Kalkan Turkey Forum - EnjoyKalkan.com
Kalkan Discussion => Holiday Reports and Reviews => Topic started by: Pompeyalbie on May 09, 2015, 03:23:12 PM
-
So our new adventure of staying across the bay at Kisla begins. A pretty straight forward flight from Gatwick which took off late but managed to arrive early thanks to some winds. Coming in to land you could see snow on top of some of the mountains first time I'd noticed that. We tried a different car hire firm, Dalaman Car Rentals who were there waiting with good service and a Citreon for £112 for the week. A work of advice for anyone driving the road is up from the boundary of Dalaman to the Gocek Tunnel, 1 lane of rutted off road surfaces & lots of dodgy overtaking.
We got to Kisla at 4 as I'd predicted but never having been here before I couldn't remember the name of the road I'd plotted on Google Earth from the directions we'd been given. After driving up nearly every road we eventually found it down an unmade road which had several building works going on in it. The apartment is really nice with a fantastic view across the bay. Spoke to our "new neighbour" Phil who lives our here who gave us the low down. I was tempted to have a dip in the pool which felt quite warm considering the time of year but we were getting hungry having not eaten since 6 in the morning. There does seem to be a lot of building work still going on considering it usual stops before the season starts but Phil did say that they'd had a hard winter & it the building time had been extended a bit.
Showered and freshened up we set off to town hoping that I could find my way back. Parked up by the school by the roundabout with all those white & blue kerb stones which looks quite pretty and made our way in. The was the relocated Seaport & Moussaka with customers already, our first stop was to see Ozay at Missilver to drop off his duty frees & have a chat while Janet looks at his latest designs & my wallet hides deeper in my pocket. We'd already decided that our first meal was going to be at the place we'd had our very first meal on our very first visit, Sade. Once again it was like beIng welcomed by old friends, how do the do that having seen so many people over the year? I had my traditional first night starter of calamari followed by Chicken Hermes washed down with a nice vintage Efes, Janet opted for Seabass stuffed with Prawns and a Marguerita as opposed to her usual G&T. We had a table on the balcony so could watch the world go by & it seems there are a few around as well. To finish we had our favourite dessert in Kalkan, deep fried ice cream, a ball of ice cream coated inline batter & fried covered in a caramel syrup it is fabulous I can recommend it . Our bill, with a tip came to 178TL about £43 pounds so still cheaper that eating the equivalent at home.
Managed to find our way back in the dark and had a quick sit on the roof terrace looking at the stars & using an app spotted Mars, Venus, Jupiter & Mercury all shining brightly in the clear night.
-
Hurrah! Another blog to read - thanks so much for posting. Such a treat to read to help me get ready for our visit - two weeks today we'll be on our way.
-
Thank You, Pompey! I am enjoying your holiday. Keep going - please!
And enjoy every minute,
Antler
-
Lovely......I do love a holiday blog! :laugh: keep it up please! Less than to weeks for us then I promise to take up the challenge!
-
HWoke up after a good nights slept to lovely blue skies and just a light wind. We had our first visitor, a ginger cat would seemed to like Dreamies & a saucer of milk but wasn't brave enough to come close for a stroke. After breakfast we made our way into town to see what changes had been made,both forced & unforced. The area by Fener was having a membrane put down so not sure what that was for but it's sad to see. A number of new names down there or just renames, Gusto? We went in search for Fez as I heard good reports so thought that would be a new try out for us. There's a new place opened opposite Escudo next to Kalamaki as well. Janet just happened to notice a new jewellers called Melissa's on the street to her favourite dress shop & Agora has been renamed too. Stopped off at Merkez for a Jedi Juice & free wifi then made our way back to the car via Yildiz boat to book up for Wednesday. Missilver down at the harbour has moved across to a new shop under the hotel so stopped for an apple tea & a chat with Tumay.
Off we went in search of adventure up into the mountains, I was determined to have a trout lunch at Islamlar. They are filling in a lot of the pot holes with tar, or should I say putting tar in the holes, a case of dump it off the truck, rake it over & on to the next one. Problem is with the traffic it just gets spread everywhere. We found Bodamya Tepe but there was nowhere to park so moved on to the Village Cafe Restaurant and eat there. What a nice meal and stunning view to eat it from, we both had trout and a side order of Village Salad & a plate of chips washed down with a juice & an Efes, there was a free bread, rocket & olives plus a cup of Turkish coffee all for 50TL, amazing value we'll go again & try to get into Bodamya Tepe next time. Making our way back we called in to see Adam & make a reservation for Sunday night, his family are all growing up so quickly.
