Calis Beach and Fethiye Turkey Discussion Forum
Calis Beach Forum => Calis Beach Questions and Information => Topic started by: Scunner on July 12, 2014, 12:04:01 PM
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Thought this would make an interesting topic, another thread has turned this way.
Do you view Calis differently now, compared with the Calis you first discovered? In the other topic people appear to be feeling that the prom is getting louder and more "like Benidorm" - and others wonder if it is simply them getting older.
Our Calis habits have changed entirely over the last decade or so. We used to have dinner somewhere along the prom every night - to not be there for a meal seemed to be a real loss. Lunch on the prom too wherever possible.
Today we are almost never on the prom for dinner - in fact I can't remember the last time we did. Several lunches (I really like the quiet prom of lunchtime) and the occasional breakfast when olives and cucumber become too much - but that's it.
For me it is nothing to do with Calis changing or me getting older. It's simply that Fethiye raised it's game over these years and Calis didn't. In a week holiday, I have 7 or more places I must go to for the evening. None of them on Calis prom.
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We rarely eat on the prom these days, and almost certainly not during the season apart from the occasional breakfast treat. Still go along for a drink and / or stroll in the evening, but that's it.
We eat in many areas including Calis non prom restaurants, including Frank Canons, Fethiye, Uzumlu and yes Ovacik and Olu Deniz. All these areas seemed to have lifted their game, and IMHO they have not lifted their prices as much as Calis prom. I am prepared to be shot down in flames for this last statement as I do not have firm evidence only that of my own observation.
Have to say that the state of the roads and pavements behind the prom, as well as the beach, does not help. And when I say the beach it's not just the cleanliness, but I also mean the tired looking beach beds and umbrellas etc..... without any matresses!!!!!
Having said all of that, we still love the beach, the view, the 'ambiance' of the prom, whether morning afternon or evening, and just love sitting there watching the world go by with a nice drink in hand, it's just that the restaurants have lost their appeal perhaps??
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Calis may have changed since we bought our apartment in 2005 but with all the improvements we think it has in general changed for the better.we eat less down the front now as there are plenty of eating places in Gunlukbasi,Cafe inn in our opinion the one that is consistently good. We still enjoy Calis
The Badgers 8)
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Maybe we were unlucky to come across all the row last night... When we lived there we rarely ventured down the prom at night but we always loved it during the day... We still do and as "Tourists" still do.... We were looking forward to having a meal on the prom. last night which was something we rarely did when we lived there but abandoned the idea and ate at Frank Cannons which was excellent as usual... We decided to have a drink on the front and people watch... All was OK until about ten when The entertainment stared at Vojos and next door where we weresitting chatting to friends.. As I said in the other thread the noise was horrendous... Judging by the number of people who just walked past when they heard the row. I think they were wasting their time.. Apart from the group of women from the hen party both bars were very low on customers... Far from being a miserable beggar we spent many many nights in Hissy and had some great times.. I just didn't expect it in Calis.... Added to that what are all the flashing neon signs I could see further down the sea front?
Many locals and Tourists are choosing to eat on the front in Fethiye now and it doesn't surprise me... The Meeting Point was full to bursting from 6.15 on when we passed and maybe it isn't just because the food is good but because you can actually eat it in peace...
In answer to someone on the other thread. Yes we are going to Kaya tonight for a meal and entertainment at The Istanbul...
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I have been mulling this over for a while now the exact same thing. Is it still the Calis I fell in love with or is it because I have gotten older and it is the first one for me...It does not appear to be the same but I can't quite put my finger on what it is,I think for me it is a mixture of things
We love the view from the prom still I know I will always love that but noisy bars are not for us not if we are trying to eat...
Also the hearing of continual muggings and burglaries, I know you get crime everywhere but it defo seems to have been worse this year you don't want to be away trying to relax and having to be on your guard...
We have also started spending a lot more time in Fethiye and I have felt far happier there then Calis so thank The Lord we do have Fethiye to escape to...
