Some amazing facts about Turkey - part 1

The season is over!  Poppy is closed – apart from the 17 rooms of students we have staying for the winter.  They are mostly 18-22 years old, students at the university (Fethiye has some faculties of Mugla University), studying a range of courses from landscape gardening to international business.  They seem incredibly young – though of course they think they are very grown up – and unbelievably incompetent.  They regularly call us to change light bulbs, work the washing machine and adjust the temperature on the fridge.  One of the funniest incidents was when one girl said the kitchen sink was leaking and  Kaan set off with his monkey wrench and spanner only to find it wasn’t the sink that was leaking but the jar of pickles her mum had sent her and that she was storing under the sink!

homework in the bar

It is a relief that the hotel will be earning some money through the winter after this year’s sorry season.  We didn’t suffer as much as some businesses but it certainly wasn’t a good year and it will probably take a few years for things to really improve.  I read an article recently suggesting that now, while we are kicking our heels and thinking how to attract tourists back, we should take the opportunity to rebrand Turkey – and it echoed what I have said before.  I don’t want people to come here just because it’s cheap and sunny; I want them to come because it’s an AMAZING COUNTRY!

So I thought I would use this blog to show some of the things that make it amazing.  Most of you reading are probably Turkey regulars, but there might be things here that even you didn’t know...

Turkey is the location of TWO of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.  Actually, when these were first identified by the Greeks in the second century BC, they were referred to as the seven SIGHTS – a bit like a tour guide of the best architecture around!

The Temple of Artemis (impression)

The first in Turkey is the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus – which was actually built and destroyed several times but at its finest was 450ft long 225 ft wide and contained 127 60ft high marble columns.  Amazingly – who knew that human nature had changed so little - the second temple was actually destroyed by an arsonist seeking fame; the third temple was destroyed by the Goths, following which some of the stones were carried over 300 miles to Istanbul and used in the building of the Hagia Sophia Church!

Mausoleum at Halicarnassos

The other ‘Wonder’ is the Tomb of Mausolus, King of Caria, built at Halicarnassos (present-day Bodrum).  Almost 150ft high and decorated with marble friezes, this tomb has given its name to all above-ground burial chambers – or mausoleums.  Apart from the pyramids, it was the last of the seven to be destroyed – by an earthquake in the thirteenth century – and parts of it were also reused in the building of Bodrum Castle (and you thought recycling was a modern idea!)

Sadly, though you can visit the sites of these two ‘sights’ and find out more about their history, there is not much left to see.  In fact you can see some of the remains of both structures in the British Museum in London!  But you can find wonders of history all over Turkey and more is being discovered all the time...

 

Theatre at Arycanda (near Kas)

Let's be positive...

You have probably heard on the news that the State of Emergency in Turkey has been extended for another 3 months.  While there is nothing sinister about this in itself, there is a feeling that it is being used too indiscriminately.  In the aftermath of the attempted coup the Government and the opposition stood together to condemn the coup leaders; now they appear to be at war again, with the main opposition parties suggesting the government is using the SoE to get rid of anyone who opposes them, while the Government accuses them of being pro-coup! ‘Plus ca change...’

...But what about the reality for Turkey?  Estimates of this year’s business growth are, unsurprisingly, being revised down.  The business that interests us most in this area is of course tourism;  an article appeared today in the Hurriyet Daily News (English-language Turkish national newspaper) saying that 600 shops have closed in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, while others focus on the roughly 30% decline in foreign tourists visiting Turkey.

In Fethiye and Calis many businesses have been badly hit.  Still, looking at things positively, there were nearly 8 million European tourists who refused to be put off by the scare-mongering and visited Turkey in the first half of 2016.  I was particularly impressed that of the guests who lost their holiday to Poppy when Low Cost Holidays went bust - the SAME night as the ‘coup’ - 8 out of 10 re-booked direct.  Though a very small sample, it shows that us Brits are not easily scared!

The point is that the people who know Calis and Fethiye weren’t influenced by the very misleading stories in the papers and were still confident about coming and luckily in Calis and at Poppy we have a lot of regulars.  We were also delighted to welcome a few Turkey first-timers who were not about to let the very biased press dictate their holiday.  They all enjoyed their stay and want to return.

And who wouldn’t want to come to this beautiful place?  I have lived here for nearly 25 years but I can still discover new places...the other day I went down to the beach at Kabak (beyond Oludeniz) for the first time.  It is a beautiful little sandy bay, stunning turquoise water and a rather hair-raising journey down there by minibus!  

The Lycian Way – the walking trail that goes from Fethiye right through to Antalya – goes through Kabak and I am contemplating doing that section of it next year when my friend comes.  Not sure we’d manage the trek back up from the beach though!

  

Autumn is here

We are already nearly 3 weeks into September and they seem to have flown by.   The weather is pleasanter – I have actually been chilly when I have been walking the dogs in the morning!  I also know it’s autumn because I have seen some of the birds that pass through on their migration.  Bee-eaters are one which I found about a few years ago and now look out for in Spring and Autumn.  They are very pretty, but also have a distinctive whistling sort of song which is usually the first thing I notice.  I have just read up about them and found they are European bee-eaters that go to Africa for winter, they only catch bees (and some other insects) as they fly and they hit and rub them on the ground to get rid of the sting!