Spent the afternoon by the pool & I had my first dip which was quite warm, when the sun moved round so did we to a spot on the roof terrace watching the little ferries going backwards & forwards. I had a date with the barber tonight for a haircut & a shave plus all the added extras. Poor Janet sat outside waiting for me, I was in there over an hour, the young lad in there did a thorough job with the scissors, it certainly needed cutting, the shaggy dog look has gone for a sleek suave look. Felt embarrassed that it only came to 30TL so added a sizeable tip for a good job.
Dinner, eventually, was at Fez, sat up on the roof terrace with a nice view over the harbour with its twinkling lights. We weren't overly hungry after the trout lunch so just had a main & sweet, I went for Drunken fish, which was seabass with red & green peppers, onions & cooked in foil in aniseed, not Raki as it is too much so the chef told me, it was quite nice very tasty followed by home made Turkish delight cheesecake. Janet opted for Chicken with Apricots followed by creme brûlée. We both agreed it was nice but not in the great standards of some of the others we've eaten at. On the way back we bumped into the man who worked at Fener for a couple of years and has now moved to manage Lipsos he seems happy there. Ilyada seems to have been replaced or renamed Rosemary's.
-
Great report, thanks pompeyalbie. I'm keen to get up into the mountains this year too.
Keep the reports coming.....82 days to go.
-
Just looked at KTLN and they are putting up the canopies at Aubergine...it must be warming up!
-
It certainly is, looking at the forecasts! Pompeyalbie, are there any signs of the beach coming to life.....sun beds, shades etc. And are the beach clubs open yet, contacted Palm beach to ask when but no reply! Hope you have another lovely day :laugh:
-
Yali Beach club is open. Spent a few days there last week and it was fab. Great food, comfy beds and very welcoming staff. Hakan, who has managed Doy Doy for the past few years is running it this year. And a great job he's doing! They are also offering an evening menu this year. Wonderful setting, right at the water's edge. I wish them a very successful season.
-
Fab reports Pompeyalbie, please keep them coming. Glad you managed to go up to Islamlar, fab isn't it up there? :D
J
-
Not a good start to the day, Janet not feeling very well, another stealth garlic attack from her meal last night,she did say the coating on the chips tasted like it may have had the dreaded substance so left them.
The sun is out so I sat alone on the balcony reading, a visitation from a local cat for breakfast my only companion, still won't come close despite being fed & milked. We had a power cut this morning, whether enforced or caused by workmen on the building sites behind I don't know. I see Health & Safety rules on the sites, no hard hats or anything.
It was pretty obvious we weren't going to get to Adams for dinner so once Janet had got up I nipped over to see him and cancel tonight and rearrange for Monday. Typical that he his he picked me some fresh mint & a couple of lemons with instructions to crush the mint in boiling water and add the lemon juice for her. It was Mothers Day so he picked a nice red rose from his garden for her as well. The clouds were starting to form up on the mountains and we had a few rumbles of thunder but the rain kept away and the sun stayed out. Spend the afternoon lazing by the pool and getting a start on my tan. I had a nice swim as the water was a decent temperature.
Adams remedy must have worked as we decided to go into town for a light dinner, I was starving having only had 2 sandwiches we brought at Gatwick all day, and was a bit stir crazy so needed to get out. Not up for a full meal we went to Fener where we knew they did snacks, it was deserted and didn't look right without its umbrellas etc, anyway I had the Beef Casserole while Janet played safe with a cheese omelette, mine was really tasty so a cheap date tonight. We were home again by just after 9 local time so like boring old people we sat and watched the BAFTAs on my iPad.
The sun is out this morning and I fancy a trip over to Tlos, not been there since our very first trip to Calis Beach and went on an excursion to Tlos & Sakklikent .
-
Poor Janet, falling foul to the evil garlic.......you need to sniff all her meals before she eats them! :angel: Glad Adem's remedy did the trick.
-
Hope Janet is a lot better and you managed your trip to Tlos, I bet it is a lot different today than it was at Easter, we went up there and it was deserted, but still beatiful though.
