Blogs from Turkey, Middle East - page 43

Geo: 37.0391, 27.4302 GÜN 01 GÜNLERDEN HALA ÇARŞAMBA: Bodrum da birader karşıladı .Bankaya uğradık. Yunan daki banka krizi nedeni ile 500E yu 50 lik yapmak istiyoruz. Bankadaki dal üzerinde oturan görevli kardeşimiz, bunun mümkün olamıyacağını işaret etti çalışan kızına … Tam da “sen benim kim olduğumu biliyormusun?” repliğine girilecek yer …yapmadım Tüm efendiliğimle kıza doğru eğildim ve Euro hesabıma para yatırmak istediğimi belirttim . Kaç E? diye sorunca 5 euro diye yanıtladım ve dal da oturan görevli kardeşimin senaryosu olduğu gibi çöpe gitti. Böyle bir kontratak beklemiyorlardı.. Kız çaresiz bir bakışla amirine döndü, hesabıma 5 euro yatırılmasını arzu ettiğim 500 lüğü alıp 495 E yu iade etti. 100 lük lerinde 2 adet 50 olmasını tembihledim.. Dalda oturan görevliye doğru paraları tekrar... read more

Had a really restless night; of course it had been a Saturday night & the music went on late into the night. There was a live band up the road – they started off very bluesy but then it became loud & a nuisance, mingling with something else in the town... So, we had a lazy day – discussing what plan we had for Greece, checking cash funds in case of empty ATMs due to their situation & deciding when to cross the border. We have a rough plan which will no doubt firm up as more news breaks on he Beeb. In the afternoon we wandered up the sea front with all the Turks a lot of whom come here for their Sunday from Izmir. We went into an arcade where we had to walk ... read more

A relaxing start then off to Kasudasi, a large Med sea port for Turkey & apparently very touristy – so we shall see. Pleasant trip here with nothing to report...except the Dyson took a short cut again (the Dyson master hasn't yet got it under control) & I had to thread the needle again through some back streets with cars dumped at all angles. Then we couldn't find the site but by chance Cathy spotted it where we didn't expect it – right opposite the marina! It's a motel cum little villas cum canp site & smashing! It has a pool, a restaurant on the corner & is a 10 minute walk to the centre of town plus has service washes, result! A nice chap runs it who invited us to his 4 year old son's ... read more

Last evening we saw what my ornithologist friend in the UK said was likely to be a short toed snake eagle – very impressive & massive. We also saw a couple of butterflies the size of small birds but this place is moth central in the evening before it goes dark... I was looking forward to a good night's sleep as it had cooled & breeze had started up; after we'd gone to sleep it turned into a storm & tree's branch was bending over & whacking Billy's roof most of the night, grrr! After some tyre inflating off we went to Termessos, only a few kilometers away, situated on top of a mountain at c. 1100m. We drove most of the way but then had to walk the final mile or so up a steep ... read more

So, our last night here – Cathy loved it so much we stayed. The restaurant was so good that we ate there each night too, what a treat although the prices here are pretty good as per. A beer, a bottle of wine, two types of bread, mixed salad, large pickles, adana (beef) kebab & shish (lamb) kebab with sides for less than £30 & the wine almost half of that. We have walked & cycled to the local shops, lazed, swam & generally had a very nice time. We met the ex president of the Turkish Camping federation & he promised to give us the details of his recommended sites. We saw 5 Russian models being photographed on the beach – more pouty lips than on your fishmonger's slab, so funny & very 70s. Oh ... read more