Kalkan Turkey Forum - EnjoyKalkan.com
Kalkan Discussion => Holiday Reports and Reviews => Topic started by: Legionaire on September 27, 2013, 03:55:58 PM
-
Hi all, apologies for the long time no post but redundancy and house move took priority!
We went back to Kalkan for 2 weeks in September, last visit was September 2012.
Since 2008 we have visited both in May and September, had a break in 2013 and one visit this year.
Still loved the ambience (8am - 11pm), still loved Kosk, Trio, Lipsos, Yalis, etc, although we were puzzled by the price increases since last visit.
Taxi from Patara was 10TL, now min 15TL, quite often 17-18TL, quite a hike in 12 months?
My wife loves a signature dish at Aubergine, last visit 36TL, this year 54TL!
I know that its all relevant before people start mentioning UK prices etc, we paid it (apart from Aubergine!) but struggled to understand the massive increase.
One mitigating factor could be the fuel prices in Turkey which appear to be on par with the UK!
The average age of the visitors seems to have reduced greatly, and as you can see from my mention of the ambience 8-11 being good, across the bay the pumping bass music kept on going until 4am, I did most of my sleeping on the sun beds!
It would be good to find out other peoples views, such as is the music loud in the old town or other areas?
That way if we go back we may stay somewhere other than Patara Prince?
What do people think about pricing, the younger set moving in etc?
Speaking with a couple of bar and restaurant owners they were not too amused with the changes.
Having said that we had a lovely time, the gulet trip was fantastic (Pina-X1) and hospitality everywhere was second to none!
Cheers
Legionaire
-
Think there must be another Kalkan because I'm stopping top of the old town and haven't heard anything untoward apart from my husbands snoring. It's been absolutely lovely in the evening sitting on our balcony looking out to see and there has been absolutely no noise. Haven't noticed any great price hikes but we haven't eaten by the harbour at night..We've been very surprised by the reasonable prices. Last night at Han two of us had sea bass two had lamb shanks two bottles of wine glass of wine bottle of water two starters and a lovely free plate of fruit and it came to 210tl roughly 70 pounds couldn't beat it.
-
Thanks Joycie, it might be that the hill behind the town acts as a back stop and the noise travels across the water?
We noticed a couple of comments in our villa guest book about the noise levels.
We had not noticed it before but this villa was right on the very front of Patara Prince just above the swimming pool.
Yes the food is good value compared with UK but I was more interested if any one else had noticed an increase 2013-2014?
A gradual increase is harder to spot and we probably would not have noticed if we had our usual 2 trips in 2013..... :-\
Good news if the noise is minimal in the old town, we have rented a villa in that area before.
Thanks again
-
I have eat at the harbour last week and your right the prices have gone up, but to be fair it's still great value imho. I do know that they pay Huge rents on the harbour, on top of that, gas / electric / fuel / water etc have All gone up so I suppose when you add all that up, prices Have to rise :o
Im sat on our pool terrace in Kalamar Bay (20:00) and if someone dropped a pin I would hear it, Sooo peaceful, no music, no fireworks and no ( or next to no ) traffic...happy days :-))
Thanks for your report Legionaire, and glad to hear you had a lovely holiday and Still love Kalkan ;)
-
Thanks onelove, we have never tried a villa over that way, might be time for a change! >:D
-
The £ to the lira has gone up by almost 10% since July, 12.5% since you were there so 45 lira is now the same cost to you as 40 lira last year. In May & July this year we found prices had gone up but the cost to us was actually cheaper than last year.
A taxi to our apartment from the harbour was 10 lira, including tip last year (on the meter) and the same in May & July this year, it will be interesting to see if it has changed when we arrive in 2 days. I do know fuel is now more expensive than anywhere in Europe, including the UK.
-
Taxi to a Fethiye 155l 210 return excellent we thought. Kalkan Antalya 160 pounds. The taxi driver got lost so it may have been cheaper.
-
I agree about the noise levels, I cannot understand why live music is stopped at 12.00 but the noise from the bars or rather chocolate and mojitos goes on for ever. We were there early September and in Patara Prince and obviously noise travels across the water. However it was a lot quieter than last year and quite often the police were going round at around 11ish asking some of the bars to turn the music down.
