We continue our round up of the local news from Fethiye, Muğla and surrounding area.

Bust Up

The week got off to a good start when a man entered a carpenter's work shop in Çamköy and asked for 5TL of wood.

When the carpenter produced the wood the customer then gave him only 3TL.

The ensuing argument ended with customer summoning friends via his mobile, followed by a free-for-all in the work shop, until the ambulance rolled up to take three men who had been injured to hospital.

Local press report “It is not thought anyone will be charged in connection with this incident”.

Update on Paraglier Accident

We reported last week on 27-year-old Caner Güler who fell to his death whilst tandem paragliding off Babadağ.

This week the pilot involved, Murat Yeşilbaçar, appeared before the court and claimed Güler had gone through the routine stringent safety checks on the mountain prior to launch. Murat Yeşilbaçar, has ten years experience as a tandem pilot and claimed Güler opened the harness himself, possibly by accident, after which he tried to hold on to his passenger but failed to do so, and Güler fell to his death.

Yeşilbaçar went on to say that as soon as he landed he ran to report the accident to the Jandarma and point the rescuers in the right direction.

Don't they know it's actually in Asia?

Meanwhile Ölüdeniz Beach was awarded the 'Best Beach Destination in Europe' award in the World Travel Awards ceremony luckily held in Antalya.

Don't they know it's actually in Asia?

The Mayor collected the award and then hit the news again with his announcement that Ölüdeniz will soon be officially twinned with Poole in Dorset. Keramettin's cup runneth over.

Village on High Alert

And even more excitement in the village of Çobanlar, near Kemer.

The villagers have lost around 200 sheep to rustlers over the past six months so they are now being extremely vigilant.

They are 'on duty' all night with hunting guns at the ready and occasionally fire off a shot or two into the air 'to frighten would-be thieves'.

Even women are taking part in the armed sentry duties (we think you are meant to be shocked by that).

Those who can afford it have fitted security cameras to their sheep pens.

By day they stop all vehicles entering the village and strangers have to prove their identity and state their reasons for being in the village.

Sounds like Çobanlar is best avoided for the time being – especially at night!

Woman Dies Whilst Swimming in the Harbour

And a 53-year-old Austrian or Australian (depending on which news agency report you read) woman called Christine came to Fethiye to marry her Turkish fiance.

Whilst he sorted the necessary paperwork in the Kaymakam's building adjacent to the Kordon, Christine went for a coffee in one of the Kordon cafes.

It was mid-afternoon and very hot, so she jumped into the harbour for a swim, despite a man working on one of the boats tied up nearby telling her she shouldn't swim in the harbour.

She swam for around 200m, got into difficulties and drowned.

The man who had tried to stop her going in, together with a friend, jumped in and brought her ashore but all efforts at resuscitation failed and she was pronounced dead on arrival at the State Hospital.

What a Week

Finally it would seem the annual August silly season is now well behind us as not only did last week see all the stories reported above but also (in brief):

Fethiye is to get a Sea Ambulance from 2012.

The Tattoo Festival in Çalış hit local headlines, especially the rock concert that was part of it.

A 17-year-old without a driver's licence was driving a car into Fethiye when he lost control, swerved into the Friday Market Place and hit two women and a car parked before trying to run away. Market workers gave chase and caught him. Neither woman was seriously injured.

Finally….. A German tour bus came off the road, rolled over and around 20 people were injured - different news agencies actually giving different totals!

What a week!