We started in Siteler and walked to Armutalan which seemed to me to be the easier direction as the climb seemed more gradual than the walk down. 

A man looking at least a decade younger than we came huffing and puffing up from the Armutalan side. 

The distances of the different hike options….but where would you be when you got to Arkutҫa or Asparan?  We weren’t quite sure where we were when we got to Armutalan. 

We heard but didn’t see birds or any “porky pines” or any other fauna.  We saw several kinds of wild flowers but didn’t know what they were.  I’ll have to get out my Wildflowers of North Cyprus and see if any of them match what’s here.

Starting out in Siteler which looks much like all of the other trails we’ve hiked around Marmaris.

Stopping for a snack!    Randal, Rick and Mary

Along the way you could look back and see the water

Varity of wild flowers, purple, yellow and white.  Spring should be lovely here.  Jane, whose family owns Buttons the dog,  knows about wild flowers and has mentioned going on walks to see them.

This silted over “fountain of the forest” was just near a waterfall and stream. 

There were lots of waterfalls along the way but the trail was dry

Randal and Rick examining casings from shotgun shells.  Notice that Randal’s new hat has ear flaps that he can use when it’s cold.  Nice hat.  At the far end of the trail, more accessible by car…we heard the sound of hunting but didn’t find it any cause for concern. 

After walking almost an hour we found our first map.  It was a good thing too or we might have ended up in Arkutҫa.  But then we’d have know where you were when you are in Arkutҫa.  Another day for that experiment. 

Our way down the mountain to Armutalan seemed a different ecosystem with more open areas and moss everywhere.

We stopped for our picnic lunch just near a large bee-keeping operation: lots of blue box hives and a small shack for the keeper.

Marmaris is famous for its pine honey and you can see why.  We’ll have to try some as well as the “bitter orange” marmalade. 

Our first view of town; far, far away……

Some local graffiti

At the foot of the mountain was an  upscale community and a trail that might need exploring.

There were some lovely homes, quite different from the small apartments near the Old Town Center of Marmaris.  Randal and I have never explored this area, even on our motorbike.

It says something about English my second mother tongue or “second main language.”  As there is an image of the Statue of Liberty I’m thinking they’re learning American English rather than British, Aussie, Kiwi or Indian English.  I was intrigued by the thought that Turkish people should want their kids to learn English and be connected to an American Culture Association. “This training 8-9 hours a day spent with the student teachers during the training model that it replaces the parents only one English teacher for English speaking teachers (but not students understand) gözlemletir students to speak English is a natural process. It’s not a special case of Ayed child speaking English, and in the ordinary course of life, and is a communication method that you should use this method to communicate with the teacher understands. learn to forget anymore, and English.”  This is a Google translation of some of the information on the AKDKIDS website which is only a bit more understandable than the original Turkish.

This is the photo that goes with the information above.  I still have no clue. 

www.akdkids.com is the site but it’s entirely in Turkish as far as I can tell.

Further along we saw this colorful scene; orange, red, pink and the blue of the woman’s blouse that I zoomed.

I don’t know if she saw me.  I thought she made a lovely subject with the flowers and her blue shirt.

A dolmus came along and we flopped onto some seats almost 3 hours since we’d hopped onto the 10:55 dolmus to Siteler. It was definitely worth the 2 TL not to have to walk another hour to the marina. At the end of the run we just sat there hoping the dolmus went further into town..but it didn’t so we had to get off and walk….to the bakery near West Marine a few blocks from the marina.

What Marmaris really needs is a Crispy Crème or Dunkin Donut.  These Turkish treats were just not sweet enough to reward us for our long hours of hiking.  What Randal and I really wanted was one of those gooey sugar laden cinnamon buns like you get in the ariports and make yourself sick on.  I did buy a huge loaf of bread because the bread and simits here are wonderful.

We were really pretty tired when we got back to the boat.  But we rallied and had friends come for dinner. They said good-night about 10 PM and I watched an episode of Murdoch Mysteries and then went to sleep.  Randal came a bit later and neither one of us moved until 7:40 AM Sunday morning.  We had to get up, eat breakfast and get ready to meet Mary and Rick for our weekly walk to the Sunday market and lunch at Brothers.  After our Saturday hike over the mountain, the Sunday walk felt twice as long as usual.  Monday morning Turkish lessons start again so no long morning hike.  Yippee.  

