October News From Fethiye
Another month in the bag and what a month it has been. We're looking at you, Fethiye weather!
Have we ever had an October like this? Not just cloudy and wet - but torrential rain for such prolonged periods?
As seems to be the unfortunate norm, these days, whenever there's heavy rain, the main shopping street in the resort of Ölüdeniz became a shallow river.
But streets around a lot of the whole Fethiye area also flooded, including Paspatur old town and Umbrella Street.
As I type, people in Dalaman are dealing with widespread flooding after the Tersakan River burst its banks.
And, to the east, residents of Üçağız were told to stay indoors after torrents of flood water surged through the village.
And across the water, the people on the Greek islands of Rhodes and Symi are having a similar experience.
But, also as I type, there is blue sky amongst the pillowy white clouds. And, for now at least, it's dry!
After a dry day on the 30th, there's more rain forecast over the coming days. But let's hope it's not as heavy as it has been of late...
Cumhuriyet Bayramı - Republic Day
29th October is, of course, Turkish Republic Day and this year, the country celebrated 103 years of the Republic.
In Fethiye, there was an organised walking procession along the harbour to the square where there was then a small fireworks display.
And in the daytime, amongst other events, we had the boat procession that went out from Fethiye marina, around the back of Şövalye Island and back into the bay.
We watched the flotilla appear on the horizon from Çalış Beach. But it's these amazing scenes from above that make this part of the celebrations so special.
2026 Fethiye Ölüdeniz Air Games
It seems like a long time ago, now, what with all the recent weather.
But last week, between 21st and 25th October, we had one of our annual events; the International Fethiye Ölüdeniz Air Games.
This year very much seemed to be the biggest and best event yet.
Displays took place in Ölüdeniz, along Çalış Beach and also in Beşkaza Meydanı in the centre of Fethiye. Live music and DJs entertained the crowds at night.
I had the perfect excuse to pause for a moment on a morning run along Fethiye harbour as the THK paramotor team took off from Şehit Fethi Bey Park.
They soared along the bay towards to town square to do one of their displays.
Beautiful!
Meanwhile, on the Thursday, the Istanbul paramotor team wowed us all with a sunset LED display along Çalış Beach.
We were off to Kaş for the weekend the following day so we missed the showstopping Türk Yıldızları (Turkish Stars).
We've seen them a few times before - but we've never seen so many people along Çalış Beach to watch them, before!
Çalış Sunday Market Roof
Anyone getting deja vu?
We had a series of monthly Fethiye news posts some time ago where we eagerly watched preparations for a roof over the Çalış Sunday Market.
Stalls were rearranged whilst the old cobbles were removed and smooth concrete replaced them.
Posts were erected and we thought this would be for the roof to go into place (they were actually new support posts for the awnings).
And then all bar a handful of the posts disappeared again. And that was that.
The stall holders were often still arriving on Saturday evenings in all sorts of weather to erect the awnings and tarpaulin covers in preparation for Sunday.
Well, we were very happy to see a video online recently that showed footings being hollowed out in preparation for - yes - the roof!
It will be great for both the stall holders and shoppers once it's all done and we can't wait!
Weather permitting, we'll be shopping there, tomorrow, and will see for ourselves.
Park Facelift
Work continues at Şehit Fethi Bey Park where all the woodwork has been sanded down and restained.
The children's play park has been closed off for a few weeks whilst new equipment is replacing the older apparatus.
It's looking great - a huge slide complex as a centrepoint.
And, for those of us who like to use the exercise equipment in the park, the three mini gyms along the running track have all been updated with brand new equipment.
Alas, whatever the situation is with the lack of running track; that continues and the concrete remains.
Out & About
We had two places to add to our Fethiye bars and restaurants page, this month.
But only one of them has been added so far...
That place is the lovely Ju Restaurant along Çalış Beach.
It's a place where you can feel comfortable just having a drink. But they also happen to do some great food, too.
We'll add the second place very soon. And we do have a good reason for not getting the chance to do that article...
New-Look Blog
Because much of October has been taken up with our new look for the blog.
It's still a work in progress but we're getting there slowly.
A new homepage (still in progress) with various highlights to make them easier to find.
And we'll be using lots of other new functions over time just to keep everything looking fresh and clean...and more useful.
Feel free to have a click around and see what you think.
In Other News
A bit of news that jumps out at us from elsewhere around the country. Short and sweet, this time - there's a been a great find...
Oldest Shipwreck?
Is this the oldest shipwreck in the world?
Whilst the ship itself is decomposed, its contents have been located by archaeological divers near Kekova Island.
These days, it's an area well and truly on the gület cruise trail.
But 4,700 years ago - from when the finds are said to date - it was part of the route for ships carrying liquid commodities in large amphora.
Into November
There are more weather warnings in place for the area over the coming days. But we're crossing our fingers that the rain won't be as heavy or as destructive as it has been in October.
We had friends over in October. But, as far as we know, that's it now until after the new year.
So we're thinking it's going to be a quiet time ahead for us.
Hopefully, lots of cooking - both Turkish recipes and dishes from around the world - lots of walking and running and acquainting (and reacquainting) ourselves with eateries around the area.
Let's see what happens...
