Ducks, Boats and Swimmers share the bay at Türkbükü

Salty Ducks at Türkbükü

Kids? Yes. Dogs? Yes. But the last thing I expected to see when I looked up from my lounger was a trio of ducks cruising the shoreline.

Even more bizarre, was going out for a swim, and the ducks just paddling on by, not a care in the world.

Like a lot of bays in the peninsula, Türkbükü Bay becomes deep very quickly. Just 15 steps from the waters edge, and I’d already run out of sand beneath my feet. The water here is crystal clear, and we attempted to swim out to the line of buoy’s that separate swimmers from boats – but it was further away than it looked, and we gave up before we reached it.

Of all the beaches on the peninsula, Türkbükü has the cleanest water and the most distractions to pique your interested.

At the mouth of the bay are a couple of islands, the biggest of which is called Almond Island. In the bay are a wide assortment of boats from Rowing boat to > Fishing boat to> Small Pleasure Cruiser > Loads-o-money yacht!

During my walk around the bay, I came across a network of ducks chilling at the waters edge, standing guard on a rowing boat, and in the distance the boats get bigger and more expensive.

Around the affluent side of the bay is a water-sport company with jet ski’s and inflatable crafts.

You’d think with all of these water crafts crammed into such a small bay, that it would be noisy and overcrowded, but the bay is deceptively big, and the large area’s that are cordoned off for swimmers means there’s plenty of space to enjoy a leisurely swim. Or a paddle — especially if your a duck.

Ducks, Boats and Swimmers share the bay at Türkbükü

Club Gümüşlük Bar & Restaurant, Gümüşlük

Club Gümüşlük

“We don’t have an underground transport system in Gümüşlük (yet). But, just to give you an idea about the environs, this map may prove to be useful.” © Club Gümüşlük

There’s a creative person with a sense of humour atClub Gümüşlük! I asked their webmaster for a bigger copy of this map – but I think they must be too busy partying to respond!

We paid a couple of visits to Club Gümüşlük recently. It’s a hotel, bar and restaurant which overlooks Gümüşlük Bayand Rabbit Island. The outside restaurant and bar are nestled amid trees, and have a mixture of armchairs, tables and chairs, and platform area’s for lounging on scatter cushions.

Evening visit to Club Gümüşlük

In the past, we’ve usually headed to Yalikavak for evening’s festivities, but I really like the vibe in Gümüşlük. So talked Red into an evening jaunt to Gümüşlük.

I wasn’t sure which restaurant/bar we’d end up at, because I’d only visited the harbour side of Gümüşlük at night, but this time we ventured round the corner to the bay side.

The first location we walked past was Club Gümüşlük, and we didn’t get any further. I’ve heard that in peak season, this destination is packed, but on the evening we dropped in – it wasn’t that busy, and we couldn’t resist the chilled vibe.

We took a seat on bar-stools at the outside bar, which has a nice view of the bay and is shrouded with an array of trees. The waves lapped against the beach, and were a gentle accompaniment to the tunes being spun by the resident DJ, who was at the back of the open-air lounge mixing on his laptop.

The bar staff were friendly, and we whiled away a couple of hours drinking and chatting.

I’m sure we wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much if it was packed, and music pumping – but I felt like we’d discovered a jewel of a location, which left us with a desire to return.

Daytime visit to Club Gümüşlük

A couple of days later we needed a location for a sunbathe and swim. Although Gümüşlük Bay isn’t a patch on Türkbükü Bay – it’s convenient for a quick couple of hours of beach time, and we plotted on the loungers in front of Club Gümüşlük. As usual, the expectation is that you buy food and drink from the nearby restaurant, but they were great, and Club Gümüşlük didn’t continuously bug us to keep consuming.

Bit by bit, we discovering hidden treasures on the Bodrum Peninsula, and Club Gümüşlük has made it to our treasure chest.

