Weekly Market Day

As always, click on any image for larger view.

Oranges, pricing converts to 21 cents per pound

As I have said many times, we are going to really miss Turkey when we leave for the final time in early May.  And one of the things we will miss most are the fabulous vegetables and produce sold at the weekly Market Day that is held in every town.  Organically grown local produce at bargain basement prices.  The selection is not as wide as what one can find in any supermarket back home, because this is all seasonal.  If it is not harvest season for a particular veggie or fruit, then you will not find it here.

Lemons also 21 cents lb.

Apples, also 21 cents lb.

Tomatoes 53 cents lb, at least 6 varieties

In Fethiye the weekly Market Day is held on Tuesdays.  It is less than 2 mile walk from our dock to the market.  Sometimes we walk to and from; sometimes we catch the dolmus (small van-bus) back home from the stop nearest the market.  Depends on how much I have bought that day.

Artichokes, 21 cents each

Last week I finally succumbed and purchased a rolling shopping cart to make shopping the various vendor stalls at the weekly market a bit easier.  We could not find a good cart and had to settle for a poor-quality one that I hope will last a year.  As luck would have it, several days after I bought the poor-quality one then one of the shops on the main street received a shipment of the better-quality carts like I would have preferred.  Oh well; it is what it is.

Cauliflower 42 cents per head, red cabbage  45 cents each

Recently on Facebook I posted a list of all the vegetables that I had purchased one Tuesday at the market.  People were surprised at so much for so little cost.  This is because we are shopping where the local people shop and not in the supermarket.  So this week I brought along the camera to snap a few photos of our weekly Market Day in Fethiye.

Bill patiently waiting for me to catch up

Broccoli was 47 cents per large head.  Yes, I bought!

The 'Ronco Man'
demonstrating a manual miracle
kitchen utensil

As one walks toward the market stalls from the main road, the walkway is lined with rural women who have brought whatever they have available to sell that week.  They put down cloths on the walkway edges and lay out their goods for sale -- produce, eggs, herbs, vegetables, ayran (that nasty salty yogurt buttermilk drink), olive oil, headscarves, whatever.  I always try to make it a point to buy something from at least one of these women.  This is the best place in town to purchase that delicious cold-pressed unfiltered olive oil.  

Hand-carved wooden cooking utensils

Proceed down the walkway a short distance and the 'cheaper' tables are lined on the right side.  The main market is farther down and this area does not get as much traffic, so the main market area is the more desirable location for the vendors.  Often the prices on this walkway are a few cents cheaper than in the main market area, although the selection remains the same.

This market is pretty big.  The only market which we have seen that is larger is the one held at Muğla, and that one goes on for blocks in several directions.  

Olives of all sorts

Cheeses, all kinds white

In the center of the market are located the vendors selling olives and cheeses.  Most of the cheeses are homemade.  It is wise to taste before buying!  The cheeses favored by most Turks are too salty for my taste.  I finally have learned to taste before buying, and no one ever objects to handing out free samples to prospective customers.  

Dried beans, lentils, rice, couscous, etc & more cheese

Walk on past the cheese and olives and there are yet more produce vendors.  Then one enters the housewares vendors.  Wind around through that area and find shoes and handbags.  Then cross over to the clothing and textiles area of the market where one can find just about any article of clothing desired.  Honestly, I don't have the patience or the energy to shop that section of the market more than a quick walk through.  This is the place where we purchased scarves as Christmas gifts for all our female relatives.  At a price that no one would believe.  Suffice it to say that these were the least expensive Christmas gifts we have ever bought. 
 What a deal!

It goes on and on

There also are pastry vendors scattered about.  And one tented section where one can sit and enjoy all types of food and beverage (no beer or alcohol, of course).

Everyday produce market, about half of it

Gorgeous leaks everywhere this week
21 cents per pound

On the way home from the market we walked through the fish market.  I wanted shrimp (prawns) to stir-fry with the snow peas that I found at the market this week.  Next to the fish market there also is a produce market.  This market is there all the time; quality is good and the prices are not much more than at the weekly market.  

