Who's Calling?... It's Fethiye, Türkiye!

The nearby city of Fethiye was calling our names, answering those demands both me and my sister embraced that 'Çalış Water Dolmuş' because we wanted to do so! Sultan Pastanesi was on my personal radar, I wanted to relieve those first sweet memories from that 2003 house-hunting trip. Collectively we wanted to recapture that binding week, cherishing the past in the present. 

The previous day felt like a lifetime away after that 'dead to the world' kind of sleep, thankfully the usual hangover also decided to take a holiday! Getting our lives together, we made our way from the 'Holiday House' to the 'Water Taxi' pier to catch our Çalış Water Dolmuş over to Fethiye. Those soaring temperatures didn't make travelling by road from Çalış to Fethiye look appealing, the boat it was then for us! Setting sail on another boat trip of sorts we saw the boat that we had chartered the previous day, we agreed that those clients wouldn't be as lively like we had been! The journey from Çalış to Fethiye on the boat had us catching the same legendary views of the mountains and sea, we felt like the right mode of transport had been decided upon! It was much too hot for any bus ride even if there was air con, we had our very own sea breeze served up as a cooling saviour! It was mad to see the boats all following this imaginary route over the bay to Fethiye, it was like an invisible marker led them all. Russian super yachts? Look! 

It had been a hot minute since I had last visited Fethiye, 2013 saw me visiting the Tuesday Market several times but with only one week afforded to me in 2022, it was a massive no! Thankfully our week long stay saved us from trapsing over from Çalış to that swelteringly hot market, confirming that mini-victory as our Çalış 'Water Taxi' sailed, that felt correct! Meaning it from the heart, even if life has transported us to different places, we had to let Fethiye know what time it was! As Fethiye grew closer we saw the ruins of the Fethiye Kalesi, that growing city knew we were on our way! The many '12 Islands Tour' and 'scuba diving' boats were all lined up as they had been during that initial summer. Oh, we had previously clocked how far the promenade stretched from Çalış to Fethiye, watching that scenery pass effortless, how on earth did we walk the whole distance? Like how? Tell me! Stepping down from that quick trip over the bay, we hatched our developing plan because we had things to accomplish. Oh! We're back, TR! 

Respectfully declining the offer of a boat trip, those enthusiastic chancers didn't get their tourist coins from us! We just said 'Yarın İngiltere'ye gidiyoruz!' Meaning in English, 'We're going back to England tomorrow!' We wanted to capture those memories from when we first visited Fethiye, being February the weather would have been the complete opposite from how it was during that hotter than hot July morning! Trying to be clever, we arrived in Fethiye before 10 a.m. to try and avoid the midday heat because that was no actual joke! Now when I look back at the photo above, the lady who's walking towards us resembled Love Island's 'Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu' but we'll never know. We were glad that our boat trip had been on a smaller vessel with just the people that we wanted there, definitely we agreed that being on one of those larger boats wouldn't have been a mood for us! The weather as hot as it was, well it was fantastic to feel the sun on our skin, nothing like it had been like at home in England. No, no! Not a Starbucks? 

As we cut through the 'Uğur Mumcu Parkı', we noticed that a lot of work had gone into renovate the park! Yes, we saw many new arty statues including two that emulated Turkish whirling dervishes. During the winter of 2003, we certainly didn't see any such installations around that marina-side park! As we walked through past that Starbucks franchise, it was clear to see for ourselves that Fethiye had transformed itself from the town with the cute marina to an almost developed city! Calling from where? Word on the street was that Fethiye's outer harbour area will be transformed into a world class cruise destination, translating to us why so much cosmetic work had been carried out. 19 years after we spent that first week in Fethiye, that former town stood as an independent and thriving city with much to celebrate! Talking of progress, my sister fancied something quick to eat from McDonald's and I wasn't going to turn down an ice cold Coke in that heat! That cold drink and snack suited us fine, it was time for us to make tracks, F! 

Leaving the super chilled air-conditioning at McDonald's wasn't a mood, we needed to forge ahead because we had some serious nostalgia to catch up on! From our fast food stop, keeping on 'Gaffa Okkan Caddesi' we walked past the hotel that we had stayed in during that house-hunting trip! In previous years that view didn't have the same significance than what it did that 2022 mid-morning period. It was like was something was in the air, like we had been told to soak up Fethiye as if it was our final visit! Thankfully, my photographic memory had found me once again, navigating from the McDonald's saw us locking eyes with Fethiye's 'Yeniceri City Hotel'. With a sense of curiosity, we felt compelled to have a quick look at the reception of that once familiar city centre Fethiye hotel. 19 years later the decor naturally looked like it had been freshened up, what hotel would be sitting with the same decor almost two decades later? Exactly, like our own homes, that hotel had been brought into the present. Oh, such a memory! 

During that house hunting week, we spent a lot of time along Fethiye's 'Gaffa Okkan Caddesi' during the evening time. The days would be full of property viewings and for three children ranging from 13 to 8 years old, such viewings weren't really that exciting. During that week we enjoyed our first flat bread kebab at one of the street-side 'Kebab Houses'. Located just at the back of the Yenceri City Hotel, the marina hosted a selection of bars and cafes, as a family we spent those February half-term evenings at a place called; Val's Bar' and at other venues along that open air situation. Being the wintertime it was better to go inside the bar to get out of the cold, because believe it or not, Türkiye serves up some seriously bitter winters! Yes! As kids we were used to spending time in bars through the night with our parents, now that's where we met a man called 'Eric'. That eccentric figure almost had a smack in the face because he didn't appreciate children being in the bar, well he didn't have much choice because he was warned! 

The sweetest part of this blog has been left for last, after my flight was booked for this holiday, I had one patisserie in mind! Yes, 'Sultan Pastanesi' became my happy place during that first week spent in Fethiye and thereafter. As we sat in to order my sweet treat and hot drink, it was such a recognisable place for me to clock! During that property hunting week I would be allowed to have a cake most nights from this patisserie and one tasted sweeter than the chocolate cake did! Going by the name 'Tulumba', now I had Google search that name because I mustn't do this dessert wrong! That sweet tasting treat had me fooled, it was almost like a doughnut with a lighter and more syrupy taste. The 'Tulumba' from Sultan's was always served in a box for takeaway, being a small croquette shaped dessert it was always great to get a healthy serving for me to enjoy! That week spent in Fethiye saw us make a regular appearance at Sultan's with a trade off, we would have our cakes and then go to Val's Bar. From 2003, it was always a Sultan! 

Sultan's had my back during that July moment in 2022, I ordered a glass of Turkish tea and a serving of 'Fırın Sütlaç' which in English is known as; 'Baked Rice Pudding'. Throughout those Turkish summers in the sun I would sometimes choose to have a Sütlaç instead of an ice cream. The mixture between hot and cold worked perfectly because the sunshine had me feeling a bit thirsty, maybe dehydrated from the previous days drinking on the boat. The Turkish tea rehydrated me and the rice pudding dish cooled things down, working together in the strangest of ways it just felt right. No doubt, Sultan's workforce were looking mighty fine, those Turkish brothers had the look, they very much did! Looking like a whole 'tulumba' themselves, well you can guess the rest because that sunshine had me thinking impure thoughts! Fethiye had our backs, she showcased those exacts parts of the city that we had planned to see straight away! Moving onto the next one had to be done, we had much to achieve that day! Over and out, Feti! 

Not Bad After 19 Years! 

Desperately Seeking Adventure