End of Summer in Fethiye - It's Official

Just as the last of the summer holiday visitors are starting to leave the Fethiye region, Fethiye is kicking into winter action. So, what are some of the tell tale signs that the colder months are creeping in?

The Harbour - Last winter, I was posting photos of the skeletons of buildings along Fethiye Harbour and we were speculating about what their final purpose might be. While some are still empty, the last few weeks have seen a few developments going on and, as this is Fethiye...we're getting two new eateries.

New cafe along Fethiye harbour

Work was continuing with gusto on this place a few weeks ago. You might remember I wrote about it, as we were wondering whether it was going to be a bar. Well, the bar's there, the toilets are there, the canopies are there, the kitchen fittings are there - including döner kebab grill - and the name is on the side in modern, shiny lettering: Cafe Doğa Sefası. We're just waiting for the seating, stock, staff and customers. Where are they, we wonder? We thought it might be open for Şeker Bayramı, but no. We shall wait and see.

Stroll a little further along the harbour and you'll come to the last (and one of the biggest) of the new buildings. This has been taken on and work is in full flow.

New restaurant along Fethiye Harbour

This is going to be Nayla Restaurant and it's going to be pretty big. The now customary steel frames have gone up along the edge of the promenade, ready for the awnings to be fitted. (I bet you'll be able to walk the full length of the harbour soon in the rain, without an umbrella.) And you can just about make out in the photo that the girders on this building have been covered in dark wood. We're thinking huge windows are going in. Will keep our eye on that one.

Next winter clue - We were forewarned by the relevant authorities that the residents of Fethiye were going to wake up this morning to no electricity (unless we chose to get up before 6am that is) and we would have no electricity until 1 o'clock in the afternoon. Something to do with winter preparations or something. We don't ask.

As a result of the powercut, we were unable to waste idle hours faffing about on the internet and so it was a trip to Çalış market (where tomato prices have returned to normal levels thankfully) and then back home to do another winter preparation (hated) chore. Winter clothes were lifted out from under the bed and swapped with summer clothes. It doesn't take long but it's soooo boring.

Oh yeah, and it's Halloween and the clocks have gone back. We'd say that's definitely officially the end of summer in Fethiye!

Seasonal Food in Turkey - Hamsi Season Again

Last winter, I wrote about hamsi (anchovies) being for sale on Fethiye fish market. We love hamsi season and it's once more upon us - which means we've come full circle on the seasonal food front, meaning Turkey's For Life is nearly 1 year old. Wow! How did that happen so soon?

Anyway, hamsi is very much available on Fethiye fish market and we'll definitely be buying some soon - a great 'Saturday-night-in' nibbly tea. This year, however, we consider ourselves to have been fortunate to have been in Istanbul in October. Hamsi is a Black Sea seasonal fish and October is the beginning of the hamsi fishing season. Karaköy fish market, on the shore of the Golden Horn, was already packed full of the beautiful, silky, silvery, tasty morsels and we were both dying to try some.

Fresh hamsi being unloaded onto Karaköy fish market

Was it going to taste any different to the hamsi we've eaten at Fethiye fish market? Surely it must. So fresh! As soon as people were buying it there were small fishing boats pulling up to the shore and dumping crate loads of them onto the cobbles; minimal travel time, straight onto the stalls and almost immediately sold to the crowds of shoppers.

It was early in the morning when we walked around the market but once we saw the fish and the cooking areas, we decided we had to go back there for lunch - hamsi ekmeği (deep fried anchovies served in a half bread with rocket and onion). 3 lira! When we went back at lunchtime, we actually ended up having üskümrü ekmeği (fresh mackerel in a half bread) but that's another post. Why didn't we plump for the hamsi? Well, we just decided to save that for tea time. Fresh fish was on our menu for that day!

Stall holders prepare deep-fried hamsi

We returned to the market around tea time (yes, we went three times in one day!) and as the sun began to set over the Golden Horn, hundreds of commuters were clambering off the ferry, shoppers were fresh fish bargain hunting, stall holders were calling out prices and countless hamsi were being cleaned, tossed in flour and plunged into hot oil. We were excited about this one. We ordered our hamsi ekmeği; crispy, hot, fresh, juicy fish - and lots of it - served in between fresh Turkish bread with a squeeze of fresh lemon, salt, rocket leaves and onion. The ultimate street food as far as I'm concerned. Just divine.

The advantage of Karaköy fish market is its location. We paid our 3 lira, took our sandwiches...

Süleymaniye Mosque silhouetted across the Golden Horn, Istanbul

...and stood on the shore of the Golden Horn to watch the sunset. Sometimes, you get those moments where everything just adds up to make the perfect tea.

Turkish Republic Day - Cumhuriyet Bayramı

Today is a very special day in the calendar of Turkey as 29th October is Turkish Republic Day or Cumhuriyet Bayramı. The day marks the anniversary of the proclamation of the Turkish Republic when Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was named as its first leader - 87 years ago today.

Atatürk's statue in Dalyan

If you know Turkey, you'll know that Atatürk's image hangs from walls in all public buildings and his statue is to be found in towns and cities throughout the country. I can't even put into words how important he is in Turkey - 'important' is an understatement.

