Rules For Brits In Turkey - An Update

An important update: 
Many British people in Turkey have been wondering about the changes to the visa rules and it appeared everything was going to be definite. A 180 day visa which entitled the visitor to a stay of 90 days. Well, it's like the Fethiye McDonald's saga we wrote many a blog post about a while back - will it be one? Won't it be one?

We never posted about the visa changes as even the British Embassy hadn't had the changes confirmed in writing. Plus, it wouldn't have affected us until December...and we thought a lot can change between now and December. Well, it's happened sooner than we thought.

We've just checked on the British Embassy website again and it appears the original 90 day visa, entitling you to a stay of 90 days, still stands and the plans to change it have been postponed. We know nationals of other countries were affected by these potential changes so please check your own embassy's website for any updates.

All part of the fun of living in Turkey.

Further update 05/08/2010: 
The British Embassy in Ankara have just re-updated their page on the new Turkish Visa rules with further important information regarding the 90/180 day visa situation. In particular, it reconfirms that the old style visa system of 90 day visas still currently applies - even for people who have been issued with the 180 day Turkish visa in their passports. It also states that the Turkish Foreign Ministry and UK officials will hold talks this autumn on the whole question of visas and residence permits. Please read the full text about the Turkish Visa rules from the British Embassy here.

Update 2013: 
All tourist visas issued to British nationals on entry to Turkey are now 90/180 Day Visas. This means your visa is valid for 180 days and during that 180 days, you are allowed to stay in the country for any 90 days. If you need to stay longer, it's very easy to apply for residency in Turkey.  

Simple, Mediterranean-Style Yoghurt Dip - Yoğurtlu Patlıcan

Yesterday, I made Rice Fritters for tea and mentioned that I had made a yoghurt side dip to go with them. Well, here it is. I am going to post it because it's going to become a regular on our dining table. I did do a little bit of internet research last night and whilst there are various dips, all using similar ingredients, they're all different and this one is, too. Hooray!

So, our name for this dip? Well, you can see it in the title: Yoğurtlu Patlıcan. Not very original but that's me. I've used the word 'Mediterranean' because it appears this type of dip, with its familiar Mediterranean ingredients, is common all around this area. And, as we're in Turkey, I've even given it a Turkish name which means 'aubergine with yoghurt.' Aubergines served with yoghurt is common in Turkey but this recipe is slightly different in that everything is mixed together.

A new 'nearly' Turkish dish to add to our dining table

As I said yesterday, all this came about because we needed something to serve the rice fritters with so I raided the fridge to see what I could come up with. Yoghurt is a staple; always available in our household (it's difficult to live in Turkey and not accept yoghurt as a part of your diet!). It was a half kilo tub and I'd say we had roughly 300 grams left.

We had one medium-sized aubergine sat on the shelf and a quarter of a lemon (hmm, think we had better go to Fethiye market today). Garlic lives in a bowl on top of the fridge and is always in plentiful supply so I had a clove of garlic to play with, too. 

A Recipe For Yoğurtlu Patlıcan

• Cut your aubergine into bite-sized chunks. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and fry your aubergine till it takes on the oil, softens and begins to turn golden (I waited till some of the chunks went even darker).
• Take the pan off the heat and allow the aubergines to cool.
• Put roughly 300 grams of natural yoghurt (I used Turkish kaymaklı yoghurt but if you're not in Turkey and are unable to get your hands on Turkish yoghurt, natural Greek yoghurt should do the trick) in a bowl.
• Finely grate one clove of garlic into the yoghurt.
• Add the juice of a quarter of a lemon and mix together until the lemon and yoghurt blend together.
• Once your aubergines have cooled, add them to the yoghurt mixture along with a good pinch of salt and mix together.

My main concern yesterday was how the lemon juice and yoghurt would taste once mixed together. I didn't need to be concerned. The lemon added a little citrus zing and they complement each other perfectly. My extra internet research around yoghurt dishes showed that it's perfectly fine to use lemon and yoghurt in the same dish, some Tzatziki recipes being good examples of this.