J
-
Loving the reports, Pompeyalbie. In 4 short weeks we'll be there for real but for now there's your blog to keep me going.
Hope Janet feels better soon - you should have nipped out to Bob's for some provisions to keep you going.
Hope you enjoy Adam's tonight :)
-
Heading west along the D400 you could see the clouds over the mountains and then it started, quite heavy but it didn't take long to drive through it. We went the direct route along the D400 to the lights then turned right and eventually right again. When we got there it looked deserted, Janet did her usual,found a place to sit while I went off on an Indiana Jones explore clambering up rocky paths, ducking through holes. It looks like they've excavated at bit more since our last visit, lots of information boards. We paid a visit to a couple of the roadside stalls and bought a couple of crocheted table things for the grand price of 20TL, there was a nice small mat I was tempted with for the same price but we couldn't think where we'd put it so temptation was avoided. After a free orange juice it was lunchtime so as we we were in the area thought we may as well carry on up to Yakapark for a spot of trout. It was nice but not as good as Islamlar, just as we were leaving there were rumbles of thunder and down it came again. We came back the scenic route via Saklikant with the river running quite swiftly as a few hardy souls on their donuts were enjoying. Driving through the villages was quite nice I kept looking for an old lady in the cafe sat there making her pancakes but they must've been inside out of the rain.
When we got back Kisla looked dry so must have missed any rain, had my afternoon dip and off to Adam's for dinner. I won't bore you with what I had to eat, just go back through previous blogs and it was my usual. We sat and had a long chat with him, his eldest daughter has got engaged to a local man, she is at university up by Ismir studying languages & is looking at working in the travel industry, his middle daughter is at college in Fethiye so that just leaves the youngest at home. We hardly saw his wife as she's not been very well with Angina.
Just before we left an electrical storm started out at sea, just lightening and carried on for hours but we did get a few claps of thunder in the early hours, quite spectacular sat on the balcony watching the flashes light up the dark skies, no ambient light like at home.
Tuesday just means one thing Fethiye market and I suppose I'll be looking in some jewellers windows as it's our 10th anniversary this year, now where can I hide my credit cards??
-
Love your reports. Time to spoil Janet I think. Thank you for the reports. It's so lovely to enjoy everyone's holiday. Can't wait for ours in July. :)
-
oh come on Pompeyalbie...what else is your credit card for?
Go Janet....make us proud :angel:
-
Have loved reading your holiday reports so thank you Pompeyalbie.
I hope Janet has fully recovered, but to be on the safe side I would definitely recommend buying a tasteful bit of bling!. That will guarantee a speedy recovery and put a smile on her face, even if it does leave a large dent in your wallet!
Enjoy :)
-
Tradition has it we go to Fethiye market on a Tuesday, weather was fine when we set off, usual scenario of park at Calis & get the water taxi over. The market seemed quite busy as usual, I had orders for 3 bags of Saffron & some curry powder so worked our way through to the wonderful fruit & veg section to buy a few bags. I love the smell & colours absolutely wonderful. Just as we were making our way back to look for some shoes for Janet the heavens opened up and the thunderstorm started. Awnings were filling up with water and overflowing or being tipped to remove the water, stock & customers were being soaked, if only I had a box of brollies & plastic poncho's I'd have made a fortune. I eventually found a nice dry pair of leather shoes to wear to Royal Ascot in April more like pimp shoes that Shaft would've wore in the 80s but I'll be unique. It finally stopped so we escaped back to the harbour for a toasted cheese sandwich at one of the places on the quay. Janet decided she didn't fancy any more shopping as it was still grey overhead (result!!) so we got the boat back, half way across it started again flash,bang, splash. Driving home was weird, we'd drive through pockets of rain then the roads were dry, then it would start again. By the time we got to Patara it was thundering in the mountains and raining so hard you'd couldn't hear the music in the car. We got back to Kalkan & it was rushing down the hill passed Yali towards the roundabout, by the time we got to the 2nd roundabout you'd have thought there had been no rain it was bone dry. Got back to the apartment & luckily the pool man had the forethought to bring in the cushions & towels I left out to dry.
