26 MAGAZINE | THE BEACH
DISCOVER
TURKISH COUNTRYSIDE
Do not despair. When you are tired of a sunbed on the
beach there is a hinterland waiting to be explored.
A
re you visiting the
region for the first
time ?
Maybe you have been
here several times previously, again
attracted back for varying reasons,
such as:.
Oludeniz is a relatively small resort
where friendships are formed to be
sealed and never forgotten.
Oludeniz enjoys a seascape
unequalled anywhere in the world:
backed by the Western Taurus
mountains and fronted by a sea of
Turquoise blue.
Have you ever wondered what
the area was like prior to any
conveniences: power conveyance
etc.?
It was an isolated paradise..so isolated
that the only mode of transport was
the mule or shanks pony !
Villagers lived in small whitewashed
houses integrating living area and
bedroom with the bathroom an
outhouse.
What were their expectations ? Fresh
fish, onions, summer vegetables and
the once-a-year sacrificial lamb.
Girls were not generally sent away to
school …and the boys received the
basic 3R’s. The people lived in Amish
style plowing with Oxen, a following
a centuries old farming Almanac.
So what happened ? … Well, roads
were opened, narrow but tarmacked
and in 1984 Dalaman became an
international airport…
Previously a ‘foreigner’ was a visitor
from Istanbul, but now the real
item had arrived. Three cheers! The
local people loved, admired and
copied them. Soon girls who had
been walking round the garden in
pyjamas and plastic shoes were out
in shorts and high boots. Visitors
found Fethiye a fine place: its market,
its harbour and all the friendly
tradesmen offering them glasses of
apple tea.
‘Why not own a country property
out here near the sea’, was an option
many espoused. ‘Even better still’,
thought the local carpenter: “they
can become our neighbours’.” And so
he became an Estate Agent.
Eventually the big boys came in….
extending planning permission
for construction into the farming
villages. Within a couple of years large
complexes with central swimming
OLUDENIZ SECTION
OLUDENIZ SECTION
EARLY SPRING
Walkers en-route to Kozagac
Walkers en-route
Mum taking her little one to Kozagac
for a morning walk...
pools sprung up in the old almond
orchards. Olive groves became
blocks of holiday apartments.
The panorama of this mountainous
terrain and turquoise shore retains
its original beauty… But where are
the villages of yesterday, where is
there undiscovered countryside? It
exists still awaiting for your visit.
Most of the local
people you