Beside The Sea... Çalış Beach, Türkiye!

Once more life allowed me to be 'Beside The Sea' one more time, it had only been a hot minute since my 'Bangor, Northern Ireland' day out. Ending back up in 'Çalış Beach' in 'Türkiye' had me fronting a former holiday home situation, with my niece and nephew in tow, it was time to take things to the water. Ready after our pool day, we all made our way down to see Çalış's sunset! 

Getting down to the beachfront didn't take us very long, our 'Holiday House' wasn't far from the waters of the Aegean Sea. Having arrived in the small hours, that first evening out wouldn't be a late one for us, it wasn't that kind of holiday anyway. As we walked down the pebbled roads from our 'Holiday House', it was magical to see the mountains in the distance as they dominated the views around us. For me it had been some nine years since my last visit to Türkiye, to feel the Turkish sun on my skin felt amazing. Even though evening was fast-approaching, the temperature still packed a serving of heat for us all to feel! Now, we weren't going to complain about a bit of sun after arriving that morning. Our delay felt like such an insignificant thing, those holiday resort settings had us thinking about our tea! Sure, we were missing one person in the living world that evening but we knew that he was with us that evening. The beach looked amazing as we exited the final alleyway on our path, we had arrived at our intended destination! 

Those ocean blue views had me standing still, it was a pure treat to finally see after almost a decade away! Again those mountains showed up and served hard, stunning the view was with the turquoise waters of the Aegean dancing in front of our eyes! Arriving at a familiar beachside haunt us taking several seats for a drink and a bite to eat. Ordering my first drink of the night, we toasted the first 'out out' drink to the 'big man' because he was the reason for the holiday! Tuborg for the win, you already know I had to show off that first beverage of the evening. Ordering 'Chicken Santa Fe' had to be done, served up to me in a creamy mushroom sauce with rice and chips, it was a delicious evening meal without question! Onur Beach Cafe was our intended place to eat, we had been welcomed back into the fold and sure my niece and nephew were truly spoiled! The kids were off playing as soon as they saw the beach, sitting exceptionally for their meal, of course they have been taught well! We all enjoyed our meal 'Beside The Sea'. 

As the heat of the day did a disappearing act, those skies turned from a deeper shade of blue into a darling shade of crimson red and orange. That sunset wasn't going to wait for us, nature has things to do, we made sure that our timings were correct. With our meals enjoyed, another drink had been ordered from the bar before the sun started to set. Those colours had us all looking intently, after such a long wait we were finally along the beachfront in that part of Turkiye! The beach still had people making the most of that cool setting, no more did the sun beatdown because even the sea reflected such lovely red and orange tones. For the only sunset bossed during that holiday it was imperative that we all experienced that wonder of nature together, it was a must! My niece and nephew had found their favourite place, they loved playing on the beach, making new friends for the win! My niece even made her debut on the karaoke with her own rendition of 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star!' Without question, our first evening was magical! 

That beachside establishment hit different, I remembered visiting that same place during 2013 because it was the only place where I could get a reliable free Wi-Fi connection. Their hospitality shone as bright as that setting sunset, nothing was too much trouble for the owner. Our showstopping view of the beach afforded us with front row tickets to see the night-time set in, sure we had made the right choice. The mountains darkened with the lack of sunlight, I made the best of the beach as I accompanied my nephew on the beach because he wanted to play closer to the waters. Taking a moment or two away from my uncle duties, I was able to see the nearby city-town of Fethiye come to life with those evening lights switched on for us all to see. For the first time, this post stands as my first sunset 'Beside The Sea' feature with much to express. Çalış Beach gave us everything that evening, we couldn't possible ask for more! Being beside that section of the sea gave us all a treat, the landscape scored tens across the board! Yes!

Parting ways, me and my sister walked along the brightly lit promenade, we wanted to check out 'Barış Manço Blv'. We wanted to see how much things had changed during that June 2022 moment, sure we were ready to investigate! Çalış Beach, trust and believe! It was mad to see that so many different restaurants, also the walkway 'Beside The Sea' looked shiny and new! Spotting 'Bella Mamma's', sure that fancy Italian restaurant certainly reminded us of those childhood memories! Those summers in Turkiye might not be anymore but we sure reminisced about those sweet family holidays to Turkiye and then some! Celebrating being back in the resort, we carried on with our triumphant stroll along that Turkish sounding boulevard because we wanted to! The shop featured above reminded us of those former years without question but the water taxi station had definitely had a face lift or five! Fancy or what? Evet! We would be able to see what that pier looked like soon enough, the following Friday would before the boat trip! Get it. Çalış! 

Those holiday gift shops had also been given a fancy uplift, looking shiny and new for all of those tourists to spend their coins at! Not my coins, thank you very much! No! Definitely memories were brought back and a smile was shared, it definitely solidified why we had waited such a long time before we could finally return to Çalış Beach in Türkiye! Taking a sharp left after seeing another 'bag shop', well that recent renovation was a choice because a certain 'English Restaurant' once catered for those Turkish food fearing Brits! Be careful what you wish for, that's what I say! Back in the day no tasteful bars or even a 'chip shop' style restaurants stood where we had a little drink before heading back. How those new tourists are being spoiled, we appreciated that elevation but preferred the Realness of that former taxi-rank facing Pide hangout. Grabbing a paddling pool for my nephew, we re-joined the family back at the 'Holiday House'. The evening and night-time had been lovely, sure it felt like a blessing to be back! Done!

No, Çalış Beach Better Don't! 

Desperately Seeking Adventure