The Turkish flag flying in Dalyan

Turks are very proud of their flag. I challenge anyone to travel to Turkey and leave the country not knowing what the Turkish flag looks like. Today, it will be more visible than ever. We haven't been up into Fethiye centre yet but I'm willing to bet there are Turkish flags criss-crossing the main road for as far as the eye can see. We'll be walking up later so I'll take my camera.

And as for Facebook; I was smiling away to myself this morning. Most of our Turkish friends' profile photos had disappeared and had been replaced with either an image of Atatürk or the Turkish flag. It certainly wasn't difficult to distinguish between Turkish and non-Turkish friends - just a bit difficult to spot which Turkish friend was which.

Cumhuriyet Bayramınız Kutlu Olsun!

Fethiye Weather - A Day of Two Halves

It's been a strange old day in Fethiye today. The Autumn weather is doing what it does best - warm, clear, sunny days, cooler, breezy days...and days like today. We woke up in semi-darkness this morning to the sound of steady rain falling on the roof. It's actually a comforting, cozy feeling, curled up in bed listening to heavy drops pattering on the roof tiles - but it was so dark.

And so it was lights on all morning. The rain got heavier and heavier, the wind got up, the sky became darker and then the inevitable (in Fethiye at least) happened. Thunder and lightening. We sat in the house watching the little blue wheel on the laptop screen on a perpetual spin. The sort of spin that says, 'Internet? No chance! Have you seen the state of the weather. I'm just going to twirl and twirl all day long and really annoy you.' Well, the weather put pay to that because 5 minutes later the electricity went off!

A Fethiye sparrow tries to dry his feathers

There's only so much rain one sky can hold and I think most of that rain was dumped on Fethiye this morning. Eventually, the clouds were empty, a little bit of sunshine popped through and the exotic birdlife of Fethiye (sparrows) peeped out to dry off. Feathers were plumped out and worms were dive-bombed.

Fethiye sparrows preparing a full-on attack on post-rain worms

Joy of joys. A little while later, the electricity returned with a bang - we're no strangers to a good old power surge in Turkey - and the little blue spinning wheel was once again defeated: The internet had returned to its normal speed. Yeahy! Well, we have got a blog to update. By late afternoon, we had beautiful, warm sunshine once more and only the puddles to remind us of the morning's weather. I have it on good authority (our neighbour) that there is no more rain for Fethiye till the end of next week. High temperatures, too. Woo hoo!

Istanbul - Tünel to Karaköy

While the historic tram that trundles up and down Istiklal Caddesi all day long may be one of the little pieces of nostalgia that make up Beyoğlu (and a free ride for the kids who cling to the back of it), for us, the Tünel funicular is an absolute necessity. Walking down the hill towards Karaköy and the Golden Horn is fine - the street takes you past the Mevlana museum and loads of little musical instrument shops. But, if you want to come back up, either do some calf stretches and get your hiking gear on (okay, I'm exaggerating slightly...but it is steep!) or jump on the underground funicular for the price of a lira and you'll be back on Istiklal in no time.

The Tünel funicular, Istanbul

Yesterday, I said there was a claim to fame for this service. I've read in the past that this is the oldest underground in the world. However, the book from where I gained my information has since had a new edition printed and there is now no mention whatsoever of the age of the funicular line. Hmm. I've done a quick search and it opened in 1875 so let's just call it pretty old and leave the claim to fame alone.

Apart from the fact that it saves us heaving ourselves up a steep, narrow street, we really like using the Tünel. As public transport goes, it's a pleasant experience because the stations at either end of the line are pristinely clean. Even if you don't intend using the train, it's worth bobbing your head inside just to have a nosey at the tile work. The Karaköy end, in particular, has a few murals of historical Istanbul scenes that have kept us occupied while we've been waiting for the carriage to arrive.

The entrances at either end however, could not be more different. The Tünel end of the line has a grand old ornate entrance that matches the other buildings of the area but if you're coming from Karaköy...Well, cross the street from Galata Bridge, pass rows of shops selling toilet seats and spanners (and the like!) and look to the opposite side of the road towards a tall, nondescript 1970s-type building. In not very noticeable gold-coloured lettering, it says Tünel. And just as you think you're heading into a dank underground system, you're presented with clean, bright, historical Tünel station. Don't you just love Istanbul?

The journey from Tünel to Karaköy takes less than 2 minutes.
Buy a swipe card from the kiosks at either end. The more journeys you purchase, the cheaper your journey becomes.

Istanbul - Getting Around Beyoğlu

Apologies for the cliche but the Beyoğlu area of Istanbul really is a feast for the senses. It's a tourist's must. Every time we've visited Istanbul, we've spent time in the area and we're still stumbling across streets, bars, shops (Petek's Pickles, for instance) and restaurants we didn't even know existed. And then of course, there's the astounding Istiklal Caddesi (that's another post) from which all these nooks and crannies hide themselves.

As far as we're concerned, the best way to explore Beyoğlu is on foot. Many of the streets are pedestrianised anyway and some are not even wide enough to fit a vehicle the width of a car down them. However, if walking isn't your thing, you can also have a play around on the public transport of the area.

The historic tram, linking Taksim Square and Tünel

It's a case of nostalgia and necessity for the transport available to you. Istiklal Caddesi is a (roughly) 2km pedesrianised stretch of stunning 19th Century European architecture that begins at Taksim Square and ends around Tünel. There is one vehicle that is permitted to run along this amazing avenue and that's the historic Taksim - Tünel tram.

