Archive for the ‘Tourism’ Category
Oh joy of joys, yet another water pipe is being buried along the side of the road outside my house. This is the third pipe, the first was a big twelve inch diameter one made of hard plastic that was buried about a metre deep. The second was smaller probably two inch diameter and is being ripped out to make way for this one which is four inch. The works for this new pipe include cutting through everything that crosses the road too, including the pipe that supplies water to my house and my neighbour’s house. It also includes ripping up the concrete “bridge” that I made to cross the gulley that carried rainwater down the side of the road. I expect it will be up to me to make a join from my drive entrance to the road surface but it would appear that a bridge will not be necessary because the digger driver is filling in the the gulley level with the road surface.
Here are a couple of photos, the result will be shown in a day or two.
I’m cut off from the world! Good job I left my car down the road a piece.
Neighbour’s drive entrance.
While a point could be made that I wasn’t informed it was going to happen and other complaints, the fact of the matter is that I am delighted because the lack of mains water in the summer months is something that has plagued us for far too long. There has been very little planning in the expansion of Kaş over the last twenty years and none at all in the development of Çukurbağ village. Of course local businesses wish to take advantage of the expanding tourism and making more hotels and other rental accommodation is an important part of that as are the other aspects of tourism like beach facilities. Kaş cannot remain as it was even though I and many others wish it could, summer tourists are going to come whether we like it or not and they will resort to sleeping by the sides of the road if nothing else is available, sympathetic planning and provision of infrastructure must at least keep up with growing demand. I hope the people in charge can figure this out and react accordingly.
I mentioned in my previous post that I’d had a quick trip to UK, the main purpose was to tidy up loose ends and bring back a few personal things that I wanted to keep. A lot of my clockmaking tools and DIY tools were stored in a garage and very fortunately for me a clockmaker friend of mine bought the whole lot. I had already arranged to sell my clock book library to a book dealer in Oxfordshire so in one fell swoop most of my tidying up was completed. When went through everything else I found there were lots of things I wanted to bring back, far too many too bring in fact so I had to spend a heartbreaking afternoon putting many items in a rubbish skip. Nothing that I threw away had much monetary value but a lot had sentimental value. Well it had to be done and now I’m back here in Turkey I am happy to have the few things I did manage to bring with me.
The most important for me to bring was this clock. It is a 30 hour longcase clock (grandfather clock).
The case I sold and just brought the movement which is now mounted on a wall in my house and is working well although the strike mechanism is missing a couple of parts that have disappeared somewhere. I found the antique movement in a car boot sale back in 2002 and made a dial for it then got a friend to make me a nice oak case which I was very upset to have to sell. I’m going to get some cedar to make a case here. Why cedar? It’s freely available here, relatively cheap and easy to work with and doesn’t suffer too much from shrinkage when it dries out, it’s nice looking too.
The other important item that I brought was a guitar, a twelve string copy of a Gibson ES 335 thinline archtop semi-acoustic electric guitar but this one is made by Aria. Frankly it’s not a very well made copy but when I’ve finished the repairs and modifications it will be a lot better.
The repair involved fixing a crack in the pocket where the neck screws in. The Gibson model has a set neck i.e. it is built in rather than being held in place by big screws and the block that the pocket is machined into should have been made to run the full length of the body to give it sufficient strength. In this one the neck was not sufficiently stable to take the strain of twelve strings and the block had cracked. Anyway I have managed to fix that and with only six strings it keeps its tune and sounds very nice. Twelve strings cause it to drop out of tune before you even get halfway through the intro of a song! I’ve simply taken the extra six strings off for now but I will order proper six string hardware for it.
There are a few other little things that I managed to tuck into the corners of my case that are not worthy of a mention individually so I’ll lump them together and call them personal memorabilia, just things that I’m happy to have with me again.
There were a few pleasant surprises in U.K. too. The roads were in a much better state than I had been led to believe by the newspapers, all that whingeing and moaning about the potholes and lack of maintenance but without exception the roads I drove upon were in an excellent state of repair. Another surprise was the standard of lane discipline and observance of speed limits. Admittedly there are more speed cameras around now than when I left eleven years ago but after driving in Turkey for ten years I found I was the one who needed to get my act together.