We decided to go to Gourmet tonight, a very nice meal, well presented, resisted a starter, complimentary starter of sushi which was quite unusual but very nice, I needed the Efes to counteract the wasabi paste. For mains I went for Persian Chicken in a walnut & Pomegranate sauce which was really very tasty with those different flavours, Janet went oriental on me & had Chicken in honey & ginger in a bowl of noodles. For dessert I went for a banana split in a pancake will Janet had A Very Berry Mess which as you can guess is based on an Eton Mess. She is fine now after her garlic attack, mind you she suffered another attack tonight caused by Rose Wine & an Elderflower Martini. We stopped off a Melissa Diamonds on the way back to check out a bracelet she liked but baulked at the 4 figure price so went next door to the Pandora shop and treated her to 2 genuine charms, result!!
Wednesday if the weather holds up we are booked on the Yildiz boat.
-
Thanks for the daily updates, really getting me in the mood for my holiday. Counting down the hours now, 51½ to go to push back.
Cheers
Jo
-
First trip to Gourmet, Pompeyalbie? One of our favourites in Kalkan.
2 Pandora charms....? Come on Janet, you can do better than that.
Love the reports and the pic....keep them coming :)
-
I expect Janet is just biding her time!! ;D ;D
-
What can I say about Wednesday? That morning started quite nicely,a blue sky with very little wind as we set off with Adam on Yildiz 3. When we left the harbour you could see the cloud s coming over the mountain as we headed for Mouse Island.just as we were approaching someone spotted 3 dolphins on the starboard size but the never followed us.we stopped in Yates little cove and the water was so clear I had to go in, much to my surprise the water wasn't cold at all. There I was in my own little water world when I felt a strange feeling on my back so stopped snorkelling & looked up to find it was pouring with rain. Adam was busy covering up the cushions etc, I was already wet so couldn't see the point of getting out so carried on enjoying my swim. We stayed there for quite a while as Zaynep did her magic in the galley and cooked lunch. With only 8 on board there was plenty of room & food available. Following lunch it was off to the mud beach where everyone took part in a "health spa" & got coated in the mud. By now the weather was nice and warm but hazy sunshine which was still nice. Last stop was Fernez Bay for tea & a final swim.
Having eaten most of the day we didn't bother going out for dinner.
Thursday was market day so we made our way down, Cafe Ev looks quite nice now all refurbished.I bought a few bits & pieces to take back & had to stop for a banana & honey pancake by the fruit & veg stalls. We wandered in to town & stopped at Merkez for a sandwich & Jedi Juice while people watching for a while. I was after a nice long sleeved shirt I'd seen earlier in the week and we're just making our way down the side street when Tumay from MissSilver called us over, he was sat having tea with the owner of Mellisa. Knowing Janet's shopping habits he asked if we'd seen anything she'd liked in the new shop, of course she had (see yesterday), next minute we are in the shop & he is negotiating a price for her. No need to say what happened next, what started out at £1150 is now being packaged up for £550 & out comes her purse with a wedge in it I didn't know she had with her. Naturally I'll be paying a part of it as her anniversary present. I think she was still in shock as we made our way back to Kila to spend the sunny afternoon by the pool with a nice cool Efes. Last night meal was at Alternatif, who have downsized a bit as a towelling good shop has opened up in the mosque side. We both had steaks which were really well cooked, the Gin & Tonics are still 3 parts gin 1 part tonic. Janet had an ice cream with a liqueur on top top up her alcohol intake then decided she wanted a coffee with Disarano in while I had a Turkish coffee, yo could see the steam come out her ears as she drank it, it was so boozy based, what happens next is Mustafa brings over a complimentary Amerettto for us, being a gentleman I sneakily drank hers for her as I don't think she could take any more booze. We made our way back for the last time stopping off to see Ozay and say goodbye until next year as we are off to New York in October. Noticed that the new Seaport was getting close to opening & Mussakka had a sign saying "opening on Friday" although there were people in there eating already.
Friday morning already I don't know where the week has gone, I feel we've not done much this trip but I did get to tick off a trout lunch at Islamlar from my bucket list.
Thanks for reading this drivel & I'll be back visiting the site to read others adventures. I discovered a new App on my I pad called Periscope where you can post a live video feed so I stuck up a few short videos of the early mornin view around the bay plus a sunset view, both got a few hits from around the world & lots of likes for the view. If you have this app just search for my username on here ;D Cheers
-
Thankyou for some lovely reports. I'm feeling sad for you that you only got a week there. Did i mention we're going for 3 weeks....smug happy dance!
Hope you have a fab last few hours and a safe journey home .
