Eating Out - Günışık Restaurant, Çalış

Yesterday's Fethiye photo was in support of that endangered species of Turkish restaurant food otherwise known as 'real chips.' At the end of the post, we said we would tell you which establishment was responsible for serving the golden hunks of loveliness that were the subject of the photo, and so, for today's post, we're going to tell you about Günışık Restaurant in Çalış.

As with many places in Turkey, the Çalış Beach area of Fethiye sees many a business come and go, but a few do manage to get themselves rooted and go on to live to tell the tale. It's fair to say that Günışık is one of these businesses and is indeed a veteran member of the Çalış restaurant scene.

Günışık Restaurant, Çalış

And so, why is it that people who holiday or live in Çalış keep coming back here time and again? As you can see in the photo, it's not because of the cutting-edge interior design. And it's certainly not because of the spellbinding views over the sea to watch the famous Çalış Beach sunset. No. Günışık is open-fronted but the views are of the road that leads to the beach. No sea views here.

Karışık dürüm and half-bread

But, if you want to eat here in the evenings throughout the summer season, book a table, otherwise you're going to have a wait on your hands. This place gets packed with seasonal regulars in summer and, for us, what keeps us going back there is the no nonsense approach to food. 

They do a good karışık dürüm (mixed meat and chicken döner kebab in a wrap - main photo) and their half-bread is very decent, too. Note the bowl of turşu (pickled chillies) in the top right photo. Not too hot and an essential accompaniment, for us, to any döner kebab. As you saw in yesterday's post, the people of Günışık also pride themselves on their homemade chips...but it's not all kebabs and chips!

These photos are of what we just happened to be eating on the day. There are set menus here to suit all tastes but we have to admit that we've never tried any of the more international dishes. There's loads of that in Çalış and so we come to Günışık for their tasty Turkish menu. Their fried liver and onions is a favourite for us as is their saç kavurma (fried meat and vegetables served in a skillet). And, as usual with most of the places we recommend on this blog, make sure you're hungry when you come to Günışık. These guys are not shy with their portions.

Turkish Food: Real Chips Fighting Back - A Photo

It's Friday and that means it's Fethiye photo time. As with the post on the Yengen Burger a couple of weeks back, we're going foodie again - and this time, we'd like to know your opinion. 

Chips (kızarmış patates - fried potatoes), although not often associated with Turkish cuisine, definitely make an appearance from time to time on the Turkish table. While a Turkish dish might not traditionally be served with a mountain of chips on the side, deep-fried vegetables, including those of the potato variety, often appear on the trays of the bay-marie in Turkish lokantas. 

A few years ago, we stayed near Datça with the parents of a friend for a few days. The mum was a fantastic cook and, for evening meal, served a feast of Turkish food, including a huge, communal plate of kızarmış patates. We remember watching as she prepared the chips first and then put them out on the table to cool right down while she served the rest of the food. We thought this very strange, but what was even more strange (for us) was, when we could all eat no more, the chips were placed in the fridge and served again - cold - with breakfast the morning after. We recently had a village breakfast in Kayaköy with Turkish friends...they ordered chips to go with it. It seems chips with breakfast is perfectly acceptable.

Stand up for the real chip

So, we've established that Turks eat chips. But where are we going with this? Well, the first time we came to Turkey on holiday, we were really pleased that wherever chips were served, they were real chips. Real slices of potato that had been dropped into hot oil and deep-fried. To get real chips in a restaurant in the UK was nigh on impossible, so it made for a refreshing eating experience.

And then, as the years progressed, the dreaded, powdery, frozen French fry started to make an appearance at many of the eateries in and around Fethiye. We worried for the future of the chip as more and more places served the easier, frozen variety and more and more of our Turkish friends embraced the world of 'fries.' Tasty, homemade köfte being served with frozen fries - just not right! Was real food going to lose out to its processed competitor?

