It started so well! We were bang on time with our monthly Fethiye news update for September. Most of it was written and almost ready to go.
And then events took over: Weather, power cuts, minor tummy bug which resulted in a sofa day…life.
So, this is a short and sweet update of the last couple of weeks or so, which has been spent with more friends visiting Fethiye for their holidays. And it’s also been a bit of a wind down, too.
And as we wind down, so do the high temperatures of the stifling summer heat. It’s generally warm and pleasant and the air clears.
First Autumn Rain
Having said that, whilst it was still warm and pleasant, the big Fethiye weather news for September was the long awaited rain!
On the penultimate day of the month the skies darkened and, finally, the rain began to fall!
Quite a bit of it, actually.
Whilst videos from Hisarönü and Ölüdeniz went viral – rivers of water gushing down the streets – we were sat in EY’s along Çalış Beach relishing the cooling spray from the rain.
The first rain after a long, hot summer is always pure joy!
It’s late-summer days like this where the local bars and restaurants do good trade.
As soon as there was a break in proceedings, we made a dash for the dolmuş…and then got wet ourselves as the heavy rain once again started to fall whilst we walked home.
We did, however, catch this stunner of a moody, cloudy sunset that revealed itself for just a few seconds before once again being obscured by the black clouds tumbling across the sky.
And then on 3rd October, we received weather warnings as text messages. THIS was prolonged heavy rain…and thunder and lightning.
We were safely holed up inside and are fortunate where we live that the drainage is decent – but lots of Fethiye centre and the streets around Çalış and surroundings flooded.
This video shows the pedestrianised Dispanser area where Paşa Fırın is.
As soon as the rain stopped, belediye (local municipality) teams were out, pumping the water away and cleaning up.
Out & About
But it’s not all about the much needed rain. The warm late summer days are still there to be made the most of.
Ölüdeniz
We’ve been over to Ölüdeniz a couple of times this summer. Summer 2025 has been the year of rediscovery, really where Ölüdeniz is concerned.
The resort is just not our scene anymore – but as we always say to visiting friends, you should go at least once.
Because, whatever the atmosphere of the resort, the scenery is never not spectacular!
So, a couple of pleasant afternoons and early evenings, there, where we’ve chilled at one of the (relatively) new beach clubs along Belcekiz Beach and grabbed a bite to eat before leaving.
Good quality meat on the plated döner kebab at Bella Gusto along the front, by the way.
Games Announcement
And keeping with the Ölüdeniz theme, a few days ago, the dates for the International Fethiye Ölüdeniz Air Games were announced.
We’ve put those dates on our Fethiye events calendar but if you’re in the area 22nd-26th October, they’re your dates.
These days, there are events in Fethiye centre and along Çalış Beach as well as at Ölüdeniz. So we’ll share the programme of events as soon as it’s announced. And, of course, all events are weather-permitting.
Pide Time
Yes, we are winding down, now, so it was nice to wander into town without overheating to do ‘the errands’ and then stop off for lunch at the old favourite, Nefis Pide along the kordon.
As the weather cools, we’re also looking forward to some Tuesday market and Friday market shopping trips with a stop off for a late lunch at the Fethiye street food trucks.
There’s a still a few of those trucks that we haven’t tried.
On The Blog
New articles and some updates, too, on the blog over the last three weeks or so.
Haydari
Haydari is arguably the Turkish yoghurt meze. And whilst we’ve always had a short post about it on the blog, we have finally made it into a proper recipe.
Quick and easy to make, it’s such a staple.
Give our haydari recipe a go.
Turkish Yoghurt Recipes
And, as is always the case wirth us and this blog; one article spawns another. Off we go down the rabbit hole of writing articles that weren’t on the agenda before.
As yoghurt is such a bastion of Turkish cuisine, we’ve created a list of all of the Turkish yoghurt recipes on our blog and also written about other dishes where yoghurt features.
So if you’re a Turkish yoghurt fan – thick natural Greek yoghurt can be used if you can’t buy Turkish yoghurt where you are – check out our list of Turkish yoghurt recipes.
Updates
In last month’s news, we said we needed to update a couple of articles about local bars Lukka and Cafe Park Teras.
Our Lukka review is now all up to date, complete with 2025 photos.
As for Cafe Park Teras, we have the 2025 photos; we just need to do the update.
And, seeing as we’ve had so much rain recently, it also seemed apt to update our tips for things to do when it’s raining in Fethiye.
A Change In Seasons
As the seasons change, so does the abundance of different seasonal foods on the local markets.
Eating seasonally is what we love. So we’re looking forward to spending some time in the kitchen and using lots of autumn seasonal produce to add to our list of Turkish recipes.
And no doubt there’ll be some international dishes, too.
Fethiyespor
The team seemed to be warming up and posted a couple of good scores but that was brought to a halt with a 2-0 loss away over the weekend.
You can see the standings on the league table. And if you want to go to a home game the next time you’re in Fethiye, here are the fixtures and previous scores.
The big news is that Betonarme – the concrete ‘posh’ stand – has just been demolished and the club will get a swanky new stand that will meet earthquake building standards.
So if you do go to a match this season, you’ll either be in Maraton stand (opposite the demolished stand) or Kale Arkası (behind the goal).
In Other News
Our bits of news that jump out at us from elsewhere around the country. Not much to report for this month, it being such a short period since our last update.
But it’s archaeological news again. Because there is just so much going on in the Turkish archaeological world at the moment.
This time, the focus is on the ancient city of Myra, located in today’s Demre in the Antalya Province.
According to Anatolian Archaeology, archaeologists have been excavating the site since 2009 and have mapped thousands of local stones that were part of the theatre.
Just as the ancient lighthouse at the ruins of Patara was rebuilt, the Myra theatre is going to be restored to its former glory putting these stones back into their original positions and missing stones will be recreated using local Antalya stone.
This is a huge project. And it’s said that on completion, the theatre will be the largest cultural event venue in the region.
Into October
Who knows what the month ahead holds? We’ll let you know in a few short weeks…