Our round up of local news.

Hot Toms

You can’t have missed the cold weather this week which prompted one national news agency to highlight the contrast between lifestyles in this area. 

While foreign residents, visitors and ‘liberal’ Turks were celebrating the New Year with music and drink on local streets, the tomato growers up the valley were spending the night tending stoves to keep their crops from freezing in the below zero temperatures.

First Footing

But the cold weather did not prevent the Mayor of Fethiye, Beh椴 Saatcı with his wife Nesrin and other Fethiye Council employees from making their traditional annual rounds.

Every New Year’s Eve since 1999, the first one after he was elected, the mayor and his wife have visited staff and patients in the Government Hospital, residents of the Council-run Old Folks Home, and other places where work goes on even on a national holiday such as Police Stations.

Also to mark the tenth New Year since his original election, the mayor presented all Council employees with engraved tea glasses – bit like Coronation mugs in UK?

Penalty Points

Turkey has introduced an EU style points system to penalise drivers who disobey traffic rules as of 1 January.

Points are levied for different offences e.g. speeding 20 points, not wearing a seat belt 15 points, jumping a red light 20 points.

The system operates on a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ principle.

1. Drivers who exceed 100 points will lose their licence for two months. 
2. The second 100 points will result in a 4 months suspension
3. On the third the licence will be revoked.

The system of monetary fines will continue which were increased by 12% as of 1st January 2009.

We wonder if the new system will change driving habits in and around Fethiye?

Drip, Drip, Drip

The New Year has brought with it heavy rain and dark skies.

The past weekend was been particularly dull and wet.

There’s little sign that the rain will stop for the next few days according to the weather forecast although we may see some sunny spells later this week.

If you are a property owner but have left your place empty this winter make sure you get someone to check it for leaks not only from the roof but also around windows and doors.

Left unattended water can cause expensive damage to the fabric of a building as well as the furniture and other contents.