Fish Market surrounded by restaurants to cook it

Town quay showing more activity

The fish market in Fethiye is a special experience.  It is built 'inside' of a block, meaning that retail shops face the sidewalk all the way around the block and the fish market in in the inside or middle of that block.  There are 4 entryways to the fish market area.  Surrounding the fish market are small restaurants.  One purchases a seafood selection; the fishmonger cleans whatever is purchased and delivers it to the restaurant of your choosing, where it is cooked according to your instructions.  The restaurants charge about 6 lira (less than $3) to cook the seafood.  Salads, sides, breads, deserts and beverages (yes, beer and wine is sold here) are reasonably priced.  We have eaten here a few times with friends and each time was good and fun.  

More of town quay

On this day, however, we did not want a restaurant to cook the shrimp.  We asked the vendor to clean the shrimp rather than deal with doing that on the boat; then we were on our way back to the boat.  

Every day old men sit on the quay
for hours, quietly talking

Need to try this!

On the way out we took an exit which we had not previously used and discovered a small butcher shop.  He had a wall case of dry-aged beef!  That is the first time we have seen that in Turkey.  I plan to visit that shop again and try a few steaks or a small roast if the prices are not exorbitant.

Boy fishing on  town quay

Caught one!

Walking back along the quay it is obvious that spring is just around the corner.  Seemed to be more people about than just a few weeks ago.  And some of the tourist boats have removed their winter coverings and are starting to spruce up for the upcoming tourist season.

Orange trees everywhere!

I noticed that orange and lemon trees are prolific early this season.  These trees grow wild all over the place. 

Spring flowers already

And in a few spots there are flowers of spring already showing up.  



What happened to winter this year! 

Almost like it never happened.

Cleaning carpets

We have started spring cleaning aboard S/V BeBe.  The carpeting is held in place by velcro.  Easy to remove for cleaning.  We brought all the carpet pieces up on deck and Bill used the pressure washer to clean them.  Nice!






You know how in the States our advertising shows things like Cokes with burgers and fries.  Here is a label off a bottle of Diet Coke, which is called Coca-Cola Light everywhere outside the USA.  People in other countries do not like the word 'diet' and never label a product with that word.  This label speaks toward the healthier food choices of people in this part of the world as compared to what we chose to promote to eat back home.  Salad rather than burger and fries.



.Remember the photos I posted recently of the snow capped mountains in the distance.  The snow had already melted a lot up there before I took those photos.  Here is a photo taken this week.  Notice there is a lot less snow; can barely see it on the most distant mountaintop.  Will be gone soon.

Enjoying life back in Fethiye

 Thursday, 13 February 2014

Only a tiny bit of snow left up there

The flights back to Turkey from Houston were uneventful.  No crying babies anywhere near us and no turbulence or delays.  A Turkish friend was supposed to pick us up at the Dalaman airport but his grandmother died that day, so he could not make it.  He was gracious enough to arrange a car service to bring us back to Fethiye.  Transport was smooth and quick and there was no lost luggage and no hassles with Customs.  Luggage was checked through to Dalaman so we did not have to deal with claiming it in Istanbul and moving it to the domestic terminal and re-checking it again.  Customs in Dalaman sends every bag and carry-on through a scanner; their only questions were about the Jordan series drogue in one bag and the new spare manifold for the Onan generator in another bag.  We explained what those were and no duty was required to be paid.  Weather was clear and totally still when we arrived back at the boat.  We man-handled the four 50-pound duffle bags onto the deck of BeBe and down inside the saloon, along with our two overweight carry-on bags and our two overweight backpacks.  Got it all unpacked and about 75% stowed away before we fell into bed exhausted.  And then the rain started.  Very thankful that it waited until all that luggage was down inside the boat before the skies opened up.

Juxtaposition of palm trees by the seaside and snow on the nearby mountaintops

No windows!  So, of course it will rain!

Taped up; ready for rain.

