Yes, another month has been and gone, and, once more, it’s happened in a complete whirl. All of a sudden, May is upon us!
We’ve purposefully delayed our Fethiye update for April because yesterday was Fethiyespor’s final – and immensely crucial – match of the season.
We were waiting for the outcome…
April was also the month where we took ourselves off for a little jaunt to Istanbul, so it’s perhaps not surprising that the month has gone up in a puff of smoke.
But anyway, we’ve got loads to update you with over the coming weeks and much of that is about little adventures we got up to in April…we just need to get caught up with ourselves….
Fethiye Harbour’s Changing Face
Ahh, not much stays still for too long along Fethiye harbour, does it? If you remember in our last Fethiye news update for March, we told you about (potential) new restaurants that were on the way.
All the ones mentioned are yet to open, work continues on them, and we wait with the usual bated breath to see what they’ll be like…
So, while all that’s been a bit of a Fethiye feature for the past few months, we take ourselves off to Istanbul, return home, walk up the harbour…and this has happened!
All of a sudden, Fethiye has a new ‘Irish Pub.’ Where’s that popped up from, then, eh?
We popped in yesterday on the way back from the match just to have a nosy – well, you’ve got to, haven’t you?
It’s the same owners as Adanalı Hasan Kolcuoğlu – they of metre-long kebab fame who have just moved across the road onto the harbour.
And, for all you Guinness drinking peeps out there, you’ll be pleased to know they have Guinness on draught.
Good luck to them for the future.
Survival For Fethiyespor – Phew!
Life as a Fethiyespor supporter is never dull, nor is it plain sailing, but we love it all the same.
Yesterday was the final match of the season and Fethiyespor needed a win to guarantee survival in Sport Toto 2. Lig.
The usual happy confusion prevailed outside the stadium as, knowing there was going to be a big crowd, we arrived 45 minutes before kick-off to make sure we got in.
We arrived to find a huge queue of people, tickets in hands…and the ticket booth closed…and a crowd of confused-looking people hovering around in the middle of the road.
We were part of this little posse. We headed for a steward…
“Get your tickets from the booth,” he said.
“The booth’s closed,” we said. “Are the tickets gone? Can we not come in?”
I’m getting a bit stressed at this point. Here we are, dutifully attending the home matches to give our support to a struggling team, and then, all of a sudden, we can’t watch the final, most crucial, match of the season?
Errm, don’t think so. There must be room in another stand. And then…
“Just join the queue,” says the steward. “You’ll get in.”
Our queue was really long so we joined the shorter one at the opposite entrance, only to be stopped by another authority figure.
“No ticket, no entry,” he said. “Tickets are finished.”
Right, time to try our luck with the previous steward’s suggestion, then. And, true to his word, we were indeed allowed in. It seems entrance to the ground was free yesterday.
We’d heard a rumour that that was going to be the case but it was never actually announced. These things are normal at Fethiyespor; no point chuntering about it.
We just get on with it!
A packed stadium with Bodrumspor and Muğlaspor 48 Gençlik supporters making the journey to join Fethiyespor supporters in getting the team over the finish line.
Gotta love a bit of rallying-togetherness! We all made lots of noise and, fittingly, Fethiyespor captain Emre Okur scored the only goal of the match to make sure the club hang on to their 2. Lig status for next season.
Never a dull moment at Fethiyespor…
It’s Summer Season In Fethiye
Mid-April is always the official start of the summer season in Fethiye but it’s not until May that resorts such as Ölüdeniz, Hisarönü and the like, really get into full swing.
You can see how quiet Ölüdeniz was just a couple of weeks ago when we did our Ölüdeniz springtime post.
It’ll be a different picture now as most of the hotels and camps accept their first guests of the season.
In Fethiye itself, not much changes because most places are open all year anyway, but April was the month that one of our favourite restaurants, Mozaik Bahçe, reopened.
First meal back was always going to be lamb şiş – just fabulous lamb at Mozaik, due to a meticulous chef who has a penchant for getting rid of all potential fatty chewiness – but we went back with friends again recently and we’ll once more work our way through the menu as the months go on.
We never order sides or starters at Mozaik because we know we’ll just gorge and end up super-full, but when friends are here…well, a little meze plate never did anyone any harm, did it…
And, as for Çalış Beach, they’re on the ball this season, too. The beach was trawled and cleared of the bigger rocks washed up by winter storms – and the umbrellas and beds were put out in one long, sweeping, neat row.
This year, it’s a rainbow-look with multi-coloured umbrellas.
We love them and we’ve made them our Facebook page cover photo for the spring season in Fethiye. Judging by the amount of likes and shares the photo got, it looks like the colours are a winner.
What do you think?
April Events In Fethiye
April is the month when morel mushrooms grow in the region and so we just had to go to the annual Üzümlü Mushroom Festival.
The Fethiye-Marmaris leg of the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey also took place on the 26th and we stood by the side of the road to cheer the cyclists on as they headed out of town.
There’s always lots going on around the Fethiye area and we’re always updating our calendar whenever we hear of anything taking place.
BacktoBodrum
Wednesday 6th of May 2015
I can't imagine drinking Guinness here, but willing to give it a go. I think we have it here too but I never eat out in Bodrum in the summer so have missed it.
Turkey's For Life
Thursday 7th of May 2015
We're not Guinness drinkers, BacktoBodrum but no doubt there'll be lots of people happy in Fethiye to see it for sale on draught. :)
budget jan
Wednesday 6th of May 2015
Fethiye just keeps on changing. It will be fun finding all the new things for the beginning of the season. A bit of change never hurts anyone :)
Turkey's For Life
Thursday 7th of May 2015
Yes, it's a constant change in Fethiye, Budget Jan, which is fine because there's still lots of institutional old favourites, too. :)
Krista
Monday 4th of May 2015
So glad you finally made it into the game!! How wonderful to have a favorite restaurant open again. :-) Good food does wonders for the spirit. :-)
Turkey's For Life
Thursday 7th of May 2015
Yeah, great to have Mozaik Bahçe open again, Krista. It's one of our go-tos. And yes, it's a good job we got into the Fethiyespor game or else we would have been VERY unhappy! ;)
Alan
Monday 4th of May 2015
Guinness on draught? It's enough to have me move to the metropolis!
Turkey's For Life
Monday 4th of May 2015
We were quite surprised, too, Alan. We were expecting cans. Apparently, there's now Fethiye, Hisarönü and Ölüdeniz with one place each serving draught Guinness. All the mod cons here, if you wanna pay for it. We're not Guinness drinkers so got a beer instead but our friend said it was decent 'pint.' :)