• Address: Gümüşlük Yalısı, Gümüşlük, Bodrum, Turkey
• Telephone: +90 252 394 34 01
• Email: otel@clubgumusluk.com

© Underground Map: Club Gümüşlük

Club Gümüşlük Bar & Restaurant, Gümüşlük

Passion for Photography

A Pictures Worth a 1,000 Words

I’m enamoured with the Bodrum Peninsula, and sometimes words alone can’t convey the charm and beauty of this corner of Turkey. That’s when a picture is needed.

Although I’m happy with my own photo’s, some of them are shrinking violets compared to the bold visions taken through the lens of Yildirim Enes, which is why I’m really pleased that he’s started to supply a steady steam of photographs and slideshows to take my visual content to a whole new level.

So who is Yildirm Enes?

Born in Istanbul, he has lived in both the US and UK, and visited many more countries. During his travels, he realized that not many people around the world knew about his “beautiful but lonely country Turkiye”, so he decided to use his camera lens to show people what Turkey looks like.

To Yildirim, it’s about a passion for both photography and Turkey.

Look out for his photo’s appearing on this site.

Where ever you see this logo on the Bodrum Peninsula Travel Guide, you’ll be able to click on it to visit Yildirm’s Flickr Photostream.

I know you’re going to love the way he’s captured the Bodrum Peninsula through his camera lens, and I can’t wait to share his creativity with you.

Welcome to BPTG Yildirim!

Passion for Photography

A Trinity of Therapy options on a Türkbükü side street

During my day trip to Türkbükü, I wandered up a cobbled street framed with a cramped collection of sign posts. I figured a side street offering this much direction, had something to offer.

I was right!

First, housed in an angelic white building, I encountered “Tarot La Therapi“. As the name suggests, this isn’t your run-of-the-mill Tarot Reading establishment. This, is Tarot Therapy!

It’s the first Tarot business I’ve spotted in Turkey, and it brought a smile to my lips because I’m a closet Tarot Card collector. I find Tarot imagery enticing – and although I’m not adept at reading The Cards, I appreciate them as little, symbolic-soaked works of art.

I resisted the urge to pop in for a reading, and instead, kept wandering up the cobbled street and off the beaten track.

At the end of the street, ideally situated next the to a Barbers Shop – was the town Mosque.

Both of these establishments - accepted forms of Therapy in their own right.

One brings you to your knees for a a private conversation with a Prophet. Whilst the other brings you to your seat, for an animated, soul-cleansing conversation with your barber!

So on one small cobbled street in Türkbükü, I discovered an off-the-beaten track location where a veritable trinity of therapy options converge.

A Trinity of Therapy options on a Türkbükü side street

Water Cisterns of Konacık

Restoration in Progress

It was heartening to read that the town of Konacık are spending money to preserve their local heritage, by investing in a multi-stage project to restore 10 of the local Sarniç’s (water cisterns).

Once restoration is complete, the cisterns will be open to visitors, but based on this photo – a tour in the interior shouldn’t take too long.

I wonder if they’ll charge an entry fee?

We had a graffiti covered Sarniç down the road from us in Gümüşlük - but on our recent trip in June, we noticed that the graffiti had be replaced by a glistening white coat of fresh paint. When there in this virgin state, they remind me of a misplaced arctic hobbit house.

© Original Story and Photo’s from The Bodrum View

Water Cisterns of Konacık

Day Trip to Kos from the Bodrum Peninsula

An Introduction to the Greek Island of Kos

Kos is a fingerling-potato shaped island about 4 km (2 ½ miles) from theBodrum Peninsula, making it a convenient location for a day jaunt from Bodrum or Turgutreis.

Bodrum and Kos as Historical Parents

Whereas Bodrum is known as the birthplace of Herodotus - the father of History. Kos, is the birthplace of Hippocrates, the father of Medicine.

On our list – but not visited yet

Each time we have visited the Bodrum Peninsula, I suggest ”we should take a day trip to Kos this time” – but the nooks and crannies of the Bodrum Peninsula distract us, and it remains on our “next time” list.

So although I can’t speak to Kos as a destination, there are plenty of websites that can, and below are my Top 3, which will give you a feel for the place, and help you decide whether you want to visit the ‘neighbours’ when you’re in town!