The rain cleared long enough the next afternoon to allow us to walk to the nearest supermarket and buy a few essentials to re-stock the empty fridge.  Then more rain for another day.  Cleared up bright and sunny so I went to the weekly Tuesday Market and stocked up on veggies while Bill met with a 'glass' guy from Marmaris.  I returned to find the windshield panels removed from BeBe.  Yep; we are getting new windshield panels.  Both windshields were beginning to show the first cracking of crazing.  You know it is only a matter of time before it would be impossible to see clearly through those windshields.  Might as well replace them now as it would just cost more later.  We had been told years ago that these panels were Lexan, but the 'glass' guy expert assured Bill that the original ones are Plexiglass rather than Lexan.  The Lexan would be clearer but would scratch easier.  So Bill told him to replace with exactly what was there originally.  Salt water scratches everything badly enough; do not want something that will not hold up well to salt spray.  

It is a 2-person job to mount the windshield that opens.

Looking at an Amel 54 docked next to us I noticed that their windshield panels are tinted.  Bill called the 'glass' guy, who fortunately had stopped to eat lunch in Fethiye before returning to Marmaris, and told him that we wanted the new panels lightly tinted.  He returned to BeBe and we selected a color tint.  Also removed the side panels.  Those did not need replacing because those were not crazed by the UV damage over the years, but it would look strange to have tinted windshields and clear side panels.  So all four panels are being replaced.  A couple of hatches are slightly crazed but we opted not to replace those yet.  The crazing on the hatches is not bad enough that it bothers either of us; so that can wait a few more years.

One filthy once-white fender.

While we were gone they changed the boat docked next to us.  The one there now is another Amel 54.  It has a stainless steel trim down the center of the rub rail.  When we left there was a narrower boat docked there and the fenders were not even touching the other boat.  Now our fenders are squeezed too tightly.  Look what that stainless strip did to our fender!  I am so glad we removed our new fender covers.  Would have hated for that black mess to have gotten on our new covers.  Hopefully I will be able to scrub off the black markings.  

Market day = $8.36
Biggest splurge were the 2 avocados and
flat green beans.  Just beginning season
so those were expensive.
2-liter bottle cold-pressed, unfiltered
homemade olive oil = $9.16

Today was a very enjoyable day.  We walked all over the old town area and shopped.  Did not buy much of anything except one of those poor-quality rolling shopping carts to make shopping the weekly produce market easier, but we enjoyed comparison shopping for possible new dishes and assorted things.  Ate a delicious typical Turkish lunch in the 'local' area; hit the supermarket again; and returned to BeBe very late afternoon as the clouds began to darken.  

The main purpose of this shopping expedition was to find something to cover the empty windshield spaces.  Because there is 90% chance of rain predicted for tonight and tomorrow.  
Figures, doesn't it?  Was sunny until we removed the windshields, so now it will rain.  We quickly taped up plastic to cover the openings.  So we have done what we can.  If that stuff gets wet, then it just gets wet. The new windows should be installed early next week.

Windshield installation

That will pretty much end all the updating or improvements we have wanted for BeBe during this eighth year of cruising.  The boat is now 11 years old and it was time to do those few things we have had done since last July.  The only thing left on our wish list is new anchor chain.  That presents a bit of a problem because the pitch of the links on the chain sold in Turkey will not fit out windlass gypsy.  Our gypsy fits the link pitch of the chain sold in France.  We have no plans to visit France and there is no way we are paying to ship 100-meters of chain to Turkey or any other country.  The option is to replace the gypsy with one that will fit the pitch of the links of chain available here.  We are mulling that over.  Still have 2 1/2 months to make that decision before we depart Turkey for the final time.

Snow covered mountaintops around Fethiye Bay

When we arrived back in Fethiye just 5 days ago there was snow on the mountaintops all around the area.  It was beautiful with the calm huge bay and green trees at sea level and the white mountaintops in the background.  Today most of that snow is melted.  That happened quickly!  

More snow around Fethiye.  This has been an
extremely mild winter.  Normally much more snow.

This winter has been extremely mild.  One could easily be lulled into thinking it is time to start sailing again.  (But we will wisely wait until mid-April and be certain that winter is really over.)  We remember freezing our tushies off in Cyprus in February and March 2012 and that was considerably farther south than here, so surely it will be getting cold a few more times this winter.  