The most noise this year was from we think The Lykia having a Turkish evening. Unbelievable, how anyone can play music that loud, all of Kalkan must have heard it.
I find it interesting that these clubs still belt out music in September and October when most of the 'younger element' have left.
Perhaps these clubs should be soundproofed, then everyone can enjoy the parts of Kalkan that they like the best.
I can't believe anyone enjoys loud bass music all night, I often think how would the partygoers like that level of music playing between 5.00am and midday when they are trying to sleep. It is such a shame that there is loud music but maybe I am getting old!
-
Just haven't heard any loud music at night or in the day.
-
I live in the old town near the beach and we are never disturbed by loud music from the restaurants or bars at this side of town.
With more and more people renting out their apartments and villas we have seen a change in the age/type of tourists coming to Kalkan over the years.Guess its only to be expected.
Thank goodness the exchange rate is so favourable to Brits at the moment.Havent heard too many complaints about prices around town although the "less posh" places seems more popular than ever.
Kalkan is still beautiful and a wonderful place to chill!!!!
-
Legionaire - a very interesting post, just after a very short break you have noticed the changes. We are located located near the market & hear very little, perhaps the weddings at the bus station the odd loud evening in one of the restaurants but otherwise not a lot & as you say it does bounce off the mountain side & some locations get it worse than others. We do though seem to get a lot of very loud renters in properties let out near & around us these days, they seem totally unaware of how loud they are & how their voices travel & these are not 'the younger set'. Try a different area for your next visit.
-
weddings at the bus station???????????
-
:)yes
-
Helshe - where have you been, wedding partys at the bus station have been going on for some years now & with fireworks !!!
-
Helshe - where have you been, wedding partys at the bus station have been going on for some years now & with fireworks !!!
I must have been spending too much of my time the other end of town keeping the gin industry ticking over!! I will have to look out for these events in future
-
You don't need to look out for them, Helshe ...you can hear them all over Kalkan!!
-
Thanks for all the responses, we will try another area, it must be my age catching up with me!! :(
Legionaire
-
Age has nothing to do with it- it's lack of consideration, selfishness & 'we are ok jack never mind the others'. Hope your next visit is quieter for you.
-
We were going to go to Tanzore tonight but the power had failed again so we were wandering by Agora and decided to give it a go. Boy we were not disappointed. We had a beautiful starter to share of Filo pastry followed by the house special of sea bass Bri had the sole and Dave had the moussaka. Absolutely delicious. We'd already had a complimentary starter of bread and dips and the main meal was the best ever. Even Bris mushy peas were superb served with sole and chips. Sounds very common but absolutely delicious. Then we had a fresh fruit dessert to share again wonderful. We'd had a bottle of Angora red two glasses of red and three glasses of white coffees or apple teas on the house and the bill 50 pounds per couple . Absolutely fabulous thoroughly recommend and still Tanzore to do.
Loads of power cuts but mainly in the middle of e night. Unfortunately last night quite early and us in the middle of a game of crib. Power went off so Dave and Mor decided to go to bed five mins later on came the power so there we were back on the terrace in our nightclothes finishing the game. Blimey before we could win off goes the power again so back to bed. Never mind perhaps tomorrow .
-
Sounds like you're getting back into the swing of enjoying your holiday Joycie :) whereabouts is Agora please?
-
Hi Joycie,
I have not posted, but have been following your.....holiday !
You are amazing, the way you reacted to All your problems is a lesson to us all in how to be 'cool' in such scary circumstances, 10 out of 10 to you :-))
I so hope Bri is ok and things are on the up.
Your so right about the Great value that Kalkan Still offers......£50 per couple....I really don't understand how the restaurants do it ????
One last thing....Crib...what a great game...now I'm feeling old :-(((
Take care, hope Bri is well.
Onelove x .
-
It's not far from Tanzore we were in a power cut so didn't really notice but will try to post a clearer picture later. It really was delicious.