Star Restaurant  across the second bridge and down from the Import Shop.

I’m jumping the gun a bit here; but to eat hamsi is why we went out to dinner so you should see what I’m talking about.   These are definitely not your tinned anchovies.  They’re grilled and you eat everything except the head.  They are somewhat of an acquired taste.  I like them.  They remind me of the smoked mullet I ate in Florida and tasted for the next 3 days.   So how did we happen to eat hamsi New Year’s Eve?

New Year’s Eve morning Rick, Mary, Sue and Randal and I had gone out walking and then stopped for lunch at Acıktım.  On the way back to the marina we passed a restaurant that offered hamsi and salad for 7 TL. Rick asked Mary if she wanted to have that for dinner.  As I had nothing much planned for dinner,  I asked if we could go too.  I wanted to try hamsi as I have eaten voppa in Izmir (grilled sardines) and liked it.    Also, if Randal and I left the boat at 6 pm maybe we’d still be awake and able to join folks for a New Year’s drink at Pineapple later in the evening.  That was my thinking anyway.  Mary and Rick mentioned the dinner plan to Jane and Collin and I mentioned it to Sue and Ed so it was 8 of us who went off for hamsi. 

Now where exactly was that restaurant?  Rick was the leader of our group, but managed to misplace the restaurant.  Some places in town you only find on your way back from town, not on your way from the marina.  That’s because we come and go so many ways that we’re never absolutely sure where everything really is.  We know the general vicinity, but sometimes you have to circle around until you actually find where you’re going.  Luckily I’d remembered where Rick had pointed out the sign that morning;  and remembered it was the restaurant across from where we’d eaten lunch with Michael and Linda 2 years ago and also across from where I’d bought some bananas 2 days ago. Totally makes sense to me.  Of course by then it was absolutely “pouring  down rain” so, leaving everyone else under an awning, Rick and I walked ahead to make sure I was correct about the location.  Actually, it was just down the street and around a corner.  By the time we all got there we were glad to be inside! 

It was a bedraggled group that entered the Star Restaurant.  We looked like just-arrived,  dazed tourists which brought a sparkle to the eye of the head guy.   By the time he was done with us we had ordered enough food for a dozen people. 

Rain, rain and more rain!  I’d worn my big rain boots and rain jacket and had an umbrella as well as lots of warm clothes and a hat so I was pretty warm and dry despite the rain.  Rubber boots are the bomb!

Rick, Mary, Jane, Collin, Ed, Sue, and  Randal still sporting the bow from the Netsel gift swap!

All smiles and then…..

The arm twisting began.  I don’t know why Collin was the guy who got picked for the upsell, maybe he was nearest.  In truth, only Rick, Mary, Randal and I had come for the sole purpose of eating cheap hamsi!  The others were open to some arm twisting and other options.  All of us have left restaurants wondering how we’d  so wrongly ordered  twice as much food as we’d thought we’d ordered.  But Rick put his foot down and Mary, Randal and I took his cue and we 4 had a dinner of just plain hamsi. 

The owner and his mom…she loved having her photo taken.

St. Nicholas was born and died in Turkey so the fact that he’s still here shouldn’t be such a surprise.

Somehow Jane, Collin, Sue and Ed had been talked into two platters…and that was after two orders of meze.  Most of the food went home for Jane and Collins’s dog Buttons and the cat that has adopted Sue and Ed. Walking through the restaurant back from the WC I’d noticed tables of 4 locals sharing only one platter. It really was unkind of the waiter to allow our group to order so much food.  Not sure any of us will be returning to The Star any time soon. But I must say, when we left, the place was full of locals which does say one good thing for it.  You just have to know what to order and how much.  And among Turks, big meals are meant to be eaten slowly over a long period of time.  In her book Blue Arabesque Patricia Hampl writes about Anais Nin’s visit to Turkey and notes a reference Nin made about spending time with some Turkish women.  “She {Nin} was invited here, invited there, visiting the lovely shadowy homes of elegant people for whom “it is a mortal insult…to seem hurried.”  Randal and I tend to eat; Turks dine!  If you eat slowly and intend to spend hours; you can eat a huge platter of food.  A long drawn out meal that takes hours is not my idea of a good time…except maybe for Thanksgiving or on very special occassions.  I’d rather go for a walk or read!   I guess Yankee ingenuity doesn’t match well with relaxing hour long meals.  Actually Yankee ingenuity doesn’t mix with relaxing period. 