In this dish, the yoghurt takes on some of the colour and flavour of the aubergine and in normal circumstances, I would have added chilli flakes but I'd already added quite a few to the rice fritters and we wanted a bit of a contrast. We don't throw chillies in everything we eat, you know.

The Perfect Evening Meal - With Turkish Ingredients

Have you ever found that sometimes when you're making tea (or dinner - depending where you're from in the world) and you're not expecting too much from it, it ends up being a revelation; a perfect tea? That's what's happened to us tonight so we're feeling the need to share our fantastic tea with you.

I'll start from the beginning. Last night, Barry made a jalfrezi which we finished off for lunch this afternoon. There wasn't a lot left so I made some rice to go with it and, as usual, made far too much. This meant we had lots of rice sitting in the pan. We've got a bit of a thing about not throwing leftover food away and luckily, I remembered reading the Food Bridge recipe for Rice Fritters just last week; not dissimilar to the Turkish mücver recipe, except of course, that uses courgettes rather than rice. I looked it up again this morning and thought I'd give them a go.

I usually play about with recipes but this was the first time I'd made rice fritters so I stuck to the instructions...okay, I threw some extra hot chilli flakes into the mixture. I can't resist. I left the mixture to rest and thought, 'Great. Rice fritters for tea. Is that it? What can we have with it?' The recipe suggests a tzatziki dip or similar. Well, as we're in Turkey, I would have made cacık (I'll post a recipe for cacık later this week) but then I remembered using the last cucumber yesterday afternoon. 'Hmm, what to do? We can't just eat a plateful of rice fritters.'

What I did do - I'm very proud of this I have to tell you - is make my own little recipe using bits and bobs from the fridge. I'll post it tomorrow just because we both thought it tasted fabulous when we tested it.

The rice fritters, I'll admit, I was thinking they were just going to fall apart in the pan when I tried to turn them over...but they didn't! Major potential hurdle cleared.

Rice fritters - the way to make use of leftover rice?

Here they are cooling down and being relieved of their excess oil. They look about right from what I saw on the recipe photo and they're intact, which is the main bonus.

The perfect accompaniment to rice fritters?

And here is our amazing tea. The rice fritters, we both agreed that if your eyes were closed, you wouldn't guess you were eating rice. The texture and flavour gives nothing away as to what the ingredients are. I expected them to be good but they were much better than good. And the little side dip? Well, it was just the absolute, perfect accompaniment. I'll post the accompaniment recipe tomorrow when I've thought of a name for it!

This post will go into the 'recipes' section of the blog and the 'Turkish food' section. We know it's not traditional Turkish cuisine but the meal is made completely from Turkish ingredients. That's my logic, anyway.

All Rice Fritter praise should be aimed firmly towards Sarah at the FoodBridge website.

Fethiye Bay Observations - Weather and Boats

An unintentional couple of days without posting and I did have a post in mind for yesterday but I'll save that one for later this week sometime. If you follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or you live in this little corner of Turkey anyway, you'll know that a couple of days ago, the weather in Fethiye and environs was very odd indeed for July. It even rained. Not a lot, but big droppers, thunder in the mountains and a strange, eerie haze as you can see in the photo below. I took this early evening just as the sun was beginning to think about wowing everyone with its setting performance. I was more interested in this heavy sky and the reflections on the sea. 

A heavy July atmosphere in Fethiye

We'd had a couple of really hot days before this strange Fethiye weather so we were hoping the midi storm would clear the air a little...it didn't! Not for that day anyway.

Arrival of a beautiful ship in Fethye Bay

Cue this morning...there we are, sat on the terrace with a brew, minding our own business (Just from the photo, you can see the air has cleared a little bit.), listening to the chug chug chug of the little fishing boats and enjoying the gentle sea breeze. I happened to look up to see this inching its way into Fethiye Bay. It's a beauty, you've got to admit. It doesn't matter how long we live in Turkey, there's always going to be something where I think, 'Wow. Beautiful. Oh...camera. Where's the camera? Quick, camera!' 

The ship prepares to anchor near Letoonia resort in Fethiye

So, this amazing vessel is the reason why I haven't written about what I was going to write about today. This deserved a mention just because I am becoming a 'ship spotter.' The annoying thing is, I've zoomed right in on my camera and it doesn't quite get close enough. The name is along the side and I can't make it out. Maybe that's a good thing. I think I need stopping in my tracks! The boat left the bay earlier on this evening to who knows where...further along the Turkish coast? The Greek islands? Wonder whose boat it is? Private charter? Rich owner? Lucky people, whoever they are. 

Kar Şerbeti - Turkey's Perfect Hot Weather Refreshment

There is nothing better than seeing one of these signs in the Fethiye hot, summer months. When the weather is like this and you are dragging your weary body around the Tuesday market, the Kar Şerbeti sign is very welcome - think sighting of an oasis in the desert.

A welcome sight anywhere in Turkey when the weather is hot

'Kar' means 'snow' and 'şerbet' means, well, 'sherbet.' Kar şerbeti is actually a handmade slush and on Tuesday, when we sat down to have one at the market, it was money well spent. Fruity ice on a roasting hot day; no comparison. 

Grinding the ice to make the slushy consistency

The three plastic bottles in the photo contain the fruit juices for the kar şerbeti. This particular stall has a choice of cherry, lemon and pekmez. Pekmez is the syrup of boiled down fruits with probably the most common fruit being grapes. This stall sells the grape pekmez.

No Slush Puppy machinery for a kar şerbeti. No, no, no, no. The big sack on the left hand side of the photograph is encasing a huge block of ice. When someone orders a kar şerbeti, a chunk of ice is chiselled off, placed in the metal bowl (like a pestle and mortar) and the lady expertly grinds it until it resembles slush. The crushed ice is tipped into glasses, a glug of your chosen juice poured over the top and your kar şerbeti is served to you with a plastic spoon.

Cherry and pekmez  kar şerbeti - very tempting

And why is this superior to slush made in a machine? Well it just tastes home made. You get some little chunks of ice as well as your slush and you get some bits that are more fruity than others. And if you're reading this, sitting in a hot country, well, how good do those kar şerbetleri look right now? 

Turkish Food - Another Menemen Recipe

A couple of days ago, we went to Çalış with the aim of going to the Golden Moon Hotel pool for a swim. When we got there, there was a lovely, cool breeze so we just ended up sitting round the bar and having a chat with the staff there as we hadn't seen them for a while. One of the bar staff, Erhan, went off and then came back with a big plate of menemen and fresh bread. We clocked it straight away because it looked really good - and different to the one we make. Being the generous bunch that they are, as soon as we commented on it, we were given a taste and Erhan told us it was Adana Menemen. We were converts.

Generally speaking, the further (south) east you go in Turkey, the spicier the food is. To us now, Adana just has the connotation of spiciness. If you've ever had Adana kebab (a delight to the taste buds) you'll know where we're coming from. So when Erhan said the menemen was Adana Menemen, and that he had made it, I was suddenly very interested and asked him exactly what he had done. Yesterday I made it for lunch and we're now Adana Menemen fans. It's more of a breakfast than a lunch just because it's lighter than the alternative menemen recipe we posted previously. 

