This is the first holiday I've booked in some years, and I was rather looking forward to a bit of sunshine. There is one consolation for me, and that is that (again, according to the internet) London is suffering at the hands of much worse weather than here.
We are in Icmeler, a small resort not far from the hectic, pseudo-British resort of Marmaris. We drove through Marmaris on the way here. There were many amusing places. For example, a pub called 'The Rover's Return'. Also, loads of pubs are advertised not just as pubs, but as 'fun pubs'. I certainly like to have a significant amount of fun associated with my choice of pub.
I find it almost a shame though, that this place is so orientated towards British tourists. Lots of shops, restaurants and cafes put their prices in pounds, rather than lira. For me, it takes away a lot from the authenticity of travelling abroad. At the same time, it does make it much easier to get things done as most people here speak English.
It is a beautiful place. Probably more so than I was expecting. It's like the Gower but on a more tropical scale. Pine clad mountains join up with lovely beaches to create a gorgeous scenery. It would be nice to find some bit of beach that isn't littered with sunbeds. The view is better from far away, when you don't notice them so much. I suppose the same can be said of the Gower, with it's lovely geology frequently interrupted by caravan parks.
Why can't we let lovely places be? It's difficult, isn't it? Because we want to see and explore these lovely places, but we also want to be to have a drink and a sandwich while we do it.
I hope Icmeler doesn't grow too much more, because it's a charming place, that you can readily walk the entirety of in a day. But you feel the demand from tourists, and the fact that tourism is Turkey's largest growing industry, will only allow for expansion into more of the scenery.
No comments:
Post a Comment