May In Fethiye – A Month Like No Other

Time for another look back at some monthly news from life in Fethiye. Don’t these round ups come around so quickly?

And why was it a month like no other?

We got married!

A small, low key event with a few friends in a perfect setting. With views over the bay at the lovely Cafe Park Teras!

And we must credit our friend, Pauline, for the pic above. I only took one photo. After that, I had a lovely phone-camera-free afternoon.

Aside from that little event, what else has been going on…?

An Overnighter In Göcek

We’ll go on some sort of honeymoon at some point…

But just for a starter, after going to the herb festival in the small town of Göcek back in March, we mentioned the fact that we’ve never had an overnight stay there.

So we decided to jump on the local dolmuş and do just that!

A lovely night away and also a chance to check out what the night time atmosphere in Göcek is like.

It was perfectly chilled, as we expected.

If you love a chilled out vibe with a gentle buzz around the harbourside restaurants, we’d recommend it.

A National Holiday

In April, we have the national holiday that celebrates National Sovereignty and children.

In May – 19th May – it’s the turn of the youth to be celebrated with Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth & Sport Day.

And, in Fethiye, there were various events culminating in a free live concert in town square by famous Turkish singer, Koray Avcı.

Çalış Street Party

How to organise the official opening of your live music bar without annoying everyone else in the street?

Make it into a street party where everyone can join in and enjoy the live music.

That’s what Ilker Bar in Çalış did on 4th May. Live bands played throughout the day and into the night.

A great atmosphere which would make for a great annual event.

In the meantime, you can go along to Ilker Bar for live music (including unplugged sessions). Plus occasional DJ sets, drinks and tapas.

Summer Season 2025 Is Here

At the beginning of May, the Zabita put the message out that all the bars and restaurants along Çalış Beach needed to move their tables and chairs back to their boundaries and away from the beach wall.

And, whilst that was happening, the sun loungers and mattresses were placed along the beach to keep the parasols company.

Beach access is a hot topic at the moment.

This year, the belediye (local municipality), has added a ‘halk plajı’ (public beach) area to the main stretch of Çalış Beach. And also to Belcekiz Beach in Ölüdeniz.

These are areas where people can go and sit under a parasol on their own beach towels or chairs, free of charge.

We’ve seen sizable beach areas like when we’ve visited Marmaris and İçmeler. It’s good to finally see them in Fethiye.

And Even More Events

April and May are always busy months for local events because the weather is cool enough.

Earlier in May, we had another traditional Turkish oil wrestling competition up in Karaçulha.

And for the final Sunday in May, we had the Çalış Spring Fayre. Over 200 stalls lining the length of Çalış Beach.

And for the final weekend of the month, we had the 3rd Gastronomy, Culture & Friendship Festival. This is when Greek performers and chefs are invited to Fethiye for dance and foodie collaborations.

This year, the Greek visitors were given a tour of Kayaköy and the Friday Market.

Unfortunately, the Fethiye weather didn’t behave for the outdoor events at Beşkaza Meyadnı. So most of the festival was moved indoors to the culture centre.

We do our best to keep our Fethiye events calendar up to date. So keep an eye on that if you’re coming over any time soon…

Out & About

Well, as you can see above, we’ve been out and about quite a bit, this month.

A friend was over for our wedding, so we went for a meal before she left for home.

A few seafood and vegetarian meze plates and fish skewers at Denizatı Restaurant, chosen from the fridges. Lovely!

And May has also been the month of the chicken wing – with a portion of köfte, too.

Two visits to Kantaçı Mert BBQ and those won’t be the last.

A perfect example of a business keeping it simple and and being top quality over quantity.

And, after a few days of a mini heatwave, the temperatures returned to a more normal level for May. So we set off for a walk to have a late lunch at Defne Olive Gardens in Koca Çalış.

And then a short walk back towards the dolmuş stop via a couple of drinks feeling the spray from the waves at the lovely Surf Beach.

On The Blog

As well as adding our review of Kanatçı Mert BBQ (link above) to the blog – and adding it to our list of places to eat and drink around Fethiye – we’ve also added to our collection of Turkish recipes in May.

A New Recipe

Very simple. But very necessary.

Delicious Turkish sumac onions are always on the side of the plate. Or presented as a separate meze plate with meats like fried liver and chicken shish.

They’re a big favourite for us – and a Turkish staple – so it’s only right that they’re on the blog!

And Over To Greece

We’ve been over to Rhodes on the high speed ferry from Fethiye so many times, now. Which means we want to continue building our articles about this beautiful Greek island.

Our guide to Rhodes Town is, obviously, always going to be the main article. That’s the place where we’ve spend most of our time. But we are starting to explore more of the island.

The village of Koskinou is definitely worth a trip. And in May, we also added another village to the mix…

The highest village in Rhodes on the highest peak of the island, Mount Attavyros.

If you love meat and wine, this is your place – the village of Embonas.

Into June…

Wow, this year is flying!

The last two months have been busy, busy, busy. So let’s see if June can offer up something a bit more slow-paced. But no less fulfilling!

Let’s see what happens…

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