Reference websites:

Click on the icons/images to open the home pages in the same window, or click on the hyperlinks to open the page in a new window:

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Greekisland.co.uk promotes itself as an antidote to the flowery language of Greek holiday brochures, and offers visitor reviews of Greek islands and beaches. Their site covers all Greek Islands, split into 4 groups: Popular, Peaceful, Sleepy and Offbeat. Kos is on the Popular list, and you can read the summary recap of Kos and the Postcard Reviews here.

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If you’re heading to Kos for some history and culture, this travel-to-kos.comwebsite may start your culture-bells ringing. Their Top 10 List of things to see while on Kos — only has 5 historical sights on the list, and one of those is a tree! But there’s some nice 360° graphics and good selection of photo’s: Asklepion ; The Neratzia Castle;Hippocrates Plane Tree; Complex of Early Christian Basilica of St. Stephen; Epta Bemata

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The greektravel.com website/blog is a labour of love, and it shows. Matt Barrett started his Travel Guide as a hobby in 1995, and since then it has grown in popularity. His site covers all of Greece, but this link will take you to Matt’s Kos Information Page , which provides a succinct historical overview, and a description of the attractions. If he were to create a Top 10 list – it would definitely have 10 in it!

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And lastly, you can visit the Ferry Route information page within this site:

• Ferry and Catamaran Routes between the Bodrum Peninsula and Greek Islands

© All icons/images are sourced from the referenced websites, and the lead photo includes an in-picture credit.

Day Trip to Kos from the Bodrum Peninsula

Boat trips from Türkbükü

Daily Trips from Türkbükü

Unlike the gauntlet of day boats and captains you have to run in Turgutreis Harbour, the day boat cooperative in Türkbükü is decidedly more laid back. There are currently 8 boats in the cooperative, and they’re moored half way around the bay, anchored close to the beach - you can’t miss them:

There’s two tours on offer:

Tour 1 goes East – first stop Paradise Bay. I haven’t visited there yet, but it looks blissful.

Tour 2 goes West - and is a little Island drive-by. You’ll see the remains of a Byzantine church on the hillside of Apostle Island.

Tour 1	Tour 2
Cennet Koyu (Paradise Bay) Gök burun (?) Kızılkoy (Red Bay) Derin Liman (Deep Port)……	Apostol Adasi (Apostle Island) Tavşan Adasi (Rabbit Island*) Prasa Island (?) Ada Koyu (Island Bay)

*This is the Rabbit Island off the coast of Gündoğan (the next bay over) not the one near Gümüşlük

The Türkbükü Day Boat Tours leave the bay at 10:30am and return at 6:00pm

Whilst researching the stops for this cruise – I came across a good reference site for the Mugla coastline

Boat trips from Türkbükü

Turgutreis Market Video

BY

ROVING JAY

– JULY 2, 2011(EDIT POST)POSTED IN: LOCATIONS T-Z, TURGUTREIS

A walk around Turgutreis Saturday market

Turgutreis Market is the largest on the Peninsula, and the attached video is a walk around the food section. The produce offered by the vendors varies from a full range of in-season fruit and vegetables, to a local farmer selling goat’s milk in recycled coca-cola bottles.

Turgutreis Market Video

Day Boat from Turgutreis

Day Boat Trip from Turgutreis Part 1:

Negotiating our Destiny

After a hectic week sightseeing in Istanbul, the first thing I wanted to do when I arrived on the Bodrum Peninsula, was to spend a relaxing day on a boat. Our Saturday arrival, meant we headed straight to the weekend market in Turgutreis (video link) to shop for Mediterranean essentials – fresh fruit and vegetables in season, olives, feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and Olive Oil.

Then headed to the waterfront to enjoy an Efes while the heat of the day subsided. I’d planned on arranging a boat in one of the smaller locations, like Yalikavak or Gundogan. But as we could see the flotilla of day boats lined up in Turgutreis harbour, we decided to run the gauntlet of captains to see if there was a potential vessel for our Sunday jaunt.

As anticipated, we were met with full enthusiasm, as we dodged and weaved our way along the line of Captains, to tour the boats that sparked our interest.

