A card from David and Sue

23 December 2010 Dear Reader, We have sent you a Jacquie Lawson electronic greeting. Please click HERE to see your card.

Marmalade

We went for a brisk walk around Marti Sitesi today. It had to be brisk as the temperatures have fallen dramatically in the last few days from the 20s right down to single figures.





In fact the thermometer registered only 0.9'C last night and we have had very high winds. It was in our mind that the orange crops might be affected and we needed to get some bitter oranges for marmalade. As you can see below, we were nearly too late, but as we only needed a couple of kilos or so, we did find enough on the trees for our purposes.

Yesilkent minus it's pier

Orange crop

It's orange picking time here in Turkey and the market is looking really colourful at the moment with huge quantities of oranges and mandarins for sale. This is the sum total of our crop this year.

A mild start to the winter

While the UK shivers in the snow, we are still fortunate enough to be having a really mild start to our winter





Breakfast and coffee in the garden in t-shirts is the norm, and we can't believe that night time temperatures are still holding up at 20'C

Sue's Birthday

We took ourselves off to a lovely little hotel in Bodrum for Sue's Birthday





Sue indulged in her passion for retail therapy here at the Oasis Shopping Mall, as well as many other venues.





We also had time to investigate some of the historic remnants around including this one, The Myndos Gate.

Cheers ... Happy Birthday Sue

Demolition (Continued)

The demolition of Zumrut pier continued this week, first the concrete was dragged to the shoreline, and the piles lifted out.


photo courtesy of Colin and Josie

Then the removal of the main jetty

photo courtesy of Colin and Josie 


The remains of the rubble were then cleared from the sea ...

finally job done, not a sign to show there was ever a pier there.

Click here to see many more pictures of this event

Any picture can be enlarged by clicking on it

More on the demolitions

Those houses by the Al Dente restaurant have had to replace their flat roofs with sloping roofs as in the original plans



Expensive, but not so disastrous as it might have been.

A Picnic at Zongulduk

We took ourselves off to Zongulduk today for a peaceful picnic, a sunbathe and a swim





It was lovely as we had the beach virtually to ourselves, the water was still and clear and the day was hot, hot, HOT.

The Venosa Beach Resort and Spa

Yes the new 5 Star hotel has a name, and it's being sold by all the major holiday companies now. 

It's the Venosa Beach resort and Spa ... check it out, it's on many websites;

and it has it's own "private beach" according to the blurb. As there are supposed to be no private beaches in Turkey, how do they justify such a claim?

And they are building themselves a pier, hope they have planning permission as you've seen what's happening to other piers in the area!


For more pictures ... CLICK HERE 

The Demolition Begins

This is the pier in front of Zumrut Sitesi and the Blue Restaurant. Take a good look, because it may be the last time you'll see it.

The demolition has just begun for all builds deamed illegal by the local authorities.

It's not just piers, it also affects many commercial premises and houses in the area. Take the one below, these two houses are down on Pine beach next to the Al Dente restaurant.

We thought that only the top floor had to be taken off, but from the damage done downstairs we are not so sure now

For more pictures ... CLICK HERE 

House Painting

How do you paint a very tall house? A very
tall ladder and a very brave man, or ....


A very long pole with a roller on the end!!!

Needless to say, we left it to the experts, our friends Mustafa and Hassan, who've done a great job.

 Thanks!

End of the Season

Well the time has come again, with the weather turning stormy, it's time to take the boat out of the water and bring it back home.





First we took down the mast, and emptied the boat of all it's paraphernalia, then we hitched it to the back of the car with a luggage strap ...

and slowly towed it home, where we cleaned it up,easier this year as the anti-foul actually worked.


Then with the help of Brian and Ann (Thanks) we turned it over and tucked it up for the winter.

Pine Beach

A view of the new hotel from Pine Beach



And this is the beach that they will take over when the guests arrive ... shame isn't it?

The Meeting with the British Consul

We went to a meeting with the British Consul from Izmir at the Mayor's room in the Belediye. It was a heated affair, with many questions asked, but few answers given. Having said that, many were questions he couldn't possibly answer as they were totally out of his control. He did outline what the embassy could do for ex-pats in reality, and promised to get some answers for those issues he could deal with. A return visit is planned for December.

Another visit to one of our favourite restaurants in Didim - The Meandros

We had another night out at the Meandros this week with our friends Nicky and Mary and Aunt Esse.



We tend to frequent this particular establishment both for it's extensive menu and for consistently good food.

These guests were made welcome too.

Apart from the tables outside and inside, this place also boasts huts and tents in the bedouin style

where you can sit around on cushions eating or drinking at the low tables, all very relaxed.