And just like that, another month flies by!
March was the month that was – so it’s time for another monthly news roundup from daily life in Fethiye.
Blossom & Pollen
March in Fethiye is always the month where spring really springs with the sights and scents of the new season.
It’s lovely to walk past places like Ördek Adası – Duck Island – and see the mimosa trees in full sunshine yellow bloom.
And in the side streets, so many people have orange and lemon trees planted in their gardens.
The pungent scent of their blooms fills the air as you pass by.
Naturally, with the blossom comes the pollen, so there’s also been lots of sneezing to be heard.
Pine pollen season is also upon us with the local municipality warning those with allergies and asthma to take extra care.
The pine pollen descends over the town, leaving a blanket of yellow dust wherever it lands.
In the sea, the dust leaves an ebru artwork of fluorescent trails and swirls.
Add to that a mini heatwave at the end of the month, paired with a Saharan dust cloud; it’s been a busy month for the Fethiye weather scene – and for the pharmacists selling antihistamines.
Göcek Herb Festival
Staying with the springtime theme, earlier in March it was the local, annual Göcek Ot Festivali – the herb festival.
We’d never been to the festival before – it had always taken place by the time we found out about it – so this year, we were on the lookout for it.
We’ve been blessed with some lovely sunny days throughout March. And the day of the festival was no different.
We looked up the time of the dolmuş and headed off.
And we’re glad we did!
Different seasonal street food stalls with dishes featuring local herbs, local produce for sale (we bought some homemade nar ekşisi – pomegranate molasses), artisan jewellery and crafts.
And, of course, folk dancing.
It’s a great feature of the Turkish festivals calendar so it would be great to see it grow and become as famous as the multi-day herb festival in the Aegean town of Alaçatı.
Seasonal Spring Greens Feasting
The last couple of weeks have seen the stalls of Çalış Sunday market brimming with spring seasonal produce.
We can’t resist buying as much of it as possible to make the most of the short spring greens season.
That has meant lots of seasonal eating of late.
Baby new potatoes always call for a Turkish potato salad.
And this time, we added some semizotu (purslane) which is everywhere at the moment.
It’s also bakla season (broad beans).
They were so young, last week, when we bought them, we didn’t need to peel off the outer skin or even cook them.
They just went straight into our Turkish orzo and broad bean salad.
At the Sunday market this weekend, we bought some pazı (chard) to make pazı kavurma.
And also some araka bezelye (peas in pods) and some lovely, young kuşkonmaz (asparagus).
It’s all about the spring greens at the moment!
Summer Season Is Coming
Time waits for no one.
Whilst we’re basking in spring blooms, spring pollen and spring greens, Fethiye’s 2024 summer season is en route.
Limited direct flights between some UK airports and Dalaman continued over winter but March saw the start of the package holiday season.
And we’ve seen a smattering of early arrivals walking along Çalış Beach promenade – blessed by the spring weather!
Those people will benefit from the enjoyment of local bars and restaurants that stay open year round.
And lots of food and watering holes that have been hibernating over winter are now either spruced up and open – or they’ve begun their summer prep and clean up to open in the next few days and weeks.
Always lovely to see everywhere waking up.
The day trip boats and fleet of Çalış Water Taxis are all back in the water and waiting for their season to open.
And some hotels have their sun loungers and parasols out on the beach for the sunbathers.
At the moment, it is easily warm enough to bask in the sun on a beach day!
Out & About
It’s been a bit quiet on the ‘out and about’ scene after a weekend in Antalya old town at the beginning of the month.
A drink along Çalış Beach at Calisto on a sunny day.
A gözleme last week at Çalış market.
And, after a bit of a hiatus – for no reason – we made a return to the always lovely Çalış Kebabs and Dürüm for a dürüm.
I had Adana kebab and Barry had liver.
Happy to report that in these times of shrinkflation, a bowl of Turkish mixed pickled vegetables – turşu – is still served with your kebab.
On The Blog
Busy on the blog this month with a bit of spring cleaning and sprucing up. And new additions.