-
Oh One Love it was just great to feel normal again and sit with our friends on the balcony with a glass in our hand and have a game of cards. It's the one game we can all play and when Dave and Mor got out of bed to finish the game when the lights came on we creased up with laughing. Talking about feeling old I'd lost the plot yesterday morning.Making the bed at our beautiful apartment couldn't find the throw that goes over. What had I done with it. Searched everywhere how was I going to explain to Sue the owner that I had lost her throw. She could search my luggage prove I hadn't taken it that's how paranoid I'd become.
Had a lovely day on the town beach came back and Sue and Shaun were relaxing on their sunbeds. Right deep breath confess I've I've lost the throw off the bed! Big smile from Sue she'd been in to do some tidying and decided it needed a wash. Simples. Gave it me back and I clutched it like a comfort blanket. So not quite as mad as I thought I was.
-
If it's any help with the location of Agora Rami was the next door roof terrace.
-
Fantastic to hear you lot enjoying yoyrselves joycie.
Babs, agora is close to zula, across the little street with the beautiful candle holders and trinkets. :)
-
If I remember right Agora is just up from Alternatif, the other side of that little park, it's on our list to go to again as we had a lovely meal there on our last visit. Only 16 days to go and our Kalkan virgin friends are getting excited after all we've told them about this little bit of paradise. Went to B & wQ yesterday to get Adem some English country garden flower seeds for his garden. Can't wait to see him & his family again such a special family.
-
There is a Big change today, and that's the weather......100% cloud >:(
-
There is a Big change today, and that's the weather......100% cloud >:(
And that's the worst kind of change.....would rather have tattoos, baldy heads and footy shirts. Although there are noticeably more blokes with their tops off wandering around town and in Yali supermarket which I got say ain't that pleasant...these aren't Greek god types and should look in the mirror and be honest with themselves!
pw
-
Funny you should bring that subject up pw. We watched Sunderland v Liverpool in Yali bar ( the Yali bar in the lanes ) a couple of evenings ago and we were saying the same thing..never seen so many big Darby's on display.....nearly put me of my drink....hic hic >:D
-
And some of them were women walking past Yali Bar ;D
For those of you not conversant with the Cockney rhyming slang - a Derby is a Belly hahaha
-
Also totally agree it's not nice seeing men walking around the streets/supermarkets without their shirts on >:D
Yuck !!!!
-
As a baldy headed tattood man who has been known to wear a footy shirt but never sports a bare top half (excluding beach ,pool and bath night ) I feel humbled that I am viewed as marginally better than a fat baldly who wears no shirt.I thank you for allowing me to visit your village on what will be my 26th year visiting..And I apologise whole heartedly for the detrimental effect I have had on Kalkan and promise that should England qualify for the world cup in june next year I will wear my footy shirt quietly in dark places so as not to cause to much horror. >:D :P
-
Couldn't agree more about the bare-chested blokes and women in bikinis walking around town displaying their excess flesh. Rather disgusting not to mention the fact that this is a Muslim country and it does shows a great lack of respect. It's not so surprising that locals don't think highly of those who do this. They may be nice to your face, but behind your back ... well, the adjectives won't be pleasing. None of these people on display have ever stopped 1 second to ask themselves if they have ever seen any Turkish woman walking around in a bikini off the beach. Not that they would care anyway ...
-
Actually Cosetta, we were in the turkcell shop this august, waiting to change some money, when a Turkish lady walked in and joined the queue. I presume she was Turkish as she was having an animated conversation with the girl behind the counter as she waited in line. She was of ahem, ample proportion and was wearing a bikini top and a very tight pair of shorts. She also had a very ample pair of boobs which were wrestling with each other and threatening to escape every time she gesticulated.
I was really shocked as I didn't expect her to be Turkish. Poor automan couldn't concentrate on his transaction!! She could have short changed him and he'd have been none the wiser!!! ;D
-
Saw someone sunbathing topless a couple of times this week and was disappointed that they didn't recognize that Turkey was amoslem country.
-
Lizilu20 - in your first sentence you say the woman "was" Turkish and then in your second sentence you "presume" she was Turkish ?? So what nationality was she????????????????