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I think it probably hasn’t changed a great deal in the last decade. Yes, some restaurants have come and gone, but that’s just a natural thing that happens in business like back home in UK.
Probably more rules and regulations are in place now, and modern life is taking over - our first visit to Calis there wasn’t even a cash machine in town. It looks a bit more modern now, with the generic shop/bar frontage and block paving. They hadn’t heard of traffic roundabouts in 2002, so they built one and created a home for a couple a couple of dolphins, then they demolished it to create what seemed at times was a F1 race track, and now it’s back again.
All this nonsense about crossing the red line and shutting places down for 3 days wasn’t happening, although I do remember The Bus Stop being closed for 3 nights during its first year because the music was “too loud”, so the noise at Vojo is no new thing.
One thing that hasn’t changed too much is health and safety rules (unlike back home). We’ve had many a laugh sitting having a drink in Calis/Fethiye watching the staff doing something as simple as putting a banner up and breaching every rule that we would have in place over here. I remember one year, a table with a stepladder on top, and a member of staff on 2nd to top rung with a child on his shoulders – shame I didn’t have a camera handy.
I do think anyone that compares it to Benidorm, obviously hasn’t been to Benidorm. I chuckle to myself when I imagine what Calis Beach would make of Sticky Vicky (Google it if you don’t know what I’m on about). The Calis prom dies a death at 10pm, just when most people in Benidorm are coming to life.
I think we’re all just getting a bit older and critical, but we’ll definitely be there next June.
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Been to Benidorm 25 times.. Calis is certainly not Benidorm...We have had a fantastic holiday and cant wait to come again in a couple of months...
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Probably the biggest change in calis recently is the hideous lash up they have done to the canal. What an eyesore it is now with clinically built walls and then a gap between the canal wall and the wall up to the road has made a lovely dumping ground for rubbish. Just stand on the sea side of the bridge and look down it's brimming with rubbish and plastic water bottles already.
Then the big question, what happened to all the wildlife that used to live in and around the natural banks, there were otters, snakes turtles and hundreds of birds, all with their habitat destroyed to construct a hideous non inspiring stone waterway. I sometimes wonder what drives them??
Then there is the abysmal mess they have left the road in for what appears the season, they had plenty time to clean that up before the season started.
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I feel blessed having the choice of either Fethiye or Calis....
When we first purchased (we are halfway between the two) I remember Olga (Interturk) saying there will be a walking promenade along the sea front.....we never thought it would happen but there it is... We love to stroll into Fethiye - we think of that as for a "quiet" night or go into Calis if we are feeling more energetic... love them both for totally different reasons.
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Good topic Keith. have just read the last 9 posts, and only 2, UBT and myself actually live here, the rest either have or are now back in the UK, but only come out once a year or relate to how it was when they lived here and will hack it for a couple of weeks now, and say it is still great, I don't believe it is getting like Benidorm, but it will never be again like the Calis we all knew and loved in my opinion. sad but true I think. :(
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Having spent three weeks in Calis last month I have to say that I like many others felt that there was a different atmosphere about the place and this is something friends who have business's over there have said that many people have said the same. I had a great holiday and met up with friends whom I had met in Calis but hadn't seen for years so the company was fantastic but dispite this, and for the first time in 15 years I was looking forward to going home and when I got home I wasn't immediately thinking about booking for later in the year or even next year. We all get older and things do change. I have lived in Calis too, I haven't always just been a tourist. I will always love Calis but I think it's time for a change. All this at a time when the rate of exchange is in favour of tourists but I cannot put my finger on the reason why people feel differently about the place. Many people are facing difficult times in the UK and tourism is down but there is certainly a different feel to my beloved Calis.
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I suppose the answer depends on the dates between which you are making the comparisons. I first went to Calis in 1997 and I know there are some on CBF whose memories of the place go way. way back far beyond this (they can probably remember working camels there!). Calis certainly changed a lot between 1997 and 2004 - perhaps more than it changed between 2004 and today. In 1997 the very small resort stopped just after what became the Dolphin Roundabout with only a handful of buildings beyond there before you were in open countryside. From the "outskirts" it was fields until you got to the little hamlet where Anil Sailor is (I never knew the name of this place) and then fields again until you got to the "big" village of Gunlukbasi, with its weekly market (which on CBF was renamed the Calis market a few years later I think, but I imagine it took local Turks a lot longer to think of it this way).