Our last stop was at a boat called “Destiny”, where were chatted to the Turkish Captain, who spoke great English with a Cornish accent (picked up during winter’s spent in St. Ives) — quite distracting.

There were 4 points of negotiation – Direction, Noise, Cuisine and Cost:

Direction:

• “Destiny” offered North (Islands) and South (Beaches) tours, and a Northern tour was scheduled on Sunday. I really wanted the Southern tour, so the Captain offered to change the tour to the South tour, and assured us they would start out North – but aim the bow through the waves at an odd angle so that it appeared really rough. Then they’d announce that we were going South, because it was too rough to take the North Tour. Sounded like a plan…. but would it happen? Direction agreed.

Noise:

• We didn’t want any! We wanted a quiet, chilled boat trip, with no blaring music. Tranquility was assured. Noise level agreed.

Cuisine:

• We didn’t like to sound of the menu, so asked to be served Sea Bass for lunch. Menu agreed.

Cost:

• Well it’s Turkey. Cost is always negotiable – but it was more of a challenge than the direction change. He insisted on showing us his Ticket stubs for the other confirmed passengers to show how much they were paying, but we eventually got him down another 10tl.

We strolled away contented – with happy visions of tomorrow’s quiet Southern boat trip. I tiny voice in my head, questioned whether all of our negotiation points would be delivered against, but…….. only tomorrow will tell….

Read: Day Boat Trip from Turgutreis Part 2:

Day Boat from Turgutreis

3 tips for making the perfect cup of Turkish Coffee

What it takes to makes a perfect cup of Turkish Coffee

Have you tried to make Turkish Coffee at home? I followed the sage advise “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again”, but each time my attempts were “foam-challenged”. If, like me, you’re aTurkish Coffee aficionado, you’ll know that the key to enjoying this caffeine-burst, is the foam.

After a little research, I’ve discovered the Top 3 tips for making the perfect cup of Turkish Coffee:

Tip #1: One Size Doesn’t fit all.

There’s a reason that Turkish Coffee pots are sold in sets — it’s so you can ensure you’re using the right size coffee pot (called a Ibrik or Cezve in Turkey). So that the water in the pot is at the optimal level for making foam.

The Water needs to be somewhere close to the middle of your pot (or at least about 1/2 to1 inch below the rim).

Here’s a guide to the pot size and the number of cups you plan to make:

Size	Capacity	Cups it makes(*)	Ibrik/Cezve Height
XX-Small	6 oz	1	2.75 in
X-Small	8 oz	1-2	3.00 in
Small	10 oz	3-4	3.25 in
Medium	12 oz	4-5	3.50 in
Large	14 oz	5-6	3.75 in
X-Large	24 oz	7-8	4.00 in

(*) 2-3 oz small demitasse cups.

Tip #2: The Perfect Grind

When beans are ground for Turkish coffee – it’s a fine powder. This consistency will help it float on top of the water. When you add the coffee to the pot, let the water slowing introduce itself to the water.

It’s a first date between granule and liquid and they need to take things slowly. So avoid sudden moves, and don’t cause a stir – by stirring them up! Let the coffee wallow on top until it’s ready to take the plunge.

Tip #3: The Big Chill & Gently Does It

Use cold water and heat is slowly, and don’t boil it. Boiling’s for Nescafe! – Turkish Coffee needs to be coaxed, not scalded, into life.

After following these 3 Tips – you’ll become a successful Turkish Coffee Barista, and you’re next cup of Turkish Coffee with be a success, and foam will no longer be a challenge.

Bonus Tip: Marvel at Success, but don’t fall at the last hurdle

With your Turkish Coffee relaxing in it’s cup – take a few moments to marvel at it’s beauty. This allows time for the coffee grounds to settle on the bottom. Resist the temptation to stir it up – not only with this make your coffee grainy – but it’ll also collapse the foam you worked so hard to create.

Follow this link to read Turkish Coffee World’s Step-by-Step instructions for making Turkish Coffee.

The feature photo is of my first successful cup of Turkish Coffee! Unfortunately, it had been drunk before I captured it for prosperity!

3 tips for making the perfect cup of Turkish Coffee