Back in England..

Posted on September 28, 2013 by livingtheturkishdream

Yes, I am now back in England.

Berkay and his friends took me to the airport on Thursday night and after a lot of tears, I got on the plane that bought me back to London Stansted at 5am Friday morning.

It was no doubt the hardest thing I’ve ever done, packing up my house was so sad, it was like I was removing all traces of myself from my home. Then it was time to say goodbye to my dog, Boncuk, and that’s when the tears really started. I went and gave her a big hug and kiss and I’m sure she could tell I was sad, instead of jumping up at me with a wagging tail as normal, she just jumped up and stood there, they do say animals can sense things… I hope she doesn’t forget me.

Next was the awful 45 minute car journey, we were both pretty much in tears the whole time. When we got to Dalaman airport we queued up together to check in, I am certain everyone else in the queue overhearing us must have just thought it was a typical holiday romance, English girl, Turkish boy, tears at the airport.. I was tempted to flash my residency permit in front of them and convince them otherwise, but was really too upset to be that bothered what they thought anyway.

An hour or so later, 2 hours before my flight left, we said our final goodbyes, hugged, kissed and shared plenty more tears. In the end I just had to go. I walked through security and passport control, looking back all the time and waving at him. The next 2 hours sitting alone in the food court was hell, thank God they had free wi-fi so I could distract myself with Facebook. I can’t even tell you how tempted I was to call Berkay and tell him to come back and get me and just not get on the flight…

Taking off was sad too, watching everything I love getting further and further away as we flew higher and higher. It was sad. But now it’s done. I’m back. Miles away from my home. My family are doing all they can to make we welcome, but the fact remains that my home is not here. I’m almost certain that instead of trying to get Berkay a visa, we’ll just settle in Turkey once I’ve worked and saved here for a few years. It’s going to take some adjusting living back here. We went to Asda today, it was so weird walking around and not seeing Turkish foods, not buying kilograms of fruit and vegetables. It was overwhelming and strange. On the plus side, I stocked up on pickled onion crisps and oreos.

Berkay is still telling to go back everytime we speak on FaceTime, he found a flight for £35 in a few weeks and is telling me to book it. I wish I could. ):

I will still be updating this blog, I’m unsure what about, but I do have a few posts about Bodrum planned and am open to suggestions about anything else you want to see. (:

Just another day in Fethiye..

Posted on September 14, 2013 by livingtheturkishdream

Off we went to Fethiye again today, Berkay wanted his hair cut and we decided to stop off for chicken doner for lunch too!

4tl, bargain. Perfect with the chips in too. Probably not too healthy having half a loaf of bread in one sitting but hey, who can resist when it tastes so good and is just as cheap, if not cheaper than cooking a meal at home?

We went for another walk around our favourite place in Fethiye again too. I love the fountains and the topiary in all shapes and sizes… all very pretty! Of course we had another little mini photo-shoot, I never go anywhere without my iPod camera! I LOVE my iPod.

I like the clock tower too, it has the names of a few cities and shows the current times in each location, London, Moscow, Berlin and of course Turkey! The temperature read 39 oC , I’m not sure if that was the actual temperature or just in direct sunlight, but it certainly felt like 39 oC was a true representation, it was absolutely boiling! We resorted to walking around Migros for 10 minutes to use the aircon and cool down, that turned out to be a bad idea as we got distracted by the goodies and spent 35tl on some shopping.. Oops.

The park was nearly empty, which meant we could have some fun taking silly photos without looking stupid.. but it’s sad that more tourists don’t come into the main town of Fethiye and see this place, they’re missing out.

An afternoon at the beach..

Posted on September 13, 2013 by livingtheturkishdream

I always used to think how odd it looked when Turkish families rocked up to the beach in the height of summer, fully clothed with rugs, cushions and pots and pans in tow to enjoy a full on family feast. Today I realised I have become one of these people.

My level of Turkish-ness definitely peaked today. I wanted to for a swim with Berkay and thought it would be nice to take some food along with us, I found myself marinating some chicken breast in Nandos sauce (we’re addicted to it) at 6am this morning, ready to cook in the oven before we went this afternoon. We ended up taking the chicken, some pasta and salad all nicely stored in saucepans and old ice-cream tubs and shoved in my bag… along with towels, a blanket, 2 cushions, plates, cutlery, a bottle of coke and the trusty salt pot. God knows what the tourists thought, Calis Beach was pretty busy with bikini clad sun worshiping tourists, and there we were, walking along trying to find an empty spot to set up our little feast. We did find a fairly quiet spot luckily.

It was lovely, but by the time we had walked 20 minutes in the 38 degree heat and were sweaty, hot and bothered, we weren’t all that hungry and couldn’t finish it all. Boncuk was grateful for the leftovers for dinner though!

After a little mini photo-shoot (I am way too snap happy, 7000 photos taken on my iPod in just 5 months..) we had a little swim, the sea is still lovely and warm at this time of year, perfect.