We've never used this tram as it's always packed and, well, you just can't beat a good old aimless amble and an about turn down a side street or passage should the fancy take you. But, if all you want to do along Istiklal is view the grand buildings (or be able to say you went on the famous tram), then it's a good idea. Trust me, it is NOT going to go too fast for you. There will be ample time to marvel at the architecture - and marvel at just how many people can squish up and down one street!

The tram heads through the pedestrians towards Taksim Square

The tram continuously crawls up and down the avenue, ringing it's bell in warning to oncoming pedestrians and photo-taking tourists who risk life and limb trying to get a head-on shot (yes, I've been one of them on numerous occasions and I will be again - I'm still not happy with the pics I've got!). Somehow (I have no idea how) the tram and pedestrians of Istiklal Cadessi co-exist successfully. Nobody rushes to get out of the path of the tram - there's often nowhere else for them to go at that moment - and the tram doesn't hurtle along terrifying all. It's a tolerant sharing of a tight space and, for us, Istiklal Caddesi wouldn't be the same without it.

I'm going to do a continuation of the journey through Beyoğlu by public transport tomorrow...it was supposed to be all in the same post but as is the norm for me, this part is longer than I thought it would be. But don't despair, tomorrow's mode of transport has a huge claim to fame...

As we've never used the Istiklal tram, we don't know how much it is but I've just had a look on some tourist sites and the general consensus seems to be that the fare is 1-2 lira.

Turkish Food - Turkish Musakka Recipe

A few weeks ago, we had an email from a reader telling us she had eaten many fabulous meals whilst staying in Turkey and she had particularly enjoyed the Turkish-style musakka - she wanted to know if we had a recipe for it so she could make it herself at home. We regularly order musakka from the steaming bay maries of lokantas so we've never thought of making it at home before. This request changed all that and thanks to this, we had a bash. It was a success and we now have a new tea/dinner for our table.

The advantage of attempting to make something you have enjoyed in the past is that you have an idea of what it should look and taste like. I skimmed the internet and scanned various musakka recipes from Turkey to get the general gist, added more of and deducted more of what we like and don't like and then cooked it until it resembled what we have seen in the lokantas of Fethiye. After a bit of discussion, here's what we came up with. It serves four people.

Turkish aubergines are generally quite small and very firm

• Wash and slice 4 medium-sized aubergines. Slice them lengthways into 1cm thick pieces and then cut them horizontally into three or four slices. (At this point, many people salt the aubergines to remove excess liquid. We've done this in the past but don't bother anymore - especially with the firm, meaty Turkish aubergines - as we've never noticed too much difference in flavour or texture.)
• Heat a glug of olive oil in a frying pan and fry the aubergine slices in batches until they have coloured on both sides. (Aubergines are oil magnets but as they start to cook, if you press them a little with your spatula, you might be able to get away without adding more oil.)
• Remove them from the pan and leave them to cool on a paper towel so that excess oil will be absorbed by the towel.

Fried aubergine slices

• Finely chop one onion.
• Slice 4 long, green peppers into thin rings. (If you don't have these, one green capsicum pepper, finely chopped, will be okay.)
• Add more olive oil to the pan if necessary and begin to sweat the onions and peppers. (We added a few chillies at this point but I don't know if that's traditional - it's just necessary for us!)
• Once the onions are beginning to soften a little, add 300g of minced meat. (We used lean minced meat to prevent even more 'too much oil' guilt.)
• Add a clove of grated garlic, a sprinkling of salt, pinch of pepper and a little paprika.

Turkish musakka mixture

• Mix and stir together in the frying pan and cook for 10 minutes until the meat is cooked through.
• Add a couple of chopped, medium-sized (Turkish) tomatoes (or 1 tin of chopped tomatoes), a couple of dessert spoonfuls of tomato puree (we used biber salçası but tomato puree is fine if you can't get the pepper puree) and cook for another 10 minutes.
• Now layer the aubergines in a large, shallow pan and pour your meat mixture over the top, along with a mug of hot water. Cover and cook on a medium heat for about 20 minutes.

After this, we had a little taste test. We were looking for lokanta-style musakka - all the flavours infused and melt-in-the-mouth aubergines.

Not quite ready yet - softer aubergines necessary

We stirred everything up and cooked it until we were happy with the aubergine texture.

Serve your musakka with a huge blob of Turkish natural süzme yoghurt on the side and a wedge of fresh bread. Turks enjoy pilav (rice) with their musakka, too.
I'm going to make musakka again when the weather gets a little colder and I might add a tiny pinch of cinnamon.

Seasonal Food in Turkey - Did You Know There Are Two Types of Pomegranate)

I know I've already mentioned pomegranates (nar) in an earlier post but we've learnt something today that I thought I might as well share. Anything to make us appear knowledgeable.

We've spent the morning and early afternoon in Kayaköy having a chilled Sunday with friends and thoroughly enjoying a Turkish village breakfast (köy kahvaltı) at Yalçın Restaurant. Completely relaxing, perfect weather and then a stroll to our friend's house in Kayaköy to visit his family - and walk off the ridiculous amount of food we'd just got through. It was at this house that the knowledge was imparted...