Well, fear ye not, real food lovers. The real chip - the kızarmış patates -  is fighting back and is enjoying a bit of a renaissance in Fethiye. While there are many restaurants that will continue to churn out meals served with 'fries' (and yes, we know there are many people out there who prefer them), other restaurants have stood firm throughout and even some of the new places have opted to serve the real fried potato. Hurrah to that, we say.

Should you be able to fit any more food down, Yengen Burger on the edge of Paspatur does a good, real chip. Akdeniz Restaurant in Çalış do a great side order of real chips to go with your kuşbaşılı pide. Cafe Pazar, also in Çalış, refuse to be budged and have always stuck to the real chip...and the portion of fat, real chips in the photo above...these are mighty fine chips. They're served at an eatery in Çalış, too, but we'll tell you about that next time.

Which side do you fall on? Are you a fan of real chips or do you prefer the frozen 'fries'? 

Flying To And From Turkey - An Airline Review

"We've found cheap flights," we said. "We're coming to Italy."

"Oh great," our friend replied. "Who are you flying with?"

"Blu-Express. They're an Italian company."

"Oh, I've never heard of them."

Not what you want to hear from an Italian friend. And then, when the time came, we travelled by bus to Istanbul for our flight and stayed the night with a certain (very) frequent flyer, foXnoMad. "Who are you flying with," he asked.

"Blu-Express," we said.

"Who?"

At Sabiha Gökçen Airport 

You know, when an Italian friend and a world traveller both wonder who on earth you're flying from Turkey with, it starts to make you a bit nervous - especially when you're not keen on flying in the first place - so we were both a little bit relieved to arrive at Istanbul's Sabiha Gökçen Airport and see the check-in desk for our flight. At least we now knew that the airline existed.

Boarding the flight. Now we know it exists.

And then to actually see the plane and be able to board it, well, things were definitely looking up a little. Now we just had to hope we were going to get from Istanbul to Rome in one piece. We were still confused about something, though. We booked with Blu-Express and everywhere we looked, it said Blue Panorama.

All would be revealed when we boarded the plane and read the in-flight magazine. Blue Panorama are Italy's second national airline, after Alitalia. We had booked with the low-cost arm of the company, Blu-Express. Ah, so that was why we kept seeing two company names being banded about. And flying with the low-cost arm of a bigger company has its advantages...

We were hoping for an Italian beer

...They use the same fleet of planes for both companies, meaning we had a really comfortable flight with loads of leg room. Cabin crew also wear the same smart uniforms, so we felt like we were on an expensive flight. The only give-away that we were on a cheap flight was the turn around time. No sooner had we all taken our seats and belted up, we were taxiing to the runway and up into the air.

Not everything in life can be perfect, and so we do have one tiny complaint. You can see in the photo above that we ordered a can of beer during the flight. We were a tad disappointed to be handed a can of Heineken on an Italian flight. Wouldn't it be great if they served Peroni or Nastro Azzurro? Like we said though, it's just one, tiny complaint. 

There's just one more thing we'd like to say about Blu-Express:

Boarding the plane to go back to Turkey

After you've spent ten fabulous days in Italy, eating (lots of eating), drinking and being in the company of friends, you go to the airport in Rome and board the flight...

Back in Istanbul - flying over the Formula One race track

...and two hours later, your Blu-Express pilot has flown you safely over the mountains of Greece and back to Turkey, to our favourite city in the world, Istanbul. 

Flying to & from Turkey - Useful Information

• Blu-Express currently fly 5 days a week between Istanbul and Rome.
• The company use Sabiha Gökçen Airport in Istanbul and Rome's main airport, Fiumicino.
• As with most low-cost airlines, you pay extra for baggage. We've now got this down to a fine art and managed to pack everything in one rucksack, just to keep costs as low as possible.
• We are a blog about Turkey, so we'd also point out that if you want to do some price comparisons, Turkey's low-cost airline, Pegasus, also ply this route. They fly daily and use the same airports.
• We flew out of season and paid 100 Euros each, return. As you might expect, summer prices are much more expensive than this. 