View as we walk into town. Most winters there is
much more snow up there.

But for now this weather is perfect with 64F daytime and 50F overnight.  Perfect.  Rain and all.








Tuesday, 18 February 2014

New windshields and side windows.
Ignore the dirty streaks on coach roof; have not yet
cleaned outside boat since we returned.

The new windshields and side glass panels were installed yesterday.  We are very pleased with the quality of the workmanship.  Very, very pleased.   We had been hesitant to have the windshields replaced because the port side panel is a bit tricky since it opens upward. The port side windshield in front of the helm required cutting a channel into the Plexiglass that then holds a gasket.  This gasket keeps the water out when the windshield is in the closed position.   Hope these panels hold up as well as the original ones did for 11 years.

New tinted windshields and side windows

Here is a link to the website for the company that did this work on BeBe.  The owner is the man who did the work.  http://ibsplexiglass.com/  This company is located in Marmaris but he will drive to reasonably close locations like Fethiye when he is not too busy, like during the winter season.  His English is excellent.

Uh-oh!  We have no windows!
Not really.  This is looking through the new windshield.  So clear!
We  are going to enjoy these new tinted windows.

As the old song goes: Galveston, oh! Galveston....

Tomorrow evening we board Turkish Airlines flight direct from Houston to Istanbul.  It is again time to return to BeBe.  We enjoy our trips to Texas but always look forward to being back on the boat!  This is the first time we have been fortunate to score a direct flight to Istanbul.  It will be wonderful not having to go through Frankfurt or Newark or Chicago.

The month of January whizzed by!  Seems like Christmas Day was only a couple of weeks ago.  

Elisabeth (BeBe), Zachary, Damien & Bill

Bill's brother, John, had us to dinner several times.  Always a pleasure.  One weekend we visited long-time friends Donna & Bruce at their beautiful country home.  Donna has become quite the gardener.  She gifted us with homemade grape jelly -- made from grapes she grew!  It was delicious!  Donna also gave us a jar of jalapeño jelly made from peppers she grew.  Her garden was quite prolific this year with half-dozen types of tomatoes and all kinds of other delights.

One day we took the 3 grandkids to see the big dinosaur exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.  A good time was had by all.

Tara Winery.  Tara Bed & Breakfast house in distance.

One week we made a trip up to Mabank, Texas, to visit long-time friends Bob & Barbara and very much enjoyed catching up with them.  Also enjoyed some primo barbequed baby back ribs!!  And they introduced us to the best fried pies in the world!  These were so good that we bought a dozen assorted flavors of frozen pies to bring back to Houston.  A high-calorie decadent treat.  But, who cares!  Cannot buy fried pies just any old day or place.  Enjoy them while you can.

Judy & Bill at Tara Winery.  Ever so slightly tipsy.

One day Barbara drove us to visit the Tara Vineyard and Winery.  That was an especially fun day!!  I think Bob secretly regretted not joining us this day.  We each did a 'flight' of 7 wine tastings.  Not one of us did the 'swirl in the mouth and spit' deal that one is supposed to do at wine tastings.  We drank every single little glass,  Which resulted in 3 smashed people eating lunch at the winery...each of us with another glass of wine.  

Bill & Barbara at Tara

Bill & Barbara at Tara

Bill and our tasting host at Tara

But by the time our leisurely lunch was finished we were fine to drive back to Mabank.  Bill and I bought 3 bottles of red wine from Tara which were in the $32-$45 bottle range.  The Carriage House was especially good.  We need to visit this winery again the next time we visit Texas.  

George W. Bush Presidential Library in Dallas

Leaving Mabank we drove just a bit farther northwest to visit the new George W. Bush Presidential Library located at the SMU campus in Dallas.  We had visited his dad's library at the A&M campus in College Station during our last trip to Texas, and we wanted to compare the two.  #41 had much more land space upon which to build his library than #43 was able to get at SMU.  Guess that is to be expected since SMU is in the heart of Dallas and land is at a premium in that area.  We enjoyed this library; it is much more interactive than the other presidential libraries that we previously have visited. 

The immigration plan that should have been implemented.

Sign in the library, quoting then Gov. Bush.