Freshly picked sweet and sour pomegranates in Kayaköy.

This house is just one of those fabulous, classic, dreamy village houses that you picture in your head when you think, 'Mediterranean village house.' It's whitewashed with a large verandah overlooking its surrounding land; land that is filled with grape vines, pear trees, persimmon trees and chilli plants. As we're in Autumn now, all of these beautiful edibles are in their prime and being harvested.

We sat round the table eating plump, juicy, freshly picked grapes of different varieties and then our friend's mum disappeared and came back with a couple of pomegranates that she had just picked; two varieties of pomegranate.

Sour pomegranates on the Friday market in Fethiye

All this time we have assumed that the pomegranates sitting on the market with the light coloured skin and pale pink centre were just not quite ripened yet. We have always waited for them to get bigger, redder, more misshapen and cracked, as in the photo above. However, what we were told today is the pale coloured pomegranate (top photo - left) is the tatlı (sweet) pomegranate and the ones I absolutely adore (top photo - dark red centre) are ekşi (sour) pomegranates. We did a taste test and it appears our newly acquired piece of knowledge is correct. I still prefer the sour ones though.

Istanbul - Hostel On: The Digs

Whenever we travel anywhere, we're always looking for budget accommodation. However, the budget accommodation must be in a central location (near the places we want to visit), it must be a private room, comfortable bed, clean and most importantly, it must have a clean bathroom. If we're staying around for a while, en-suite is also on the list of essentials, but for a couple of nights (as our stay in Istanbul was) a communal bathroom is fine. The bottom line is, we need a clean bed to rest our weary bodies in after a hard day's exploration of sites, shops, eateries and bars!

We said we'd do a post on Hostel On if it was decent place to stay for visiting Istanbul and so here's the post. We were perfectly comfortable there.

Entrance to Hostel On

Hostel On was perfect for us because both nights we were there, we were meeting a friend in a bar on Istiklal Caddesi. Hostel On is on a side street just off Istiklal. We also had to be at Taksim Square by 7am on the morning of the Eurasia Marathon to catch our shuttle bus to the start line. Hostel On was great for that, too. We left the hostel at 6:30am, on foot, and were in Taksim, at the bus stops, within 15 minutes.

Typical side street of Beyoğlu, off Istiklal Caddesi, Istanbul

As with Rome and Sheffield, Istanbul is said to be built on seven hills. Well, if you've never been to Istanbul before, let us tell you, it's built on far more than seven hills! Come out of Hostel On and take an immediate right and you're walking/trekking up this hill. This photo does it no justice at all. It's steep! However, it does take you straight onto Istiklal Caddesi within minutes. Leave the hostel and take an immediate left and you're skipping down the hill towards Tophane and a row of nargile bars lining the shore of the Bosphorus. Again, you are here within minutes.

This street also has a decent smattering of pide and kebab places as well as taş fırın (stone oven bakeries) places producing masses of simits, bread and pastries. The bakeries were all open for business when we walked past them at 6:30am. Unfortunately, even the aroma of hot, freshly baked bread couldn't tempt us at that time in the morning; there was 'serious' running to be done. Oh, and we were still half asleep too!

There are no en suite private rooms but some of the dorms have their own bathrooms.
Breakfast isn't included but it really isn't necessary in this area of Istanbul. Hot pastries and simits (among others) galore are available from street sellers for as little as 50 kuruş (about 20p sterling) and you're very close to all the restaurants, cafes and takeaway places which all do breakfasts for all tastes.

Update 2012: Hostel On is no longer a hostel but there are many other hostels in this area of Istanbul. Get the best rates through our Istanbul Hotel Search facility.

Fethiye Blast From The Past: Otel Dedeoğlu

We've got some friends coming out for the week at New Year so we said we'd go to have a look at the newly refurbished Dedeoğlu Hotel on the Karagözler in Fethiye.

It really took us back to the first time we came to Fethiye on holiday. Our rep was really good and recommended decent Fethiye bars. One of them was Cat's Bar which was on the roof of the Dedeoğlu Hotel and that's where we met two of our friends who we are still friends with today. Cat's Bar is no more, of course, but the roof terrace is most definitely still there - now a breakfast area.

Dedeoğlu Hotel, Karagözler, Fethiye

In a hot July fortnight in 1998, we spent many happy evenings (and days, come to think of it) sitting on this roof terrace drinking, laughing, dancing and admiring the amazing views of Fethiye. A perfect first holiday to Turkey. In the following years, we've sat in the hotel lobby, chatting to friends while the Turkish men played King (a more than complicated card game) and so when we stopped by today, Büyük Mehmet was there to greet us at reception. Büyük (Big) Mehmet isn't actually that big but there was a smaller Mehmet around at the time. However, Small Mehmet (Küçük Mehmet) has since grown as tall as his büyük counterpart.

We had a quick chat to Mehmet and then he spotted my camera and told us to go up to the terrace to get some photos. We've always remembered the views from the top of the Dedeoğlu but seeing them again today - just breathtaking.

View towards Paspatur, Fethiye

It was just lovely to be back up there again. Cool breeze, watching the world go by down below us, taking in the views we've not seen for 12 years. Maybe everything looked extra good because of the happy memories we have from being up there in the past.