Adana Menemen a la Erhan from Golden Moon

Erhan's Turkish recipe for Adana Menemen. 
You need:

• 5 eggs (I used village eggs to get these vibrant yellows)
• 2 medium-sized tomatoes (our tomatoes are huge at the moment so I only used one)
• 3/4 of an onion - not a full one. This is Erhan's instruction, not mine, and as our onions are not very big, I used a full one. It tasted right, afterwards.
• 2 or 3 long, thin green peppers. (We had some red peppers in the fridge so I used one of those as well.)
• The Adana bit - lots of hot chillies. I used 5 green chillies and then sprinkled some extra hot chilli flakes in towards the end.
• Glug of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper

Make Adana Menemen:

• Finely chop your onion and cut your peppers and chillies into thin rounds (chop finely if you're using capsicum or other types of peppers).
• Gently heat your olive oil in a frying pan and add the onions and peppers.
• Meanwhile, finely chop your tomato(es) and after 5 minutes or so, add the tomato to the pan and stir. Add salt and pepper
• Leave to simmer gently for a further 5 minutes or so, beating your eggs in a bowl while you wait.
• Add the beaten eggs to the pan, sprinkle in as many chilli flakes as you think you can handle and stir until the egg scrambles and mixes with the tomato, onion and pepper.
• Serve on a plate with fresh, crusty bread. 
• Do a taste test and garnish with more chilli flakes if you want more spice. (You'll be surprised how much of the heat in the chillies is absorbed into the menemen.)

This recipe will make enough for two people. Warning: It is very moreish!

Seasonal Food in Turkey - Şeftali and Nektarin

Well don't all these lovely, vibrant colours just shout out summer to you? Peaches (şeftali) galore on Fethiye and Çalış markets at the moment. We don't eat a lot of fruit but the seasonal fruits that I do really look forward to are cherries - still available - peaches and nectarines and, later on in the year, pomegranates. We are quite conscious that we don't eat enough fruit so I probably over compensate when I load the carrier bags up with these goodies.

Juicy summer peaches

When we went to Çalış market on Sunday, I was on a mission to buy the first batch of nectarines we'd had this year. We've noticed the peaches for sale for the past couple of weeks or so, so I presumed the nectarines would be available too. Well, they were available on this stall but you'll notice they're more expensive than the peaches. That's because the peaches are now in prime season but it would appear the season is yet young for the nectarines. This was the only stall selling them and they weren't soft enough for me. We'll try again next week I think.

Not quite ready just yet

Both of us much prefer a nectarine to a peach because of the skin. Nectarine with yoghurt and honey is delicious! A friend once told me that she couldn't stand the the feel of peach skin in her mouth because of the furriness. I'd never thought about it before but since then, I always remember that and it's made me very aware of it, too. A nectarine means I don't have to worry about nonsense like that!

Having said that, we plumped for a kilo of peaches on Sunday. I had one for breakfast this morning, peeled, after our run and it was ripe and juicy and tasted of summer. A fantastic start to the day. 

Back To The Grindstone In Fethiye

We woke up this morning to the sight of this rather attractive private cruiser anchored in Fethiye Bay. It's still there as I write actually, so whoever is on there must be having a fun time. They always look more beautiful in the mornings though because the lighting is different and the surf hasn't yet hit the bay, so the sea is super calm.

Very smart!

Anyway, no time for us to be dawdling about relaxing today. No, it's busy, busy for us and trying to get back to a bit of normality after our friends left last week. Yes, it takes us a long time to get back to normal - the Mediterranean lifestyle suits us perfectly. We take our time over these things. It'll be interesting to see how everything pans out actually. Our summers are usually filled with friends coming out on holiday and then winters are spent in recovery and attempting the healthy eating and exercise regimes in preparation for the following summer. This year, all of our friends chose May and June to come and visit and so here we are with a blank appointment book for July, August and September. For the first time ever, healthy, normal living has begun in the height of summer instead of October / November. Does this mean we'll lose the excess pounds even quicker than normal (we certainly gained them quicker than normal)?

