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Post by markindurham on Oct 29, 2013 15:29:43 GMT -5
I'm finally getting the time to sort out my photos of this summer's trips & compressing copies of 'em for uploading onto Photobucket & here. It all takes time... So first off, I got home at the end of June & my good lady had just been given an extra 2 weeks' holiday. So, although we had a coach trip to Italy later in July booked already, I got a last minute all inclusive deal to Icmeler in Turkey for us. Here's a few photos, which will appear as soon as I can  We were supposed to stay in one hotel, but it was overbooked, so although we still used the pools, bars & restaurants in that complex, we stayed across the road. This was the view of the older part of the complex we were supposed to be in  The other end was very nice - a bigger pool, nice grassy area to use when soaking up the sun, a great place for breakfast & another bar, with brilliant staff. I'll have to dig out a pic of there & add it here when I can However, where we were staying was 'pay as you go' for food & drink, but we could use the pool there  The beach was gorgeous. This end was a little busy  The middle was a little quieter, as was the far end  There was a lovely boulevard running just behind the beach  Will post a few more later this evening, or tomorrow |
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Post by markindurham on Oct 30, 2013 1:28:29 GMT -5
It was the first week in July, as I said. This was our second day there; before noon and it was quite warm...  The interesting thing was that it didn't FEEL overly hot - check out the low humidity in that shot... Nevertheless, keeping well hydrated was a must, and hitting the booze before lunch isn't our way, so bottled iced water was needed. Erm...   Moving swiftly on... Some interesting names on businesses; this one, for excursions, caught our eye   And somehow I DON'T think this an official outlet  (For our American friends, Asda is a big supermarket chain in the UK, now owned by Wal-Mart. Its slogan is "That's Asda Price") |
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Post by maggie on Oct 30, 2013 8:48:07 GMT -5
Looks like you had a lovely time there Mark. I've never been to Turkey. Would you recommend it?
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Post by markindurham on Oct 30, 2013 12:19:42 GMT -5
Looks like you had a lovely time there Mark. I've never been to Turkey. Would you recommend it? We did, thanks, Maggie. It depends what you want, how much you want to pay & how tolerant you are, isn't it? We were in Icmeler, just past Marmaris. Marmaris has a bit of a reputation these days, but we found Icmeler to be nice. There was night life if you wanted it, but where we were was quiet enough. Close to the centre if we wanted it, you know? Certainly everything was in walking distance. We stayed 'all inclusive', as I said before. Lots of Eastern Europeans there - and yes, they don't believe in queueing... The food at the hotel wasn't 'cordon bleu', but certainly not the slop that some folk on Trip Advisor rant about. (You know the type; want 5 star treatment at 2 star prices...). The local booze was very drinkable too It's about a 2 hour transfer from Dalaman airport to Icmeler; we went on a package with Jet2, so it was all taken care of. We'll be going again, if that says anything? |
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Post by markindurham on Oct 30, 2013 12:41:00 GMT -5
OK, some pics of the bay. It's gorgeous  That's Marmaris you can see in the distance, top right through the gap Another view across the bay  Marmaris  We went for dinner one night at a lovely place where they've used a pier  My good lady had a job deciding what to have  But we decided in the end, and it was cooked at the table  And we sat & enjoyed it as the sun set on another lovely day - washed down with some local vino  |
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Post by maggie on Oct 30, 2013 14:36:43 GMT -5
Second lot of photos are even better - makes me want to go there! All inclusive sounds fab.
The views are lovely and I can see you and Mrs Mark were having a fab, romantic time:)
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Post by markindurham on Oct 30, 2013 15:57:05 GMT -5
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Post by beth on Oct 30, 2013 15:57:47 GMT -5
Thanks Mark! These were worth waiting for. The climate looks perfect (is it warm year round?). Love the blue blue sky.
You guys appear sun baked and happy.
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Post by markindurham on Oct 30, 2013 16:00:48 GMT -5
Well now, we saw this fine vessel one day  But it would seem that one of the crew had jumped ship...  He must have heard that the local dark rum was good - sadly for him, I got there first, so that answers the question "Why is the rum always gone?"  |
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Post by markindurham on Oct 30, 2013 16:03:55 GMT -5
Thanks Mark! These were worth waiting for. The climate looks perfect (is it warm year round?). Love the blue blue sky. You guys appear sun baked and happy. My pleasure No, it can get very chilly in winter, and it's all closing up now. I understand that the weather 'broke' about 3 weeks ago; April - end September is the season. Oh yes, the sky - I don't think we saw a proper cloud for days |
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Post by markindurham on Oct 30, 2013 16:08:36 GMT -5
Somehow I got the job of bag carrier...  |
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Post by markindurham on Oct 30, 2013 16:32:42 GMT -5
Market Day is a Wednesday. We got some nice shoes, shirts, a belt etc., but you have to be prepared to haggle - hard (my wife was quite taken aback at how low I got prices from original quotes...) and you have to be very careful about things like jewellery, even 'costume' ones. For info, Turkey is very good for buying gold, but only from proper gold shops.   Didn't want to be waving my camera about - the town was pretty safe in general, but, well, why take chances... |
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Post by fretslider on Oct 30, 2013 17:42:37 GMT -5
I must say I think it looks like you had a high old time, Mark. Thanks for sharing
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Post by markindurham on Oct 30, 2013 19:30:17 GMT -5
My pleasure, Fret Well, we met Captain Bullshit earlier - here's his boat!  We took a trip on it; whilst we were waiting to depart, I clocked this going on - Elf 'n Safetee would have kittens...and I won't repeat what several of my colleagues said when I showed them - this is a family-friendly forum, after all...    That bloody Jack Sparrow has a lot to answer for! |
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Post by markindurham on Oct 31, 2013 0:35:58 GMT -5
Parasailing is a popular activity off the beach - here's one just launching  Anyway, another day...  We have lift off!  I got up to about 400'  Oh yes!  Job done   All I can say is - WOW! Great fun - another one off the bucket list smiley 1 |
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