Turkey 2013

I arrived home from a 14 night stay in Ölüdeniz on Sunday 30th June after celebrating our First Wedding Anniversary there - Our Honeymoon Location - and now one of our favourite places. 

We flew out at 8.45pm on the 15th June and arrived at The Karbel Hotel at 5am on our Anniversary. The first thing we did was crash out on the bed for a few hours sleep, and then hit the beach for some sun baking. 

Our hotel was great as it turns out,  the staff were brilliant and really interactive and friendly, the rooms were clean and a good size, and the pool was large enough to have some fun in! Our only disappointment the quality of the food - but we were on a bed and breakfast basis so we ate out and this didn't really affect us much. restaurant's we would recommend on the beach front are The Seahorse Bar and The Harry's Restaurant, fabulous food and reasonable prices, both with gorgeous views over the pebble beach - rated in the top 5 beaches in the world for it's turquoise water. 

http://www.karbelhotel.com/

http://www.theharrysrestaurant.com/

Ölüdeniz is a beautiful beach resort in the Fethiye district of Muğla Province, on the Turquoise Coast in Southwestern Turkey at the conjunction of the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. Ölüdeniz means Dead Sea  in translation because the waters are so calm, but it's official translation is the Blue Lagoon. 

Shaun's view of the Blue Lagoon while Paragliding 2012

It's one of the best places in the world to go paragliding - being the location of the very high Babadağ mountain, with great views, and the right weather. The small resort of Ölüdeniz runs for around 6 months a year during the high season, when all the hotels, shops and bars are open for the summer months. It's very picturesque with mountain views covered by Pine forest and surrounded by beautiful clear waters. There is also the Lycian Way which is a hiker's dream and the shorter 5km mountain trek from Kayaköy, to the Lagoon. 

Our trip this year was mainly for relaxation as we embarked upon many of the excursions last year, such as Kayaköy, - The Ghost Village - an abandoned Greek village that you can explore for 5 Lira entry, (about £1.50) and the 5km mountain trek too, - much harder than you'd think! The Sunset Cruise in Fethiye, as well as a three day trip to Ephesus and Pamukkale - Roman ruins. The Butterfly Valley, and of course Paragliding - were just a few. This time around we did one trip, called the Jeep Safari. You are collected from your hotel in the morning in an open topped Jeep which then takes through Fethiye to their base location where other Jeeps will be waiting, their occupants armed with water guns and buckets, all the better to soak you with! From there you go to Tlos - Lycian ruins built almost 4000 years ago that have been inhabited by Romans, Byzantines and finally Ottoman Turks, meaning it it is one of the few Lycian cities to have been inhabited right through until the 19th century. 

From here (During Jeep on Jeep combat of water fighting) you travel to a local trout farm and then on to the Saklıkent Gorge meaning hidden city in Turkish - one of the deepest canyons in the world with a still flowing river only shallow enough to cross in the summer months when 4 km of the canyon are walkable after April after most of the snow from the Taurus mountains has melted and passed through, flowing to the Mediterranean sea. From here you travel down to the natural mud pools just below the canyon where your guide shows you how to apply the mud just right! But have fun washing it off in the river flowing parallel to the pools, it's cold in there, as it flows directly from the gorge! 
We made friends with some of the troops in our Jeep and have kept in touch, soon to be meeting them on a Camping trip in the UK - you really never know what might come out of a days water fighting! This is a great day out if you're okay with getting more than just a bit damp.The trip provides you with lunch, free time in the Gorge, although you do need to pay the 5 lira entry, and plenty of water for soaking the rest of your convoy.  

http://www.seasidetours.net/details/82-Jeep-Safari.html

 City of Tlos

Saklıkent Gorge

 Saklıkent Gorge Mud baths 

We also got the local dolmus - a local mini bus into Fethiye a few times for shopping as there are little side streets full of shops if you follow the harbour down to the Gold Store and the old Amphitheater - which in just twelve months has been developed to the point of no recognition and is under renovation at present - we got lost because we didn't recognise our surroundings! 

There is also a weekly market every Tuesday where it's good to buy fresh fruit, cheeses, nuts, spices and traditional Turkish Delight as well as hand painted pottery! - We discovered some honey caramelized peanuts coated in sesame seeds this year and brought 1 kilo home with us! 

