Wednesday 5 June 2013
"Hoş geldiniz’"– means "Welcome"
in Turkish and is a customary greeting used by almost everyone you meet.
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Patriotic bunting flying above Edirne's main street |
From our first encounter the welcome has been as warm and genuine as we have always found in Turkey. Driving through Edirne, having only just crossed the border, a refuse
collector hanging off the back of his lorry quizzed Dave
in Turkish about our travel plans when the vehicles drew up level at the traffic lights on
red. We weren't expecting to have to have a conversation in Turkish so soon but Dave managed to speak enough to satisfy his curiosity about the travellers in the van with the steering wheel on the wrong side.
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Glasses of Turkish çay (tea) |
On a 12km stretch of sandy beach called Panamos north of Kuşadasi we drank çay with the café / shack owner and
an enterprising chap who owned a 4WD jeep fitted with a sturdy winch ready to pull the locals
cars out of the sand every half an hour for 10TL, about £3, a go. We also whiled away another hour drinking
more çay with a day trip ‘captain’ in Sarsala Bay who asked Dave to search the sea bed for his
missing oar as he snorkeled around his boat watching the colourful fish. Filling up with diesel on Monday the
attendant chatted away asking where we had been and where we were going. When
he found out we had been in Akyaka the previous evening his face lit up – a
popular spot with Turks visiting its sandy beach, buzzing estuary front and the
cold clear river with overhanging fish restaurants. He recounted his recent day trip there which included diving
off the little bridge into the chilly water and drinking a few too many rakis
by the sound of it. He wanted us to stay and talk more over yet more çay
but we really needed to get on.
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Akyaka |
Turkey has always held a special place in our hearts and we
love driving around this vast country. In
the past we have travelled right out to the eastern border, along the Black Sea
coast, through the central regions, all along its southern Mediterranean coast
and out towards the borders with Syria and Iran. This time though, in our
gas-guzzling van which eats up the rather expensive diesel at an alarming rate, we decided to limit our travels to the western
coast revisiting places we have been before but also hoping to discover new places at a slower pace.
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Another country - another transport museum! Train Museum at Camlik |
We have been coming here since the mid 80’s and it feels that
while we have been growing old Turkey has become more youthful and modern. The
improvement in the roads (although not always the driving standards) is amazing
with smooth dual carriageways making long journeys so much easier and there are
now a bewildering number of supermarkets with all kinds of goods available on
the shelves. Some things haven’t changed though – Dave was in his element
driving around the automotive area of the industrial estate in Muǧla negotiating an air filter change for the van! Half an hour
later and £11 lighter we were on our way again with a new filter fitted as well as a ‘complimentary’ engine
check.
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Safer and speedier dual carriageways everywhere |
Our trip so far has brought us across the border to Edirne from
where we drove down through Galipoli crossing the straights to Çanakkale before heading south and then east towards Edremit. We stopped
near Ayvalik before driving through sprawling Izmir then south towards Selçuk and
a quick dash to Fethiye. We then spent a week slowly ‘bimbling’ back towards
Mumcular spending time in the coastal area around Dalaman and popping into numerous coves
and harbours around Marmaris and Datça. At the head of the Gulf of Gökova we ‘found’ delightful
Akyaka – a place we must have whizzed past many times before but never stopped
at. Slowing down and limiting the miles has allowed us to discover many 'new' places.
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Beautiful Sarsala bay (spot the van top left hand side under a tree!) |
Turkey is currently hitting the headlines as peaceful
protests have been turning nasty after the use of excessive force to disperse the crowds by the
authorities. We’ve seen nothing of this on our travels here so far, we still
feel extremely safe and in response to the ubiquitous ‘Hoş geldiniz’ greeting
we always reply ‘Hoş bulduk’ meaning ‘Happy
to be here’ – and we really are…..
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Busy Bozburun harbour |
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Driving past ruins on the road to Knidos
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Rows of bee hives in the hills above Bozburun |
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Cluttered masts and rigging on gulets in Selimye |
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Tearing ourselves away from 'our' beautiful bay near Palamut |
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Clear blue waters - even in busy harbours |
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Kocagöl - marshy lake near Dalaman Airport |
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Amos theatre just south of Turunç |
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Roadside cafe in Akyaya - where we bought tea, olives and the local honey |
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