Yes, ‘hectic,’ is definitely the right word. If you were waiting for our October monthly news roundup, you’ll know it was non-existent.
That was the hectic part. Even part of November has been hectic, too, but now…now is the time when all has slowed down and a more relaxed pace of life is upon us.
You know, time to sit down and write and edit photos. Time to go food shopping and cook.
Time to take a walk along the harbour area along the beach in Çalış.
Anyway, let’s zip through the last couple of months in Fethiye. Our life is very foodie at the moment and you’ll see this once we get to the November bit.
But let’s start at the beginning and work our way through…
Autumn News From Fethiye
October was always going to be hectic. We’d been mentally prepared for a while. Not a bad type of hectic.
Just different groups of friends and family had all booked their holidays independently of each other and had all managed to cross over for all or part of their break.
The logistics of who wanted to go where, and when they wanted to go, and where would we meet.
The end of our summer had built to a crescendo. A couple of our friends had completely fallen in love with Help Beach while they’d been here and had spent many of their days there.
On their last full day, we headed there to spend the day together, take in the sunset and enjoy an evening meal.
Doesn’t that photo just say, ‘time to chill.’
Incidentally, we’d only had snacks before at Help. We all ordered seafood dishes on that evening and the food was exceptional. They’re open all through winter, too.
Also In October
Before our friends and family arrived, we decided to squish in a quick break so the first part of the month was taken up with our road trip around this corner of Turkey.
We weren’t even in Fethiye to see what was going on.
Once our friends did arrive, we all took part in the Fethiye Race For Life. Aside from the fact that it’s good fun, it’s also great to be able to make a contribution to local oncological services, too.
We also arrived en masse at the stadium to watch Fethiyespor – who actually won.
And, of course, whenever friends are here, it’s inevitable that you end up at various bars and restaurants around town.
Some traditional Turkish home cooking, a visit to Deep Blue in Paspatur, an afternoon at Surf Cafe…and so on and so on.
And by the time our friends had left, it was time to pack an overnight bag again and dash off to the lovely Dalyan, just up the road, for the 2nd Dalyan Caretta Run.
Both the beginning and the end of month spent out of town. Friends and family were the Fethiye filling in that little sandwich.
And Headlong Into November
And even part of November has been spent away from home. If you follow our Instagram tales or Facebook page, you’ll know we were in away again for a 10k run in the Istanbul Marathon weekend.
A truly fabulous three days – we’ve got lots of tales to tell you in the coming weeks.
But for now, ahhh, let’s soak up some Fethiye life and get back to our usual news update set up.
We’re 8 Years Old!
Yep! Can you believe it?
8 years ago on 28th November, I was sat on the sofa staring outside at the teeming rain (exactly the same as this year’s 28th November weather), doing nothing in particular.
And then I just decided.
“I’m going to start a blog,” I said. “Our life in Turkey. Just random things. It’ll just be something to do.”
“Call it ‘Turkey’s For Life,’ then,” suggested Barry.
8 years in and our ‘it’ll just be something to do,’ is our life. Not really an obsession. It’s just a part of us. I take photos and write.
Barry does the hours of work that go into keeping everything online and looking the way it does. Between us, we have a blog!
I’m sure one day, I’ll muse about all of that in length in a post. Not today, though…
Happy blog birthday to us. Thanks for being around!
A Mixed Bag For Fethiye In Sport
This might be difficult to believe for many football fans. But, in Fethiye, we hardly bat an eyelid, these days.
Last week, Fethiyespor appointed the FOURTH manager of their 2017-18 season. As you might be able to guess from that the season hasn’t exactly gone swimmingly thus far.
However, first game under new manager, Levent Eriş, this weekend and it was a dream start for him. We won 3-0.
BUT, it looked the part, too. Granted, we were playing a team who are having a worse time of it than we are. But, it was 3 really good goals. AND Fethiyespor were passing the ball and looked like a football team.
Encouraging times…
Fethiyespor Kadın Futbol Takımı
We can’t tell you everything here. Fethiye produces lots of great sports people who have international success.
Wrestling, oil wrestling and motocross spring to mind.
However, for now, let’s just tell you that Fethiye also has a Fethiyespor women’s football team (Fethiyespor Kadın Futbol Takımı). Their season kicks off on 2nd December.