Replica of Oval Office 

Replica of Oval Office

There were two sections that we enjoyed more than the rest.  One was the tiny theater showing videos of President Bush being self-deprecating in various press interviews.  The man has a great sense of humor.  The other sections that we particularly enjoyed was the tiny area where audio clips of former Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice were played over various video clips. 

Replica of Resolute Desk

One quote from Sec. Rice hit home with me:  "If you were in a position of authority on 9/11 then every day afterward was 9/12.  You would do everything within your power to prevent another attack."  We Americans have exceptionally short attention spans.  That is one of our worst faults, and we really do need to remember 9/11.  I appreciate Sec. Rice's comment and think we need to remember that as our country moves forward.  

Layout of White House
Note upper left.  When did USA have a Queen?

After a few hours at that library we drove down to College Station to visit with Bill's youngest brother, Theo, and his wife, Teresa.  We saw them on Christmas Day but with 23 people celebrating Christmas that day there was little opportunity to quietly chat with them.  We enjoyed the weekend at their home catching up with each other.





One week we drove down the Texas coastline to Corpus Christi.  We have been searching for a place to buy a house that would be suitable for our eventual retirement from cruising.  We are nowhere ready to stop cruising but know that eventually we will reach a point when we can no longer live on a sailboat.  We are not getting any younger, and we realize that. 

Intercoastal Canal near Port Aransas

Last summer we checked out real estate from Crystal Beach on the Bolivar Pennisula westward to West Beach on Galveston Island and realized that the entire area was now out of our price range.  This time we checked out from Surfside all the way down to Corpus Christi.  There were a couple of communities that would suit our retirement, but it all came back to "why live somewhere that is a 5 to 6-hour drive from Houston."  So we decided to focus on older properties in Galveston that we could rent until we are ready to become CLODS (Cruisers Living On Dirt).

Drilling platform under construction near
Corpus Christi

There was a home for sale that we really wanted to see, but the tenant always had a reason not to let a real estate agent show us that house.  So we never got to see the inside of that house that was our first choice.  Maybe we would have hated the interior; who knows!  But while driving the area we discovered another small house in the next block on the same street.  And it turned out that the listing agent was my cousin!  Small world.



This purchase was rushed.  Unbelievably rushed.  But the title company was able to process the documents quickly and we signed the contract today.  And will sign a contract with a property management company tomorrow morning.  Then fly back to Turkey tomorrow evening.  The sellers are out of town and will sign their documents on Monday, so the sale is not complete just quite yet.  The title company has our money and there is no reason to think that the sellers will cancel out at the last minute; they are motivated to sell quickly because they have a mortgage and want to be free of this property ASAP.

Our 'new' little home in Galveston

Bottom line is that we are (almost) now the (proud?) owners of a small house on Galveston Island.  It is located less than 2 blocks from UTMB (University of Texas Medical Branch).  This should be a desirable lease property for a couple of students at UTMB.  Or a couple of nurses who want to be roommates.  Or an intern with a small family.  This is an older home -- aren't they all 'older homes' in Galveston? -- and it is small at just under 1300 square feet.  It was completely re-done in 2006 and 2007, and has crown molding throughout and granite counter tops in the kitchen, Hardiplank on the exterior.  A cute little old home in the typical Galveston architectural style.

It will be perfect for us when we eventually retire.

Added 7 Feb 2014:  Forgot to mention that our new little house is also only about 3 blocks from the Stewart Beach.  This is one of the reasons we focused on Galveston for a retirement location.  The sea has been such a large part of our lives.  Cannot imagine living anywhere that we could not see the ocean.  Or, in this case, the Gulf of Mexico.

Christmas 2013 in Texas

As always, click on any image for larger view.

Tree top Yoda

We arrived in Houston late afternoon Thursday 19 December, after a full 31.5 hours of travel from BeBe in Fethiye to our son Aaron's home in Houston.  Bill had several doctor appointments the following morning and again on Monday.  All medical tests were passed with flying colors!  His physical condition is perfect so we have much to be thankful for this Christmas season.  Another exciting (to us) announcement is that a new granddaughter will be welcomed to our family in early May! 