A Recipe For Turkish Coffee - Summer-Style

It all started when we were sitting outside Deep Blue Bar a couple of weeks back. It was hot and humid in Fethiye and we were sheltering underneath the cooling vines of Paspatur. The group of people at the next table had all ordered iced coffees and when the owner came to sit with us, he brought a drink with him - the leftovers from the coffee, mixed with chocolate ice-cream and crushed ice. It tasted even better than our Efes! 

We've been on the lookout for interesting summer drinks this year, and this iced coffee really did it for us. As soon as we got home, we started experimenting with our Turkish coffee (well, we are in Turkey, after all). We've written about how to make Turkish coffee in the past. This recipe is the summer version.

Summer-Style, Iced Turkish Coffee
Turkish coffee is only enjoyed by one member of our household, but this more refreshing version means both of us can now enjoy it, even if it isn't very traditionally Turkish. 

Cold-filter your coffee overnight

You need to experiment with quantities to get the flavours right for your personal taste but what we've found so far is that when you cold filter, the coffee isn't as strong. This recipe makes 4 iced coffees.

• Add 2 rounded tablespoonfuls of Turkish coffee (or any filter coffee) into a cafietiere. (Our cafetiere holds a half-pint.)
• Fill with cold water, stirring as you do so to cover all the grains, and then leave it overnight.
• The day after, strain the coffee through a very fine sieve or muslin. If you use your cafetiere to strain it, put it through twice to get rid of as much coffee powder as possible.
• Put the coffee in a container and leave in the fridge until you need it (it will last a few weeks in the fridge).

Turkish iced coffee

So, it's a hot sunny day and you feel the urge to take your cold coffee mix from the fridge. Here's what to do next...

• Fill a glass with ice cubes.
• Pour your coffee over the ice cubes until the glass is half full and then top up with milk.
• Sweeten your coffee with caster sugar (granulated sugar won't dissolve) to taste.
• If you've got them, make your iced Turkish coffee look posh by adding a straw. As you can see, we haven't got any straws!

Enjoying an iced coffee in the sun

So, there we have our basic iced coffee - and we love it just the way it is. But, there are other options to make it more interesting. Experiment by adding chocolate ice-cream (as they did in Deep Blue), add whipped cream OR, if you want to go alcoholic, why not exchange the milk for a good glug of Baileys? Now that would be a good iced coffee! 

Afiyet Olsun!

Çalış Beach Kite Surfer - A Photo

Friday is once more upon us - they come round so quickly - so it's time for another photo from the Fethiye area. Last week's photo was a bit of a break from the norm as we went foodie and chose a photo of the mighty Yengen Burger. We have been back to Yengen since then but opted for a more sensible mixed döner kebab!

Kite surfing in Çalış. They make it look so easy.

For today's Fethiye photo, we're heading back to Çalış and along the beach. There aren't many days, especially throughout the summer months, that you can hit Çalış Beach and not see the kite surfers cutting along the shoreline, one side to the other. They set off from the Surf Cafe and head towards Fethiye and the stiff summer breezes that continually bless Çalış make it perfect for those inclined to partake in such activities.

Obviously, some are better than others. You get the guys who can career along the water at breakneck speed before launching themselves and their surfboard into the air, performing flips and impressing onlooking sunbathers in the process. And then you get the ones who, no matter what they do, their kite refuses to move from the sea and you occasionally catch a glimpse of the top of their head as they bob up and down in the choppy waters, fighting with their surfboard.

Which of those two kite surfers would you be? Would you even like to try kite surfing? One of us would love to give it a go. The other one has slapped a ban on it, fearing the other one will take off and land somewhere in the vicinity of Rhodes. You can probably guess which way round that is...

Looking to book hotels this summer? Try our hotel best-price checker for Fethiye & Çalış...

