Why is it that all the movies attended with great enthusiasm; books read eagerly; and even relations established with great hopes; political preferences; clothes, foods, drinks and projected ventures end up in disillusionment after a while?

Why doesn’t the shampoo we use to wash our hair make us look as if we have just stepped out of a hair-dresser?

Why doesn’t the oil we use for frying sweep us off our feet like we see in the ads?

Are the politicians we vote for on the basis of their promises prior to elections the same people who seem to be suffering from loss of memory once they are elected?

Why is it that the person, who impressed us by his physical appearance and the interest he has displayed for us, as a result of which we have decided to share the rest of our lives with him seem such a stranger to us?

Why is it that the people we have “befriended” in a short while end up as serious sources of unexpected and deep disappointments?

When we notice numerous multi-coloured gift parcels on the table, why is it that our hand reaches us automatically the largest and most fanciful package? While we moan that a useless toy came out of the largest package, why do we ignore the fact that the
smallest and most plain package might have contained the most valuable diamond?

Why is there no end to these disillusionments?

Have you ever thought how much of our choices are based on our own free well?

Do we really make our choices ourselves, or are we paying for taking what is offered to us, overlooking and not questioning the details, not even really knowing what it is that we want?

I know that I kept asking questions one after the other… Yet life is so short and valuable that not even one second should be wasted. Above all else, we must establish what our own aspirations are, then think, question and search for ways to achieve them.

If we know exactly what we want when we go shopping, instead of grabbing the product imposed on us by ads, we look around for the most suitable buy to meet our requirements. If we know exactly what sort of a person we need for a happy union, .we do not feel content with what is superficially presented to us but look deep and search for the characteristics which we are seeking. During elections if we evaluate the politicians not by what they say but how they stand, what their principles and mode of life are and what they have achieved up to now, thus lessening the risk of facing disillusionments in the future.

Once we establish our aspirations, it is not enough to use our eyes and ears in making the correct choices. We have to take heed of our heart and mind which have become rather rusty due to remaining idle. Otherwise, when we come to the end of the road, it will be no use to say, “Just a minute, I have not really lived as I wanted to yet.”

The last thing we see before the curtain comes down will be “You have lived in ads.” Let us not forget that the real meaning of life is perhaps hidden in the details which we have “overlooked”.

Nuray Bartoschek

The matter of contribution demanded by the Fethiye Municipality from the citizens for the roads and pavements constructed during 2008 was again on the agenda of the January meeting of the Municipal Council.

The council members of the CHP claim that the municipality is asking for contribution on roads which have not yet been constructed.

The Fethiye Municipality had stated that contribution would not  be asked for such public services as roads and pavements constructed in 2008. This was one of the statements made by Mayor Behçet Saatçı during his election speeches. However, citizens were asked to pay their share after the elections. The share of residents vary based on the position of their houses on the streets and may reach to thousands of liras. During the January meeting of the Municipal Council, the spokesman of the AK Party, Selahattin Kayaman, proposed making a study parcel by parcel, when the CHP group voiced a serious claim. Nalan Ünal,. The spokesman of the CHP stated that contribution was asked for roads which are not yet constructed. Ünal said that no one questioned the legality of the obligation but there were errors in application, adding, “In practice, there are obvious errors committed by the authorities of the municipality. The first serious error is this. Contribution is  demanded on roads which are indicated on the development plan but have not yet been constructed. The second error is asking for full share from houses on crossroads where the main entrance is only on one street. That is as it should be. However, full share is also demanded on houses which do not have the main entrance on the street. This shows that when calculating the shares, the municipality officials have not actually studied these roads. They only calculated and billed the citizens while sitting at their desks.”

On the other hand, the Major of Fethiye, Behçet Saatçı, reminded that during election speeches he had promised that these contributions would not be asked for but that they were later obligated to collect hem.

            As you know, general elections will be held in Turkey on the 22nd of July. It is not possible for me to make a guess at the moment about the outcome. However, I believe that the process of elections will have both positive and negative impacts on us. In other words, I am concerned not about the outcome but about the process. You might consider the present article as a warning for tourism operators.

            A considerable portion of the income in Fethiye is incurred through tourism.So far as we can see from the tourist profile here, in addition to British and German tourists, we also get a mass of Turkish tourists which is growing every year. The elections on the 22nd of July coincides with the height of the season. In addition, this is the period which the Turkish tourists favour most. On the basis of the election system in Turkey, you vote whichever city you are registered in and thus have a say about the outcome of that particular city. For example, if a person is registered as a resident of Istanbul and has his registration transferred to Fethiye because he is on holiday here and votes here, it will influence the result of elections in the city of Mugla and not that of where he lives—i.e. Istanbul. Therefore, the general trend is for everyone voting where he lives permanently and not where he is on holıday. Based on this, in my opinion, a majority of the Turkish tourisitis will abstain from going on holiday during the week of the 22nd of July which will have a negative impact on hoteliers and other tourism operators.

            I also believe that not only the Turkish tourists, but those coming here from other cities to work during the tourism season will go to their permanent residences on, before and after the election day. This in turn will have a negative effect on services provided at the establishments they are employed in. Very well, what about those who come here for holidays from other countries? At least some may choose to come here on another date in order to avoid the high tension during the elections or, if they have to go on holidays on those dates, choose other destinations. An alternative holiday resort may be chosen instead of Turkey. Frankly speaking, a relative decrease may be observed at the Dalaman Airport  during the week of the 22nd of July, which I consider as normal.