We had time for a quick walk and hugs with Boncuk before Berkay went to work too, isn’t this photo adorable? True love 🙂

Winter in Fethiye..

Posted on September 10, 2013 by livingtheturkishdream

It’s starting to get dark at 7.30pm, it doesn’t get light until gone 6.30am and I no longer need the fan on to sleep at night! Winter is on it’s way.

As I mentioned in my worst things about living in Turkey post, winter is cold. Very cold. It always surprises people when I say that, some people assume the resorts are warm and sunny all year…Wrong! But I do love winter, it’s a totally different atmosphere.

When the scores of tourists have gone home and only the locals stay in resort, Calis Beach is like a ghost town. We get full reign of the beach and can let Boncuk off her lead for a big run around. Everyone wears layers, the rain pours down and its not unusual to be guided to the toilet by candlelight during a storm. These are some photos from last winter.

My grandparents bought me and Berkay onesies for Christmas, they were well used and well loved throughout January and February, the coldest months here in Fethiye. We often ate dinner inside wearing coats AND our onesies, no insulated walls or double glazing in my house!

5-6 months of bright, clear blue skies and then this happens.. rain and black clouds. It doesn’t rain here like it rains in England, it never just spits a little, when it rains, it rains, full on thunderstorms that shake the building. I LOVE it!

It gets icy too…

The weather may be colder, but the views are still as beautiful. I love seeing the snowy mountains in the distance, so pretty. When Babadağ (the mountain on the left, the one closest to Fethiye and where all the paragliders jump off during summer) gets dusted with snow, you know its really cold!

We drove through the mountains on the right in December to travel to Antalya airport…

The best thing about winter? The silent, peaceful, tourist free beaches. The perfect spot to watch the sunset. Winter sunsets are the best.

Cake, wonky buildings & parks..

Posted on September 8, 2013 by livingtheturkishdream

We went to Fethiye today, mainly to pay the internet, electric and phone bills since it was pay day yesterday, but of course we took a few little detours.

First we went to Mercan Pastanesi, our favourite dessert place. They have amazing cakes, pastries and baklava. Today I went for the strawberry cheesecake and Berkay had baklava and icecream. So yummy!

Next, after paying bills, we went for a little wander along Fethiye harbour and through the ‘new’ square and park. It’s a year old now, where did that time go?!

Everytime we walk past, this sight never fails to amaze me. How it is safe or practical to live there I really have no idea, imagine sitting inside with a glass of drink or bowl of soup resting on the table.. it would all tip out, everything must be so crooked inside. The building has become more and more slanted over the years, I think it got significantly worse after last year’s earthquake too. It just sits wedged in by the surrounding apartments now, it’s only a matter of time though, I don’t think it’s safe at all.

Then we just carried on walking through the park, but stopped when we got to the playground as we had to catch the last bus that goes past our house at 18.30. It is beautiful with the fountains turned on and is really clean. I love the statues too.

Sometimes I wish I was a kid again so I could take full advantage !

Bunny..

Posted on September 1, 2013 by livingtheturkishdream

I had no idea what to post today, this ‘bloggin’ everyday’ thing isn’t easy! Wasn’t in the mood to post something really meaningful and we done absolutely nothing other than walk the dog today, so I thought I’d just share some old photos (:

This was my bunny, Abbie. We got her from a pet shop in Fethiye in May 2011 when she was tiny. She was an Albino rabbit and I loved her to bits, she was so funny. She stayed on the balcony in a cage, but we often left the door open so she could hop around. Whenever we were outside eating dinner she’d come hopping over to us for a piece of bread or whatever we were eating, I’m sure she thought she was a dog. If we left our front door open for more than a few minutes she’d dart inside and hide behind the sofa, she knew she wasn’t allowed. She also enjoyed jumping from her cage into the bag of BBQ coals, which often resulted in patches of her white fur ending up black…

We visited the UK in April and Berkay came back to Turkey two weeks before me, a few days after he got back, she died.. ): A big bird took her from our balcony when her cage door was open and flew off with her somewhere. Berkay went out looking for her and took the dog to try and find her too, unsuccessfully though. I was so sad I didn’t get to say a proper goodbye to her, but at least Berkay had been with her for a few days and I got to see her on FaceTime too.

I remember Berkay saying he thought she might have gotten away from the bird and would come back, and the night after she went, he looked out of the kitchen window and saw something white wandering around near the chickens downstairs so he ran down thinking it was her… but it was just a cat. ):

I used to go out on the balcony every morning at sunrise, as I still do now, and sit and hug her. Poor bunny. I do miss her.

It has resulted in a few cute moments though, I explained to my two year old little sister what had happened (she always used to ask to see my bunny on FaceTime, she still does even now..bless) and this was her reply ”A birdie (H)eat it..poor Dan Dan’s wabbit’‘. I still listen to this video and smile, she did cheer me up!

Click HERE to see the video, it’s cute (: