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

Bad Weather Takes its Toll

The weather has played havoc with local lives this week, with heavy rain, wind and snow on higher ground.

A speedboat tied up in Fethiye harbour sank, and passengers on a bus from Tokat that crashed on the yayla road lit a huge bonfire to keep warm while awaiting rescue services. Fortunately no-one was seriously hurt in the crash.

In a village near Fethiye, 78-year-old Medine Kabasarı came home from visiting neighbours at the height of the storm, to find one side of her house had collapsed due to wind and rain.

Medine, who lost her husband two months ago, is now staying with her children (she has seven) until accommodation can be found for her.

Ski Centre Building Gutted by Fire

Drama up at the Erendağ Ski Centre later in the week, when fire broke out in a building used for staff accommodation – fortunately it was empty at the time.

The fire started around midnight and firefighters were unable to reach the site, as the road was closed by snow and the fire took hold in blizzard conditions.

Five people on site fought the fire, but eventually most of the building burned.

As soon as the road re-opened investigators moved in to determine the cause.

The Mayor of Seki told local press he was sure it started ‘due to bad electrical connections’.

Love Was in the Air

It was Valentine's Day last week and the Day was marked locally in a variety of ways.

A member of the Fethiye Sport football team got married, as did a Turkish barman who wed his British fiancé, the youth wing of the local branch of the Ak Party handed out red carnations and the residents of the Council Care Home were treated to a visit from the Governor of Fethiye and his wife.

The carnations were initially handed out by members of the Youth Wing to their contemporaries in two of the town's colleges.

Then the Youth Wing joined forces with the Women's Wing and the main branch of the party to hand out carnations at random in the Tuesday Market.

Maybe some lucky reader got one?

Meanwhile, over at the Care Home, the Governor and his wife also brought flowers for the residents, and a local singer who entertained them throughout the afternoon.

Schools Attend Recycling Seminar

And 800 pupils from 16 local schools spent the day in the Cultural Centre attending a seminar on the importance of recycling with particular focus on cooking oil and batteries.

According to local press the young people ‘listened intently throughout the day’ – how many of them were also sporting ipods we ask?

Vet Support Event

At the end of the week, the hard working vets of Fethiye attended a seminar on animal breeding delivered by a Professor from Istanbul, and then all ate dinner together.

Local press reported the event under the headline ‘Local vets let off steam’ and, given the work they do for all us animal-owning foreign residents, we reckon they deserve it.