Tag Archives: Çalis

Fethiye Kordon developments

 

Still life from memory 9" x 6" Acrylic on mount board

Still life from memory
9″ x 6″ Acrylic on mount board

The sun was shining as I took a walk from here to Calis along the promenade today and things are moving.  The new marina already has 50 or so, small motor boats sparkling as they bobbed about in the breeze.  Workmen were laying more roads and pavements and you can now walk or cycle for an uninterupted 3.7 Kilometres from Fethiye ferry pier. The intrepid can, with suitable footwear, continue along to the newly created Duck Islands. There’s a lot more development to come, including a vast area of former marshland, opposite the Devlet Hospital that was drained and is being raised and levelled.  A few of the new restaurants have already closed for lack of trade, others are expanding and it’s fascinating to watch how much changes on a daily basis.

Two puppies arrive

Xmas Tree number 4 9" x 6" Acrylic on mount board

Xmas Tree number 4
9″ x 6″ Acrylic on mount board

It’s been a hectic week topped off with the arrival of 2 Yorkshire Terrier puppies today.  Gina has been searching for another small dog for a while and then we finally heard of a litter in Yaniklar, only just down the road.  Gina couldn’t pick between the two little girls and decided to have both!  Then, I was asked to show my paintings at an exhibition of English artists at the Sarnic Gallery in Kayakoy starting this Sunday.  It’s also the eve of the Calis Xmas Fair and I am hoping for a successful day tomorrow,  at least the weather forecast is looking great for the Festival.  Meanwhile, I had some cards printed in the UK for our mothers and this was the painting I used.

Is Fethiye becoming a concrete jungle?

Old cemetary view 12" x 9" Acrylic on mount board

Old cemetary view
12″ x 9″ Acrylic on mount board

This is a reworking of an earlier painting that I’ve done to remind me of the atmosphere of Calis cemetary.  We walk our dogs on the hills above  and were sad to see that the reckless concrete development of Fethiye continues without respite.  The canals in this area, once the home of egrets and kingfishers, are starting to resemble a scene from a L.A. car chase and the the gravel paths and overgrown verges that crossed Calis cemetary are gone, cut back, levelled and smoothed over with grey concrete.  I love progress but a bit of forethought is desperately needed at the moment.

Fethiye sunsets

Calis sunset 9" x 6" Acrylic on mount board

Calis sunset
9″ x 6″ Acrylic on mount board

Generally, sunsets here are not as spectacular as on the European Atlantic coastline. Beautiful, of course, but they lack the drama of the weather fronts that rush onto the shores of Galway,  Galloway and Gwynedd.  I’m not complaining about the clear skies, far from it, and I acknowledge that many evenings, back in the UK, cloud covers the sun completely.  Occasionally though, we get treated to a wonderful sunset here in Fethiye.  You could argue that it’s  more special because it’s rare but I think that when it comes to watching sunsets, because each one is unique, you can never have too much of a good thing.

Çalıs Sunday market

Çalis market 9" x 6" Acrylic on mount board

Çalis market
9″ x 6″ Acrylic on mount board

There are daıly markets spread around Fethıye of which the Tuesday market ın town is the bıggest and most popular.  The smaller Sunday version in Calis is a peculiarly British affair due to the large number of expats living in the area and functions as a meeting place and social occasion.  You are liable to hear more English spoken than Turkish but the goods on sale remain the same.  We rarely need stuff other than fresh food from the markets so do most of our shopping at the Fethiye farmers market on Friday, however last week I travelled to Calis purely to obtain ideas for some street paintings.  If you come to Fethiye, be sure not to miss one of these mediterranean markets, the experience is definitely one to savour.

Şovalye Island

Sovalye Island cottage 10" x 8" Acrylic on card

Sovalye Island cottage
10″ x 8″ Acrylic on card

Just offshore lıes Şovalye Island. running North-South with Calis beach a stone’s throw from the Northern tip and the main Fethiye channel to the South.  Property prices on the island are astronomical by local standards, around a million pounds for a plot, but you do get relative privacy, a quiet enviroment and stunning views for your money. Personally I think a small island is great as a holiday hideaway but I couldn’t live on one.  I would go insane from the condition I call the  “Did you remember the milk, darling?” syndrome.

Çalis canal

Venice Canal 10" x 8" Acrylic on card

SOLD

Some time last year a local official, commenting on the dredging and bank work being carried out at the time in Çalıs, said “Soon this will be the New Venice!”   I suspect he’d never been, maybe he’d heard that people visited Venice for the canals and thought we’ve got one of those here, maybe not. Well, the thick groves of rushes and bamboo have regrown along the canal banks, the frogs and fish, the egrets and kingfishers have returned, and while not exactly Venice it does have a charm of it’s own.  I recalled his comment and raked out an old photo of the real thing for some indoor inspiration in the heat of midsummer.

Rory the Labradoodle

Rory 10" x 6" Acrylic on card

Rory
SOLD

Rory is huge, that’s my first impression whenever I see him.  Then I think, he’s nothing like a poodle apart from being woolly and he’s nothing like a labrador apart from being easy going.  Rory is Rory and what a fabulous creature he is!   He lives with our friends Mike and Jenny and I am posting this portrait as a thank you to them.

Cemetery Walk

Cemetery Walk 10" x 8" Acrylic on card

Cemetery Walk
10″ x 8″ Acrylic on card

To get to the hills where we normally walk our dogs you can climb up through a small cemetery. It is a place of melancholy beauty, family groups sipping çay ın among the olive trees.  Wild flowers thrive among the monuments large and small framing the views above Calis and out across the Bay of Fethiye. This is my impression of the view inland as we head home on another scorching day here in Turkey.