I am organising a trip to Olympos for the New Year assuming the weather holds out.

Here is my video invitation.

If you would like to find out more information please get in touch.

Thanks

Billy

I was walking in town when I saw what I thought were some interesting paintings but when I looked closer it turned out that they artwork was made from old materials.  

The artists name is Hikmet Özkaya and in the write up in the brochure she says:

The system in which we live has resulted in society indulging in manic consumption. People are pressured to consume much more than they really need. As a result all our resources are being greedily consumed. Our resources are being exhausted; our time is being wasted and our love and affection are being used up. We have created a wasteful society that consumes without producing.

My belief that we must resist and protest against this situation led me down this path. The tableau called "dance of the papers" was made from irresponsibly produced advertising brouchures. I choose this route both as an incentive to reduce paper consumption and to enforce the concept of "production in spite of consumption" by patiently reusing papers to produce an aesthetically pleasing tableu. The colourful papers dance gracefully to protest against the plunder of our forests the voluntary custodians of our land and country, they resist this pillage and say "stop"!

Ok, I don’t think her English is perfect but you get the idea.  

If you wish to order a catalogue or buy some of her work you can contact her by email at hikmetozkaya@hotmail.com or phone her on 0505 416 87 42.  I think she deserves to be supported. 

On Wednesday we went to watch an opera in Aspendos amphitheatre. It was a nice 3 acts show accompanied by a lovely orchestra. The name of opera was DIE ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL and it was performed by Ankara State Opera and Ballet. 

The actors sang in Turkish, German and English, and I even heard some French as well but what impressed me the most was that they never used ANY loudspeaker on the stage! The acoustics of the place is so amazing that even spectators sitting far away from the stage could hear every word of actors!

It’s really worth visiting event! The festival is over on the 2nd of July, so u still have chance to see famous SWAN LAKE and TOSCA. And those who are not big fans of opera and ballet still can enjoy the fantastic night view of the best preserved amphitheatre in the world or simply have a cup of Turkish tea with gozleme watching a beautiful sunset in the mountains.

Here are some advice for those of you thinking about visiting the place:

1. Tickets. There are different priced tickets available. The price starts from 30 TL and depends on the sector of seats. We bought the cheapest tickets but there was no one to check them (tickets are checked only in the entrance) so we chose seats we wanted to sit in.

2. Cushions. There’s a guy selling cushions just in front of the entrance, 2 TL each, which is quite high price for a small piece of foam-rubber. We bought one for Ellis and he forgot it in the cafe! But when we entered the place, we discovered that cushions were already included in the price of tickets! So, don’t waste your money!

3. Transportation. It’s better to come by car (as we did, big Thanks to Ceyda who was our driver and even provided us a lift back home so we didn’t have to search for the taxi in the middle of the night) as the show finishes quite late, something about midnight and there was no public transportation. 

Official info about this festival you can find here.

Cheers

Last week John approached me through my Antalya Property website because he was in a spot of bother. Rather stupidly, as he says himself, he purchased a property through a guy who he met in a jewellery shop and who was trying his best to take him to the cleaners every way possible.

Fortunately, two days before he came here to try and sort out his Tapu amongst other things he contacted myself and I brought in my lawyer and business partner to help and the matter has now been fully resolved to his satisfaction.

I asked him if he wouldn’t mind a short interview as a way to warn people about how easy it is to be taken in by con men and about what he now thinks is the correct way to go about buying property in Turkey.

I hope you find it interesting.

My good friend Callie and I were coming back from Olympos and decided to take a quick detour to go on the Cable Car to the top of Tahtali mountain. 

The cableway is the longest in Europe and the second longest in the world.  There are obviously spectacular views in every direction and there is a building at the top of the mountain to buy gifts and get some food and rest. You can stay for as long as you want and the car leaves every hour. 

It was my first time on a cable car and a really good experience although I did get a little nervy every time it passed over the big supporting pylons as the car shook forwards and backwards a few time before settling down again.  I wouldn’t like to do it on a windy day though, let’s put it that way. lol.

To get there, after you pass Kemer and Çamyuva try not to miss the small signs for Tahtalı Teleferik on the right.

It is open from 10:00 – 17:00 during winter months.

Additional Information at +90 242 814 3047