Phewee, that was a hot one! Happy and relieved to be typing this month’s monthly news roundup in still hot, but cooler, temperatures!
A Scorcher Of A July
So let’s start with lots of people’s favourite subject – talking about the weather. Much of July saw a heatwave. Not only for us in Fethiye but other towns and cities along the Mediterranean coast.
And, of course, for other countries of the Mediterranean. Horrendous wildfires on the Greek island of Rhodes, just across the water from us.
The north of the island escaped the fires and it felt strange to watch the Fethiye to Rhodes catamaran sailing out every morning whilst the British media was awash with horror stories.
But Rhodes Town and many other areas were (and are) safe. And Tourism Minister, Olga Kefalogianni, has been keen to emphasise this.
And on social media, it’s been lovely to see Turkish people fully empathising with the people of Rhodes and other areas of Greece affected by wildfires.
The hideous wildfires that scorched much of the Mediterranean coast of Turkey in July 2021 are still very much in everyone’s minds, here.
There have been – and no doubt there will be more – wildfires here, too.
A fire that broke out in the forest area between Karaot Beach and Katrancı was fortunately quickly extinguished. A rapid response from firefighting crews both on the ground and in the air.
And we’re all so grateful for their brave efforts!
The heatwave wasn’t all doom and gloom, though. Most of the time, the winds were offshore winds.
Whenever there’s an offshore wind, this means a very calm sea at Çalış Beach.
No pleasant breezes to cool us down unfortunately, but the water quality was amazing. No summer surf to churn up the sea bed and make everything murky.
Crystal clear waters meant you could see the sea bed even as you walked along the promenade. Swimmers were loving it!
If you’re due to come to Fethiye for your holidays imminently, we’re back in much more familiar territory where the heat is concerned. Thankfully!
A New Pedestrian Walkway
If you know Çalış well and you’ve been in the area recently, you’ll know that the wooden walkway over the canal bridge where the Çalış water taxis leave from was in a bit of a sorry state.
Well, the great news is that the rickety wooden rails and buckled walkways are no more. We have a new wooden pathway with decorative (and sturdy-looking) rails.
The opposite side of the road is also now finished.
Return Of The Barbecues
In July, the ban was lifted for doing barbecues on boats whilst sailing around the bays and islands of Fethiye.
Some boat owners, however, including the Çalış Boat Cooperative have decided they are going to continue cooking their food for guests in the galley of the boat.
They say this is to protect the bays they visit from barbecue pollution. And, obviously, this got good support from many regular customers of the day trip boats.
Other boat owners have said they want to resume with barbecue lunches and some have consulted with customers, asking them which they would prefer.
There are lots of responsible boat owners out there who care about their local environment.
We have no problem with barbecues on the boats and gülets – just as long as the barbecue debris is disposed of responsibly.
Beach Days
It’s been – and is – a busy summer with lots of friends holidaying in Fethiye, this year. That’s meant one or two beach days.
And that’s meant a couple of updates here and there. We’ve updated our article about Karataş Beach after we were there in June with friends.
A day at Surf Beach in Koca Çalış has led to a general update of our dedicated page that is a guide to Fethiye beaches and beyond.
We’ll be updating our Surf Beach post very soon – it’s LONG overdue.
As we’re being a bit beachy in this section, we should also mention the new council beach; Çalış Halk Plajı (Çalış Public Beach).
That’s opened in Koca Çalış along the little stretch just beyond the main beach and is very popular at the moment.
We haven’t been yet – only walked by – but will no doubt be going for a little mooch once they’ve settled in a bit.
A Little Break = More Articles
Barry’s birthday is in July and we usually go away for a couple of nights for it.
As we were in the middle of the heatwave, plans to go any further afield were put on hold for cooler times. So we decided to go back to Kaş for the weekend because we’d had such a lovely time there in June with friends.
We took a hire car with us again so we could have a drive around. And that means we’ve got some new articles coming up on the blog.
From our previous trip to Kaş last month, we went to Saklıkent on the way home. So you can now read all about Saklıkent Gorge – our guide to what it’s like in 2023.
On our way home this time, we drove up to one of our favourite archaeological sites, Tlos.
For whatever reason, we never had a definitive Tlos article on the blog.
Well, that’s all changed now and we hope our new guide to ancient Tlos will convince you to love it as much as we do.
Tlos and Saklıkent make a great day trip from Fethiye – you can experience both in one day – and are included in our list of top things to do in Fethiye and around.
From our June wanderings, we’ve now also updated our article about things to do in Dalyan.
So, a busy month on the blog where travel posts are concerned. And we have more to come!
In The Kitchen
Not one single new recipe has gone onto the blog in July.
40 odd degrees temperatures – and no air conditioning in our house – we think that gives us a perfect excuse to not spend unnecessary time in the kitchen!
Of course, we have been cooking and eating – just not leisurely experimenting.
It’s been a case of sticking to what we know.
Lots of lovely summer seasonal produce on the local markets at the moment as well as all the regulars.
Main dishes we’ve enjoyed throughout July have been lots of Turkish recipes like green lentil salad, lentil köfte and barbunya pilaki. Plus lots of ayran and melon salad.
You get the picture. Cold things!
Chicken and köfte do make an appearance, too. Just simple – griddled.
Fethiyespor
The team are currently training at their summer training camp in Bolu in the north of the country where it’s cooler.
Well, who would want to be training in Fethiye in this heat?
Signings are taking place. The fixtures are out for the first half of the season.
We’ll be posting the fixtures soon. No match for us in the first week so no rush for that, just yet…
In Other News
Filenin Sultanları
First of all, congratulations to Filenin Sultanları – Sultans of the Net.
This is the Turkish women’s volleyball team who, for the first time ever, became the number 1 volleyball team in the world after winning the Volleyball Nations League on July 16th.
Great stuff!
Caretta Caretta Hatchlings
Summer is nesting season for sea turtles and this area of the country has many beaches that Caretta Caretta return to each year to lay their eggs.
The hatchlings usually start to appear and make their way to the sea from July through to September.
Whilst Iztuzu Plajı (Turtle Beach) near Dalyan is perhaps the most famous nesting beach in the region, the first news we saw of hatchlings this year was July 12th at Patara Beach.
More Michelin Guide Recognition
Nothing for years. And then three come (almost) at once!
A few months ago, we told you that Istanbul had finally been placed on the foodie map (what took so long?) – you can now access a Michelin Guide to Istanbul.
And then, earlier in July, it was announced that Izmir and Bodrum would also be added to the guide.
The list will be announced in November. We’re very curious.
Obviously, Istanbul is huge and has countless restaurants and smaller eateries to choose from.
But who will make the list for Bodrum and Izmir?
We’re not much into fine dining but the Michelin list usually also rewards places that are just great quality eateries serving up local dishes.
It could give us lots of ideas for places to eat next time we’re in those areas.
The Slow Food movement is quite prevalent in both areas and we’ve heard about great restaurants and smaller eateries using locally grown produce.
But let’s see. Let’s see what August has in store for us, first of all…