-
A BIG Thank You! from me, Pompeyalbie. I laughed out loud at the steam coming out of Janet's ears. Hope she wasn't too hung over - but you did do the gentleman thing! I think you did a lot in your week and I enjoyed every moment of your reflection.
Travel safe and enjoy,
Antler
-
Glad you've had a lovely holiday.....I knew Janet was biding her time!! :laugh:
-
Loved reading your reports Pompeyalbie, thank you. Safe journey home and looking forward to the next person to take up the baton! :D :D :D
J
-
Loved reading your reports so sad were unable to go to our most favourite place this year. Always there in spirit when I read the blogs.
-
Thanks for taking the time to keep us all updated (and entertained), have a safe journey home. 8)
-
:) Great reports, thank you so much. So glad Janet got her pressie, and what a pressie it was! Go Janet.
-
I've so enjoyed your blogs. Thanks so much for taking the time to post. Have a good journey home and a fab time in NY in October.
-
Oh no....that was just too short!
Thanks for taking the time to post, Pompeyalbie, I love your tales of jewellery avoidance :)
Well done, Janet, you didn't let us down.
Have an amazing time in my second favourite place in October.
-
Thanks for your reports. Got me nicely in the mood for our 2 week stay. I won't be posting daily as we are not that busy.
We went to New York last year and had a very good time. Make sure you have comfortable walking shoes to see all the sites.
-
Just back from our trip without the kids and catching up on EK. Thanks so much for your reports, got me thinking of our Kalkan holiday in August and feeling excited. The weather sounds like it's been a bit hit and miss this year but I'm glad you still managed to have a lovely holiday and Janet managed to find herself some nice presents too. It made me laugh when you described her pulling that wedge of cash out of her purse, that she'd stashed away in anticipation. Good girl Janet, and a very happy 10th anniversary to you both. :)
-
Oh Lizilu I shouldn't have been surprised after a couple of years ago when we'd been on our usual Tuesday market trip, gone over to the shops in Fethiye and she pulled out a wedge triple that to buy herself a momento from her mum's inheritance. That did leave me speechless. I'll be keeping her away from Tiffany's when we go to New York.
K4e it was our 3rd visit to Gourmet over the years, it is one of our favourites. I'll post some photos up soon, managed to get some nice panoramas which hopefully will load up.
-
Oh no, she MUST go to Tiffany's - the best shop ever for a jewellry enthusiast like Janet. 727 5th....its imprinted on my brain :)
-
Oh no, she MUST go to Tiffany's - the best shop ever for a jewellry enthusiast like Janet. 727 5th....its imprinted on my brain :)
No,no no, not at USA prices, been there, done that, when we went to Orlando for her daughters 40th I drove for 45 minutes from Kissimmee to Florida Mall where it cost me an arm, a leg & a kidney for an Eternity ring. We can do Bloomingdales for a replacement snow globe that got broke a few years ago.
-
Be cheaper to just buy her Breakfast at Tiffanys? 8)
-
Might be too much temptation to avoid the jewelry counters though BL? Bagels or bangles hmm ???
I bet I know which Janet would prefer ;D
Better take a wide berth Pompeyalbie and have a romantic moment on the top of the Empire State Building instead. ;D :-*
-
Surprisingly you cant get breakfast at Tiffany's...there's no restaurant in the shop and never has been. In the film, Audrey Hepburn eats a pastry outside looking longingly at the store's gems through the window. That's what's known as Breakfast in Tiffany's. Just a bit of trivia to help you along today :-*
We've always found US prices cheaper than UK prices in Tiffany's - always stock up for people when we're there on things like keyrings and their classic "return to Tiffanys" pieces, We also bought our wedding rings in there considerably cheaper than UK - it was a lovely experience with copius glasses of champagne. They even took away all my jewellery and polished it whilst they did the paperwork.
Imagine what they'd be like if you bought Janet something special for your anniversary....
-
Sounds like what we all know, and Gerald Ratner said about jewellery (note spelling to those with US predictive text), and the quality in the UK...
-
I know, mine is obviously U.S, saw it but couldn't be bothered to edit. ::) :)
-
Lizilu, why not just change the language to EN-UK from EN-US? ;D
-
Because it's my works computer and I'm not really supposed to be on here let alone mess with the settings. I'd probably b*gger it up knowing me! :)
-
Sounds like the IT guys are really on the ball, using the wrong Language settings >:D