Fethiye to Istanbul - A Night On A Turkish Intercity Bus

It's 8:30 pm and bus drivers, driver's mates, crew, desk staff, travellers and those who have come to wave off the travellers are milling around the various buses, lined up in Fethiye otogar. Most buses to Istanbul set off at 9 pm so tickets are being checked, bags are being loaded, cigarettes are being smoked.

At 8:50, the engines start and we climb onto the bus to find our seat. This is the exciting part - tomorrow morning, we'll wake up in a new city. Hugs for those who are leaving family and friends behind and everyone begins to board.

These days, the intercity buses have wireless internet and tv/radio. It's the same every time - people find their seat, put on the headphones and start to flick through the channels. In 20 minutes time, the novelty wears off, boredom sets in and the monitors are turned off.

9 pm on the dot and the bus pulls out of the otogar. We head towards the D400, take a right towards Antalya and the tea boy makes his way along the bus to check tickets again. "Alibeyköy," he says to us and moves on. We know the drill by now. Alibeyköy is where we'll get off the bus in Istanbul.

He makes his way back along the bus, this time with his snack trolley. Fruit juice, fizzy drinks, hot drinks - all included in the price of the journey - are on offer. We opt for the Nescafe and once again wince as we take a sip. It's a 3-in-1 sachet; coffee, powdered milk and a ridiculous amount of sugar for such a small cup. It's part of the journey, though. We forget about this every time. It's dark outside. Nothing much to see as the bus climbs through the mountains. We recline our chairs and begin the process of bus-sleep.

2:20 am. We've had fitful sleep. Head against the window, head against the chair, leaning on each other, improvising by using my fleece jacket as a pillow (it works), shuffling and repositioning and then the bus sweeps into the service area for our first stop of the journey. Bright, fluorescent lighting stings our sleepy eyes and we take a minute to adjust before getting off to stretch our legs. We've got 30 minutes here.

Welcome to Afyon. The 9pm Fethiye to Istanbul Pamukkale bus stops here every time. At 2:20 am, it's a dream-like, surreal world of gift shops, gözleme stands producing the frothiest ayran we've ever seen, lokantas churning out hot meals, queues for the WC...and it's also a world of sucuk.

There's always a sense of guilt with Afyon. We've lost count of the amount of times we've been here - but it's always been a silly hour of the morning, en route to elsewhere in Turkey. What do we know about Afyon? Not a lot. It's cold, icy cold in winter, and it must be famous for sucuk. Everywhere in this service area, sucuk is for sale and people queue to buy it. Oh how we want to try that sucuk döner. We promise ourselves we'll try it every time we pass through Afyon - but, every time, it's the middle of the night, we're half asleep and we have no appetite at all. A can of Ice Tea is all we can face, right now.

We board the bus once more and drift off to sleep to the sound of gentle snoring. At around 4am, we pull into a service area in Kütahya. We don't get off here. Apart from the smokers, most people prefer to remain on the bus to get more sleep. Sleepy heads loll from side to side as the bus heads northwards and the next time we open our eyes...

...it's 6:30am and it's a bright, sunny, new morning as we cruise towards Izmit. As more of the passengers wake up, the tea boy once more inches along the bus with his trolley. Tea, coffee and breakfast buns are handed out and, despite still feeling sleepy, it's daylight and there's Northwest Turkish scenery to be taken in. We're getting close to Istanbul and within a couple of hours, the clues are all too obvious.

Early-morning Istanbul rush hour traffic. A jolt to the system when we're so used to the relative calm of Fethiye but for us, we're not in the daily gridlock, trying to get to the office. We're here to once again soak up all that is Istanbul. We're happy. We're never sure how much further we have to go until we see the bridge in the distance.

Early morning on the Bosphorus Strait as we cross the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge. Forget the traffic. We're back in Istanbul! 