 Fresh fruit Stalls

 Traditional Turkish Delight

Hand Painted Pottery

We went to a traditional Turkish bath again this year, which is always a treat, they lie you on a warm marble slab and rub you down with soapy water and mits to exfoliate your skin, you can follow this treatment with an oil massage. It's highly recommended to go on the first day of your holiday so that you can achieve a deep, long lasting tan, - we can contest that it does work! Treatments in Turkey are of such reasonable value it is well worth treating yourself, it's cheaper than the UK for massages and facials for example. 

If you'd like any more information on the locations / restaurants follow any of the related links on this page. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96l%C3%BCdeniz

Oludeniz Turkiye

We have booked ourselves a cheeky holiday to celebrate our First Wedding Anniversary in June to Oludeniz in Turkey where we spent our honeymoon last year. This time we have 14 nights Bed & Breakfast in The Karbel Hotel. I'm really looking forward to sampling restaurants & kebab shops this time, as last year we were all inclusive & only ate out a few times on excursions. 

Oludeniz

This year is mainly about relaxation for us, as we spent our 11 nights last year doing lots of excursions so that we got to see some of the country & the culture. For instance we visited Ephesus & Pamukkale, as well as going on a sunset cruise, visiting the Dalyan mud baths & Iztuzu Beach to see the Caretta Caretta Turtles, & spending a morning paragliding. 

Pamukkale 

We also went to the 'Ghost Village' Kayakoy & took the 3 km mountain trek back to the Blue Lagoon of Oludeniz, which we intend to do again on this trip as there were spectacular views from the mountain side. We will be making sure we don't attempt it in the midday heat this time around though. The village is much larger than we had thought & not all of the old streets are walkable, so it takes a good hour or so to make your way across to the beginning of the trek as well as have a good look around the village itself, especially if you want to see the amazing views from the highest points.

Kayakoy

I am also keen to explore more of Fethiye as we only had a few glimpses last year on tours, when we did the sunset cruise & needed to find some supper & when we went to the weekly market. I know the city has much more to offer though, so this time we intend to hop on a dolmus from Oludeniz & spend at least one day making our way through the city exploring & eating great Turkish fare! 

Fethiye 

Fond Memories

Around six weeks ago we lost my husband's grandfather - Pop's, to cancer at the age of 89. He was the most loving fascinating person with such an interesting history it was really hard to say goodbye. His life had been spent down so many different pathways & he had seen so much, from living in Thailand during years in the SAS to being a professional actor, featuring on the Richard on Judy show naked in a bathtub, & as an extra in Casino Royale as the Casino Manager, (he is visible ascending a flight of stairs as a fight ensues in the entrance). He had a wonderful sense of humour & fiercely compassionate nature. He was a member of his local church & co-ordinator of a theatre group in his home town & was loved by so many people who shared their fond & funny memories with us at his wake. For years he had been working as a driver to transport elderly people to hospital appointments if they could not manage to get there themselves. He had a story of a man who he helped into his car once that said to him "You wait til you get to my age, 73..." & Pop's hadn't had the heart to tell him he was already 10 years older. He made a huge impact on the lives he touched, & a memorial service was held in his hometown that hundred's of people attended. For us as his family, it was wonderful to know that he had been loved & respected by so many.

Don't Think, Just Write.

I began my writing course on the 18th April, & am now about 6 weeks into the course. From the very first lesson I knew I had made a good choice by enrolling. Inspiration is gradually beginning to flow through the use of our tutor's techniques & guidance. The biggest thing that we do that is of huge help, is Free Writing. No thinking, just putting pen to paper & writing whatever comes to our minds. She recommends to time yourself for 10 - 20 minutes & in that time you must not stop, no thinking, no editing, no reading back over your work, no crossing things out. 

It's so simple but is very effective, once you look back through what you have written sometimes it isn't particularly gripping, but there are sentences that stick out that I then highlight to use again somewhere within my novel. One of the occasions involved our tutor giving us an event & character, & we had to free write for 10 minutes based on what we had been given. I got Margaret Thatcher's funeral as an event, & a Morris Dancer as a character. This was challenging I must admit, trying to find a connection between these without being able to actually think it through, as I had to to simply begin writing from off the top of my head. What I came out with wasn't half bad though! 

"Get it written, then get it right."

This past week's lesson we worked on free writing with fairy tales. First we had to use our non dominant hand & draw a picture of whatever fairy tale we first thought of. Mine was Cinderella. Once we had drawn our image of the story she told us based on what we have drawn we were to give the story a title off the top of our head that is not the original. Nothing really sprang to mind so I just wrote The Perfect Princess. We then had to free write for 10 minutes based on the title we had chosen - not the story itself. 

