Our weekly round up of the local news continues.

Man Sentenced for Stabbing of Fethiye Mayor and Deputy

A verdict was reached in the trial of Halit Turşucu, charged with stabbing the Mayor and his assistant last year.

He received two sentences of 13 – 20 years and will begin his incarceration in the secure mental hospital at Bakirköy in Istanbul.

Neither of the victims attended court to hear the verdict.

Green Gorge?

It seems a private company has applied for planning permission to construct a hydroelectric plant in the Saklıkent Gorge and this week local villagers, supported by TEMA, demonstrated against the proposal.

Given the Gorge’s role in tourism locally we can’t really see the scheme going ahead.

Entry fees Increase for Babadağ Paragliders

Having block paved part of the road up Babadağ the entry fee for paragliders has now been increased to cover the cost of completing the work.

Apparently the fee to drive up to the top of the mountain was 17TL last season regardless of whether the gliders were solo or tandem.

Now the fee is 15TL for a solo glider, and 20TL for a tandem pair.

Given the plans to run buses up the mountain for people merely wanting to take in the view, it is interesting that there was no announcement of an entry fee in that context.

Donkeys to Marry

Enver Yalçın, who owns the original Yörük Museum in Kargı village, hit the news this week with the announcement that he is going to marry his donkey, Duman, to a female donkey called Linda, owned by British Citizens Mike and Elaine Adkins.

The ceremony is scheduled for Saturday 15th May when, following Turkish wedding traditions, the groom, Duman, will travel from Kargı to claim his bride from her owners who live in Günlükbaşı.

3,000 invitations have been printed (which Enver hopes will result in around 10,000 people turning up) to take part in Duman’s journey starting at 11.30am.

If the ‘groom’ is walking to Günlükbaşı, it could be a long day.

The First Paragliding Accident of 2010

Finally a group of Turkish friends from Istanbul came to Fethiye on holiday and to paraglide.

One of them, Ümit Kök, is said to have not laid out the lines to his parachute properly prior to attempting take off, and he spun out of control and crashed lower down the mountain.

An Air Force helicopter was scrambled from Dalaman, and he was rescued and taken to the State Hospital where he was reported to be in a critical condition.