-
Well to split hairs cajaran ::) I presumed the lady was Turkish as she was talking very animatedly in Turkish to the Turkish lady behind the counter. Now I realise that they could both be different nationalities and happened to converse in Turkish together. I don't speak fluent Turkish myself but I recognised a few words!
Hope that answers your question!
Perhaps I should have said " a lady walked in" rather than "a Turkish lady walked in". Either that or asked to see her passport then I would have known for sure ??? ???
-
This is the sort of thread that winds me up.....Kalkan markets itself as a modern Turkish resort not a strict Muslim village. Young Turkish males ride their scooters, shirtless in the height of Summer and no-one calls them disrespectful so why throw that accusation at tourists?
I have no desire to wander around the village in a bikini, mostly because I dont look like Elle McPherson but if I did, I reserve the right to choose. This subject has been covered a number of times on EK and I say it each time, I've NEVER seen a woman in a full bikini walking through town. Bikini tops with shorts or sarongs yes, but tops and skimpy bottoms....? Not ever. If men want to walk around without a top in the day I have no problem with this, or tattoos (I have one myself....shock horror :o) or football shirts or anything else the self proclaimed keepers of Kalkan find distasteful. Yes some of the shapes we see wearing bikini tops or going bare chested would not make the catwalks of Milan....but they are on holiday for godssake!!
Live and let live......Kalkan can't have it both ways. *gets down from soapbox*
-
This is the sort of thread that winds me up.....Kalkan markets itself as a modern Turkish resort not a strict Muslim village. Young Turkish males ride their scooters, shirtless in the height of Summer and no-one calls them disrespectful so why throw that accusation at tourists?
I have no desire to wander around the village in a bikini, mostly because I dont look like Elle McPherson but if I did, I reserve the right to choose. This subject has been covered a number of times on EK and I say it each time, I've NEVER seen a woman in a full bikini walking through town. Bikini tops with shorts or sarongs yes, but tops and skimpy bottoms....? Not ever. If men want to walk around without a top in the day I have no problem with this, or tattoos (I have one myself....shock horror :o) or football shirts or anything else the self proclaimed keepers of Kalkan find distasteful. Yes some of the shapes we see wearing bikini tops or going bare chested would not make the catwalks of Milan....but they are on holiday for godssake!!
Live and let live......Kalkan can't have it both ways. *gets down from soapbox*
I don't want to sound rude, or start off a load of tit for tat posts, but it's called respect k4e, not hard to understand, there is a time & place for everything....while in Rome.......!
-
K4E.....I'm not sure I can be your friend any more now I know you have a tattoo! >:D >:D
-
I have to say that wearing bikini tops and skimpy shorts and bare chested men walking around the town and shopping in Yali are unnecessary and disrespectful. That sort of attire should be left to the beach and pool and I agree with OneLove - when in Rome etc etc...
Ask yourself just one question - do you see ANYBODY wandering around the centre of your local town or around Tesco in a bikini top - NEVER!! Even if we had the weather - it just wouldn't happen so if it is not OK to do that in your local shop/town centre - why should it be OK to do so on holiday and particularly in a moslem country!! >:(
-
I saw several topless men of all ages in Yali Supermarket last month and I just think it's wrong. It's one thing in the streets (although I still I don't like it) but sweaty chests hovering over the fresh produce in shops - urrrggggh.
Felicity - I have seen many topless men walking around my local supermarket in the UK (I live in a seaside town so not sure if this makes a difference). I had a Victor Meldrew moment in the summer and wrote an angry email - they have now put a sign up banning it!
-
Totally agree Felicity. I don't think I have ever seen a shirtless man or bikini clad women walking around Sainsbury so why do they think it's OK?
It has always been the case in Kalkan that you would see the odd one or two but having just returned from a quick week I have to say I personally noticed the changes this year. Having lunch at the Aubergine, a group of girls, with let's say, not the best figures in the world walked by in Bikini tops and shorts. I wouldn't be exaggerating if I said the average size of them was a Uk 18. Firstly, it's totally disrespectful and secondly an ugly sight for anyone to look at. We wasn't the only ones to comment on them, and I felt embarrassed to be English.
