Welcome to our pick of the news from Fethiye and around Turkey.

Curated from various news sources.

NEWS

Work continues on Çalış project

Every three weeks or so, Fethiye Times meets with chairman of the Çalış Tourism Association Mete Ay, for an update on the work at Çalış.

Cllck on the link below if you missed our update from 17 February.

https://www.facebook.com/FethiyeTimes/posts/10159680842499880

The 7 million TL project will give the Çalış promenade a complete facelift and work has been going on since November 2020.

This is where work on the project is up to at the moment:

Infrastructure work on electric and water is now complete.

Work on the promenade flooring, green area, and wall is scheduled to be completed by the end of April 2021.

Lighting, viewing platforms and other cosmetic touches are scheduled to be completed by mid-May.

The concrete base is pretty much complete all along the promenade in readiness for the granite finish. The laying of the granite was delayed until the concrete was completed.

Like every massive project, there have been a few issues with design versus the actual site that have had to be resolved. Hotels and restaurants along Çalış seafront were not built in a straight line, meaning the width of the promenade varies from 7 meters to 14 meters and there is also a one-meter variation in the level from Kerimoğlu Cadırı to the Letoon Hotel, all of which are built into the design but have needed tweaking by the engineers as the project has progressed.

The laying of the granite is next and you can see the concrete base laid in piano key style ready for the granite covering.

Work on the beach wall continues although, in response to feedback from restaurants, the height is being reviewed so as not to impact the view.

Walking along the promenade is a bit of a challenge in places but it’s easy to look past it and see the design emerging. It’s going to be amazing when it’s finished.

Thank you once again to Mete Ay for taking time out of his extremely busy schedule to meet with us.

Special thanks go to Fethiye Mayor Alim Karaca for his continued support for Mete and the project.

We’ll be back in Çalış for our next update on 15 April when the tractor will be out cleaning the beach too.

Fethiye Tourism Council calls for roadworks in Ovacık to be completed before the season

Fethiye Tourism Council members shared their expectations and suggestions for the 2021 tourism season at a meeting last week.

During the meeting, council members discussed the need for the roadworks in Ovacık to be completed before the season, evaluated tourism countries and pandemic conditions, and discussed vaccination in the tourism sector as soon as possible.

Participants agreed to make a request to the Muğla Metropolitan Municipality to complete the road works in Ovacık in readiness for the tourism season. It was also decided that members of the Tourism Council will meet with Baki Ülgen, General Manager of Muğla Metropolitan Municipality Water and Sewerage Administration (MUSKİ) who are currently carrying out works in the area.

The members of the council agreed to send a regional representative to the Turkey Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA) provincial training to be held in Istanbul in accordance with pandemic conditions.

The preparation of brochures for the promotion of Fethiye was also on the agenda.

Source: https://gercekfethiye.com/fethiye-turizm-konseyi-ovacik-taki-yol-calismasinin-sezon-oncesinde-tamamlanmasini-istiyor/35903/

Mars on Earth: Turkey’s Lake Salda may hold clues to ancient life on the planet

As Nasa’s Perseverance rover continues its exploration of Mars, scientists are using information gathered from a lake on Earth to aid the search for signs of ancient life on the red planet. Nasa believes Lake Salda in Turkey shares mineralogy and geology characteristics found in the Martian environment, where the US space agency hopes to find similar deposits at Jezero Crater.

Information gathered from Lake Salda may help the scientists as they search for fossilized traces of microbial life preserved in sediment thought to have been deposited around the delta and the long-vanished lake it once fed.

A team of American and Turkish planetary scientists carried out research in 2019 on the shorelines of the lake, known as Turkey’s Maldives because of its azure water and white shores.

Nasa plans to bring rock samples collected on Mars back to Earth as early as 2031.

Sources: Daily Sabah/South China Morning Post

Action star Jason Statham sings Turkey’s praises

Action star Jason Statham on Friday sang Turkey’s praises after two months on the Turkish Riviera to shoot his next project.

Statham, 53, said that he was very impressed by Turkish culture and hospitality and that he wanted to come back to sunny Antalya with his family.

Statham was in the Mediterranean resort city for his role in Five Eyes, the latest offering by British director Guy Ritchie.

While staying at a hotel at the Belek Tourism Center, Statham also met with Ali Safak Ozturk, the hotel chairman, who said he was glad to host the movie star.

Statham is known for his roles in recent Fast and Furious movies as well as the Transporter and Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

Shooting in Antalya for Five Eyes began on Jan. 21.

In addition to the EXPO area, which was turned into a giant film set, filming took place in the historical district of Kaleici and the city’s Cumhuriyet Square.

Source: aa.com.tr

Turkey, UK could be on verge of ‘very bright future’

A “very bright future” could be on the horizon for British-Turkish trade and investment ties if the sides can secure a more comprehensive agreement to follow their free trade deal late last year, according to the UK’s ambassador in Ankara.

“I’m talking about fresh agricultural produce, services, the digital economy, public procurement, and maybe also increasing the incentives for mutual investment in each other’s markets,” Dominick Chilcott told Anadolu Agency.

The populations of Germany and Turkey are roughly the same size at about 80 million, he said. Yet, the UK’s trade with Germany is eight times bigger than its trade with Turkey.

“The UK wants to find other suppliers. It happens in our locality, there is a relatively low-cost supplier with a wide manufacturing base, which manufactures to European standards. And that’s called Turkey.”

Chilcott said the UK could source more of its needs from Turkey as an initial course of action while diversifying from China.

Read the full article here: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/economy/turkey-uk-could-be-on-verge-of-very-bright-future-envoy/2173398