All their news is on their Facebook page.
Fethiye Belediyespor Basketbol
Basketball is a huge sport in Turkey. And, last season, the Fethiye Belediyespor basketball team gained promotion to League 2.
Their season has recently got underway and they’re going great guns in their new league.
Along Fethiye Harbour
Work still continues at pace for the new recreation zone between Fethiye & Çalış despite some terrible weather. No photos of that for this month as it’s all just a bit of a muddy mess at the moment.
At the other end of the harbour in Fethiye centre, you can see in the middle, here, that buildings are going up to make a complete row.
These are the buildings that line the edge of the town square, Beşkaza Meydanı. No doubt more eateries will pop up at ground level pretty soon…
On The Blog – Time To Get Seasonal
We did say we were foodie at the moment. Late autumn is the perfect time in Fethiye for indulging in seasonal eating and we almost can’t keep up with ourselves.
So lovely, shopping at Fethiye market on Tuesday, filling our bags with seasonal goodies.
Time For Saffron Milk Cap
Tangerines from the nearby town of Köyceğiz were piled high and the aroma was just amazing. We were also excited about so much rain in Fethiye, too.
Wet weather in November and December means one thing: çintar mushroom season!
Batch number 1 has already been bought and cooked and eaten! Çıntar and sucuk go so well together. This time, we added spinach, too, and ate them as a pasta dish.
We enjoyed the remainder of them sauteed in butter and chilli flakes. Perfect!
Cauliflower Season, Too
It’s also the season of the cauliflower. On our Facebook page, we reshared our roasted cauliflower recipe.
We’ve also got a couple of brand new cauliflower recipes coming up for you, too. A little experiment with a rather large cauliflower we bought off the market.
When there’s only two of us and the food is so bountiful, we’ve got to get creative!
And Brussels Sprouts And Rodos Kabağı…
We love that we actually enjoy eating Brussels sprouts these days. Much better to feel excited when we see them on the market rather than letting out an involuntary groan.
We reshared our Turkish-style Brussels sprouts meze recipe but we’re also going to be making our sauteed sprouts with chestnuts and sucuk again, soon.
And as for the Rodos Kabağı (or chayote squash, as we’ve discovered it is called), it’s always a treat when you see these on any of the market stalls.
Our deep-fried chayote recipe was also added to the blog in November.
Speaking of squash, there’s also pumpkin galore on the markets, at the moment, too. It’s soup season so our pumpkin soup recipe has also made an appearance, recently.
And we’ve not even got round to buying any cabbage or broccoli yet, thus far. They’re all looking tempting at this time of year, too…
And The Festive Season
We’re a bit disorganised this year.
Yet to make our mince for the mince pies or our spicy, fruity chutney. We’ll get there.
On the blog, though, we have reminded people of our mulled wine recipe – a favourite winter drink.
But that’s about as far as we’ve got with our Christmas preparations.
All being well, at the end of December, our news round up will be a look back at 2017 so this is really the last of our monthly Fethiye life updates for the year.
More blog posts to come on other topics, of course, but as far as our random news is concerned, that’s all for 2017. More next year…
And before we leave the Fethiye news for a while, let’s not forget our Instagram photo favourite.
Our most liked Instagram photo, taken in Fethiye, from the last two months. We all love snowy mountain scenery.
These are your autumnal views on the walk to Kayaköy via the winding road above the boat yard.
Miss Footloose
Wednesday 6th of December 2017
Hi Julia and Barry! So nice to read about Fethiye and see the (familiar) pictures. It's a few years now that we visited and had drinks with you. Loved the market and the sunsets and the food. Your blog has evolved, congratulations and wishing you lots of success in your Turkish life. (PS: We now live in the south of France, in a little village of 600 people, in the middle of a 'wine lake' and having a good time here.)
Turkey's For Life
Friday 8th of December 2017
Wow, hi Miss Footloose. Somehow we managed to lose touch. No idea why but thanks for the comment. :) Your village in France sounds idyllic. Think you were in Moldova last time we were in touch! :) Glad you're happy in France.
BacktoBodrum
Sunday 3rd of December 2017
Happy 8th Birthday -So glad you are still blogging.
Turkey's For Life
Friday 8th of December 2017
Thank you and glad we're still enjoying blogging. Long may you continue, too. :)