Bill is in middle.  Guess who is our son
and who is the nephew!

Lynn and Sebastian

Our family Christmas gathering was held in Aaron's house this year.  We thought it was time to give older son Trey a break since he and Kristina have hosted the family gathering at their home for so many years. 

Judy & Elisabeth baking cookies

Colson, Lauren & Teresa

 I recruited granddaughter Elisabeth (BeBe) and grandson Zachary to assist me cooking deserts for a couple of days.  We will have sweet snacks for days!  

Helene and Judy

Damien covered himself in Batman gifts

Ready to go visit Santa

Bill's sister, Helene, drove down from Dallas accompanied by her son, daughter and grandson. His brother, Theo, drove down from College Station accompanied by his wife and 2 grown daughters.  Another brother, John, lives in Houston so he had a shorter drive.  Add in Trey's mother-in-law and sister-in-law with her family and our Christmas family gathering totaled 23 people!  

Practicing with Papa for
what she will tell Santa

Niece Kristin with her new
scarf from Turkey.  All
the women got scarves.

The only people missing were my brother, Boyd, and wife Cheryl, who opted to visit others in Florida for the holidays this year.  Between the dining room and breakfast room plus a card table and a long folding table set up in the living room and a supply of folding chairs, everyone found a place at the table(s).  That is no mean feat!  I doubt most homes have sufficient space to seat 23 people for dinner!
.  

L-R: Colson, Lauren, Teresa, Duane, Donella, Krystal,
Kristina, Helene, Bill and Theo

It was nice to have the 4 siblings of Bill's family, together with all their children and grandchildren, all together to visit for several hours.  Brought back memories of Christmases more than 4 decades ago since Christmas is usually the only time that everyone gets together anymore.  Years ago our individual families were smaller and younger and getting together was easier.  

L-R: Theo, Kristin, John, Aaron, David and Lynn.
With Daniel and Zachary in front.

Today the extended family is somewhat scattered although all remain in Texas (so far!!) except for us.   I think it is also important for the youngest generation of cousins to remain in contact with one another at least once annually.  If nothing else it at least makes them remember each other's names and where they fit in the extended family.  I screwed up and forgot to get a photo of all of us together.  Maybe next Christmas.

Our older son Trey with our 13-yr-old grandson Zachary.
In background to right is our younger son Aaron.
Our 2 sons look nothing alike.  Zach has a long way to grow
to reach his dad's 6'6" height.

On the evening of 28 December Bill and I attended a small gathering of sailors in Kemah.  I belong to a Facebook group called Women Who Sail, and one of the women hosted the gathering so those of us who happened to be in SE Texas could actually meet in real life.  We now can put faces with names!  At least for 7 or 8 women out of the 1,530 members of WWS.

Even when we are not on our boat in far away places we still manage to meet up with sailors.

Aaron's opinion of Christmas prep

The remainder of our time in Texas will be spent visiting with friends both in the Houston area and a couple of rural places.   Will be returning to BeBe in Fethiye on 8 February 2014.  




Wishing a Happy New Year to everyone!  May only good things happen for you in 2014!  






Oh, and just for comparison; here is a photo of the family taken Christmas 2000.  We all have aged and a few new members have been added.  And next Christmas we will add another baby girl to the photos.

L-R front row: Kayla, baby Zachary, Judy, Teresa, Helene.
L-R middle row: Kristina, Kristin, Lauren, Donella
L-R back row: Trey, Aaron, Duane, Theo, John, Bill
Taken at our house

Almost time for our holiday trip to Texas!

Weather this autumn has been warmer and drier in general as compared to same time last year.  There have been a few weather systems blow through but nothing severe or that has lasted more than a day or two.  Today and tomorrow we are experiencing NNE winds in the 35-knot range; temps 40F daytime and 34F overnight.  Man!  When that wind blows over those snow covered mountaintops off to the north and east of Fethiye then it feels icy!

As the mantra goes: this, too, shall pass.

I count our blessings where we can find them.  And today I am thankful that the sun is shining brightly as that cold wind blows.  Far better than the recent blowing rain.

