D400

[kim21]

Can anyone confirm that the work on the new road will stop once the season starts.
 Govt. projects to my knowledge and I could be wrong, continue all year round?
If so, shouldn't we be warning people about avoiding this area?

Linkback: https://www.enjoykalkan.com/forum/index.php?topic=5222.0

[Will]

The work will continue throughout the season, it is scheduled to finish in early 2011.  At the moment, the jackhammers start at 07.00 and are often still going at 10 p.m.  In recent days, sections of the rock above the road have been dynamited and the resulting very loud explosions are rather startling.

It is noisy and inconvenient for people living nearby but as it a state not local project, the work will not stop to accommodate the wishes of tourists

Will

[maryjane]

I quote - " the work will not finish on the wish of tourists"!

Where would Kalkan be, in the great scheme of things, if it was not for the tourists?

[Will]

I think the vast majority of Turkish Kalkan residents, those who were born here and are not directly involved in tourism are very ambivalent about this.They do not see tourism as a benefit to the village . As to the question where would Kalkan be without the benefit of tourists, it would be like the thousands of other small towns and villages in Turkey, where locals manage to live quite comfortably without any 'help' from tourists.

Kalkan existed long before tourists ever came here.  The Turkish friends I have here are not overly enthusiastic about the changes tourism has brought to this community and are not thrilled to see the destruction of their environment and culture.  They are horrified at the concrete jungle which has grown up around them and saddened to see so many of those houses empty for half a year, adding nothing to the life or economy of the area

 But they are very hospitable towards all foreigners and are delighted that so many people appreciate the beauties of the country and want to visit Kalkan.

As foreigners living here permanently, in the midst of a totally Turkish neighbourhood, we see the real Kalkan and it is untouched by any aspect of tourism.  Our neighbours make their living from small scale agriculture, they are largely self-sufficient, keeping goats, chickens and sheep, growing their own vegetables and they have little or nothing to do with tourist Kalkan.

Tourists didn't create Kalkan. This is not Disneyland, it is  a real place with all the good and bad things that go on in real places which thrive without the 'benefits' of tourism.

Personally, we wouldn't be here if it were not for tourism, and we do benefit from it as we enjoy many of the services and facilities that tourists use and which only exist because of tourists, so we are also ambivalent about its benefits but we never assume that tourism created Kalkan, it didn't.

Will

[maryjane]

I think you missed the point re. my comments regarding tourism/income.    In NO WAY would I denigrate the local, hardworking indigenous population. I agree that Kalkan was in existence long before we discovered it for our holidays/living there permanently.     If we had the same work ethic here in the UK, we would not be in the dire situation we are currently experiencing.
BUT, I would be very interested to know the income generated annually by us "tourists" to enable the infrastructure to carry on, as it has for years, surely with some benefits for those who live and work there and in the surrounding countryside.

Back to the D400, is it something to do with the proposed new airport, and nothing to do with Kalkan?

[Baggers]

Yes, of course I can just imagine the locals plotting: "All right, all right - but apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health, what have the Tourists ever done for us?"

If these locals really feel angry about the concrete jungle (er, really?), maybe thay should take it up with a) dozens of their fellow Turkish residents who've all made millions from foreign investors by selling plots of deserted barren land, b) the local labourers who've enjoyded steady employment for years in constructing these beautiful villas and apartments, and c) their local planning authorities who's coffers have been swollen by tourists.

[Blue Lizard]

(Back to the D400, is it something to do with the proposed new airport, and nothing to do with Kalkan?)

What proposed New Airport?

[kalkan4eva]

We're staying in Kormurluk, quite close to the D400 so I'm already expecting that work will be right on top of us by the time we get there in May/June. We're determined to enjoy ourselves, no matter what kind of din the work creates - you just have to make the best of it. I understand from KTLN walking along the D400 is particularly hazardous right now, so again, we are hoping that will have improved by the time we get there as I would really miss walking in and out of Kalkan...and my clothes probably wouldn't fit after a couple of days
I appreciate the road widening is a national scheme, but I don't think its enhanced Kalkan at all - rather taken away some of its charm and created a very large divide....the road has always seemed adequate for the traffic using it and if it goes this size all the way to Kas, it will definitely spoil a charming and scenic winding coastal journey.
Like BL, I'm very interested in maryjane's comment about a new airport, as I always thought the new Kas harbour was the driver (no pun intended) for the scheme!

[Roxie]

The noise is awful apparently. We now have 2 villas being constructed beside us. We had to relocate our guests near to the harbour. They said that the noise is dreadful from Kizlitas to the Kisla turn off. The work beside us is going on from 7am to 10pm. It is supposed to cease on 16th May but no respite on the D400.
Rx

[maryjane]

Re. proposed new airport.