Our break in Antalya put the city itself, along with the whole province, back onto our radar.
So we’ve been doing spring cleaning around those articles.
Along The Coast
Beautiful, historic Simena (modern day Kaleköy) has been brought up to date.
As has its neighbour just across the water: Kekova Island.
We’ll be working on more of our coastal articles throughout April…
In The City
The municipality has done so much work around Antalya centre’s historic old town over the past few years.
Each year, when we visit for Runtalya, further works have either been started or ongoing restorations have been completed.
So our Kaleiçi article has been updated accordingly.
A case of a ‘tale of two towers.’
Renovations on the clock tower are finally completed.
And at the excavation site next to Hıdırlık Tower, work is ongoing to construct a glass viewing floor so that visitors can walk above the excavations and view the site below them.
Ease Of Use
If you’ve looked at any of our Turkish recipes over the last week or so, you may have noticed a couple of changes.
As an example, this is how it looks on our recipe for Turkish rice.
Barry’s been busy adding some extras. It’s now easier to save and Pin our recipes to your Pinterest boards.
AND if you’re like us and get annoyed when your screen goes dark when you’re trying to follow a recipe, you’ll also now see ‘Cook Mode.’
Activate that and your screen will stay on – saving it from messy foodie fingers.
And, as always, a big thank you to any of you who have left great comments and a 5 star review.
Stars are now more visible under the photo in the recipe card.
Ramazan Bayramı Extended Holiday
This year, part of Ramazan and the Easter weekend occurred simultaneously.
Easter holidays at UK schools towards the end of March and into April means some people have flown over to enjoy a holiday in Fethiye.
As for people here in Turkey, the Turkish government have declared a 9 day holiday for Ramazan Bayramı (Eid al-Fitr) giving Fethiye and other coastal resorts the potential to hit the ground running with an early boost to the 2024 summer season.
As is tradition, we celebrated Easter by sharing our list of Turkish egg recipes – eggs of the non-chocolate variety.
End Of An Era
Strictly speaking, this is April news but, seeing as I’m still typing this article, we’ll share the news here…
It’s the end of an era as it’s been announced this morning by owner, Erkin, that Help Beach is no more.
Those of you who have visited this area over the years will know Help started out life in Ölüdeniz before moving to Kücük Boncuklu Bay on the Fethiye Peninsula.
It was an institution and will be missed by many.
Good luck to owner Erkin and his family in their future ventures.
In Other News
Because there’s always something happening that’s not necessarily about life in Fethiye…
Yaren Stork Returns
Last year, we told you the amazing story of a stork who returns to visit a Bursa fisherman, Adem Yılmaz, each year.
He’s named the stork Yaren.
And Yaren has visited him for 12 years in a row, arriving in March and staying around to nest through spring and summer before once again migrating.
This year, the fisherman, the media – the nation – were waiting in anticipation…
Would Yaren return once more to visit Adem Amca?
Yes she has – she was even a bit early, this year!
Some adorable photos in this article.
Cycling Tour Dates Announced
If you’re a fan of cycling road races – and magnificent Turkish scenery – here’s a date for your diary.
The annual Presidential Cycling Tour of Türkiye will take place 21st-28th April.
For those of us in Fethiye, the Fethiye to Marmaris leg is Stage 3 and will take place on the 23rd.
Runtalya 2025 Date Change
We do say on our page about running events in Turkey that dates can change for any given year.
Runtalya was always a given – first weekend in March.
HOWEVER, 2025 will be the 20th Runtalya and this 20th event will take place on 6th April.
Congratulations, Istanbul!
And big congratulations to Istanbul.
On 27th March, the city was chosen to host the 2027 European Games.
The Games could be bigger than previously with the introduction of gymnastics and swimming to the list of disciplines.
Into (The Rest Of) April…
April is always the soft opening of the summer season with some places still prepping for a May opening.
But with the great weather we’re having at the moment, everything is already starting to feel summery.
Let’s see what the rest of the month brings…