Fethiye Times News – our pick of what’s been going on in Fethiye and around the region over the last week.
Flight Subsidies to Continue in 2017
In an effort to revive the downturn in tourists visiting Turkey the Culture and Tourism Minister Nabi Avci announced the continuation of flight subsidies into 2017.
The programme will pay a ‘fuel subsidy’ to flight operators that carry tourists to certain airports in Turkey including Dalaman International Airport between 1 January and 31 December 2017.
Scheduled flights will receive 6,000 USD whilst charter flights carrying more than 150 passengers could receive up to 7,800 USD.
Dalaman Airport Asks Expats for Advice
This winter their are no scheduled direct flights to Dalaman International Airport from European airports, except for a few flights during the festive season.
Dalaman Airport invited a group of expats to their Airport management suite last week to talk about the demand for winter flights and to discuss some of the attractions for winter tourists other than sand and sea.
Fethiye Times published an account of the meeting last week in the article Dalaman Airport GM holds meeting to discuss tourism issues.
Call to Support the Lira
The Turkish Lira suffered a further sell-off on the global currency markets last week.
On Friday the currency fell to a low of 4.50 TL to the British Pound before settling at 4.48 TL by the time the markets closed.
Amid the sell-off the President called on citizens to convert their foreign currency to the Turkish Lira to reduce the fall in value.
A barber interviewed by Bloomberg said he had converted 300 USD to Turkish Lira following the call by the President.
The press reported that long queues formed outside banks and change bureaux as citizens supported the call to action.
The Turkish Lira has weakened faster than that of any fellow emerging market’s this year except Argentina, as a failed coup and the crackdown that’s followed has spooked foreign investors.
Bike Thief Caught
Police recovered 10 stolen bikes last week when they caught the alleged thief trying to sell them in Ortaca, Dalaman and Fethiye.
CCTV images helped to identify a 48 year old man who was caught ‘red handed’ selling the stolen bikes.
He was arrested and is being held until his case is heard in court.
Security Checks
Police carried security checks on individuals in bars and restaurants in Fethiye town centre last week it was reported.
The ID checks are part of ongoing security measures to protect citizens.
The local press reported that the police checked 105 identification cards in an operation that took nearly two and half hours.
In addition roadside checks were also carried out on 42 vehicles and 90 people.
One person was detained for an outstanding criminal charge.
Kid Rescued from Well
Members of AKUT the mountain rescue team were called to a farm in Fethiye last week when a young goat became trapped in a well.
The farmer called in the professionals when he couldn’t get the kid to budge from the 4.5 meter deep narrow well.
The guys in red managed to rescue the kid after a two hour operation.
The farmer thanked the team.
The kid ran off and started to graze, oblivious to the whole event.
Turkish Money
The British Pound bought 4.48 Turkish Lira (TL) by the close of trading on Friday.
Last week it bought 4.28 TL.
A Turkish Lira was worth 22 pence.
Weather
The unsettled weather last week brought the first significant snow falls on the mountains behind Fethiye.
The photo above taken by Geoff Bramfitt shows a moody sky over Fethiye on ‘Black Tuesday’.
The week ahead looks more settled.
And finally…
Fethiye – Kayaköy mountain road closed
Last Friday the winding mountain road from Fethiye to Kaya Valley was closed and it is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future.
The plan to widen the road and remove some of the hairpin bends is one that has been under discussion for many years but now it appears that is becoming a reality.
Local residents were caught unawares on Friday when a large pile of earth and rocks was dumped at the Kayaköy end of the road, as at the Fethiye end there were only two no entry signs, which many vehicles ignored.
Although this made driving along the road difficult some negotiated the rubble and later on Friday night, at the Kaya end, a vehicle was seen moving some of the obstruction.
This construction means that for the foreseeable future the only access to Kayaköy will be via Hisarönü on the Fethiye to Ölüdeniz road. Currently, this road is also undergoing substantial road works, to replace wastewater pipes.
The post Fethiye Times News Week Ending 3 December 2016 appeared first on Fethiye Times.