We left the restaurant and walked back to the marina in the rain.  Everyone came aboard DoraMac for some tea, coffee and to spend a bit of time before moving along to Pineapple for the start of the New Year’s Eve celebrating.  It was really nice to have everyone aboard and when they left , Randal and I decided to call it a night  Everyone else did continue on to the celebrations…Mary and Rick until

2 AM.  They all had lots of fun but I was happy to spend the evening on DoraMac with Randal watching episodes of Murdoch Mysteries.  About 11PM all the lights in the Netsel Plaza went dark and then came on and, voila! We had power again.

January 1^st we got up early…unlike most folks we know and about 10:30 Rick, Mary, Irina, Randal and I went for a long walk. In the afternoon Kevin and Mai stopped by for tea and then I made some banana bread for the marinaros as a Happy New Year gift.   Apparantely how you spend your time January 1 sets the tone for your whole year.   Or so they say around here.  We had a nice long walk and spent the day with friends.  I could spend a year that way.

Our new spot along restaurant row

Just steps away from Migros which makes emergency trips to the market much easier.

Happy hour at Pineapple restaurant is just steps from Doramac.

Our new water view; I think from our flybridge we can still see town for a possible painting.

Walking from the bus to the restaurant through the

pine forest that reminded me of the Blue Ridge

Mountains of Virginia.

Pete and Sue, friends from the Karpaz Gate Marina in

North Cyprus who are now at Yacht Marina, Rick and

Mary and Randal and I shared a table.

You can see the fireplace just at the end.  It was wide

enough that Randal was sitting right up against it too.

All the usual suspect took part along with Sue, Pete, Heather and Narelle from Yacht Marina.

Putting in our orders:  We gave our boat names so the waiters could keep it all straight.

Black & white photos remind me of vacations in the 50s we took around New England.

There were lots of choices on the menu but our table opted for the roast lamb…except for Randal who had 2 roasted trout. 

Sue is wearing her lovely new blue scarf which looks perfect!  Narelle looks seasonably festive in her red

scarf.  I think just about every woman there had on a scarf; they are quite “costume de rigueur. “  And they also keep your neck warm during the damp chill weather.  I  for one aim to leave Turkey with a whole collection, an especially good idea as I tend to lose one in each country I visit.

Heather snapping a photo…I was only one of many with a camera

Randal liked the wood ceiling and if we ever really do decide to build one last house look for these there…along with Roman mosaic floors out in the courtyard.  Some house huh?

There were small alcove seating areas.  I might have to paint this …minus the napkin holder.  Maybe a Matisse Odalisque should be reclining here.  Maybe I’ll paint one in.

I’d describe this as the image of foreign travel, but with so many ethnic restaurants  in the US,  you’ve  probably have been in something similar.

Randal’s roast trout.

My roast lamb…fork tender.

After lunch we walked around the grounds visiting the ducks and geese.  Mary had thought to bring the left over bread so we all got to watch the geese and ducks come running,  squawking for bread.

This cat wanted a share of the bread we were feeding to the geese

Geese can come up with some of the goofiest facial expressions!

They would take it directly from your hand if the piece was the size of your fist.  If it was smaller you risked losing a finger.  I tried to take a photo of a goose taking bread from me but that was a bit risky trying to protect my finger and keep the camera steady.  I have a photo of me holding the bread and the goose holding the bread, but none of us both holding the bread.

Sue and Pete were here during the summer and they said it’s jam packed.  There are small cabins and a larger hotel too.

I took myself for a short walk around the place and up the road and then up the hill by the hotel but was afraid to be gone for too long and miss the bus back.  Actually it was a private bus for our group so it wouldn’t have left; but no one would have been happy waiting for me to finally show up.  Actually Rick came along and he and I walked part way up the hill on the dirt path behind the hotel.   But we knew that was a hike for another day so we returned to join everyone at the duck, goose, cat pond.