I was very pleased to meet up with my two brothers and spend a little time with them, we haven’t seen each other since I moved to Turkey eleven years ago, nice to see you guys, you’re looking happy and well.
Very sadly a week after I got back my little cat Stanley was hit by a car and killed. I was heartbroken, still am, he was a super little cat and had been with me since he ventured up here as a kitten ten years ago. He used to come into the house in the middle of the night and sleep on my bed.
So sorry Stan, RIP my little friend.
I had a trip over to Meis island a few days ago and before we left it was interesting to see the boats in Kaş harbour being prepared for the new season. Here’s a really cute looking little gulet looking all shipshape and ready for her owners to enjoy the summer.
My favourite of the bigger boats is this one, she has lovely sweeping lines and a very purposeful air about her.
Coming into Meis harbour it was easy to see that they have been preparing for the new season too. Lots of new paint and an air of expectation about town.
But the streets were nearly empty
and the day trippers from our ferry we were almost the only ones there.
Walking around the back streets I saw this tree that had just come into leaf on a balcony
and this heap of soil that had thousands of nasturtiums all over it making a bright show.
My garden has taken on the air of a farmyard today, that description includes the smell. My neighbours left their donkey to eat the weeds a few days ago and I suggested they leave it with me on a more permanent basis because I’ve noticed that it doesn’t get much good stuff to eat. It has to make do with whatever is growing along the roadside, in a few weeks it will be sparse and dried out so my garden will be perfect as we head into summer. I am pleased about it because I can use the manure on the bits I want to encourage too.
I should point out for anyone worried that it is not eating the oleander that is next to it.
Then this morning young Hassan brought their two goats to browse in the corner where there is a lot of young scrub oak (maquis) which they love.
Finally, Aslan turned up, he came bounding up the drive full of the joys of spring and obviously feeling fit and healthy after his bout of sickness. It is heartening to see his recovery and to know that the medication I gave has made a difference.
I’ve been doing a bit of sightseeing in the last couple of weeks, places that I should have been to but haven’t. I was introduced to a visitor from America who is going to a lot of places around the world photographing and writing about them. She wanted to have a look at some of the archaeological sites near here so I decided to take a few days off from my labours, drag out my camera which hasn’t seen any proper work for a while and accompany her. Arykanda was the first place we went. There is a main road which goes north from Finike but the coast road is such a trial to get there I thought we could do it more quickly heading north from Demre which is a lot nearer. It wasn’t until we got lost up in the mountains and needed help from the maps that I noticed that a section of one of the roads was indicated on the map in orange colour, the rest were all red. Well we toured around a lot of dirt roads until we came close to getting bogged down and I decided that going back a few miles was the bravest thing to do. We could have been stuck in mud up there for a long time and we hadn’t seen anyone to ask the way so we turned round and retraced our steps until we saw a sign and followed that road. The signs up there are very few and far between.
This is an abandoned school on the road into the mountains, people have moved away from a lot of villages into the towns and cities for a less hard life so the countryside is often deserted apart from a few goatherders.
Anyway we eventually found the right road and carried on until I saw a sign for Arykanda in my rearview mirror and stopped to have a look. The sign that should have been facing our side of the road had a truck parked in front of it blocking my view so we went up a little lane and found the place.
Arykanda was discovered by an English traveller and researcher Charles Fellows, one of the first travel writers of which there are now legions trotting around the globe. It was seen by other travellers during the following years but remained largely forgotten due to the difficulties of getting there.
Arykanda appears to have been inhabited from the end of the late Calcolithic Age (Copper Age beginning in the late 5th Millenium BC) and survived because of it’s easily defensible location with a huge rock cliff behind it and thick forests in front. Even now it is barely visible from the road and is easy to miss if you don’t see the signposts. After a string of earthquakes necessitating major rebuilding each time the inhabitants moved to a place a little way away.
The city is now being conserved and tourism is being encouraged although there were only a few people there when we visited. There are temples dedicated to Helios and Trajan and the remains of other temples as yet of unknown dedication. Here are a few photographs to whet the appetite.
This is the bath complex from the rear and the front respectively.
