Airplanes are wonderful things.
Airplanes are wonderful things. You shuffle onboard, find your place, stow your hand luggage, take your seat and fasten your seat belt. With a Whoosh you are air borne traveling at over500 mph at a height of 35,000 feet and leaving a culture, language and weather system behind. In just a few short hours you’re back on the ground again shuffling in line but this time into a different culture, language and weather system. As if by magic the big jet serves as a time machine to totally transform the world that surrounds you.
I’ve made so many flights and so many trips to Turkey that, to my shame, I am guilty of ambivalence to the incredible magic of the whole flight experience.
Thus it was when I set off for yet another jaunt to Turkey last week.
It was once said to me “Turkey is Great – BUT it would be nice to take the ‘ish’ out of Turkish” – and so it proved on my latest sojourn to this beautiful land.
Let me start at the beginning. I flew into Bodrum on an ONUR AIR flight, uneventful, smooth and a good landing. Visa, passport control and baggage reclaim were ‘Taman’ and onto meet my host. It was a good start.
The vehicle that collected us was large. It needed to be we were a party of 4 big men, in my case very big, the years have taken their toll and the rippling muscles of a youthful midriff have given way to the more ample proportions of the older man. Mercifully the air con in our 4x4 was efficient and the ride to Didim good. The road was similarly adequate for purpose. How the roads have improved in recent years?
One of our group was visiting for the first time. It was not long before the magnificence of the scenery began to draw favorable comment. He went into raptures as we passed the great freshwater lake on the Didim approach. I was pleased to hear his thoughts and views. We so easily take for granted the natural magnificence of Turkey’s coastal environment.
The ‘ish’factor soon raised its head as we drove into Didim and on to Altinkum. With so much going for it why do the Belediye and Municipalities in so many Turkish cities miss the essential details that form first impressions and shape attitudes? The cosmetics of appearance so important in presenting a community in a good light, are so often sacrificed by piles of rubbish and litter in the streets. OK it is a universal problem, but most municipalities in the civilized world manage to dispatch efficient refuse teams who clean the rubbish effectively ‘polishing the face’ of their community.
Turkey so often fails on this front. With just a small expenditure the Belediye could contribute to solving two issues, one gainful employment and the second a tolerable cleanliness in the streets.
Is this how a visitor would remember Didim ?
Regardless, Didim weaved its charm and we soon settled into the lifestyle.
A swim before a breakfast meeting, quick change into ‘working shirt and …. Shorts. Great beats the suit all day for me. One of the group, obviously working to Turkish time is late and throws the carefully worked schedules out for the day. Its “Taman” though, everyone seems to understand and on we go.
A short rest at lunchtime as the sun climbs high into the cloudless sky. A call from Blighty tells me the weather at home is cold and wet, so cold I’m told that “the central heating was on last night.” Yes, the weather I suppose that is an ‘ish’ in British t. Turkey 1- England 1
Onto the evening and the very civilized custom of Turkish Dinner hospitality.
The food… vegetables and salad crisp and f-r-e-s-h and delightfully full of flavor. In the UK fruit, salad and veg score 5 from 5 in the appearance and dimension stakes. All very regular in size and shape, but in T-a-s-t-e the UK comes a long way second. There are times I really believe we are brought up on Half Taste in the UK – The unavoidable sacrifice we make for regulation size and shape. Similarly Titus loves the sense of occasion that accompanies the ritual of eating. Time to savour and enjoy, time to talk and converse and time to indulge in simply living. FAST FOOD, Grab a bite on the run Aggh….. Turkey 3 UK 0 on this one!
Now I was over to work and not to play. My tour of Turkey took me by road from Didim to Dalyan, stay over a night and onto Belek via Gocek and Fethiye and over the hill to Antalya and the golfing oasis of Belek.
Now let me give you a whistle stop report on my impressions of the communities visited. The coastal run to from Didim past the Bodrum peninsula, through Milas and skirt the mighty Marmaris before falling down country to Dalyan. All around the progress of recent years is clear to see. Improved roadways, botanical planting in central reservations and on roadsides is at last underway. It is a great investment and will immeasurably improve the road experience in the future.
Titus is of an age where he remembers the first ‘M’ ways in the UK. In 10-4 over to you Rubber Duck Colloquialism Motorways were referred to as the ‘Super Slab’, and so they were, a mighty combination of tarmac, asphalt, concrete and iron, but progressive roadside tree and shrub planting and the missionary zeal of ‘M’ Landscape gardeners have seriously contributed to making the best of our Motorways botanical masterpieces. Next time you drive around the UK take time to look and take in the work of the motorway landscapers, you might be well surprised.
Turkey has a long way to go in this respect, but the start has been made and the future looks good. Dalyan has got it right! Yes it is only a small village community, and again… Yes it is a nature reserve, but they certainly appear
UNITED in their Town Plan. The approach road is clean and bursting with flowers and shrubs, the piles curbside of rubbish I remember from previous visits have gone, banished to please the visitor’s eye, as is the ugly post office building that once defiled the entrance to the village. Post Office ….. No more! Gone: raised to the ground in a winter purge to cull ugly and replaced with parkland, green and pleasant. Nice.
Dalyan is a nature reserve with Draconian building restrictions on new property developments. Bespoke detached villas are the order of the day in Dalyan. Standing proud in their own landscaped gardens, each with the obligatory pool, they define the upper middle class marketplace this community is seeking to serve. Residents even have a pressure group determined to have Karaoke banned in the community.
Whatever your position on the Dalyan Dream, it must be said that their united spirit to cooperate and build the Dalyan Dream into a reality has merit. The streets were clean, free from litter and the kerb stones painted white. Flowers, shrubs and trees were everywhere adding to a quality look and feel to the community. Restaurants appeared busy as did the few clubs and ‘Nite Spots’ congregated at the top of the main street. As ever the Lyceum Rock Tombs dominated the night sky with imposing stature.
We drove up the hill above the Turtle beach to take in the sunset. It was stunning. So much so that the Aussie in our group actually admitted that it compared with the very best of Australian panoramas. For those who know the Australian temperament this was a big endorsement of the Dalyan sunset.
The lesson that I bring back toDidim is one of community cooperation to shape a town plan, pin the colours to the mast and encourage everyone to get behind the plan. Wow in short time it is surprising what a little vision and a united will can achieve. The message then … Lets work shape the ‘Didim Dream’. More of this in later Titus musings.
In the interim I invite you dear reader to shape your thoughts and ideas to tell how you see The Didim Dream! Put pen to paper and send your thoughts to the editor on what might be included in ………….. The Great Didim Dream.
Next week onwards through Dalaman, Gocek and Fethiye upwards over the mountain for an unforgettable experience in an isolated restaurant, an image I will take to the grave and the biggest ish yet in Turkish . Watch this space
Untill next time
Don’t weaken
Keep Smiling
Titus
UK letter from Turkey !
