Just got back!

[AllanChris]

AllanChris you should get out more as everyone and his dog has live music this year

We would love to get out more, in fact we are getting out to Kalkan in October, but when we were last out in May, the only live music we saw advertised was at The Nur!
 Can someone tell me where the Lounge is situated so I can check it out in October.    

[Charlie]

50 yards up Kalamar Road, first turning on the left.  The Lounge sits on the right hand side, just before Samira Gardens hotel.

[Lancs lass]

Hi East. Glad it wasn't just us that were disappointed with Kalkan this year, and thanks for the report - people only usually write positive ones and probably never come back on the forum again if they've not enjoyed their hol. Reading all the wonderful stories on here does raise your expectations, but as this was our third time we thought we knew what to expect! But we hadn't been in August before!!!!

The huge families taking up tables for 20 at the restaurants and half the loungers at beach clubs was something we hadn't seen before either. All I can say is that I think we must have been unlucky, maybe it was the heatwave, maybe it's just because it was prime school holidays but standards and service were poor this year and the people not as friendly. Not sure which restaurants were empty, as we struggled to get a table some nights and often had to wait half an hour to be seated and about the same to place our order!

Glad you had a few highlights, we didn't make it to Yali beach club and I never knew about that fresh spring near the town beach until this year - and I wasn't brave enough to risk the cold!

I'll pluck up the courage to write a report later in the week, but all I can say is that the Kalkan we experienced over the last 2 weeks isn't the one that we all rave about on here - if I ever go back it won't be in August, if you'd been in June or September I'm sure it would have been very different!!

[amber]

August ın Kalkan thıs year has been very dıfferent from prevıous tımes.I have never seen so many bıg famıly groups on holıday together here before.I guess ıts a symptom of the dıffıcult economıc tımes around the world.
Famılıes are gettıng together and rentıng a bıg vılla and fıllıng ıt wıth as many people as possıble.It means that they can stıll enjoy a holıday and save money on accommodation.
Also many others that own vıllas are havıng to let them out for the fırst tıme to help cover theır costs so there are more famıly type places avaılable thıs year.
There seems to have been a bıg ıncrease ın the amount of chıldren around ın July and August but I guess school holıdays are fınıshıng very soon so Kalkan wıll revert to beıng peaceful and calm agaın soon!
It seems to me, many new to Kalkan people have loved the place and wıll return agaın and agaın but many dıdnt do theır homework and we wıll never see them agaın.
Its a pıty ıf standards ın some of the busınesses have dropped, we have so much choıce that they are very unwıse to allow thıs to happen.

[foreverkalkan]

A word of warning in taking a dip in the cold water spring near the town beach, I did try it to cool down as it was so hot 1st week in August.....a week later after returning home became very ill with pnemonia, all the doctors asked me if i had been somewhere cold, thats the only thing I could think of....on the mend now

[HolmfirthNicky]

Hope you're soon feeling better!

[lorilou]

Oh dear, ForeverKalkan, what an awful thing to happen. Glad you are on the mend and wishing you a speedy return to your usual self.
Cheers
L

[foreverkalkan]

Thank you, I'm slowly getting there, my daughter with me was fine, but the water is a shock to your system after the heat.....won't be doing it again though 

[PACHSU]

Alan,
 
Up the Kalamar Road, go past Brother of Omar Shariff and left turn after the Barber and the Lounge is down there about fifty yards on the right.
Before seven they do a large Efes for 3.5 and there's a set of skins in the bar waiting for you to give them a bloody good thrash! Cool off in their pool after.

[AllanChris]

Alan,
 
Up the Kalamar Road, go past Brother of Omar Shariff and left turn after the Barber and the Lounge is down there about fifty yards on the right.
Before seven they do a large Efes for 3.5 and there's a set of skins in the bar waiting for you to give them a bloody good thrash! Cool off in their pool after.

Thanks a lot Pachsu, I'll definitely check it out when I'm there in October. Seems like the live music in Kalkan has taken off.      If I win the lottery, I'll bring the band over to Kalkan for couple of weeks for a mini a mini tour! (Or if someone makes us an offer we can't refuse!!!!!) Cheers, Allan.    

[MartynE]

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your viewpoint) the authorities appear to have cracked down on ex-pats playing music in Kas and Kalkan... at least one of the musicians that was playing regularly has been deported and the rest of his band have been told to stop playing or they will join him.


I don't want to get into a political argument about the rights and wrongs of Turkish work permits etc,  (the Turks have every right to limit foreign workers) but it's a shame that ex-pats who just want to play music (even if they don't want payment) are caught up in the crossfire and effectively banned from playing in bars and clubs. It just seems a bit short-sighted when these guys were bringing a lot of extra trade into the bars they were playing in... 

[Kefgirl]

Sorry to hear this,    Without naming establishments, does this mean that Baris' band won't be having Blues and Rock nights now?  I was looking forward to them 
 
As Martyn says, it seems counter-productive for local trade, and if not being done for payment, I wonder what the problem is.

[lorilou]

That's a real shame... we were looking froward to some live music this year too ...hopefully the whole story will come out on the fullness of time, and good sense will prevail.

No one wants to take employment from local / Turkish people. But music? If it's not a job, and people are not taking payment for their skill or time, is it work?

[MartynE]

Sorry to hear this,    Without naming establishments, does this mean that Baris' band won't be having Blues and Rock nights now?  I was looking forward to them 
 
As Martyn says, it seems counter-productive for local trade, and if not being done for payment, I wonder what the problem is.

It's ok Kefgirl, Baris still has his blues nights - he's ok because he's a Turk (obviously) - apparently it's only bands that don't include Turks that they are clamping down on.

[Kefgirl]

Thanks Martyn, glad to hear that (but still sorry for the other guys who have been stopped)
Keep on rockin' in the free World (but only if you're Turkish eh?  )