The foreign tourists in Calis Plaj (it was called that then) were about 50/50 German/English* and most of the hotel staff, waiters and bartenders spoke German as their their first foreign language. But in July and August there were a lot of holidaymakers from the big Turkish cities as well which livened the place a up. There wasn't too much choice as whether to eat on Calis prom or not - there wasn't much else.
But, whatever else changes, the sunsets don't. They are reliably the best I've seen around the world.
*P.S. I include Welsh, Scottish and N.Irish as "English" since we are all called Ingiliz by nearly all Turks - then and now. But I suppose that is better than being called "Franks" which we would have been called 100 years ago.
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I often wonder if we fell upon Calis today, would we feel the same as we did all those years ago, for us It was the people that made us fall in love with Calis, and how unique the setting was, after our first week there we couldn't wait to get back, and we felt the same, so in the past 25/6 years we have been going for 4/5 times a year, but the last 2 years have only been once, when we first went the 2nd language was German and the prices were in Lira or german, all of the shop goods were left out overnight, including drinks in the bars, I remember buying a leather suit for £16.00 and they even took it to Fethiye to be altered, we've met some brilliant people over the years who still go back, but have noticed lots of them have stopped coming, of course it has changed, it has moved with the times, with a few mistakes thrown in, its not a case of anyone getting older, just how it is, maybe it is us set in our ways, its not the Calis we met and fell in love with, but its still Calis,
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I have only been holidaying in Calis for the past 7 years, and of course there have been lots of changes in this time, BUT some of the changes are for the better, the new walkway into Fethiye, flat and easy walking with a good few new places for fuel stops along the way, the new block paving over a lot of the area especially around the Sunday market. The new area around by the water taxis may be slightly soulless but us is far easier for the not so able-bodied to get on the boats now. I hate all the negativity because the reason this forum is so helpful to new members is that we all profess to love the area, and whether we like it or not there will always be changes, some good and some not so good. Just my opinion. :)
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O.K. Let us look at where we live? Has it changed over the years... Of course, all places change nothing stays the same, it is progress.
I returned to Liverpool and could hardly recognise the place, but, things move on. Calis will keep changing.
We love Calis, we sometimes reminisce about how it use to be, but, we still love coming out and there are now new places to go to and see. We always go into Fethiye and love the changes there.
So, to the people who want to live in the past and want Calis to be the same, no where is the same, everything changes, so, embrace the changes and go with them.
When we go to our place in Calis, nothing has changed, we love to chill out by the pool, speak to our lovely neighbours the lady that comes along with her sheep and goats. If we go into town there are new places, so what, it's still Calis and we still love it.
I went to the Isle of Man for holidays with my parents and then with my friends, for year's everyone in Liverpool did. I loved it there. Have not been for years but we are planning to go when Phil retires, because I would love to see it again. However, I am betting I will not know the place, but I will have to realise that nothing stays the same. ;D
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Can someone give me a reason as to why they think restaurants feel the need to blast out music at a ridiculous decibel level. >:(
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I only holiday in May/June or September/October so have never had the problems with loud noise, unless its after I've retired to my bed, I suppose the restaurants and bars try to show how lively and jolly they are so that people will come in. Unfortunately the age group that mainly holiday in resorts like Calis are not happy with the noise levels that some places feel are necessary to attract customers. It would be sensible for them to accept that most people who holiday in the area appreciate more in the way of background music while they are dining. A prime example is Kings Garden where the singer played only ballads until most people had finished their meals before upping the tempo for the people who liked to have a dance. Calis is not a resort for Stag/Hen parties no matter how much some bars etc think they are (thank God)
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I agree with those sentiments echogirl1. One place turns the volume up and next door feels the need to respond.......
It's like the road sign I read on the way to Skye this week. It invited me "to allow vehicles behind to overtake". Hang on - if I let the vehicle behind overtake, then he is in front of me. And if he complies with the sign then he should let me overtaken. Then I am in front of him and.........................................
Perhaps I need to up the medication :(
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"Calis is not a resort for Stag/Hen parties no matter how much some bars etc think they are"
But the stag and hen parties still come!
We have noticed a change in the type of people that go to Calis - especially this year, still love it but the main changes have been the people not the place.
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God help any all male parties who come to Calis looking for action - the locals have that all sewn up :)
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My son and his fiancee found it far to quiet in Calis for stag and hens. Their two groups got taxis to Hisaronu and they arrived back at 6.00 and 6.30am respectively. ;)
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I liked the man Calis strip when they were individual restaurants... In my opinion they spoiled it when they put them all under one roof.. Good to see a rubbish collector on the beach yesterday. There were two groups of hen and stag parties the other evening Jacqui and they certainly didn't find it quiet....Well it wasn't after they turned up.... ;D
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Has Calis changed ?
Yes its has.
Sadly, the decision about whether the change is good or bad is too often based on the Value for Money consideration.
I have been saying for many years that Calis is good at making people come back – it is just not good at making people come in the first place.
We have been renting our Villa for about 6 years and we have some guests returning four or five times. But how did they get to hear about Calis in the first place ?? Mainly through friends and acquaintances who knew we had a villa.
Calis does not have many redeeming features such as a stunning beach, incredible views, rolling country side and blue seas. And it does have some carbuncles – the horrible hotel by the water park, some very sorry looking roads, rubbish bins in the streets, building sites etc, but somehow it does manage to grab people and make them want to come back time and time again.
During the past few years I have met a few Hisaronites and Ovacikians who have used the word “dump” to describe Calis. Unfair yes. But these people are now telling their friends via face book etc that, in their view, Calis is to be avoided. Sadly I think this undeserved label is beginning to stick and Calis may even lose the “come back” spell it has always been able to cast.
Nevertheless I still love the place for all my own reasons and I will make do with whatever Calis offers.
Without a coordinated plan Calis will continue to change, largely driven by the opportunities (or lack of them) for local people to run profitable businesses. One of the joys of Turkey is that coordinated plans just don’t happen ! !
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Yes it has changed and will continue to I am sure. Ok the canal looks a bit characterless, but I think it is by no means finished. The area aound Duck island has to be developed into what looks like a lovely park, the prom from Fethiye has finished. Me thinks they are not doing road either side of canal as part of this development and the connection between
fethiye and Calis front.
As for the new roads and paving etc further back. Its wonderful, no more new shoes every few weeks and so much less dust. I dont have to clean the house half as much. The only down side is I have noticed dog dirt on new pavements
but then they dont know any better.There is hardly any waste ground now. Dont blame it on street dogs. There are very few now.Not all but some owners just let their dogs roam.
Anyhow we think it is wonderful and much more up market now. fethiye is even better.
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Entertainment on the prom
Then.......
(http://s7.postimg.org/hm38rdvcn/fire.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/hm38rdvcn/)
And now..........
(http://s15.postimg.org/jqgnwq1dz/DSCF5789.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/jqgnwq1dz/)
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Of course Çalis has changed over the years, but so has the North Pole, South Pole, Sahara Desert, Canadian Rockies, Las Vegas, Benidorm & Blackpool.
Why is it such a surprise that this isn't the resort where time stood still ?
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Probably, because elderly people don't like change.... Good job me you Chris and Phil are young at heart Rimms
:D ;) ;D :o 8) : :) :P :-*
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One of the great pleasures of Calis for us has been sitting on the front on a warm evening, sipping a gin and tonic or two and chatting with friends.
That is becoming more and more difficult due to the noise levels in an increasing number of establishments. It,s difficult to hear yourself think. That's got nothing to do with me getting older - I wouldn't have liked the current noise levels 15 years ago. Someone will still have to explain to me the need for it. And also the need for bright neon signage. The Baris Manco are was improved without neon signage I think. In my opinion the authorities would be better employed looking at both noise levels and neon rather than the alleged hassling or the width of restaurants at the market.
One thing of course has not changed in Calis and that is the people which is why we keep going back.
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Having visited Calis twice a year for the past 16 years, have to admit this June we were disappointed with some aspects. The beach dirty, no sunbeds or umbrellas, the road between the canal and promenade left really scruffy (we heard the people doing the canal work ran out of money - don't know whether that is true) but it is disappointing to see the area left so untidy. Restaurants closed (Calis beach Indian and Soul) apparently for 'harrassing' people. For the first time in all these years we were asking ourselves do we want to come back next year. Having said that, we enjoyed early evening drinks on the promenade watching the sunsets, dining out along the promenade - never tire of that wonderful view, also meeting up with friends who are there the same time as us. So we probably will be back next year but possibly Calis is starting to lose a bit of the charm that always called us back year after year and that is nothing to do with our age.
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But surely John, places move with the times. If your are somewhere with loud music then don’t go back and frequent some other place instead.
For an example. It was lovely meeting you in June, but if it had been 10 years ago I’d have had hair (not a lot mind you!).
I think a lot of people have the their old Calis memories in their heads and live on nostalgia. We are pretty much the same, but we enjoy every visit, and really look forward to seeing what has changed, and which waiter/barman has moved on to wherever, etc.
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ColinT - it was indeed nice to meet.
But my point is that going somewhere else away from the noise is becoming more and more difficult.
My advice to folks is go to Letoon stopping on the way at Lee's.
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Why is it such a surprise that this isn't the resort where time stood still ?
The question wasn't really asking if Calis had changed, of course it has and was always going to. The question was asked because there is a lot of evidence on here and elsewhere that people who love(d) Calis are spending far less time in it - both visitors and residents. So what I was driving at was are we spending less time overall there because it had changed, or because we had changed.
I can't shake the place off - I've had more than enough Calis for one lifetime and I've said before, often stand at the gate at Dalaman waiting to board, convinced I won't be back for at least a few years - then within a week I have the flights booked for next week's TR jaunt! I can't explain the feeling I get, driving into Calis on the transfer - it's a mixture of too many things but I'm excited (or as excited as I get) to be back. The kids too, I was touched when they recently told me they never feel as calm and relaxed anywhere abroad like they do when they are in Calis.
But most of what we do doesn't involve Calis, although we always stay there. So I posed the question, why is that - because it has changed/evolved or because we did.
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John. Annoyed we didn't get to see Lee this year, but had quite a few nights with Uncle Joe, but the World Cup got in the way and we didn't walk far enough right along the prom. We'll be indulging next June though with no distractions, maybe see you there!
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ColinT - if by uncle Joe you mean Joseph I thought he had screwed the volume up.
I'm beginning to think it's this old git >:( >:( >:(
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I think the answer to the question might be a very predictable one from some of the long time experienced visitors/ residents here, however, after eating Kebabs and drinking fruit juice in the Sunday market this morning with six first time visitors (mercury is my witness) they think this place is heaven upon earth.
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Yes I know, and it's good that happens - the snare is still in place. But maybe experience over time taints it all. Here on CBF, in the last few days, a post about handbag snatching and a post about how the shops used to close and leave all the t shirts, handbags etc outside in display - and the bars leaving all the spirits etc on the shelves even though it was all outside (the Ernur did).
Nobody is happier than me to read of new converts, but for me I think we hit it at just the right period. I'm sure they think they did and that is pleasing to hear too.
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Perhaps it's all down to expectations - we are not five star people and perhaps we have been and generally remain content with Calis
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Maybe but I think not. Believe me, I have, quite honestly, brought a number of 5 star people to Calis - and they fell for it too. It's an intoxicating dump is Calis ;)
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I tend to share the same feelings as some posted here about Calis. After 5 years,although we now have an apartment there, we are now spending more time in Fethiye when we 'go out'. The prom has lost some of it's appeal as far as eating for us. We now stick to the same two restaurants when eating there. It still feels the same as far as the scenery, the stroll, the sunset and as we are there in early May and Sept/Oct it still seems reasonably peaceful. Up to 5 yrs ago we had been to many different resorts throughout the world but since then it's only been Calis. As far as we're concerned, its the most laid back place we know. Still!... Is that the appeal? The unknown factor that draws us?
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Not intending to go off topic but just an observation. I meet a lot of people who are or are becoming more inclined to now base themselves in Fethiye where there are some superb hotels and some good middle of the range hotels too. That way they can easily visit any of the resorts or beaches when they want to, are more centrally located for excursions and trips and generally avoid the aspects of Çaliş and Hisarönü and even Ölüdeniz that they have become disenchanted with.
Fethiye is a great place at night with the bar street, the harbour and new Kordon and a nice selection of shops and good restaurants.
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Spot on Nichola, Fethiye not just a great place at night, a far better place than Calis Prom altogether. I M O. :)
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We love Fethiye it's a great place, we spend a lot of time there, however, from the tourist point of view, there are very little self catering apartments, villas etc., Also the best Hotels are expensive there does not seem to be a lot of cheaper hotels like there are in Calis Beach or the other resorts.
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That's the thing about living or holidaying around Calis area,
You have so many choices,go by car or bus,or walk, quiet or noisy,its your choice in the end
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Just arrived home from my first holiday in Calis.. We lived in and loved Fethiye and was very proud to call it home. However my work with The 3 cs took me mostly to Calis...This was our first real holiday there and we have had a fantastic time.... Seen so many friends, boat trip complete with ringos, hamam and massage, evening meals out and best of all meeting up with my partner in crime Busy Bee, Pete and Chrissie, Rod, Jan. Liz101. The lovely Nichola and Dogan who made time for a nice long chat with us and too many more to mention but loved every minute catching up with the gossip.. (sorry latest news). ...Can't wait for september.
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If there are a couple who deserved to enjoy their return to Calis more than your good self and Barrie then someone will have to tell me who they are.
i'm thrilled that you both had such an enjoyable return and am only sorry we weren't there at the same time.
Kindest regards
H
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My first time to Calis was 1983 or there abouts. Back packing :) Not much going on but fell in love with the place. Only fields over the bridge and not much more on the prom lol.
Then on to olu deniz and all that was there was the front row and shacks behind at £1 a night. It was heaven on earth, bonfire on the beach and up still sunrise. Have both places changed, of course, as every city and most villages in Uk have. Would I like to go back to those days, hell yes, but life goes on and so does progress. Go with the flow and enjoy.
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Aww shucks H.
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Snap oscarj.
That is when we started going to Olu. I thought it was the most peaceful place on earth. The only other place we had been was Marmaris which was actually really good in those days. I think back then the people made the places. The people have changed so much in recent years I feel that is why places have changed. I'm so glad I saw the best of it. It doesn't have the same appeal for me nowadays.
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I think Calis has changed, but so has Brighton where I lived in the UK.
Many things for the better, but some for the worst, especially the canal.
My sister came for the first time a couple of years ago and fell in live with it, same as we did all those years ago, and is back again soon.
I remember where everywhere you went waiters etching made a point of sitting and chatting g, asking where you were from etc and now pretty. Uch leave you alone,no complimentary tea and a chat in many places now.even with stories of burglary, handbag snatches etc it was heartwarming today to see the kindness is still alive and well.
I want to say a huge thanks to Cem, aka Oddjob from Vojos.
I had a prang in my car today and he saw me as he drove past and came to check accident report was correct and offered to take it to be photocopied and sort it for me.
I told him no, he works such long hours and deserves some time off.
What a lovely kind guy.
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thought I saw ur twin brother in the mulberry tree today. was looking for the new sekur bank. lol
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Aww, just read some lovely posts on here, and they echo exactly what I feel, especially the one with nothing but fields on approach to the beach, made me remember why we fell in love with Calis, I almost feel like a bit of Columbus lol, and wanted to keep the place my secret escape, in the nicest way possible, I wish those of you that have fell in love with it more recently, could have seen it then, still not sure if we still have a love for it, or a loyalty to the love we once knew, (eek, soppy or what)
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I hope he doesn't find it Jack, ive got money in there. ;) :o
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I agree it has changed and not always for the better, but then so has our nearest town Salisbury, which has a very 'Genteel' reputation, but I still don't like being around there on a Friday or Saturday night, and I have never had to dodge a pavement pizza in Calis either.
I love Fethiye and all it has to offer, but in the summer I still get such pleasure of turning into the river on the Water Taxi, looking for kinfishers etc, and I'm sure that will never change
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My first trip to Turkey was to Ovacik in 1992. Package holiday tourism was just beginning to take off at that time. We first stayed at the Ucel (now the redeveloped Grand Ucel with water park). We would walk to Hisaronu at that time mostly past fields of goats and in the pitch dark at night. We went back (to Hisaronu) in the following two years. We then decided it was getting "a bit too big". Hisaronu in particular was basically more or less doubling in size year on year, and we went to a few other places instead. One memory from then is that public address system they had all around Hisaronu. What was all that about?
Fethiye must have trebled in size over the last 20 years or so too.
First visit to Calis was only last year - 2013. If Calis has changed in a similar way to Ovacik/Hisaronu, then it's changed massively since then. Nowadays we find Calis excellent when you have youngish kids with you, so it suits us fine right now.
I'm also hoping to head back to Kayakoy for the first time in 20 years this summer. I hear there's been quite a bit of development there, which I find a little worrying, as it is a special place for me.
In all honesty, once we are without the kids again (possibly never...), we'd be tempted to head back to Kalkan where we had 3 great holidays in 2000/1. That place had just such a lovely atmosphere (but some odd hoteliers).
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One memory from then is that public address system they had all around Hisaronu. What was all that about?
I visit a village that still has a public address system with loudspeakers in every street. I often wondered what news would be so important that all inhabitants (well all the Turkish speaking ones) had to be promptly informed. Then I was talking with a Turkish friend one day when the PA crackled into life and delivered its message. "What was that?" I asked. "Ali's trawler has landed today's fish".
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the first time I heard it I was convinced it was like an air raid warning. After that I decided it was the price of bananas on the market!
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Even after quite a few years of hearing the loud speaker announcements, the dogs who live in the apartments in Calis, where we holiday, always howl until the speaker stops. It must hurt their ears!!
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:)I've always judged a holiday destination by how comfortable & safe Susan (my better half) & her sister Marilyn feel. We've been coming to Calis for about 9 years now, off & on. Although it has it's warts, I love thought of sitting somewhere on the front while waiting for Sue & her sister get ready for the evening. I always say to them " I'll be some where down the front on the left/right hand side.I'll see you in a while." They've never been hassled or felt ill at ease & in turn that makes me feel comfortable. Sadly, you can't say that about too many resorts in Turkey i.e Marmaris (70 bars closed for 3 days for in June for hassling), Bodrum, Gumbet, His, Olu. We love Calis for what it is, largely unpretentious, the people and the fact that none of us have ever felt as comfortable & relaxed as when we're there. Some changes are always inevitable, you just have to either embrace them or ignore them in my opinion.
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I think that the charities have made a huge difference to Calis.. There are The car boots, The Promises Auction, Spring Fair and Christmas Fair and various fun events which have massive turnouts and bring much welcome business and people from far and wide. There is now a charity shop and Table top sales.. All helping disadvantaged children and animals. A lot of this was started by Pete and Chrissie having the idea of having a Carnival in Calis. This grew into a yearly tradition along with a huge free concert.. A little acorn which grew and grew. Some of the businesses may grumble but they don't turn away the welcome trade these charities bring...
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There are those who do, and there are those who don't :(
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And those who never will because they are too busy slagging off those who do :D
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We must for get that the popularity if this forum has helped Calis to change... There are many of us who wouldn't have bought here. Been on holiday here and know all what we know without it...
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So your the one to Blame ;)
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My first trip to Turkey was to Ovacik in 1992. Package holiday tourism was just beginning to take off at that time. We first stayed at the Ucel (now the redeveloped Grand Ucel with water park). We would walk to Hisaronu at that time mostly past fields of goats and in the pitch dark at night. We went back (to Hisaronu) in the following two years. We then decided it was getting "a bit too big". Hisaronu in particular was basically more or less doubling in size year on year, and we went to a few other places instead. One memory from then is that public address system they had all around Hisaronu. What was all that about?
Fethiye must have trebled in size over the last 20 years or so too.
In all honesty, once we are without the kids again (possibly never...), we'd be tempted to head back to Kalkan where we had 3 great holidays in 2000/1. That place had just such a lovely atmosphere (but some odd hoteliers).
As the title of this is "Has Calis Changed" When I read your comment about Kalkan it made me smile. We often go down to Kalkan for and have lunch at the Harbour, it's a lovely little boutique resort.
We got speaking to a couple there from N.Irleland. They told us they had bought a place in Kalkan 15 years ago and they thought Kalkan had now changed out of all recognition. They went on to say that too many villas are being built and the place had become expensive and not the one they used to love.
It would seem that every place may loose it's charm to the people who have been visiting for many years.
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We must ntfor get that the popularity if this forum has helped Calis to change... There are many of us who wouldn't have bought here. Been on holiday here and know all what we know without it...
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When we first went to Calis some friends of ours, the publicans of our local, urged us to try the pide made in the open air oven at the side of the dolmus terminal at the end of the prom just past Letoon. "Pizza as big a dustbin lids", we were told. It wasn't there; it had simply disappeared. We shrugged "Well things change".
But there was a new hotel, just opened that year, at the end of the prom situated so when you passed Letoon it was straight in front of you just after the prom walkway turned right. We went there with our two daughters for a "Turkish Night" - i.e. a meal with an arabic (belly) dancer performing later. We had had a great time as a family new to Turkey, enjoying everything we found, and this night made all happy. It was quite big hotel with a lovely big garden area between the beach and the dusty rutted lane that had a lot of German-named restaurants along one side - the Berlin, the Nurnberg, and so on. So the next year we decided to go back to this hotel for a meal. It wasn't there; it had simply disappeared. This time we didn't shrug. Instead, "Blimey, knocking down an outdoor oven is one thing. But a three-story 50 bedroom hotel? Gone in a year?". That's Turkey.
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Hello, you may wonder what the hell is he doing here, he has only just joined, but as my sister has a property in the area, and we have visited on several occasions and also been to various parts of Turkey, I think I may be entitled to an opinion. Change,,,,,, bring it on. Change keeps us all on our feet, makes sure that we keep in tune. I have seen the mess the new roads caused, but also this year seen the results, outstanding! The Kanal, I have yet to see the benefits, but I am sure there is an end result which is perceived by the authorities if not yet by us. If we do not change and also change our attitudes, (because the majority of us are "over t'ill" ;) we will be left behind, and I am sure those who have invested in the area and those who have an interest would not like that to happen. Yes there has been change in buckets full, but without that change -yes, we could be looking at the bridge and the fields beyond, but where would the holiday makers be? In Marmaris perhaps or some equally horrifying place? Who would be running the businesses we enjoy and exptect? We are all surrounded by change, and we ourselves change, would we have ever imagined in the 60s and 70s that we could look up for some information on something called the "web" and get it instantly. Yes, change happens, embrase and enjoy. If you want to move forward, and who wouldn't or couldn't, then yes, change is a good thing and we ourselves have changed enormously by accepting it!
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Hello, you may wonder what the hell is he doing here, he has only just joined, but as my sister has a property in the area, and we have visited on several occasions and also been to various parts of Turkey, I think I may be entitled to an opinion.
Please don't think like that Old Nick, every member is entitled to post their opinion on CBF, there is no other way :)