This was brilliant, although I didn't differ too much from the original outlay of the story I wrote from a different perspective - The Prince's. Which incidentally is now our homework. To free write our own fairytale based on a different character's viewpoint.  

Each lesson a quote or two are written up on the board by famous authors, from their knowledge & experience as writers. It's comforting to know that as a beginner they have all had similar problems to us where inspiration is concerned. The most popular thing said though is that Fear is the main cause of bad writing. The gremlin that sits on your shoulder telling you that you aren't good enough, is the reason so many people shy away from writing what they really feel & do not write to their full potential. You need to encourage yourself to just let go of those fears & write whatever comes out of you. Hence the free writing, if you don;t stop, edit, think about what you're writing, you can't convince yourself that it isn't good enough & cross it out. 

"The first draft of everything's shit." - Ernest Hemingway

Creative Writing For Fiction

I can happily & nervously announce, that I have indeed taken the plunge, & enrolled for the Creative Writing course at my local college. I am hugely excited but also very anxious about it. I have begun developing my own story & have several chapters put by, but it has been a very long time since I studied English at school & I have to admit I am pretty rusty & struggling to to release my creative side. 

I know there is a book inside me somewhere, it is just a matter of finding the help to try & unlock it, as at the moment I feel a little lost. My imagination is fine, but trying to get it out into a sensible plot is harder than it seems. 

Hopefully this course will solve this & I can get some personal instruction from my tutor on the process & how to go about developing my story further, then I can continue with my book that once complete I can attempt to get published! So here's to finger's & toes crossed that this will be the key to opening the doors to a truly great novel! 

Survived The Second Pint!

Two weeks ago I had my second appointment with Blood Donors & this time I was determined not to go through the humiliation of having my legs in the air! I was well behaved all day, making sure I drank lots of water & eating plenty. I was a lot calmer this time round & not as anxious as I had been at my first attempt.  I also took my pac man stress ball with me as I thought it might be easier to pump my arm with than just opening & closing my fist like they ask you to. It seemed to help too, as the whole thing went smoothly & I didn't feel woozy once! Apparently they used to give out stress ball things to people to do this but it was stopped because of 'contamination'. I mean seriously, just throw them all in a bucket of sanitizer after use. But hey, I took my own! 

The only down side is that just like the first time, I got up the following morning, removed the plaster & within minutes - another fainting spell. I had to park my ass on the floor before I passed out. 

So far my families conclusions are:

- I'm a huge wimp

- My blood pressure drops dramatically for some reason

- I am allergic to giving blood (joke) 

- For some reason my body does not like getting up early after I gave blood the day before. ;)

It's odd, because I have never had fainting spells until I gave blood for the first time, but it is bizarre that it happens the following morning & not the same day, I have been told by a nurse that it 'isn't normal' & I am not usually that squeamish with blood or cuts or anything - on myself or others. Though to be honest it does seem to happen directly after I remove the plaster from my arm, so I have a feeling that perhaps for some reason my unconscious self gets squeamish & woozy even though I do not in myself feel anxious or alarmed about the plaster or the hole in my arm. My next tactic is to keep the plaster on until the following afternoon so that I can take it off after work when I am safely at home. 

Obviously if I still feel faint the morning after I might have to consult one of the blood donor help lines & ask for some ideas. I really don't want to have to give up donating when I only just started because of this, which a nurse at blood donors did suggest might have to happen if it happen's again. (This time I didn't tell them it had) I'm giving it one more go to see what happens when I leave the plaster alone.

Sad News

I blogged about my Grampy before Christmas and his struggles after suffering an aneurysm of the aorta in September which resulted in a major operation to save his life. He had many complications following this and had to endure a further four major surgeries which he came through, and as the weeks went on we all began to breathe a small sigh of relief. However a few weeks ago he began to go down hill and we were told that he had infections at the surgery site and in his lungs. Beings he was still so weak his body couldn't fight them as well as it might have if he'd been more recovered and other organs began to struggle too. The doctors couldn't risk any further surgery as my Grampy just wasn't strong enough to come through another one, so they hit back hard with strong antibiotics. Unfortunately it was too much, and sadly 5 months after he was admitted to hospital, my Grampy gave up his fight. 

We won't forget how strong he was, or how much he conquered and over came, and as much as we are all going to miss him, we will always love him, and he will remain in our hearts forever. we are safe in the knowledge that he is no longer in pain, or suffering, but that he is now free, reunited with other loved ones we've lost and is watching over our Nana from above.