It's 9:30am. At Alibeyköy, we and remaining passengers alight the bus, pick up our bags and wander along the line of complimentary service buses. These guys are heading to various districts in the city. We look for a sign that says Taksim, find our bus, throw our bags on and head off to enjoy Istanbul.

Have you used the intercity buses in Turkey? We love them but many don't. What was your experience?

Turkish Seasonal Food - Giant Tomato Celebration

We might be wilting a little in this intense summer heat but with the intense summer heat comes the ultimate, summer-seasonal-food reward - the enormous, Turkish tomato. We've discussed our love of this seasonal tomato in the past and yesterday, the stalls of Çalış market were once again piled high with the beauties. 

Turkish summer tomatoes

Some stall holders were displaying them cut through the middle to tempt buyers with their juicy redness. We fall for it every time and just had to buy some. You don't get many of these to the kilo - four tomatoes weighed 2 kilos. But what to do with them...

Well, as we said, we're wilting! Although a few rumbles of thunder and spots of rain gave us all a little breather yesterday evening, humidity has engulfed Fethiye and with the humidity comes the desire to eat light foods...a perfect tomato salad made from just one of our tomatoes.

A Recipe For Summer Tomato Salad
This salad has made a cameo appearance on this blog before because we served it with the Kars gravyer cheese someone very kindly posted to us. It's in the photos but we never posted the recipe.

Barry's tomato salad, complete with juices for later

It's not a Turkish recipe but we are using the seasonal foods of Turkey and the salad is just the perfect way to celebrate these sweet, juicy tomatoes. We're eating simple and light at the moment and that's exactly what this salad is.

• Roughly chop your summer tomato and add to a bowl with a good pinch of salt
• Add a sprinkling of oregano
• Chop or crush a clove of garlic and a fresh green chilli (chillies are also in season right now) and add those to the bowl
• Now add around 3 tablespoons of vinegar and a good glug of olive oil
• Mix it all up and add fresh, torn basil leaves or fresh mint leaves (we're going all out for mint at the moment as our neighbour's garden is overrun with it - both basil and mint are in season)

And that's it. Perfectly simple and so tasty. It's especially good served with potato and onion frittata - cold of course.

A serving of tomato salad

This was yesterday's lunch. Tomato salad served with the leftovers of last night's evening meal. But do you know what the best thing about this salad is...?

We love Turkish bread

You buy yourself a fresh, Turkish, crusty loaf from the bakery. You munch your way through all the tomatoes and when they're all gone, take a chunk of the bread. Don't slice it. Tear it.

Best bit of the meal

And then you mop up all the remaining juices with the bread and eat it. Two meals in one! Be careful to share it nicely, otherwise it can lead to disagreements over who has mopped up more than their fair share. You've been warned.

Turkish Street Food - Yengen Burger

Every Friday we post a Fethiye photo - a photo that shows a scene from anywhere in the general Fethiye area. So far, as with last week's Çalış canal photo, the pictures have been of actual scenery - but today is a little bit different. We do have a photo...but we're going foodie.

A couple of weeks ago, we did a post about one of our favourite kebab joints, Yengen Burger. They've just opened a second eatery, just on the edge of Paspatur, Fethiye's old town, and we've found ourselves there a few times of late. On that post, we got a comment which asked if Yengen was just a name for the business or did it mean something else.

The monster Yengen Burger

We knew a Yengen Burger was a type of Turkish sandwich but, when I read the comment, I realised I'd never tried one - until last week, that is. This is a Yengen Burger!

What is a Yengen Burger?
As far as this Fethiye version is concerned, a yengen burger is a Turkish street food snack that you shouldn't consider if you are only a bit peckish! Make sure you are hungry, and even then, consider sharing with someone - although you might have a challenge on your hands in trying to cut it in half.

A large village bread bun is sliced through the middle and then packed with the following: slithers of fried salami (two types of), small chunks of fried sucuk, two fried eggs, melted kaşar cheese, slices of tomato and sliced, pickled gherkins (turşu). Jars of pickled chillies are always on the table for you to help yourself. I helped myself.