The last week has been a holiday in Turkey and there were quite a few Turkish families in Fethiye but most of them have left now as schools finally start back – after 13 weeks – tomorrow.  Kaan will be back at school tomorrow; Emre is not going back up to university in Ankara until next weekend.  He has some money and is trying to find a car so that he is more mobile up there but the prices of second hand cars are so ridiculous here – a 2000 model (ie. 16 year old) Fiat Palio hatchback is going for about 10,000 TL - £2,600!

On the subject of cars, the authorities have, for some unknown reason, stopped the charge for on-the-street parking in Fethiye, with the result that everyone drives in and it is IMPOSSIBLE to find a parking space.  Worse still, because the actual parking spaces are full with cars that stay there all day as their owners work in town, anyone who wants to pop in to one of the shops on the main street double parks so there is only one lane left for traffic and you can’t even DRIVE round town.  They need a solution because it really is a nightmare; thankfully I hardly need to go into town any more as we have everything we need in Calis!

At Poppy, we have been busy; to help make up for the poor season we are renting some of the apartments to university students for the winter.  Most of them have moved in over the last few days with a couple of rooms still to come.  I bought some portable canvas wardrobes and metal beds from an internet site and Kaan has been busy putting them together.  In true Ikea style, the instructions are a rather hard to follow and there is always a screw left over – but he has done a good job!

Poppy helping Kaan!

And finally, Kaan and I had a day in Kalkan visiting my sister and brother-in-law who have rented a villa there.  The views are spectacular, but the fact that the villa was free for this peak time when they booked in May – and that the lovely hotel they usually stay at closed for the season in June – show that Kalkan is suffering as much if not more than Fethiye.

Victory Day

Last Tuesday (30^th August) was Victory Day in Turkey, commemorating the last major battle of the Turkish War of Independence.  This period of history, as the Ottoman Empire dissolved and the Turkish Republic was established, is something most of us know little about - though Britain actually played a major role in it!  So here is a ‘potted history’.

The Ottoman Empire sided with Germany in World War I and following its defeat signed an armistice agreement with the Allied forces of Britain, France and Italy that allowed them control of a few strategic positions and the right to occupy “in case of disorder”.  They promptly moved in and occupied large parts of its remaining territories, including Istanbul (then Constantinople), the eastern areas and the Southern front.  They also supported Greece in its invasion of Izmir. 

Ataturk, whose picture you see in every office and on every bank note and who was already a distinguished soldier, established the Turkish National Movement with his colleagues and led the resistance to the occupation.  Although he went on to become the first president of the new republic, it is for his role in saving the ‘Motherland’ from invaders that he is most revered!

After more than 3 years occupation, on August 30 1922, the Greek military was beaten by the Turkish forces.  By the way, in response to Turkey’s attempts to restore rule in the Allied-occupied territories, the British Prime Minister at the time, David Lloyd George, called for Britain to go to war with Turkey in September 1922.  Thankfully, France and Italy and even the British military were against it and a negotiated settlement was agreed that gave Turkey the territory it wanted.  Lloyd George’s mishandling of the situation led to his political downfall.

1921 Ataturk inspecting soldiers

Back at Poppy apartments, we had a good Turkish night this week.  The belly dancer was assisted by a lovely group of girls.....

.. and the musicians – fresh from playing at a marriage proposal (she said yes apparently) – played some traditional music.

There was another marriage proposal on the boat we went on yesterday – it seems to be catching!  The captain wanted to surprise his girlfriend so he had a big banner made that basically popped the question and got the boys on the neighbouring boat to unfurl it while she was swimming in the sea.  She also said yes – I wonder if he would have driven off and left her there otherwise?

And that’s the other news – I had Monday off and went to the beach (first time this year) and was on a mini boat trip on Saturday afternoon.  It’s almost like a holiday!  Got to grab it while I can – there is another Eid holiday next week so there will lots of Turkish guests around, as well as all the September regulars and the boys will be disappearing off to school/uni in the middle of the month and then I will be on my own again: chef, receptionist, barmaid, waitress and pool boy?!  

News from the front

So, the ‘big stuff’ first.  There have been no new developments in the state of the country.  There is still a feeling that America and Europe do not understand the threat that the Gulenist network posed and are therefore critical of the mass shedding of teachers, civil servants, judges etc.  However, James Jeffrey, former US ambassador to Ankara, said recently in an interview:

“The Gülen movement has some infiltration at the least in the military that I am aware of. They of course had extreme infiltration into the police and judiciary earlier.... It is very clear that a significant segment of the bureaucracy in Turkey were infiltrated and had their allegiance to a movement, not a state. That of course is absolutely unacceptable and extremely dangerous. It is highly likely that it led to the [attempted] coup.”