The following day, late morning,at the Merkez we witnessed a drunken argument between a man and his wife, who decided that everyone around them would have to listen to their foul language and bickering, which went on and on, only to break for a drag on their cigarettes and the ordering of 2 more drinks. And yes, it was late morning.
We then spent a great evening back at the Aubergine at the Jazz night until a women, probably in her 50's, who was seated at the next table with a group of friends, got up and lent over our husbands, purposely exposing her huge cleavage, pretending to be the owner of the restaurant and asking if everything was OK with our meal and were we having a good time. The conversation was directed to the men and I am in not doubt it was a bet to see if she got a reaction, which she didn't. Following on from that, an hour of so later, I felt some hands wrap themselves around my chin and a big lingering kiss on my cheek. When I looked it was a women :o :o who I have never met before and never want to meet again. She said she just had to do it :-\ What a strange evening.
We have been coming to Kalkan since 1994 and have watched the changes along the way. None of them have ever deterred us from coming back. Kalkan still has it's charm. Still has great views. Still has great restaurants and on the whole some kind hearted people, but for me it's now changing in a different way. Gone are the lovely tones of the discerning traveller. The warm hospitality in some of the restaurants and the cleanliness of some of the wash rooms.
I also felt the stress in the driving. Lot's more cars and bikes, driving at speed through the town. I felt a pressure each time we got in the car.
Maybe as I have grown older, I now see it very differently. For many it's still a great holiday destination or a great place to live and one day we will come back. But for us, in the meantime, it's time to move onto somewhere new.
-
:)jen jen. wonder if you live in the same seaside town as me then! tesco and town area full of what we call (grey bra ladies) and nearly every man is sporting a bare chest. lol :)
-
I wonder if this decrease in people standards is relative to the increased number of Package Holidays to Kalkan?
-
The reason we don't see bare chested men in the streets where we live is because I don't live in a holiday resort. However, I visit holiday resorts in the UK and Europe and people do wander around the streets in beachwear - they are on holiday ::) I wouldn't do it, but I have no problem with others who are on holiday, in a seaside town who do. I utterly agree, they should cover up in restaurants, bars and supermarkets, absolutely.
I also agree a lot of the people who do go bare chested, wear bikini tops etc are not the right shape to do so, but it is their choice. Plenty of things offend my eyes that bear no relation to this - socks and sandals for one - but that is the wearers choice. I'm pretty sure the people who do go without their (wife-beater) t shirts or wear skimpy shorts do not think they are being disrespectful as they are in a holiday resort, by the sea. For them it is the time and place - they are hardly in Rome...! Kalkan is a seaside village, go to any other seaside village along the Med - muslim or otherwise and you will see exactly the same. Why should Kalkan be any different? I don't think we have the right to judge or decide what people should wear (or not wear as the case may be...) on holiday...by the sea. Just my opinion, to which I believe I'm entitled :)
Babs...its a very small discreet hidden tattoo so I hope that sways your thinking...? :-*
-
I'm pretty sure the people who do go without their (wife-beater) t shirts or wear skimpy shorts do not think they are being disrespectful as they are in a holiday resort, by the sea. For them it is the time and place - they are hardly in Rome...! Kalkan is a seaside village, go to any other seaside village along the Med - muslim or otherwise and you will see exactly the same. Why should Kalkan be any different? I don't think we have the right to judge or decide what people should wear
You're right. People have the choice on how to dress, what parts of their body to show, and how to behave But, in my opinion, the local businesses will only respond to the type of clientele they are catering for. Like it or not, the demographics have changed, which was inevitable and along with that the village will change too. :-\
-
Delighted to say I will be available for research for the next 9 days :laugh:
K4E.....you're forgiven! :laugh:
-
Bee, thanks for your response, I thought it was only me noticing "The Changes" !! :(
We still love Kalkan but will be trying somewhere else next year, just to see if we can capture again what made us return twice a year for 4 years........
It is still a lovely holiday destination, just changing........ :-\
Legionaire