Posted on by Bill

Adrasan, a pebbly beach on the Mediterranean

We arrived in Adrasan for a day of R&R lazing on the beach.

The sea is warm, well warmish once in and very clear due to the rocky bottom, I guess.
The sea is warm, well warmish once in and very clear due to the rocky bottom, I guess.
Sharon is yet to wet her toes as Orhan Panuk, the Turkish Nobel Prize winner, has her glued to the beach.
Sharon is yet to wet her toes as Orhan Pamuk, the Turkish Nobel Prize winner for literature, has her glued to the beach.
I thought I might bury Sharon in the sand, as you do when you go to the beach but was only able to cover one of her feet.
I thought I might bury Sharon in the sand, as you do when you go to the beach but was only able to cover one of her feet.
This storm appeared over the top the the coastal mountains and blew us off the beach. Others who were from Germany stayed stuck to their lounges with coconut oil. A child's blow up boat blew off the beach and we watched it disappear over the horizon. We occasionally saw flashes of orange as it tumbled over the waves in the wind.
This storm appeared over the top the the coastal mountains and blew us off the beach. Others who were from Germany stayed stuck to their lounges with coconut oil. A child’s blow up boat somersaulted off the beach and we watched it disappear over the horizon. Occasionally we saw flashes of orange as it tumbled over the waves in the wind while the owner squirted his brother with a water pistol.
I loved the colour of the stones in the water and I hope this photo shows what grabbed my attention.
I loved the colour of the stones in the water and I hope this photo shows what grabbed my attention.

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I mentioned to Levant, our hotel manager, about all of the green houses in this town and he offered to take me to his cousin's place where he grows long sweet green and red peppers. They lime wash the glass windows in summer to keep the heat out and in winter burn timber in stoves inside to keep the plants warm. The peppers are sweet and can be eaten just like an apple.
I mentioned to Levant, our hotel manager, about all of the green houses in this town and he offered to take me to his cousin’s place where he grows long sweet green and red peppers. They lime wash the glass windows in summer to keep the heat out and in winter burn timber in stoves inside to keep the plants warm. The peppers are sweet and can be eaten just like an apple. Levant grows pomegranates on his 700 square metre piece of land which he sells for 1 lire a kilogram, 50 cents.
Our hotel is beside a shallow creek and walkways have been built into it for access to mid-stream nooks for relaxing. We've spent hours there amongst the ducks.
Our hotel is beside a shallow creek and walkways have been built into it for access to mid-stream nooks for relaxing. We’ve spent hours there amongst the ducks.

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Tomorrow we drive around the coast to Kas where we have booked into a pension suggested to us by a waiter in Antalya who had worked at the place for 5 years. Sahin was the man in the street who stops you with a wide smile and tries to tempt passers-by to the restaurant. He needn’t have bothered because we sought Yemenli out from a review in “the book”. After our meal – it was the best Sharon had so far on our trip, which was handy being her birthday – we spoke to Sahin and he told us his life story, how he had been born in Antalya and spent the first ten years there before he moved to Konya, another city of 1.2 million to the north. When he said he’d lived for 3 years in Auckland we started tossing fush and chups and chilli bins and jandles at him and he called me bro. The food was that good we ate at Yemenli the following night and when Sahin saw us walking towards the restaurant he called out, “Hey bro!” and ribbed me for not buying a red rose for Sharon’s birthday from the florist down the street.

An ex-pat Australian and her Irish friend were at the next table and we chatted for an hour or more which was good for the restaurant as the blonde kept ordering gin and I had another wine. The ex-pat was here for her 60th birthday to be celebrated with a balloon flight and when we said it was Sharon’s birthday and it was my 60th as well, the ex-pat commented, “Well you must be a lot younger than him!” Sharon was quite pleased and I consoled myself by ordering another wine which probably added a few more wrinkles to find in those magnifying glass shaving mirrors these hotels have.

Sachin said goodbye by grabbing my hand around the thumb and he thumped his shoulder on mine as all Kiwi-Turks do.

“Hey bro, come back again some time and stay”

We’ll hold him to that.

 

3 Replies to “Adrasan, a pebbly beach on the Mediterranean”

  2. Looks very relaxing Mum & Dad!

    Pick up the car on the weekend so it’s no longer at risk of the riff-raff on the street in Murrumba Downs. It’s in the yard, almost fit under the deck 😉

    Reply

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