            What I have writted above are the negative impacts of the election process. I guess there is nothing we can do about it. I define this period solely as “as a serene week”.

            There will also be pleasant events  during the process of elections. Ever since the date was established for general elections, politicians started to be more involved with the public. They will lend an ear to our problems and make promises for solutions. In other words, they will be nice to us until they get our votes.

            I have no doubt that local administrations will also be more activated due to elections. As for me, we now have an opportunity for the remedy of some of the shortcomings in our town. Everyone may be quite sure that many of the half finished tasks of the municipality and other government organizations will be fulfilled until the elections. For example, the road on the coastline, which is going on quite slowly may be sped up and completed. We may notice that the roads at the Tuzla district, which are full of holes, are renovated and pavements are laid on. In addition, if the work on cleaning and landscaping at the Çalış Beach and its environs is carried out and the parks and gardens are decorated with flowers, we shall achieve a renovated Fethiye until the elections. This is our golden opportunity…

            There are various criteria to evaluate success. For some tasks only the quantitive values are used and for others only qualitative values are considered to evaluate success. For example, the artistic success of a painter must be evaluated not by the number of his paintings but by his contribution to the art of painting. On the other hand, the success of  a worker on a production belt of a factory is measured on the basis of the amount of products he puts out within a certain  period.

            In some fields, “success” is evaluated both by qualitative and quantitative values. In order to decide how successful the programs are of  local administrations, government organizations and political parties, it is necessary to evaluate both the quantitative and qualitative values in a certain balance.

            Please don’t say, “how did this subject come about?”. Presently and until the 22nd of July all of Turkey is talking about it. Everyone is involved in arguments on which party and which politician are more successful. The criteria used in this evaluation are the length of roads covered, the smiling countenance of the politician or the minimum price quoted for the producers of wheat. The votes will be given at the ballot boxes on this basis…

            This is evident in the efforts of all municipalities from Karaçulha to Göcek during the last few weeks to decorate their districts. To appear “doing something – being successful” before the elections and attempting to acquire votes for the parties they belong to. In short, intravenous populism.

            All at once you see that the traffic islands on the main boulevards are torn down and new ones are rebuilt. First of all the brick layers are replaced with stones; then ceramics used for pools are cemented instead; and then the stones are removed and wooden partitions are erected. There is no guarantee that tomorrow the wooden partitions will not be replaced with glass material… All this is done by spending money. Where money is involved, there must surely be some people standing to gain from it all. I wonder who benefits at the end? Should all these removals and reconstructions be considered as the success of municipalities? I also wonder what happened to those palm trees which were planted on these boulevards in previous years? I am one of the defenders of the symbolic significance of palms in a touristic town. However, we have all seen the outcome. Tens of trees have shriveled up. Now they cause visual pollution. What about all the expense and efforts involved??? Now I ask you, doesn’t the final apparance of this practice prove detrimental to the original idea? Are we able to evaluate the success of the original idea after the failure in practice?

            I have been to a number of countries partly on business and partly due to my personal interest. I try to make observations in the cities I stay. In most of them, the streets – avenues – parks have been preserved since their establishment, becoming symbolic values. For example,  the famous squares and boulevards in London, where you can easily see the continuous preservation almost over thousands of years, afford comfortable use and appreciation to the residents there. When you go back 3-5 years later, you can easily recall what you have seen before. This continuity makes you become

aware of “where you are”. I believe this is the right approach. Once you do what is right, nice and durable, then you profit from it for numerous years. Furthermore, you will have sufficient funds in your budget for other tasks…

            I know that after the 23rd of July, none of what I have written will have any meaning. In any case, after the elections those in power and opposition will create a target for success based on their own criteria and continue their work as they know. As for me, I shall continue to write the same things once again 5 years from now…

The 10th International Rowing Competition for the Mediterranean Cup, organized by the Turkish Federation of Rowing and Fethiye Municipality at the Karagözler Bay of Fethiye over the week-end, was hindered by unfavourable weather conditions.

The competition on Saturday had to be postponed and the next day only the first half could be carried out.

180 rowers from 12 teams participated in the 10th  Rowing Competition for the Mediterranean Cup held at the race course at Karagözler. Teams from Bulgaria, Serbia and Rumania also took part in the 10th Mediterranean Rowing Competition. It was ascertained that a further competition would be held at Sapanca on the 29th of March, 2009, for elections to the National Team. The competition was hindered by periodical heavy rain.

The competition was planned in 19 categories of which only 9 could be realized. Teams of Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray came first in 3 races and shared the championship. Armeet Rowing Team of Bulgaria came first in 2 categories and was second in line and Şişecam Çayırova Team came first in 1 category and was third in. line.  The champions were awarded with one gold each at the end of the competition.  

Due to the elections taking place in Turkey on Sunday 29 March, the next Çaliş Carnival Car Boot Sale has been brought forward to Sunday 22 March. Please make a note of this change of date.
The sale will take place in the car park at the rear of Mado ice Cream Parlour on Çaliş seafront. The sale will be open to sellers from 8.00 am.
The Çaliş Carnival Committee stall is always pleased to receive donations of unwanted items. Money raised from this stall all goes to the Carnival charities. Please ring 0535 8554919 or 0536 3739520 if you have any items to donate and we will arrange for collection if necessary.  Items can also be left at Vartur Estates office in Fethiye.
Car boot enthusiasts are reminded that the last Çaliş Car Boot Sale of the winter season will take place on Sunday 26 April. The sales will then restart again at the end of September.
The committee would like to thank everybody for continuing to support the sales.