The centre of one of the mosaics, the photograph doesn’t really do the whole thing justice.
There are lots more things to see, and the setting below the huge cliff is stunning, it is well worth a visit.
On the lane up to the site there is a very nice pension and restaurant where we had something to eat and met Mustafa and Aysel who own and run it. A very pleasant watering hole after clambering around ruins and getting lost in the mountains.
Next will be Patara, Xanthos and Letoon.
It’s now three weeks since the accident with my fingers and it seems that one is OK and one is not. The third finger of my left hand that was cut has healed, the village doctor here in France has taken the stitches out and apart from looking a bit red now it seems to be doing fine. I suppose it will take some time for the nerves to heal and the sensation to come back in it but that was to be expected. Stitching the piece back on the other finger hasn’t gone so well, it has turned black and it’s pretty obvious that it is dead. I’m only waiting to get back to Turkey to have the surgeon look at it and I’m expecting to lose the last joint of that finger. Bugger!
There is a lovely bed and breakfast / chambre d’hote place here in Normandy called Le Grand Mesnil in a place called St Bomer les Forges. If you’re ever in or around Normandy it’s well worth staying at.
There are plenty of places to go and see here, one of the most visited is Mont St Michel, a monastery situated on an island just off the coast at the mouth of the Cousenon river near the town of Avranches. Apparently it is the most visited tourist place in France. In summer it is extremely busy but at this time of year there are no crowds.
We visited the abbey at Lonlay L’Abbaye, I was intrigued by the carvings under the pew seats. Some of the pews had a high back and a lift up seat so that people could stand and lean on a ledge sticking out from the bottom of the seat. This ledge was supported by a carved wooden wedge, the carvings depict various designs and faces, this one is a smiling village woman, possibly the woman who used that particular pew?
One of the things Normandy is best known for in England and America are the D Day landings of World War 2. The landing beaches. Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha, Point du Hoc and Utah are interesting places to go and see, it is easy to imagine the hundreds of ships discharging the troops in the effort to bring the war to an end. There were thousands of casualties too and this photograph of the American cemetery overlooking Omaha beach is where a small percentage of them lie.
At last I am able to finish the notes on Side. Not much more to talk about as we were only there for a couple of days so here are a few pictures of the place with a few comments. All of the photographs are clickable for the larger version.
Here is a small part of the ancient harbour, there’s a new and much larger one where the big boats moor, this one seems to be reserved for the little boats.
This one is in the bigger modern harbour. I rather liked the juxtaposition of colours here and the way they reflected in the water.
This little black cat could be heard all over the harbour, he wanted some fish and wasn’t going to give up crying until he got some. Obviously he is well known to the fishermen who regularly feed him. He seemed to be the only one there.
Talking of juxtapositions, I thought this horse on top of the restaurant looked sufficiently crazy to warrant a photograph.
This house was a very good example of an old system being deemed good enough to use in modern times. Apart from mortar the infill between the stone blocks is of broken clay pottery, just the same as you can see on some of the old Roman remains around the town. Why change a system if it works?
Yet another juxtaposition. All around the town there are modern (I use the term loosely) buildings next to or even integrated with ancient remains in their structure. Here the Temple of Apollo can be seen close to houses with part of the Basilica just to the left of it.
This young woman was making a very intricate and fine kilim using silks. The designs she was using are hung above for reference. The speed she worked at was very impressive and clearly she was highly skilled and experienced. There were no markings for her to follow on the backing strings (warp or weft?) the accuracy of the resulting design was solely due to her skill in interpreting the pictures.
Almost all of the houses have been turned into restaurants, hotels or shops. Here just back from the seafront the shops dominate.
Well that’s all for now, you should really go and see the place for yourselves, you’ll be delighted, amazed and in July or August very hot too.
Side, what a nice place to have all that archaeology. Last weekend a friend and I went over to Side, about four hours straight driving time from here. To someone with a passing interest in history it is like manna from heaven. Archaeology surrounds you on all sides and under your feet too, in the old town you never seem to be more than a couple of metres from another piece of carved stone.
Apparently there had been a late season rush and most of the hotels were fully booked but two rooms were found in a little ’boutique’ hotel and, while not exactly salubrious, it provided shelter, breakfast and a bar.