And the yengen burger verdict: Well, we love most foods and this is no exception. However, if I fancied eating one again, I'd make sure I was in the company of someone who wanted to share the load. This one is a monster! 

Have you ever tried a Yengen Burger? What's your verdict?

Along Fethiye Harbour - Shaka Restaurant

It's fair to say that, at the moment, Fethiye's harbour is going through what can only be described as a period of transition. At one end, we have the construction of the new Fethiye town square and Phase 3, the section going towards Çalış Beach, has ground to a halt while more efficient drainage and underground electrical supply is implemented. 

That just leaves the middle section. A few weeks back, we wrote about the new restaurants appearing on the scene for summer 2012. Most of them are now open for business and so, along this middle section, relative peace reigns. One of these new restaurants is Shaka. 

Shaka Restaurant

Shaka caught our eye as the finishing touches were being put to it a few weeks back. It just looks good! Traditional has made way for modern and colours are bright; turquoise being the running theme. We like to christen new places for our eating and drinking in Fethiye page so we just had to stop by for a drink, last week.

Turquoise theme at Shaka

The waiter came over immediately and, straight away, we noticed the badge on his t-shirt and the penny dropped. So that's why everyone already looked like they knew what they were doing. The waiter's t-shirt said 'Buzz Beach Bar' on it. Buzz Beach Bar is one of the most popular restaurants in Ölüdeniz and has been for a good number of years.

We love the interior

We had a quick chat with the waiter who told us an interior designer had been brought in to do the decor - and so we just had to go inside for a little wander. We love all the traditional eateries in Fethiye, but Shaka is new and fresh and a great alternative choice for Fethiye. We like it! 

Mixed fabrics cover the seating

So what about the menu? We had a quick glance at that too, and, just like the interior, that's also different. Different in that it isn't pages and pages of every meal you can possibly think of. It's simple, not super-cheap but certainly not over-priced, either. A lunchtime snack was brought out for another customer while we were there and we did notice one thing - real chips! Long may that continue...

Ölüdeniz Earthquake And Being With Friends

We're sitting in the house and I'm uploading photos for a blog post. We've decided to write about one of the new restaurants in Fethiye and then, as the photos are uploading, the olive oil bottle crashes to the floor (and, miraculously, doesn't smash) before the house starts to shake. We look up at each other, we're very calm (I don't know why) and we both go to stand outside until the shaking stops. 

It's all over with in less than a minute and we realise we're both shaking. Fortunately, we've each got a bottle of Efes in the fridge. It's not there for much longer.

This is a screenshot from the Boğaziçi University Earthquake Research Institute showing yesterday's earthquake off the coast of Ölüdeniz. Measuring 6.0 on the Richter Scale, it gave us all a good shake. Neighbours were in the street talking into their mobiles. There's lots of relieved laughter so we know nothing too serious has happened.

Friends holidaying in Çalış phone to check in, cancel the planned night out, and then we all agree to just meet up in a bar there. There's no power in the area but we're all together and beers have been transferred to the freezer to keep cold. Our friends are still in their swimming gear - they were sunbathing at the time - and the kids are back in the bar's swimming pool showing off their new diving skills and helping the landlord out by eating the quickly-melting ice-cream. Staff at the supermarket across the road are loading damaged goods into numerous shopping trolleys.

A few hours later, the electricity returns. The chef hits the kitchen and we all grab a menu. We're starving! Food and beers go down a treat and we all part company. Me and Barry stroll home, back towards the harbour lights of Fethiye - it's just another beautiful summer's evening from now on. Life's strange like that....

Çalış Bridge View: A Photo

Friday is once more upon us so it's time for another photo from the Fethiye region. Last week's photo was of a recent Fethiye sunset and this week, we're just a short trip across the bay, in Çalış - and we're here for a reason. It's something that is really exciting for those of us that care to be excited by it.