KTLN article 26/9/09!

[kevincat99]

It probably seems very inconsiderate if you come for a holiday here or let your villa or apartment ;but if these projects didn't continue apace and stopped for every tourist season everything would take at least twice as long.
You normally find that in the main, complaints come from people who rent out their villas etc , add nothing to the place and their guests complain and then they may have to give refunds etc. But if you live here all the time you accept it
Once it's done, it's done
Insallah

[Will]

Baggers.....your quote

'but apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health, what have the Tourists ever done for us?"

So does this mean in the thousands of Turkish towns and villages which have no tourists and therefore no tourist income, they have none of the above?

Does income from tourism in the UK pay for you to have your rubbish collected?

In 2007, total government expenditure in Turkey was 138 billion dollars.  In the same year, total revenue generated from tourism (not revenue to the government but money shared amongst everyone involved in the tourist industry) was 17 billion dollars - even if the government manages to take 20% of this in taxes and other revenue, it's still a drop in the ocean.  So tourists are not paying for the education of Kalkan children, the wages of the local jandarma, the cost of collecting rubbish and providing street lighting, the maintenance of the medical centre or the provision of fresh water.

The new road is nothing to do with tourism, it is part of the governments' strategic development plan for transport, the upgrading of all main highways to meet EU requirements.
If Turkey cannot upgrade its transportation infrastructure it cannot meet all the entry requirements for EU membership. This road is the Izmir/Antalya highway which runs for approx 500 miles.  The fact that a section of it passes through Kalkan is incidental to the overall development of this major artery along Turkey's south west coast.

As Kevincat says, those who live here all the time are no less inconvenienced by the construction or less irritated by the noise but we all recognise that it is work which will carry on regardless of what we think and which ultimately will bring economic benefits to an entire region of millions of people. Insallah indeed.

Will

[Blue Lizard]

Will..you are obviously not a fan of monty pythons..i think baggers was Quoting the famous Romans sketch..tongue in cheek..lighten up before you blow a fuse

[kalkan4eva]

Residents will most definitley have a different outlook on this than those who are coming to Kalkan for a holiday...many people work hard and save hard for their two weeks in paradise and if they're expecting peace and quiet they might not get it
I think accomodation owners should warn guests that this major work is ongoing and it may - or may not - disturb their stay. There's nothing anyone can do about it, and as I've said previously we're prepared for the noise and will hopefully just get on with it
I'm quite sure Kalkan is incidental to the grand scheme - as are other resorts and towns on the route - but I'm entitled to my opinion 

[Cuddles]

(Back to the D400, is it something to do with the proposed new airport, and nothing to do with Kalkan?)

What proposed New Airport?


Initially, some 10 years or so ago, there was talk of one being constructed near Kinik. Then, about 3 or 4 years, there was talk of one behind Kas. As I remember the story, there is supposed to be an unused(?) airstrip there, which could be developed. Take it all with a pinch of salt. Like most rumours that sweep through Kalkan, that's all they usually are. Unless of course anyone knows different or, has seen something in print.
A project of that magnitude would put a severe drain on government resources.

[Kalkan regular]

I believe from something I read a while ago on a Turkey related website that if the airport was built near Kinik it would only have a short runway and consequently would only cater for internal flights.

[Blue Lizard]

I don't actually mind the journey from Dalaman..i only do it once or twice a year,(if i did more i probably would mind)..but i kind of like the anticipation of seeing old faces and such a great place....i like the scenery if it's day time(especially the view as you come over the hill) and i hope for a leisure driver rather than a racer with a mobile that overtakes on bends so i will live with it if no other airport arrives....

[dawnie]

Hi,

We are coming to Kalkan for the first time at the end of May and I just wondered if anyone knew how close to our apartment this work is going on?  We're staying at the Han Inn apartments.

[kim21]

Yes, of course I can just imagine the locals plotting: "All right, all right - but apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health, what have the Tourists ever done for us?"
 Actually baggers, take out 'the fresh water system' which doesn't exist anyway and you're not far wrong, the tourists did bring all these things
  The tourists relieved the locals from the 'absolute poverty' they lived in, now they have opportunities and choices in their lives... and of course roads, which were non existant not so long ago.

[Baggers]

What Blue Lizard said - it was a cheeky quote from a movie. The point being that you can either welcome the tourists (and their money) and sensibly accomodate their reasonable expectations, or you can shun them and preserve an insulated approach to all such matters. Tourism may well be a double-edged sword (revenue versus "Westernisation"), but you have to determine a unified municipal outlook and strategy - you really can't have it both ways.
Baggers