A quick shower and change and out to see the sights pretty much left me with my jaw on the floor. I’ve never been to Rome or any of the big ancient Greek places but the extent and quality of the remains in Side are a bit overwhelming at first. The ‘old’ town of Side (not as old as the remains though) is made up of small houses converted into bars, restaurants and hotels in more modern years. A lot of the buildings incorporate 2000 year old remains. The origins of the ancient city date from the 15th century B.C. and it has had a history of being attacked and occupied by most of the rulers of the Middle Eastern empires. It was invaded by the Persians in 547 B.C. and surrendered to Alexander the Great in 334 B.C later to become the site of his mint. The Ptolemaios and Seleucids then fought over it and it became part of the kingdom of Pergamos in 188 B.C.
The theatre dates from the second century A.D. with additions in the third century.
Side had gained importance as one of the Mediterranean trading centres and at the beginning of the 1st century B.C. pirates captured and carried out raids on shipping and trading caravans.
In 78 B.C. the Romans took it over and it’s rise to it’s heyday began. Temples, a huge amphitheatre, baths and all the trappings of the finest Roman lifestyle were built. Cleopatra and Anthony stayed there too, although a friend of mine says this about them:
“Did you know that Cleopatra was an arrogant bitch who had a habit of murdering her siblings and other relatives, as well as in intervals the entire aristocracy in Alexandria in order to stay in power? The only reason she stayed in power and was not taken over by the Romans was due to the support of her lovers, first Caesar and later Anthony. They used her as a source of gold and grain, both important for their wars. Likewise, Anthony was not the dazzling man one would like to imagine. He was a lousy general; made a major mistake somewhere east of Turkey – attacking while leaving his supply troops behind, unprotected in an open field. Also, he was a heavy drinker. So, now the Cleopatra and Anthony illusions are destroyed. But apparently they did love each other.”
And there’s more:
“Know how they died? Cleopatra built herself a huge mausoleum in Alexandria and when things went bad and the two were hunted down by Octavian and his army, she went in there and ordered the only door to be permanently closed with a stone wall (but there was a window!). Through a courier she let Anthony know that she was dead (which was not the case; cunning woman she was). So he decided to commit suicide and asked a slave to help him do it. But the slave did not want to do it and instead killed himself. So Anthony stabbed himself into the stomach, but did not do a complete job of it. Cleopatra heard his cries and looked out of the window, from which he rightfully concluded that she was not dead. He wanted to join her; so he got pulled up and in through the window of the mausoleum and he died shortly thereafter. So now she had to decide to commit suicide. She died 10 days later; historians think by letting herself being bitten by a poisonous snake. Her kids by Caesar and Anthony were later on killed by the Romans.”
The slave trade and maritime commercial activities further increased the wealth found in Side but by the end of the 3rd century A.D. following attacks from the northern mountain peoples it’s prosperity waned. For the next hundred years it was a shadow of it’s former glory and then a Christian Bishopric, founded by the Byzantine Empire in 5th and 6th centuries restored it’s fortunes. Between the 6th and 10th centuries it suffered earthquakes, attacks by Arabs and was again taken over by pirates. The people had obviously had enough by the the 10th century because they left to go to live in Antalya, in 1150 it was completely abandoned.
The Seljuks reigned over the area in the 13th century and then the Ottomans from the 15th but nothing was done to restore the city, then when the population exchange between Greece and Turkey occurred in the early 20th Century Turks from Crete established a village called Selimye on the site of the ancient city. This has now become Side full of tourism with it’s long sandy beaches and miles of hotels.
Anyone with a passing interest in the history of the Mediterranean peoples or archaeology would have a great experience by visiting Side. I intend to go again sometime during early spring to get some better photographs and enjoy some time there unhampered by pushy bar staff and holidaymakers.
On the day we left we went looking for a pig and ostrich farm that we had been told about. It is to the north of Manavgat and eventually we found it but weren’t able to buy any meat, much to my disappointment. I’ll definitely phone ahead next time so that they can get the freezer stocked up. I was strange to see the pigs in their sties and ostriches in their pens though.
Cukurbagli's Blog 
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