A few weeks ago, back in May, we did a post on the mystery of the disappearing bridge in Çalış. It was a strategically placed bridge where pedestrians could cross the canal and enter the Mutlu Hotel end of Çalış Beach without having to walk all the way down to the main entrance. Many of us were fond of the bridge - and then one day, it was gone.

View towards Fethiye from Çalış Bridge

We were so happy to see workmen rebuilding the bridge and then, this week, as we walked to Çalış Beach, we saw it there, in the distance. Well, after all that waiting, what could we do but cross the brand new bridge?  

Today's Fethiye photo is of the view from the top the bridge. This is the canal that leads the Çalış Water Taxi out to the bay before it crosses over to Fethiye, in the distance.

And it wasn't just us who were enjoying the ability to cross the canal. The bridge has been built with long, shallow slopes to make it easier for prams and wheelchairs to get across (we assume) and to make it easier for young kids to hurtle across, backwards and forwards. "Gel! Gel," the kid shouted to his oncoming friends. "Koşma çoooook güzel." This loosely translates as, "Hurry up mates. This bridge is great for running along." 

I took my photo and we crossed quickly before we found ourselves sharing the new bridge with a gang of little people enjoying their new toy. 

Çalış Market - A Guide

Regular visitors to this blog will know we have a love of markets; markets of the foodie variety. We visit our local ones here in Fethiye three times a week; Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays are spoken for in our house, and, if we miss one of those, we've even been known to head to the Saturday Patlangıç market. 

Shopping at our local markets is never a chore. Every Tuesday, we stroll into town and go to the massive Fethiye market. Fridays are a bit more of a relaxed affair - this time, it's the köy pazarı (the village market). Same site as the Tuesday market but foodstuffs only and it's locally grown and locally produced.

Calış Pazar has a relaxed feel about it

But we realised something recently. There are numerous market posts on this blog, but despite heading off in the opposite direction each Sunday, we've never posted about Çalış market. Just about everyone who knows Fethiye (even the first-time visitor), knows about the famous Tuesday market, and the poor old Sunday market in Çalış gets a bit neglected - and it shouldn't.

Çalış market has a more laid back atmosphere than its Tuesday counterpart over in Fethiye. Where the food is concerned, maybe it's that Sunday feeling, but people tend to browse more slowly rather than just getting their weekly shop and darting off. There are also not as many shoppers here - it's shopping, chilled-style.

Homemade honey for sale

You'll see a lot of the same types of stalls on Çalış Pazar as you would at Fethiye. You may even recognise a few of the faces as many traders do the rounds of the area. But there isn't a bewildering amount of stalls; it's more than enough to get what you need - although, having said that, UK shoppers who are used to the paltry markets back home will still find Çalış market to be large and bountiful.

Dried foods sold by the kilo

And, as with any market that sits in a tourist destination, Çalış market has all the usual jewellery, sunglasses, hats, bags and clothes stalls - but with a fraction of the visitor numbers. The coaches from resorts elsewhere along the coast are not interested in Çalış Pazar. Like we said, it's chilled.

The eating area at Çalış Market 

As with the food area at Fethiye market, hungry and thirsty shoppers are still able to take a break and enjoy a kebab, gözleme or a hot village bread (bazlama) served with melted butter and cheese inside. Hot and cold drinks, including traditional ayran and freshly squeezed fruit juices are also available...or these days, there are always the bars and restaurants nearby. We're no strangers to a quick stop off at Cafe Pazar - just to quench our thirst on a hot day... 

Çalış Market: Useful Information

• Çalış market place is on Yerguzlar Caddesi in Günlükbaşı, about 2km from the beach. 
• It takes place every Sunday, early morning until sunset.
• In the summer season, the Günlükbaşı dolmuş detours to the market to drop off and pick up.
• Whether you are coming from Fethiye or Çalış, take the Günlükbaşı dolmuş (not the Sahilden dolmuş) and it will drop you off at the entrance to the market. The price is 2 lira.