Water sports in Fethiye Bay - private cruiser-style

So, when we said sad goodbyes to our friends last Friday night, I was in, 'Right, that's it!' mode. Diet and no more Efes Pilsen (Aaarrrgh!) for a while and get back into the jogging! Barry has no interest in the diet - even though he's having to put up with the food with me - or the quitting of Efes, but we're both getting back into the jogging. This morning, the alarm went off and after a snooze or two, we dragged ourselves out of bed and I peeled my jogging pants on (like I said, too many extra pounds in too short a time) and we prepared to go for a run. The first run since the end of April for me. Barry went on Thursday and assured me all was well and it was easy to get back into.

Hmmm, well. Not run for over 10 weeks, the temperatures have risen considerably and I'm carrying those extra pounds. The people on the private cruiser looked like they were having more fun than me as they unloaded dinghies, speed boats and jet skis to play around on. Meanwhile, Barry ran up and down the running track along the harbour as though he'd been doing it every day. And me? I felt every single thud of my feet, I was red hot and out of breath - and that was right from the first step! And then, after that, we walked to Çalış market in the heat of the day. We must be mad! Got some lovely peaches though.

We're going jogging again tomorrow but this time, no snoozes. Straight out of bed while there's still a hint of morning coolness in the Fethiye air and out onto the track. 3 times a week. No Efes. Yep...let's see what happens...I'll remember to take my MP3 player as well. The music does do a good job in numbing the pain!

(Oh, just looked back at previous posts and our last running session wasn't the end of April at all. It was May 1st. I wrote about Fethiye harbour developments. So, not as big of a gap as I thought.)

Turkish Food - Otlu Peynir (Herby Cheese)

Last November, when we first started to make plans about the blog, we made a Word document which was a list of all the things we could maybe write about that we loved about Turkey and Fethiye in particular. We made a Turkish food section and top of the food list was Turkish cheese. For some reason or other, it's taken us till now to get round to including it.

This is a photo of locally produced otlu peynir.

Otlu peynir - Turkish white cheese embedded with herbs

The Turks are very proud of their cheeses and there are loads of different cheeses that we can talk about in this blog...all in good time, though. As we buy them, I'll photograph them, find out the correct name and write about them.

Today, we went to the spice market in Fethiye as our stocks of various dried herbs and spices are running low. As you enter the spice market, you walk past chicken, cheese, yoghurt and olive stalls. We stroll through here and browse the stalls quite a lot but today, one cheese made both of us do an about turn. There, bobbing about in a huge bowl of brine were big chunks of traditional Turkish white cheese (beyaz peynir) with herbs mixed into it (otlu peynir). 

The girl on the stall clocked us straight away and swiftly opened the fridge, produced a huge knife from nowhere and sliced a piece off for us to sample. Mm Mm Mmmmmm! No words can describe it. Sold. We bought 400 grams. Half a kilo of cheese always seems a lot for two people to get through. Salty, herby, oniony cheese (if you've never had Turkish white cheese before, think Feta flavours) for breafast tomorrow then. Can't wait.

Mercifully, and maybe illogically, good quality cheese bought from the markets in Fethiye is quite a bit cheaper than the cheese you get on the supermarket shelves and their deli counters. If you're a regular cheese eater and a regular purchaser of cheese from supermarkets in Turkey, give the independent cheese producers a go if you haven't already. You're missing out on a treat if you don't - well, we think so anyway.

The spice market and cheese stalls are next door to the fish market in Fethiye. The fish market is marked on our Google map of Fethiye.

Fethiye Earth Tremor

The last time we wrote about an earth tremor in Fethiye was 13th December 2009 and we're writing about one again today. In fact, the region of Muğla is not a happy bunny at all today. We had an earth tremor this morning and then the mountains surrounding Fethiye trapped any bit of cloud or haze they could and we heard grumbling thunder over Babadağ whilst walking back from the market. Really windy too along the harbour. Wonder if they've managed to do any paragliding today? We can still hear distant rumbles now. Very odd Fethiye weather.