We’re waiting to board the bus home.  Gwen, our fearless leader, is in the red sweater.

Tough going for a baby buggy!

I need to point out Collin with the white hat and pink shirt as somehow this is the only photo

I have of him and Mr. Buttons will never forgive me for that oversight.

Don’t worry; the baby isn’t in the buggy!

Irina in the striped sweater, Joanne who is Grandma, Kathryn, the mom and Kiefer, the baby.

Lots of bees in the forest which translates into lots of honey shops in town.

I’m the shadow on the right!  You can see what a bright sunny day it was.

Actually I look like one of those meditation moves from the Christmas Eve buffet.

Irina not only lead the hike, she pushed the buggy. When the road was too rough

and the buggy was left behind (to be retrieved on the way down,) Irina carried Kiefer.  Now that’s

a hike leader!

Time to leave the buggy behind… Not something to do in other countries, but we knew

the buggy would be here when we walked back down the mountain.  That’s Grandpa Dale

on the left in the white shirt.

The sign says Hunting Isn’t Allowed: it doesn’t say shooting holes into the

sign isn’t allowed.

Jane picked and ate one of the wild olives and it turned her tongue purple

which Rick found amusing. 

Lunch break , Joanne and her grandson Kiefer

Lee and Zehra relaxing in the sun

Irina looking for a short cut to the waterfall… but there was none

While the rest of the group relaxed over lunch, this group walked

the trail down to the waterfall: Jane, Irina, Mary, Rick.

Notice Mary’s spiffy, blingy new jeans!

Our fearless leader pointing out the waterfall .. that you can’t see in this photo.

You can see it here, sort of; lovely but kὒҫὒk..(small.)

But as did Ithaca;  the waterfall gave us the reason for the journey.

Irina carried him up and she carried him down!

A sleeping baby is a happy baby….or is it only puppies that’s true for?

Jeff, Kiefer and Kathryn

And they all lived happily ever after: The End.

Buffet hosted by The Netsel Marina: prizes from marina area merchants.

Roast Turkey and dressing and the lovely fragrant

rice were the stars of the show.  The vodka punch

with chopped fruit wasn’t bad either!

The Usual Suspects………

Randal and Irina led the parade.

Turkey and rice, this plates for ME.   Yum !

The real star of the show is the chef from the

Netsel Workers’ Canteen. We have often eaten

lunch at the canteen and are never disappointed.

The entertainment was as good as the food:  the

Black and White seemed to capture his personality and

the lively classical pieces he’d selected to play. He even played

“If I Were A Rich Man” from Fiddler on the Roof and Hava Nagila

both interesting choices for a Christmas buffet in Turkey.

There were friends….

And families….

Joanne and her daughter.

Son-in-law and grandson who had just arrived from

Scotland and who was dealing wonderfully well with jet lag and lots

of strange faces.

If your number was drawn, you won a prize; and everyone won!

I won 50 TL towards a rental car and Randal won a really nice leather

belt with anchors on it.  All of the prizes were donated by shops at the

marina.

Between Alex and Diana they had the winning number

For the grand prize; a gift basket of goodies.

Guess…  Wrong!

Guess again…probably wrong again unless you do meditation.

We had a demonstration from a woman who offers classes

in meditation.

I did learn one thing from this demonstration; looking upwards

as a way to stop inappropriate hysterical laughter does not work

especially after both a glass of vodka punch and a glass of white wine.

And finally, there were even left-overs that folks could take home!

Maybe a gift for kitty?

The traveling Roanoke County Public Library Yankee Swap Fruitcake visits Aciktim for lunch.  Happy Holidays to all my pals back in the library: one day the fruitcake will return!

Donut Man

Sue, Ed and Mary wait in line for donuts

I loved his expression and his mom’s skirt and sweater color combination that I noticed when I had time to look while working with the photos.  He did look a bit less skeptical when he finally got his donuts.

He wasn’t posing; I snuck in with my zoom: I call this one “boy with donuts!”

Sue, Mary and Ed shared with Rick, Randal and me.  They tasted like the batter that fried fish or shrimp come in and then deep fried (minus the fish or shrimp)….not at all sweet or cake like…more like fried batter.  I’m glad I tried one but won’t need any more.  I’ll stick to the skinny bagel like simits.