Gülets line the marina opposite Hotel Dedeoğlu, Fethiye

Whether our friends will choose to stay there or not, we don't know - but for us, it was a great excuse to have a good nosey round the new rooms and get back onto that fabulous rooftop. Not a bad place to sit and eat your breakfast in the morning is it?

Compare prices of Fethiye hotels on Turkey's For Life

Turkish Food - Discovering Istanbul Pickles

You may remember, way back last winter, we did a few posts about Turkish pickles and we even discovered that they're good for you. Well, that's always going to be a bonus for us seeing as we struggle to get through a meal without having a side dish of pickles.

Our visit to Istanbul last weekend was a very short one and as we've been up there a few times now, we were happy to spend the three days pottering around the Beyoğlu area as that's where we were staying. Dodging your way up and down Istiklal Caddesi is an event in itself but off this main stretch there are warrens of side streets to lose yourself in. Whilst wondering around aimlessly on our second day, we stumbled across this most wonderful of establishments...

Colourful pickles brighten up Beyoğlu

You can imagine our glee at seeing such a splash of colour and then realising that the splash of colour was turşu. Home made pickles of all varieties. Sometimes you see a shop and you get really excited and you just have to go in there. This was one of those shops for us.

Pickle production in Petek Turşuları

Actually, we're doing it an injustice, calling it a shop. This is a fine pickling emporium: Petek Turşuları (Petek Pickles). We pushed the door open and the air was filled with the aroma of pickling vinegar. The shop owner produces his wonderful pickle creations behind the counter and all around you are floor-to-ceiling shelves stacked with beautifully presented pickles, placed in their jars in such a way as to squash in the maximum amount - and to make you want to buy them. This guy quite clearly takes pride in his pickle presentations.

It wasn't just picked vegetables on display. Also for sale is pickled fruit (you can see the grapes on the bottom row of the photo), home made salça (tomato puree and pepper puree) of varying degrees of heat and nar ekşisi. We just couldn't leave this place empty handed. Wherever we travel to, we always buy a little souvenir to bring back to Fethiye with us. Travels to Istanbul usually entail book purchasing - but this time, the discovery of Petek Turşuları in Beyoğlu meant the books were sacrificed and pickles won the day.

There was even pickled fruit

Baby red bell peppers, jalapeño peppers and nar ekşisi were bought (very cheaply) and brought back home with us. Unfortunately, there were never going to be enough and we're already rationing them out to make them last as long as possible! The baby red bell peppers are sweet with a perfect heat and go perfectly with Turkish white cheese. The jalapeños - well, they're just being eaten with everything and the nar ekşisi; home made, thick and syrupy. That was drizzled, in generous quantities, over last night's salad.

It's not every day you come across emporiums such as Petek's and we can't imagine there'll be any future visits to Istanbul without stopping by here for edible souvenirs.

Istanbul Eurasia Marathon 2010 - 15k & 8k Completed!

Humour us just for today and then we shall go on about it no more, but did we tell you we completed our runs in the Istanbul Eurasia Marathon? Well, yes we did. The first time we've ever taken part in anything like that. Barry got through his 15k run and I did the 8k - the 'fun' race. It was fantastic fun!

Istanbul Eurasia Marathon symbol being beamed onto the wall at the marathon expo building

We've been in Istanbul for the weekend to take part in the races - and just for yet another excuse to spend some time Istanbul. We love the city more every time we go there and now we can say that we have run across the Bosphorus Bridge! I'll feel the need to keep telling that to everyone for many months to come, I think.

The marathon and 15k runners set off first and by the time the 8k run was due to set off, it was always going to be a run like no other. You normally see spectators lining the roadside; clapping and encouraging those daft enough to take part. 

This is Turkey, though. The Bosphorus Bridge is open once a year to pedestrians (Avrasya Maratonu day) and the pedestrians arrive in their droves. Some run in the right direction, some run from side to side to take photos of the Istanbul views, some amble along, pushing babies in prams directly towards you in the wrong direction, some stop dead right in front of you to capture that special moment with their friends on camera, some stroll along and chat, the fun runners march along armed with Turkey flags and balloons singing all manner of songs...and then the simitçi (simit seller) guys arrive and plonk their stands right in the middle of the road, right in front of where you are about to run. Eternal entrepreneurs are the simit sellers.

Not only was the 15k medal and certificate and medal bigger than the 8k; they also got chocolate, banana and 2 drinks at the finish line. Nothing of the sort for us poor old 8k runners. Got our medals though!

Anyway, it was all an amazing experience. Can't say it's a 'once in a lifetime experience.' That would be wrong because we've already pencilled in next year! We highly recommend it. The scenery along the route is more than enough to keep you going - but even if you don't run, the fun run/walk is just a big fun carnival. I didn't notice the first couple of kilometres because you just get carried along with the atmosphere.

We're both now the very proud owners of Istanbul Marathon 15k and 8k completion certificates and medals. You can guess which is which. Mine are the baby-sized ones for the baby race! We also got t-shirts so if you see two posers walking around Fethiye with Istanbul Marathon t-shirts on, it could well be us! Although, for such a big country, Turkey is a very small country. Barry saw three Fethiye people at the race on Sunday - one of them runs on the track along Fethiye harbour when we do! Maybe there are going to be a few t-shirts walking around Fethiye.

We'd love to be able to put a plethora of photos from the marathon day in this post but we haven't got a single one because I didn't want to run with my camera. However, I did take loads of other photos over the weekend so they're going to be appearing every now and then in future posts...I've got some fabulous photos of turşu (pickles) that might have to make an appearance tomorrow!

Did we mention we've run across the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul and completed our first ever races? Yes? Okay, no more...

Istanbul - Last Day Before Home To Fethiye

Well, the idea was to keep posting whilst we were here in Istanbul but when there's so much to do in so little time, it just doesn't happen. So, this is just a quick post to show we're still alive and well.

We've got loads to write about and lots of photos so there's lots of catching up to do when we get back to Fethiye. A few short hours left here and it's pouring down. Neither of us can walk very far anyway - aching bones and muscles from yesterday's Istanbul Eurasia Matathon runs.

Right; packing to do, check out of the hostel, book a seat on the bus back to Fethiye (and hope there are some empty seats for us - last minute again!) and amble around, taking in all that is Istanbul for the last few hours. Hope the weather in Fethiye is behaving itself when we get back!

From Fethiye To Istanbul - We're Off!

In 5 hours' time, we'll be pulling out of the otogar and winding our way up to the opposite end of Turkey to Istanbul on the overnight intercity bus - a journey time of twelve hours or so. The most hated job in the world is done - packing. It doesn't matter how many times we go through everything or how organised we think we are, we always forget something.

Packing for this little weekend jaunt has been made more difficult because we're getting reports of very mixed Istanbul weather. 'Bring your boots and umbrella' one friend said to us on Twitter. Umbrella - fine. I've hunted that out. Boots? Hey, we're still in flip flops down here in Fethiye. Trainers will have to suffice! We've managed to dig out a couple of long sleeved garments from under the bed as well (where our winter clothes live during summer). And, well, let's see...

Eminönü, Istanbul. Barry will (should) run over Galata Bridge (in the background)

The last time we were in Istanbul, it was for my birthday in February. This time (we must be mad), we're going up there for the Istanbul Marathon. Barry's running the 15k race (number 7985) and I'm running (plodding) the 8k (number 11196). I believe it's being shown on one of the Turkish TV channels so you never know, we might pop up on telly. Hmm, hope I don't. Not exactly going to be looking a million dollars. Also, if anyone reading this remembers Necmi from the silver shop opposite Deep Blue Bar in Fethiye, he now lives in Istanbul and he's doing the 8k too. Hope we see him.

Right, all packed up apart from the laptop. I'm putting it in the bag now and the next time we see it, we'll be in Istanbul. Ye-hey! Over to Eyüp in the morning to the Istanbul marathon expo centre to pick up our bibs and chips and, oh my life, it's all getting very real. We really are going to do a run! The main challenge will be not to drink too much tomorrow night (we've already arranged to meet up with a friend!) as we have to be up at 6 on Sunday morning...watch this space.

Wet, Rainy Fethiye and Searching Our Blog

Hmm, yes, well. Today's blog post was going to be all about how we went over to Ölü Deniz this afternoon for the first real day of the annual Air Fest. However, in British Bank Holiday Monday style, the Fethiye weather looks like this...

Grey, cloudy, wet Fethiye weather

We're sat in the house with the lights on, listening to the steady rainfall - it's that sort of rain that seems set in for the day, the sort of rain that makes you want to do nothing except write it off and come up smiling the day after. Washing - which needs to be dry and ironed by tomorrow - is hanging limply from the maiden outside. So, instead of clapping and cheering the daredevil paragliders and other flying objects, we're both sat with laptop on knee just 'sorting'. All those little jobs we've never got round to over the busy Fethiye summer months. I've been mostly fiddling with photos and updating a recipe photo album on the Turkey's For Life Facebook page.

Searching The Blog
The Search facility on the blog was working much better than it used to (maybe because there are a lot more posts now). Because I've been searching for, and linking to, older posts today for the Facebook page, I've made full use of it and it is working quite well now. So, if you're reading the blog and you remember that we wrote about a particular thing in the past (Bodrum, for example) and you want to go back to those posts, you can type key words into the box and it will give you the posts mentioning your key words. The search box is the white rectangle. Hopefully, it will make it easier for you to navigate your way round the site and help you get full use from the blog.

Walking The Fethiye Peninsula - Autumnal Fethiye Colours

We've been glued to the television all day today watching the amazing rescue of the Chilean miners (we're still watching it) but we managed to have a little interval late this morning. We decided to do our last little bit of training before we head up to Istanbul at the weekend to take part in the Eurasia running events. Enough running up and down the running track along the harbour so we set off for a hike around the Fethiye peninsula.

Definite evidence of the end of summer in Fethiye

The last time we did this trek, the Fethiye weather was bright and sunny but today was humid and the sky was heavy and grey at times. I just loved the colours on this shrubbery though. It's not often you see such vibrant Autumn leaves in these parts. Beautiful.

Yachts sailing in Fethiye Bay

It was a nice change not to walk around the peninsula in the sunshine because the scenery looked so different. It was a heavy, moody Fethiye bay we saw today. Scores of yachts out on the sea (which was completely flat) and they looked super white against the grey sea.