Babadağ barely visible

The earth tremors are strange happenings. We feel them straight away now because once you've experienced your first one, it's a weird feeling that you recognise straight away when another tremor comes along. So there I was, sitting on the couch with the laptop on my knee. The first little judder, I thought, 'Oh, muscle spasms in my leg are making the laptop jiggle about,' and then it dawned on me. I put the laptop down and sat still for a minute, and then, jiggle, jiggle, jiggle. 'Baaarrrry.'

'Yes it is.'

Barry was 'using the bathroom,' shall we say, whilst the tremor was in progress. He came downstairs to look at whichever website it is we use - I think it's something to do with Bosphorus University in Istanbul - but it didn't register at first. Pretty soon though, and with a few other confirmations from friends on Twitter, we had the culprit. I think the people in Marmaris and Datça (and possibly the Greek island of Symi) got a bigger shake than we did as the epicentre was in that area.

We went outside onto the terrace and asked our holidaying next door neighbours, who had been sitting on their terrace throughout, if they felt the tremor. No. Maybe it is one of those things where once you've felt one, you can't miss it. I'm not sure which is best; knowing exactly what's going on or being completely oblivious to it...

Evening Stroll to Çalış

Yesterday evening was the first time for what feels like an age that we went for a stroll; a going-nowhere-in-particular saunter. Well, we ended up 'sauntering' along the coast road between Fethiye and Çalış and walked along the beach front. We cheated and got the dolmuş back home.

Sunset on the Fethiye to Çalış coastal road

We don't go to Çalış a lot at night - if we do, we usually go to the tents - and we've got say, we were both quite shocked. It was packed. There are a lot of people holidaying in this resort at the moment.

Today's stroll was a little less beautiful as we headed towards the Günlükbaşı road and the delights of Kipa supermarket. However, it was rewarding, which is what we were hoping for after a 30 minute dusty walk up a main road in silly temperatures. We walked out of Kipa with carrier bags containing tinned tuna AND four cans of German pilsener beer. Barry was all excited to see a different beer so it had to be put to the test. They've all gone so it passed the test. I got a bottle of dry white wine which is supposed to be for Saturday night - there's about half a bottle left at the moment. Always bad news buying your weekend goodies before the weekend. 

Ölü Deniz Part Two - 11 Reasons To Visit

A continuation of yesterday's post about Ölü Deniz.: Here are our 11 reasons to visit...

1. It's breathtakingly beautiful 
You've just got to see Ölü Deniz if you're anywhere in the Fethiye area. Even if you don't enjoy the 'tourist scene,' you're really missing out if you don't opt to visit. The scenery is amazing!

2. Ölü Deniz lagoon
What this area is famous for. Take a swim in the calm, clear waters or just sunbathe in stunning surroundings.

3. Private beaches
Visit the private beaches around the far side of the lagoon. Camping, caravans and beach chalets are available for overnight stays if you like the outdoor life.

Ölü Deniz looking beautiful from above

4. On-the-water activities
From the chilled out to the adrenalin water sports, there should be something in Ölü Deniz to entertain you. 

• The lagoon has pedaloes and kayaks available - that's the chilled out bit. 
• Speed boats and inflatable bananas are available along Belcekiz Beach.
• Daily boat trips taking in Butterfly Valley and Gemiler (St. Nicholas) Island.
• And if you need to get away from it all, take the water taxi over to Butterfly Valley (Kelebek Vadısı).

5. Underwater activities 
Scuba diving can be arranged through the agencies in the main resort area.

6. Sky activities 
We've heard it many times that Ölü Deniz looks better from above. Get a bit of height and you can see the landscape of the area and trace the shape of the beautiful coastline. There are a few ways to get some height in Ölü Deniz.

