Fethiye Times pick of the news from the local area and around Turkey.
NEWS
Cleaning together for a cleaner Fethiye
Fethiye Municipality and Fethiye Chamber of Commerce collected 4.5 tons of garbage in 41 neighborhoods on Friday in a campaign for a cleaner Fethiye.
Fethiye Mayor Alim Karaca, Fethiye Chamber of Shipping Şaban Arıkan, council members, representatives of non-governmental organizations and many citizens participated in the ‘We are cleaning together for a cleaner Fethiye’ campaign.
The first areas to be cleaned were in various neighborhoods including the bays and islands of Fethiye, Çalış, Ölüdeniz, Kayaköy and Göcek.
Karaca, said in a statement about the cleaning campaign, “Together we have cleaned 41 neighborhoods today. This campaign is very important for the future of Fethiye and will continue in the coming days. In our hearts we wish that these campaigns were not needed but unfortunately there is a lot of garbage in our bays and neighborhoods, and we, as the Municipality, started this campaign together with the Chamber of Shipping and caring citizens. Hundreds of people are taking part in this campaign, both on land and sea. We thank everyone who participated and supported our social responsibility project”
Source: SonDakika/Fethiye Belediyesi
National Occupational Standards for tandem paragliding pilots
Babagağ in Ölüdeniz is regarded as one of the best paragliding points in the world and plays an important part in the economy of the region. Safety and the knowledge and experience of tandem pilots is critical and all tandem pilots in Ölüdeniz (and all of Turkey) are licensed by the Turkish Aeronautical Association after a few months of training.
Fethiye Chamber of Commerce and Industry is continuing work to increase the qualifications of tandem paragliding pilots in line with National Occupational Standard which covers the measurement and evaluation processes that determine the knowledge, skills and competencies of tandem paragliding pilots.
The standards were prepared and approved by the Board of Directors of the Vocational Qualifications Authority on 29 July 2017.
Source: RaillyNews
Forest fires have been in the news again this week with the equivalent of 900 football fields destroyed in İzmir and Muğla.
İzmir to start reforestation campaign after two devastating forest fires
Tunç Soyer, the mayor of İzmir, has announced that the city’s metropolitan municipality will start a reforestation campaign for burned forest areas in the province following devastating fires that broke out in the Karabağlar and Urla districts on 18 August.
A total of 24 helicopters, 240 water tankers and 35 bulldozers battled the flames, which took over fifty hours to bring under control
In a statement to Hürriyet Daily News, Soyer said, “ We are ready to start a campaign for the reforestation of the relevant places. We will liaise with the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry and ask for their approval,”
Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli previously announced that the Karabağlar fire had burned some 500 hectares of land. But Soyer disagreed with the minister, saying the are destroyed was over 5,000 hectares.
“When we look at the history of İzmir, it is not wrong to say that this fire is one of the biggest fires of the province,” Soyer said.
Pakderimli stressed that Turkey is among the best countries in firefighting, but it still needs to raise public awareness on the issue.
At the same time, fires in the Bodrum and Milas districts of Muğla were brought under control due to the efforts of a 1,500-strong team of firefighters.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry also announced this week that they are looking to set a world record by simultaneously planting 3 million trees on one day at the same time.
The planting events will be simultaneously held across Turkey at 11am on 11th November but will concentrate on İzmir and Muğla where forest fires have destroyed hundreds of hectares of land.
They are hoping to make it into the Guinness Book of World Records.
Turkey plans for record-breaking day in tree planting
Sources: Hürriyet Daily News/TRT World/Daily Sabah
Firefighter attacked by crowd whist creating a firebreak
When a local crowd saw Özkan Özbedel holding a blowtorch and starting a fire in an area near a massive forest fire, they immediately jumped to conclusions and thought he was an arsonist. Özbedel was pushed, shoved and faced insults and his photo with blowtorch in hand was soon viral on social media where he was accused of being “a saboteur,” even though he was wearing a uniform indicating he was an official.
Indeed, Özbedel is the director of the Forest Fire Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and he was in the western city of İzmir to help fight the previously mentioned fire.
He was using the blowtorch to “counter-fire,” a method used to curb the growth of forest fires. It involves starting a small fire from a distance to a wildfire, to create a fire-break or a spot with nothing to fuel the fire, thereby, stopping it from spreading.
Özbedel shrugged off the incident telling İlhas News Agency (IHA) “I was in İzmir fighting the fire that lasted for three days and affected three districts of İzmir. The fire spread to a very large area and we saved 60 villages in the path of the fire with “counter-firing. People in the last village apparently misunderstood what I was doing and attacked me. I don’t feel hatred against them. I tried to respond to their assault calmly and go on my way,”
Several villagers carrying sticks tried to beat him before gendarme troops intervened.
Source: Daily Sabah
Turkey’s deputy tourism minister dies in car accident
Turkey’s Deputy Culture and Tourism Minister, Ahmet Haluk Dursun, died in a car accident in the eastern province of Van on Monday.
Dursun and his entourage were traveling to Van after attending two events in the cities of Muş and Bitlis when their car crashed and overturned on a shoulder. The cause of the accident, which also injured three others, is not yet known.
Demirören News Agency reported the car hit loose gravel and the driver lost control of the vehicle.
62-year-old Dursun was appointed deputy minister last year to the ministry where he served as undersecretary between 2014 and 2016. A prominent history professor and writer, Dursun’s previous posts included director of the Hagia Sophia Museum and Topkapı Museum, Istanbul’s most famous landmarks.
In his last remarks before his death, Dursun spoke at an event in Malazgirt district of Muş where the 948h anniversary of the famous Battle of Manzikert is being remembered. Dursun was a frequent traveler to eastern cities and was lauded for his support of cultural events in the region.
Sources: Daily Sabah/Reuters
SPORT
Thank you to Brian Lloyd for the Fethiyespor updates.
Fethiyespor
The Fethiyespor Store shop in Fethiye town centre is currently closed awaiting new stock. It is expected to re-open in around a months time.
Fethiyespor drew their pre-season friendly at home against Muğlaspor on Saturday The final score was 2-2.
The first match of the 2019-2020 season will take place on:
Sunday 1st September at home against Erokspor. Kick off is 20:00.
For more information about Fethiyespor please visit Fethiyespor Yabancilar on Facebook
Turkish Lira (TL) exchange rates
The British Pound bought 7.07 TL by the close of business on Friday. The week before it was selling for 6.77 TL.
The US Dollar bought 5.75 TL by the close of business on Friday. The week before it was selling for 5.57 TL.
The Euro bought 6.47 TL by the close of business on Friday. The week before it was selling for 6.18 TL.
ISource: FxexchangeRate.com
Weather Forecast
Here’s your weather forecast for the week ahead.
Source: Living Earth
The post Fethiye Times News – Week Ending 24 August 2019 appeared first on Fethiye Times.