Nearly back to the beginning - and the dolmuş

The vibrant green of the new growth on the pine trees looked gorgeous against the sea too. Actually, I was very relieved by the time we reached this part of the hike. At this point (if you are walking around the peninsula in an anti-clockwise direction) you are about three quarters of the way round. I've had a bit of a cold coming on for an ages (but it's never actually arrived) and I realised, when we set off, that my joints were aching. My trekking technique of stopping to take photographs of the beautiful Fethiye scenery (when really, I just need a rest) was employed on numerous occasions. Hope Sunday is going to be okay!

Directions for the walk around Fethiye Peninsula can be found by clicking the link in the text above.

Turkish Food - Courgette Soup (Kabak Çorbası)

It's tenuous link time again - does a meal become Turkish food if it's made with Turkish ingredients? Well, we're having it anyway, and maybe some Turkish people do make courgette soup...it's just not one of the more well known Turkish soups. Anyway, we love our soups and as the Fethiye weather is cooling down and taking on a distinctly Autumnal feel, we will be making and eating soups with gusto.

This soup is completely of Barry's making (I'm about to ask him how to make it or else there won't be a blog post) and is super healthy and really easy.

A steaming bowl of healthy courgette soup.

A Turkish(?) Recipe For Kabak Çorbası (Courgette Soup)

• Sweat off an onion in a little olive oil in a large, 2-litre pan
• Chop three medium-sized courgettes up into half-moons and add them to the pan and stir for a couple of minutes
• Chop up a large potato (you don't have to peel it) and throw that in. We change between peeling and not peeling the potato. See which you prefer.
• Add a pinch of salt and pepper
• Then pour in about 1 and half litres of chicken or vegetable stock.
• Add a good pinch of dried mint and some cayenne / chilli powder if you want to give it a bit of a kick.
• Bring to boil and then cover and high simmer for half an hour. After half an hour, mash it up and simmer for another 10 minutes. Mash again.
• Now add a large handful of şehriye (vermicelli) and stir it in so it doesn't stick together or stick to the bottom of the pan.
• Cook for another 10-15 mins.

Serve your kabak çorbası with wedges of fresh, crusty bread (even better if you can get it from the bakery when it's still warm), sprinkle chilli flakes over the top and add a squeeze of fresh lemon. And then...

Always a clean bowl when we have courgette soup

...eat it all up - and wish your bowl was a bit bigger so you could have had more!

Afiyet Olsun

A Short Drive From Fethiye - Ören

As my dad is here at the moment, we followed tradition and hired a car for the day. He's been to Fethiye a few times now and has seen all the usual places people like to visit so this time we decided just to go for a drive. A good few years ago me and Barry went to Ören to a trout restaurant and we've heard there are more trout farms around now (you can see them on the satellite images in Google maps) so we thought we'd just drive around that area to see what's changed.

It's possible to drive a circular route around the valley of Ören from Kemer, driving up one side of the river and down the other. We turned left out of Kemer and arrived back to the village from the opposite direction. The scenery around there is lush and green and you are continually surrounded by rugged mountains.

Typical scenery around Ören

Irrigation channels and trout farms cover the valley floor along with olive groves and pomegranate groves. The Köyceğiz area seems to be a mass producer of all things citrus and the Ören valley must be the mass producer of pomegranates (nar). Yesterday, tractors and trailers lined the roadside as thousands of pomegranates were being harvested and loaded into the trailers. Can't wait to get to the Fethiye markets this week!

Following the goat herd through the village

And no drive through rural Southwest Turkey would be complete without getting stuck behind a goat herder guiding his goats at leisurely pace along the road for half a mile or so. He was a smiley chap but we kept our distance. Well, we didn't want to scare the goats but the main reason was that the herdsman's assistant was the famous Turkish Kangal dog. A huge, beautiful breed of worker dog, fiercely loyal to their owners and err, fierce with strangers if interrupted in their work. none of us much fancied having a big dog bounding along the side of the car showing us his fine set of gnashers.

On arrival back to Fethiye, we set off up to Kayaköy and went to Cin Bal for my dad's favourite tea; lamb tandır and chips. It's what he looks forward to most when he comes to Fethiye. And he even tried (and appeared to enjoy) some of the süzme yoghurt we ordered this time, too.

Ören - Usful Info:

• Ören is reached by driving along the D400 in the direction of Antalya. 
• Go straight across the big junction (where there is a right turn towards Kaş) and after 100 metres or so, it's signposted to your left.
• At this time of year, it's a pleasant drive. In the summer months, the restaurants attached to the trout farms are open and provide an alternative to the trout restaurants above Tlos if you fancy a change.
• Kemer or Ören can be reached by the same dolmuş from the dolmuş station in Fethiye.

Seasonal Food in Turkey - Nar (Pomegranates)

Mmm, I'm just trying to decide which season I look forward to the most. Is it late Spring / early Summer when all the huge, black Nif cherries are out? Or is it Autumn? Autumn is the time for these beauties.

Pomegranates are currently weighing down the branches of Fethiye's trees

Pomegranates (Nar) are one of my favourite fruits, along with cherries. However, I think I'll have to plump for pomegranates as the favourite. 
Reason 1 is that they ripen in Autumn and we love this time of year anyway. 
Reason 2 is that many of our other favourites in the seasonal produce category are going to be available on the markets of Fethiye over the coming weeks, so the visibility of pomegranates makes us excited about that. 
Reason 3 is that pomegranates are used to make the indispensable nar ekşisi - useful in the kitchen in so many ways. We haven't got any in at the moment (well, we have but it's the factory produced version - not nearly as good as the homemade version) but I think we'll wait for the 2010 batches to be made. So much to look forward to in the coming months.