• Parascending - Fly through the air with the aid of a parachute and a speedboat.
• Microlight - There are various videos on the internet to look at if this is what you fancy doing. We spoke to a 70 odd year old woman a couple of years ago who'd done that and paragliding over a couple of days. She loved it.
• Paragliding - Apart from the lagoon, paragliding is probably what most people think of when they hear the name Ölü Deniz. Loads of companies in the resort doing this activity for reasonable prices.

7. Trekking 
Obviously, only a suitable activity in the cooler months but for me, a much more sensible option for getting some height and seeing Ölü Deniz from above. Try the hike from Kayaköy to Ölü Deniz. It only takes a couple of hours.

Paragliding is really popular in Ölü Deniz

8. Wave jumping 
The stunning azure waters around Belcekiz Beach can get a bit choppy around the shoreline. Enjoy the pummelling or swim out a mere 10 metres or so to get to calmer waters.

9. Indoor activities 
Well sometimes, it does rain. If you're in Turkey during a rainy spell, Ölü Deniz has Kumsal Bowling Alley.

10. People watching 
If all this sounds too much, take yourself off to one of the beach-front bars and watch everyone else taking part in the activities. We usually sit at Sea Horse - a good spot for watching the paragliders land.

11. Nightlife 
We've only been to Ölü Deniz at night a few times and we usually head for a quiet restaurant. It's a lot more lively than we thought it would be so it's a case of take your pick. Quiet restaurants and bars, dancing, cocktails, barbecue nights at the private beaches...the list goes on.

How to get to Ölü Deniz from Fethiye

• The (air-conditioned) dolmuş leaves from Fethiye dolmuş station every few minutes and goes via the resorts of Ovacık and Hisarönü. 
• If you're planning a night out, check with the driver what time the last one leaves. At the moment - high season - the last dolmuş back to Fethiye is around 2am (1am from Fethiye to Ölü Deniz). 
• Always check with the driver if you don't want to end up in a taxi - taxis are not cheap.  

A Guide To Ölü Deniz - Part One

Just another reason why the Fethiye area of Turkey is the perfect place to live or to visit. A short dolmuş ride from Fethiye and we're on one of (apparently) the most photographed beaches in the world. I don't think I've ever seen a Turkish Tourist Board poster that hasn't got a photo of the lagoon that is Ölü Deniz (Dead Sea).

View of the lagoon from the Kayaköy footpath

If you're a beachy person, then you're spoilt for choice here. We're not beachy people - but we spend a lot of time in Ölü Deniz. In the summer months, this time is spent doing a few minutes' stint on the beach with friends and then going off to wait in a bar somewhere in the hope that they get as bored as we do sooner rather than later. (We've never been the best sunbathers.) 

As for the winter months, this is when Ölü Deniz comes into its own for us. The hills surrounding the beaches are perfect trekking territory and the summer haze has disappeared, leaving beautiful clear views over the beaches, mountains and across the sea towards the Greek island of Rhodes.

Ölü Deniz is much quieter in early season

Hopefully, we'll be doing some trekking around here in the coming (cooler) months so we'll be able to put the walks on the blog. A regular trek for us is walking through the ruins of Kayaköy and over to Ölü Deniz. Stunning views.

Where to do your sunbathing in the summer months? Well, we always head for Belcekiz Beach (above). Belcekiz is the main beach just as you get off the dolmuş and if you're coming to Ölü Deniz on a budget, this is going to be one of your best bets as it's free entry. Sunbeds and umbrellas are 6 lira each this season but as we just stop by to say hello to friends, we just put our towels down on the sand. Free!

If you want to go to the lagoon - most people do - there's what we call the 'front lagoon' and the 'back lagoon.' You'll pay for entry to the front lagoon whereas the back lagoon is a series of private beaches with their own bars and restaurants. The beaches in the back lagoon are free to enter and then you just pay for your beds and umbrellas. Head for Belcekiz Beach if you like waves and head for the lagoon if you like, well, lagoons. The clue's in the name.

Now check out our 11 Reasons To Visit Ölü Deniz in Ölü Deniz - Part Two