Sunday December 7 was my 65th birthday.  Yea!!!  Now I am on Medicare and thus am able to avoid all the Obamacare requirements.  Turned 65 just in time to make the deadline and not have to deal with those insurance exchanges and exorbitant prices.  It was a wet and dreary day.  It was a surprise when a woman I know from an online women's sailing group sent an email suggesting that she and her husband and daughter drive down from Marmaris and all go to lunch.  I won't reveal her name here because she and her husband both avoid publicly posting about their private lives.  She brought a selection of 6 deserts to celebrate my birthday. 

We went to the Iskele Restaurant which Bill and I have walked past hundreds of times but had never stopped.  We were the only people in the restaurant for a late lunch.  The owner kindly lit a fire in the fireplace to chase out the chill of the rainy day.  Lunch was very good; I think Bill and I will be returning there this winter.  A lot of local Turks eat there each evening and it is only about 6 blocks from our dock.

After a very long lunch we returned to our boat for deserts and coffee and tea.  And what a selection of deserts!  These deserts were all from Mado, a Turkish bakery and ice cream store chain that is prized for their delicacies.  They use goats milk to make all their products.  And everything they make is both beautiful and delicious.  There was a tiny chocolate cake with pistachios; another tiny chocolate cake with chestnuts; a fabulous cheesecake (yes; made from goats milk); a small container of fried milk; and two containers of very traditional Turkish sweets.  One was like a white sticky pudding which contained chicken.  Yep; a desert containing chicken.  Really did not taste the chicken at all and would not even know it was in there if you were not familiar with the dish.  And the final container was some sorts of grains and honey plus every fruit and nut imaginable.  The grains were cooked very slowly and absorbed all liquid to make a firm substance that was not quite like a cake but drier than a pudding.  It was quite good.  Our guest said that this was a very old dish that was used as a traveler's food centuries past.  Providing lots of energy with the fruits, nuts and honey and very filling because of the grains.  Translation of 'lots of energy' really means lots of calories.

It was a very enjoyable birthday and Bill and I hope to meet up with this family again this winter.  The young couple is Russian but they lived in Canada for years and also have Canadian passports.  They consider themselves Canadian these days, although they are teaching their adorable little daughter Russian as her mother tongue.  Gosh, it must be so nice to hold passports from two countries, especially two countries as diverse as Canada and Russia.

Only six days until we leave for our annual trip to Texas for the Christmas holidays.  Plans are to be in Texas for about six weeks; do several medical appointments with the VA Hospital in Houston and follow-up with M.D. Anderson from Bill's cancer surgery last February.  Since the surgery Bill has had three blood tests and all have been negative for any cancer so we do not anticipate any medical surprises this trip to delay our return to the boat as happened last winter.  We are mentally treating these visits as simply routine follow-up.  

Looking forward to catching up with old friends and seeing extended family on Christmas day.

Last Sunday we visited a Christmas Market which was held along the seafront out in Çaliş, a very British part of town just north of Fethiye old town.  It is out where the long sandy beach is found.  We did not know exactly where the market was located so we took a taxi out there at a cost of 40 TL.  We found a dolmus (small van bus) back to Fethiye central for 4 TL and walked back to the boat from there.  We found nothing to buy at the Christmas Market as it was geared to British tastes and traditions, not things we associate with Christmas.  But it was a worthwhile trip because now we know where to catch the dolmus out to Çaliş and I think there is a pork store located out there somewhere.  Will have to do more research on that after we return in early February.

Since we have not done much and I have taken no photos, here is a link to a blog posting by Turkeys for Life, a British couple living in Fethiye.

Turkeys for Life article about Roman theater in Fethiye

I wrote about the old Roman theater here in Fethiye back when we first visited here around May or June 2012.  Fethiye was known as Telmessos back during Roman days.  When the city of Fethiye built or re-built their town quay some years back they used many of the large stones from the ancient Roman theater to reinforce the quay.  Guess that was before they realized what a boom tourism could be for the local economy.  Today they are renovating the theater. 

We will be leaving Turkey before this renovation is scheduled to be completed in September of next year.