Another birthday cake - Happy Birthday Talia!

What is the latest down in Calis?  Well, the phone hasn’t stopped ringing today – which might be partly due the fact that we finally remembered to plug it in (sorry all of you who have tried to call – it has been plugged in to the credit card machine for the last month!).  Turkish people are holidaying again – civil servants have had their leave reinstated and others are feeling confident that things have returned to normal.

Nostalgia - busy pool in 2010

Emre has been busy too – we have a cunning plan to fill the hotel with students from the university in winter (Fethiye is home to some of the faculties of Mugla university).  We did it about twelve years ago and it was a disaster: they had no money and couldn’t pay their rent half the time (no grants or even loans over here!) and they left the rooms in quite a state.  But this time we are better prepared – with rental contracts and deposits – so Emre has been at their ‘freshers’ week’ signing people up.

It feels good to have a few more guests in but I have been looking through old photos - pictures of the pool full of people, of Turkish nights and barbecues for 40 guests and 12 people in one car to go go-carting (see the Poppy Apart Hotel facebook page) – and hoping that tourism recovers quickly. 

A lively Turkish night - 2003

Happy 21st Emre!

As Turkey puts the attempted coup behind it there is, as I said in my last post, a feeling that this cloud may have a silver lining.  There is widespread agreement that the ‘Gulenists’ (followers of the Islamist cleric living in America) were responsible not only for the events of 15^th July but for other major political upheavals over the last few years.   Turkish people are full of ‘conspiracy theories’ (many don’t believe that the moon landings actually took place), but it seems that this time they were actually correct.

As a result, there is an acceptance of the huge number of people being sacked from their jobs and the thousands being imprisoned, though of course it is hoped that the charges against them are genuine and it is not being used as an excuse to get rid of opposition.

There is disappointment that foreign powers and media do not seem to understand the scale of the Gulenist infiltration of institutions and are therefore sceptical of the need for the current ‘cleansing’, and a feeling that in general the response by the international community to this crisis in Turkey has been "feeble" (Mustafa Akyol, Hurriyet Daily News).

News from closer to home....Poppy has had a good couple of weeks with some great guests keeping Kaan and I busy in the kitchen and keeping Emre up at night.  Generally, though, it is still quiet in Calis and August looks fairly grim.  Usually we would fill any empty rooms with Turkish guests but since all civil servants have had their leave cancelled for now, there are far fewer of those about too.

Emre celebrated his 21^st birthday on Tuesday; he was 2 when we opened the hotel and has had every birthday since there, with games in the garden, pool parties and even one year a troupe of dancers.  This year, as he is a little big for party games, I printed a lot of pictures of him and put them up round the bar and Kaan and I made a red velvet cake (first time – verdict: very yummy).   We also made 2 cakes on Sunday for some other birthday boys – see below.

 Emre went out in the evening with his friends and obviously had a good time, though he was complaining of a cold the next day!  Here are a few pictures of him through the years, which might look familiar to some of you...

Positive signs

A lot of people are understandably worried about recent events in Turkey and there has been a lot written in the British press, some of which is incorrect or at best vague.  There was indeed an attempted coup on 15 July but it was carried out by a relatively limited group within the military and was quickly overwhelmed by the majority who opposed them. 

The government believes the plot was led by supporters of Fetullah Gulen, an Islamist scholar who lives in the US but has remained active in Turkey through his network of schools and universities and his large following. Incidentally, until a few years ago the ruling AK party and Gulen were allies!

Now, afraid that he is controlling things from afar via a “parallel state” consisting of his followers, they have removed 50,000 people they believe to be “Gulenists” from their jobs in education, the judiciary and other areas.

Last Wednesday a state of emergency (SofE) was passed by the government with the stated aim of restoring democracy.  While a SofE can be declared by any country in response to a major threat – France introduced one following the Paris bombs and has just extended it to January 2017 – the specific areas covered may vary.  So what does the SofE in Turkey cover and how will it affect expats and holiday-makers?

The president and the deputy PM have said that the SoE will be exclusively used to repair the damage of the coup attempt to the Turkish system and they aim to reach their targets within “45-50 days”.  The state of emergency declared in Turkey includes increased rights to search people, vehicles and property, an extension of the police detention period, censorship of media and the right to close businesses.

The President has stated that this situation will not affect the lives of everyday citizens and it is even less likely to affect any foreign citizens here.  The only thing that residents should make sure to do is carry some form of ID (note: this has always been compulsory for Turkish citizens).  This can be a passport, a right to reside or e-visa, or a good colour photo copy.

There have been some positive elements to come out of the turmoil.  The anti-coup protesters who took to the streets even before the Presidents’ call for action came from all classes and political groups. Similarly there have been signs of reconciliation between the Government and opposition.  When the opposition CHP announced its intention to hold yesterday’s pro-democracy rally, the Government supported the move and even extended free public transport.  It helps to remember that Turkey is going to be doing its best now to improve its image and regain the confidence of foreign visitors and foreign investors and that means making people here feel relaxed and welcome!