Residents and tourists are fed up having to share their beautiful valley with the dust and noise of building sites when the law says they must stop for the summer months.

“We must have a plan for Ovacık” storms Ali Erişgen, MHP member of the Olüdeniz Municipality committee and hotel owner.

“At the moment the whole place is in chaos."

I will be prepared to support any move towards regulating building and infrastructure in the area but at the moment it is very frustrating.”

Last month a local English Language newspaper, covering the Fethiye and Olüdeniz area announced to its readers that a summer long ban on construction would start on May 15th, lasting until the middle of October.

No sign of the building work being finished has been seen to date and local residents are angry about having to refill their pools after red dust from tile cutting blocked the filters and made the pools unusable.

“We are fortunate in being up-wind from the majority of the building work” says Mr and Mrs Roy “but we came out to Turkey after the 15th May to avoid the building work only to discover it is still going on.”

Other residents have visited the Zabita (enforcement authority) on at least six occasions only to be told that there was no building despite producing photographic and video evidence to the contrary.

“We have met tourists who want to visit the town just down the road with their young children but don’t because they of the building site they have to cross to get there.

"Others have cancelled their holidays altogether”

David groom mentions the “sadness and embarrassment of British residents who have told friends to come here as it isn't like other places in Europe, building work must stop once the tourist season starts, proud that Turkey shows such consideration to it's visitors, only to be red faced when their friends follow their recommendation and arrive to see and hear the reality.”

Keramettin Yilmaz, CHP Mayor of Olüdeniz, also involved in tourism and the building industry said that as far as he was concerned the work now being undertaken was not intrusive or disturbing for nearby residents according to his enforcement officers of the Zabita.
 
Deniz Demirkol, General Manager of Infinity Express a local design and Construction Company who are building two of the properties in question feels that it is the responsibility of the Municipality to ensure that the building ban is complied with.

“We have permission given to us to carry on as these houses were bought off plan by customers who want them finished quickly.”

No one involved has visited the local residents to explain the situation or apologise for the dirt, noise and mess.

The irritation of those who have to tolerate the disturbance is palpable but they are nervous about confronting the authorities.

They are also aware that the hardworking men, toiling in the hot summer sun are probably grateful for their wages.

Nonetheless it is no fun for them or their visitors and certainly not for tourists who have been looking forward to their hard earned holidays.

The question that needs to be answered is whether Ovacık is a tourist area or not?

At the moment the ban only applies to areas designated as such.

If Ankara has such laws on its statutes why are they not being implemented and regulated?

Why has public attention been drawn to these laws and the various bodies concerned are aware of their duty, if they are to be ignored?

The argument seems to be that the work is not disruptive while the residents, tourists and hoteliers themselves have a different story to tell.