Çalış Carnival 2012 - In Photos

While Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee was celebrated in various parts of the world over the weekend, people along Çalış Beach were witnessing the annual Çalış Carnival - and we managed to witness parts of it, as usual, more by good luck than good management. 

Fortunately, we're rarely without a camera of some description these days, so we did manage to get a few photos of the events we did see. 

Beach football - played in good spirits but taken very seriously. That's boys and football for you.

The beach football tournament took place on Thursday. We were having a walk along the beach and managed to catch the penalty shoot-out between the waiters at Orient Express Restaurant and the staff at Güneş Hotel. Some were definitely better at taking penalties than others!

This year, the main carnival day was Saturday. We've got friends here at the moment so we all decided to head down to the beach to watch the parade and see what else was going on.

There were definitely more dads than kids playing with the kites

There was a chidren's kite event taking place at the far end of the beach near the Yörük Tents. Kites are quite popular in Fethiye so there were many families at this end of the beach - and a good few tangled kites. It's safe to say the dads were having as much fun as the kids on this one, reliving lost youth.

Two late little boys

Kids love carnival days - especially when it's sunny and there's a beach involved! These two young chaps were making their way to the rest of their group ready to start the parade. Many of their costumed friends were still getting filthy, playing by the sea while parents shouted, trying to get them to the start point. Well, who wants to parade down the promenade when you can be digging in sand, eh? 

The Çalış Boat Parade

As with last year, representatives from the Çalış Boat Co-op got to do their own parade, sea-style. These are the boats that lead double lives. Sometimes, they are the Çalış to Fethiye water taxi and other times, they are the vessels that take families on private boat trips around Fethiye's Blue Bays.

The 2012 Çalış Carnival Parade

And then there was the main parade, led by the Fethiye Belediye Brass Band (who you may remember from our post about the arrival of Tom Kelly, the guy who rode his bike from Wigan to Fethiye). Fortunately, the bars were busy for this - so the crowd was decent, at least along the stretch where we were standing. Kids groups, local services, local businesses and charities, Animal Aid and Çalış Children's Charity, were all represented.

As with the 2011 Çalış Carnival, there was a free music concert on the Saturday night to end the 2012 event. Our stamina isn't what it was and unfortunately, an afternoon spent with friends along Çalış Beach meant no music concert for us this year!

Sunset Over Fethiye Bay: A Photo

Our previous Fethiye photo was Fethiye Harbour At Night - and that was two weeks ago! Last Friday, we were meeting with friends and waiting for the arrival of Wigan to Fethiye cyclist, Tom Kelly. That led to no post on the Friday but at least we got the added bonus of watching Ölüdenizli Yarenler. On occasions like this, we've posted the Friday photo on a Saturday instead - but we figured, and we're sure you'll agree, the Tom Kelly post deserved to override the Fethiye photo on this occasion.

And that brings us onto this week. Yesterday / last night was all about seeing off some friends who were flying back to the UK and so, once again, our Friday photo is a Saturday photo. But that's summer life in Fethiye for you - daily routine suddenly disappears in a puff of smoke and we'll no doubt bumble our way through to the end of October in a haze of hellos, goodbyes and trips to and from Dalaman Airport.

Is this the end of the unsettled weather?

And here's today's Fethiye photo, taken last week. It was a complete mix of weather we had through May. The summer heat seems to be arriving later and later each year (while the pleasant autumn temperatures now lasts long into December) and so May 2012 literally blew hot and cold.

But as we've said in the past, changeable weather always makes for a better sunset. Despite taking hundreds of photos of the Fethiye sunset from this very spot, last week's tempted me to reach for my camera once again. It's the clouds that do it. 

(If you are reading this and are about to come to the Fethiye area for your summer holiday, you'll be pleased to know that June has heralded the start of summer. Temperatures are on the up and the flip flops are out!)