Skip to Content

August News From Fethiye

Share this article

What can we say about the month of August in Fethiye? Let’s have a monthly news roundup of daily happenings.

A curved promenade along the sea lined with palm trees.
We’ve seen off the intensity of summer

Of course the temperatures were high, the sun was beating down and, on some days, the humidity levels made life a tad uncomfortable.

As I type, however, September has arrived. And, with that, the flick of the imaginary switch that gives us perfect late summer weather.

Blissful breezes, cooler mornings for running.

We’re only a few days in and we’re basking in all that September brings with it.

The penultimate day of August – the 30th – is, of course, one of the Turkish National Holidays, Zafer Bayramı – Victory Day.

In Fethiye, there was a torch lit procession along the kordon to Beşkaza Meydanı (the town square), where Turkish group, Adamlar, later did a live concert.

Castle ruins above rooftops with a Turkish flag flying  above.
Excavations continue at Fethiye Castle

Sitting high on the hillside, watching over Fethiye harbour and the town below are the ruins of an ancient castle.

For the last three years, archaeologists have been clearing the area of scrub and carrying out excavations within and around the castle walls.

And in August, news came of an unexpected finding: the statue of a 2nd Century AD head as PART of the castle walls.

Hopefully, one day, the Fethiye Museum will reopen and we’ll be able to see other discoveries from the castle on display.

You can read more about the excavations at the castle in this article .

August is just hot! So, not too much eating out in the restaurants around Fethiye.

We did find ourselves on Barış Manço Bulvarı at one point so we decided to head to Mojo Italian Gusto to see if their pizzas are still as great as we remembered.

A Neapolitan-style tuna pizza.
We love the simplicity of the tuna pizza

They are!

We shared a tuna pizza and a portion of chips – and left most of the chips!

They’re deceptively filling pizzas.

And also in August, our own cooker doesn’t see much action.

Standing over a hob in temperatures around 40 degrees has little to zero appeal.

Obviously, we eat!

A white bowl filled with a salad of chopped watermelon, red onion and torn mint leaves.
Melon salad is always popular in August

But it’s all about using the seasonal produce from Çalış Sunday market to make lots of Turkish salads, cold meze dishes – and we also bought a couple of salad recipe books in August that have already been really well used!

The 2024-25 football season is now underway and Fethiyespor played their first match at home – and lost 3-4.

Early days and all that.

Here’s their current league standing. Onwards and upwards, hopefully.

If you’re going to be in town at anytime over the season and want to catch a match, here are the fixtures.

August is our anniversary. And, as with our birthdays, we like to try and get away for a couple of days, if possible.

This time, we wanted something easy – somewhere not too far away and somewhere that we know.

A small boat tied to a jetty on clear turquoise sea.
Kaş is a perfect chillout zone

To chill rather than to explore – it being August and all.

We both decided the obvious choice was one of our favourite little boltholes – Kaş.

No trip over to Meis, this time. Just a couple of days pottering about around town.

Two updated articles in the month of August and two brand new articles.

In July, we told you we are at Motif Restaurant along Çalış Beach with friends.

A much needed update to our Motif Restaurant review has now been completed.

A series of small silver plates filled with mixed Turkish meze and served on a circular silver tray.
Mixed meze at Motif

En route to Kaş from Fethiye, you pass Kaputaş Beach.

If you do this in summer, you do so very slowly.

Our Kaputaş Beach article is now all up to date, too.

A rocky beach viewed from above. Yellow parasols fill the beach.
Kaputaş Beach is VERY busy in summer

As we said, when possible, we like to go away for birthdays and our anniversary.

July was Barry’s birthday and we decided to head over to the Greek island of Symi for three nights.

Our quick guide to Symi island is now up on the blog, complete with lots of photos.

A view of Symi harbour from above. Terracotta rooftops are in the foreground.
Symi doesn’t disappoint in the pretty stakes

An easy journey from Fethiye on the high speed Fethiye Rhodes ferry with a few hours in between to wander around Rhodes Town.

Strictly speaking, this was a new recipe for September.

But as we’re a few days into the month, we can add it to this news update.

I think I can safely say this has been the most cooked and eaten meal in our house over the last couple of years or so.

It’s taken til now to write the recipe down.

A traybake taken from above. Mixed vegetables including sliced red peppers and onions are garnished with fresh green herbs.
Our Turkish chicken and rice traybake – tavuk kapama

This is our tavuk kapama – Turkish chicken and rice traybake.

A very welcome addition to our Turkish recipes collection as far as we’re concerned.

Our little section of random bits of news from around the country that jump out at me as I peruse my morning newsfeed.

Göbeklitepe, it seems, is the historic gift that keeps on giving.

According to this article, Sanlıurfa’s Göbeklitepe contains a stone pillar with carvings dating back 12,000 years.

Researchers at Edinburgh University in the UK believe this could be the world’s oldest calendar

In August, this article in Hurriyet Daily News told us that archaeologists in the western city of Izmir will resume excavations of the ancient Smyrna Theatre.

A series of stone arches at Izmir Agora.
Will we get a theatre to go with the fantastic agora?

The theatre is on the hillside between Kadifekale and the ancient agora and had seating for 20,000 people.

Overlooking the Gulf of Izmir, it should be quite something if and when excavations are completed.

This is now an international news story that has stretched through August and into September.

Whenever a country lays claim to a particular food, more often than not, it causes debate.

Meat and chicken döner kebab rotating in Istanbul. The staff stand outside, chatting.
Debating döner

Because it’s only natural that other countries feel they also have some claim to the food in question.

At the moment, it’s the döner kebab that is causing debate and making international news.

We hope Turkey and Germany reach an agreement soon on the naming of döner kebab.

And in the meantime, here’s a nice article about how the döner kebab reflects the story of Turkish migrants.

No big travel plans for this month but the weather is cooling slightly.

So hopefully, we’ll get away for the odd day out and a bit of local exploration.

Enjoy the rest of your September, wherever you may be in the world.

Share this article

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Norman Edwards

Tuesday 17th of September 2024

Hi Following your recommendation of Charcoal Palace, Calis beach, called in there today. Tell Barry's mum the fish and chips are still as good as ever !! Norman Edwards North Wales

Turkey's For Life

Wednesday 18th of September 2024

Hi Norman, thanks a lot for your comment and really pleased you had a good experience at Charcoal Palace. It's as popular as ever. :)

BacktoBodrum

Sunday 8th of September 2024

I wish September would arrive in Bodrum, it's late here - still boiling in the day times.

Turkey's For Life

Tuesday 10th of September 2024

I spoke to soon, Annie. Roasting here again, too. Hoping the storms forecast for the next couple of days sort things out a little bit. :)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.