Fethiye Times News – our pick of what’s been going on in Fethiye and around the region over the last week.
Four-legged friends help keep the area safer
Specially trained sniffer dogs were helping security forces to help keep the area safer last week.
The dogs are trained to snuffle and identify narcotics and certain types of explosives. The press attended a roadside check was set up on the main road between Fethiye and Denizli in the village of Yesiluzumlu.
Officers checked vehicle documentation and personal ID.
Meanwhile sniffer dogs Vade and Engel worked with their human counterparts to check for narcotics and explosives.
It was reported that they checked over 300 cars.
A spokesperson told the local press that the roadside checks were also an effective deterrent against people smugglers and rustlers.
Pomegranate Harvest Begins
The annual pomegranate harvest began last week.
This wonder fruit is grown locally and its benefits are explained more in our article Pomegranates: fabled, symbolic, and healthy
But at only 60-70 kuruş a kilo farmers are complaining that the price is just too low to make it worth producing and harvesting them.
Tourism Number Plummet
Tourism figures released last week showed the number of visitors to Turkey down nearly 40% on the same time last year.
The figures released by the Turkish Ministry of Tourism show August visitors down 38 percent on the same month the year before.
Brits made up 8.7 percent of all visitors but numbers were down 36 percent on the same time last year.
The August numbers follow a similar pattern to earlier months with June down by 41 percent and July down by 37 percent.
According to Yahoo News British travel operator Thomas Cook Group said in its latest trading update that there was strong demand for most destinations except Turkey.
Saudi Arabia was the only key tourism market to see any growth with visitor numbers from the kingdom reversing the trend and doubling in August 2015.
Farewell
The local press reported of the funeral of British citizen Linda Riordan last week.
Linda had been a resident in the Foca neighbourhood of Fethiye.
She was 61.
Oludeniz Air Games 2016
The schedule for the annual Oludeniz Airgames was released last week.
The event starts on 11 October with the first flights taking place from around 10:30.
Hundreds of pilots, base jumpers, wingsuit flying, aerial acrobats and more, from many countries are expected to attend the five-day event so expect to see some world-class skills on display.
Oludeniz is just a half hour bus ride from Fethiye.
Shaken but not Stirred
An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.4 occurred on the seabed on Tuesday evening just before midnight.
The quake was felt in Fethiye.
Turkish Money
The British Pound bought 3.87 Turkish Lira (TL) by the close of trading on Friday.
A Turkish Lira was worth 25 pence.
Last week it bought 3.85 TL.
Weather
Last week ended much warmer than it started as an area of hot air settled over the area.
Temperatures are forecast to gradually reduce this week but it will still be lovely and sunny.
The post Fethiye Times News Week Ending 1 October 2016 appeared first on Fethiye Times.