Alex and Diana looking for the perfect gift in Elhamra Çini ceramic shop which specializes in beautiful hand painted ceramics decorated with Ottoman images, designs and colors.  Our friend Betty from Sundance and I shopped here last summer and now lots of Netsel cruisers have discovered what a special place it is.

With everything else to look at I almost missed the cat.

Next came the shop with the thousand scarves.  I have one I bought a week ago.  I pointed out the shop to Sue as we passed it and she asked if we could just stop and look…..and Sue left with a lovely bright blue one.

Sue learning how to tie a scarf: so many colors and choices: she went with the lovely blue though the light purple one was lovely too.

The Netsel Shopping Mall is all dressed for Christmas and today tables were set up for the Marmaris Ladies’ Bazaar which will be Saturday and Sunday.  We went early-ish  this morning before things got into full swing.  This afternoon when I stopped by, there were clowns and balloon animals being made and the place was really hopping.  As the profits go for charities, busy is good!  But my battery died so no additional photos…Rats!

The Lions had a table….

This was my favorite. Though I didn’t buy anything; I did go back to the boat and get the clothes I’d put aside to give to charity and bring it back for them to sell.  They had racks of used clothes so I hoped my donation would be useful. 

Mary and Jane couldn’t resist the “ 60s flower-power”  jeans.

Republican Women’s Association had a table, but these women would be Liberals in the US!

    "If there is Sharia law in Turkey, the ones who will be buried away in the dark, the ones to lose all the rights gained, the ones excluded from social life, will be women," said Senal Sarihan, head of the Republican Women’s Association, one protest organizer whose ranks have swelled in recent months.”

http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/06/04/us-turkey-women-idUSL226775020070604

Candles from the Ladies’ Table

I was taken by these funny candles and bought them not realizing I was supporting the voice of liberated Turkish women!  Now I especially like them….as goofy as they sort of are!

Gwen making her purchases: she loads up on the baked goods and stores them in containers in her freezer.  With Randal’s pie making and cooking we don’t need to store up on any kind of food.  We look for people to share it with!

Mary is helping Gwen show off her purchases; angels and wonderful Turkish goodies.

Angels for sale..

Mary modeling her purchases…the flowered jeans go quite well with our carpet!

Jeans and top…less than $20.

Kirsten was shopping with Gwen. 

Kirsten, leader of the Wednesday Morning Group, is an artist with yarn.  She is helping me with a vest I have started using yarn I bought in North Cyprus.  She taught Mary how to knit a wool hat!

Mary and I took the dolmuṣ to Yacht Marine to visit the two lonely horses that live there.

Our friend Kathy whose boat is at YM had made a plea for people to visit the horses as they are pretty much neglected.  Kathy would bring them carrots and apples, but as she and her husband were going home to New Zealand for 6 months, she was hoping other folks would take her place.

The horses are fed and watered and their stalls are kept clean, but apparently no one really spends time with them.  As Mary and I were horse lovers in our earlier lives, we took the time today to go visit the two at YM.  

The box stalls are quite spacious and seemed clean.  And the horses did have water.  Their coats appeared clean.  I have no idea about the condition of their feet but heir manes and tails could have used a good combing.  And the horse Mary is visiting had very yellowed teeth.  The boxes were locked so we couldn’t go in to visit with the horses.  The near horse was a bit rambunctious wanting to nip fingers that only wanted to pat his nose.  You really did have to be aware when interacting with him.

But if you took him in hand, he seemed to accept that.  Both horses appreciated the apple and carrot treats we fed them.

One horse is named Tibet and the other Kartal which means eagle.  We were told that by one of the office workers.  But she wasn’t sure which horse was which.  We were old how and when we could ride the horses…..until we said we were from Netsel and then we were told Netsel Marina people weren’t allowed to ride the horses. 

  So anyone from Yacht Marina who likes horses, please go visit these two.  If you want to ride them, the “groom” will get them ready for you.  You just have to ride.  Or just visit them.  I’m sure they are quite as bored as you would be if all you ever did was stand around in a stall all day with only one view. The horses can’t even see each other which is quite sad as horses are herd animals.