We haven't seen too many pomegranates on the food markets yet but over the next couple of weeks, they'll be there; huge, misshapen, juicy baubles of loveliness. Can't wait!

Autumn Weather in Fethiye

Oh yes, there have been signs of Autumn weather in Fethiye recently but today seems as good a day as any to write about it seeing as we have just opened the curtains to grey skies.

Golden Moon Hotel swimming pool in Çalış

Gorgeous blue sky, sunny, clear. This photo was taken two days ago. My dad is here at the moment, staying at the Golden Moon Hotel in Çalış. We have made use of the pool facilities on a couple of occasions this season but there is a reason why the pool is devoid of people - the water is freezing! My outdoor swimming days are over for 2010.

View of yachts in Fethiye Bay from the Sundial

Yesterday, we all went up to the Sundial Hotel for the day. It's definitely still sunbathing weather and Barry and my dad are still happy to have a swim but the verdict was, the Sundial swimming pool (maybe because it's higher up) is currently colder than the Golden Moon's. Faces said everything. Lots of 'Ooo, eee,' as people eased themselves into the water. Even Barry described the water temperature as 'bracing.' Well, I know what that means and 'bracing' will be an understatement.

I've even got used to the cooler night time temperatures now. I knew we'd be out of the house all day yesterday so I had my sunbathing gear on in the day and took an extra bag with me containing sleeves and legs for later on. Glad I did, too! And as I'm writing all this, my dad is loving the temperatures, is still really warm and is running the air conditioning during the night. Maybe we're feeling the October Fethiye weather cool down more than others.

We've Signed Up For Istanbul Eurasia Marathon 2010

As you'll know if you're a regular reader of Turkey's For Life, we decided to take up jogging last winter as a way of getting semi-fit. Well, we've decided to put all that hard work to good use and have a short break at the same time so we've signed up for the Istanbul Eurasia Marathon which takes place on the 17th October - just two short weeks away. Before you become all super impressed, there will be a marathon taking place but there is also a 15km run and an 8km run and those are the ones that me and Barry are doing (I'm doing the 8km run). 

The great thing about the Eurasia Marathon (the clue is in the title) is that it's the only run in the world where you go between two continents and we'll get to do this by running across the Bosphorus Bridge. Can't wait! I'm hoping the excitement of doing this and all the fabulous Istanbul scenery will stop me from collapsing from exhaustion. My run will finish at Inönü Stadium (the home of Beşiktaş football team) whilst Barry will continue along the Bosphorus, over the Golden Horn via Galata Bridge (I really wanted to do that too - maybe next year) and up to Sultanahmet where he'll finish in front of Aya Sofya (Hagia Sophia). How good is that?!

Barry's view as he crosses Galata Bridge

We'll be setting off on our little travels to Istanbul on Friday the 15th and will be coming back to Fethiye on Monday the 18th. It's not long enough really - you could spend 6 months in Istanbul and not see everything - but it's a break and as with the last time we went to Istanbul, we will be doing it on a strict budget. We're experts at this. The hostel is booked - we could have been even more budget minded and booked a dorm but it's just not me. I have to draw the line there, so a private room it is. A bargain at 15 euros per person, per night and right in the middle of Beyoğlu. If it's any good, we'll let you know.

And we're already planning what we can squish in, in the short time we are in Istanbul - apart from the run and seeing friends. If you ever visit Istanbul, The Guide Istanbul is great. They also have a published bi-monthly guide and it's sold at most supermarkets and airports across Turkey. It tells you about gigs, concerts, exhibitions etc that are going to be on while you are there, there are loads of other listings and also restaurant recommendations. The restaurant section is really useful because a lot of eating places in Istanbul shift around, indoors and outdoors, to different locations, depending on the season. But, Istanbul is famous for its street food and that's what we look forward to the most whenever we go there. Mmmm.

Seasonal Fethiye Photos: Autumnal Skies

The intense Fethiye summer heat has now passed and we're entering our favourite time of year; Autumn. October and November are fantastic months to be in Fethiye. You can still sunbathe if that's your thing but the air is now fresh and clear and you can feel the coolness in the breeze. Go for a swim and the water is still warm - but you're glad of your big beach towel to wrap around yourself when you clamber out of the pool or sea.

Yesterday's beautiful Çalış sky

It's the sort of October Fethiye weather where you want to be out strolling and appreciating the scenery. Yesterday afternoon, we walked along Çalış beach. It was cloudy when we set off but the sun started to win the battle and we were left with this amazing sky. A bit of cloud usually means a half decent sunset and by the time we got back home, the sun was going down and Autumn was revealing itself in all its glory.

An Autumn Fethiye sunset

Yes, the nights are starting to get a tad on the nippy side - as in, you need your cardigan if you're sat outside a bar at night. We've not used the fan during the night for about a week and we're covering up with a cotton sheet. It's trekking weather, winding down weather, appreciating the Fethiye autumn skies weather...and my dad arrives tomorrow and I know it's going to be too hot for him. Wouldn't do for us all to be the same.