Welcome to our pick of last week’s news from Fethiye and around Turkey.
NEWS
Second stage of Fethiye Wastewater Treatment Plant to go ahead
Contracts were signed by Muğla Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Dr. Osman Gürün and the contractor company for the Construction of the second Stage of the Fethiye Wastewater Treatment Plant this week.
The second stage will increase the capacity of the plant from 25 thousand cubic meters / day to 50 thousand cubic meters / day at a cost of 54 million TL.
Fethiye Mayor Alim Karaca thanked Dr. Osman Gürün for the investments in Fethiye.
Source: Fethiye Belediyesi
Access to Ölüdeniz Kumburnu Nature Park free for pedestrians
Holidaymakers planning to spend the day on the beach at Kumburnu Nature Park in Ölüdeniz had a pleasant surprise on Friday when they discovered there is no longer an access fee for pedestrians.
MUÇEV, the company who operate the beach, took a decision to remove the 7TL entrance fee for pedestrians, a move which was positively received by holidaymakers, some who visit in groups of five or six.
One holiday maker tole Gerçek Fethiye, “We are very glad that the entrance to Kumburnu beach is free. We were surprised at first when there was no charge at the entrance.When we heard that pedestrian entrances would be free from now on, we were very happy with this situation as a family group.”
Source: https://gercekfethiye.com/bundan-sonra-kumburnu-na-yaya-girisi-ucretsiz/29640/
Rehabilitated turtles returned to sea by Turkey’s First Lady
First lady Emine Erdoğan returned three healthy sea turtles to the sea on Wednesday.
The two caretta carettas and a green sea turtle had received treated for injuries inflicted by boat propellers and fishing rods at a clinic in Antalya’s Kaş district.
Erdoğan, visited Patara Beach at the invitation of the Minister of Environment and Urbanization Murat Kurum, to attend the Patara Sea Turtles Conservation and Monitoring Program event.
Satellite tracking devices were attached to the sea turtles named Belkıs, Patara and Lycia before being released into the sea.
After personally releasing one of the turtles, Erdoğan said, “Caretta carettas are one of the most precious inhabitants of the seas. They are the oldest witness of the world, but sadly they are in danger of extinction. We have to keep them alive because they have an indispensable role for the coastal and marine ecosystem.”
She stated that with the devices installed will help the scientists will track the turtles and the threats they encounter. “I will also be a follower, thanks to the device,” she added.
Kurum said that the number of nesting areas, which was 1,500 in the 1990s, has increased to 8,000. In this sense, our work is very important. We thoroughly monitor our turtles, which we send to the sea via DEKAMER.
Sources: Hürriyet Daily News/DEKAMER
Turkey finds 320 bcm of natural gas in Black Sea
A drone photo shows the Turkish drillship Fatih leaving the Port of Trabzon for a drilling mission in the Black Sea, northeastern Turkey, June 26, 2020. (AA Photo)
Turkey has made its biggest-ever natural gas discovery in the Black Sea, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced Friday.
In a historic announcement closely watched by millions in Turkey and followed from many capitals worldwide, Erdoğan said some 320 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas was discovered in the Black Sea’s Tuna-1 zone where Turkey has been carrying out exploration activities, noting “the newly discovered reserves are only a piece of a larger resource,” and the country “will continue to discover more in the near future.”
Millions across Turkey waited patiently for 3 p.m. on Friday after Erdoğan said Wednesday he had “good news” that will mark a “new period” for Turkey.
Read more here: https://www.dailysabah.com/business/energy/turkey-finds-320-bcm-of-natural-gas-in-black-sea-erdogan-announces
Forest fires damage 4,298 hectares of land this year in Turkey
A forest fire in Sumbas, a district of Osmaniye, in southern Turkey, Aug. 14, 2020. (AA Photo)
Since January, 1,800 forest fires damaged an area of 4,298 hectares (42.98 square kilometers) across Turkey, a senior official announced on Friday. Bekir Karacabey, head of the General Directorate of Forestry, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that fires concentrated in the Aegean, Mediterranean and Marmara regions in the south and west were due to the impact of climate conditions.
The current data from the first seven months of the last six years shows Turkey had the highest number of forest fires in 2016, with 1,474 fires in that period. In 2017, the fires inflicted the most damage, by burning 7,209 hectares of land.
Karacabey says they follow a three-pronged strategy against the fires: prevention, extinguishing and rehabilitation. “We create stripes of trees resistant to fire between forests or agricultural lands and inhabited lands to prevent fires from spreading. Inclined areas on the roadside are also regularly cleared to prevent spreading,” Karacabey said. Yet, he lamented that despite awareness campaigns and technical work, forest fires are common in the summer.
Causes of fires vary and this year’s fires between the month of January to Aug. 19 mostly stemmed from negligence. Karacabey says the cause of 957 fires is not known, while 31 fires were deliberately set. Around 116 stemmed from accidents. Authorities often warn picnickers not to leave flammable material they bring to the forests exposed. He also dismissed claims that the fires paved the way for commercial use of areas cleared by fires, pointing out laws that ban the use of burned areas for other purposes. “All burned areas must be replanted with trees under the law. State-owned forests also cannot be handed over for private use,” he noted.
Source: Daily Sabah
Magical hot air balloons await guests in Turkey’s Cappadocia after 5-month hiatus
Hot air balloon tours in Turkey’s touristic Cappadocia region, which were canceled by the General Directorate of Civil Aviation in the second week of March within the scope of the country’s fight against the coronavirus outbreak, were set to restart on August 22 following a five-month hiatus.
Anatolian Hot Air Balloon Operations Association (ASBID) Chairman Tevfik Ölmez said that they are very happy with the decision to resume the tours, noting however that there will be some restrictions in order to comply with the regulations put in place against the virus’ spread.
Accordingly, each company will operate one balloon, and a total of 27 balloons will be used for the tours in a controlled manner by reducing the number of people and maintaining the social distancing rules.
Talip Aldemir, the Cappadocia regional chairman of the Turkey Travel Agencies Association (TÜRSAB), said that as tours restart, touristic activity in the region will also resume.
Aldemir said they now expect an increase in the number of visitors to the region following this decision. According to the case numbers provided by the Health Ministry, Cappadocia is among the safest regions in the country, he added.
The General Directorate of Civil Aviation had previously announced that hot air balloon tours in the Cappadocia region were postponed until October 1.
Source: Daily Sabah
SPORT
Thank you to Brian Lloyd for the Fethiyespor updates
Fethiyespor
Lokman Hekim Esnaf Hospital sponsor Fethiyespor
Lokman Hekim Esnaf Hospital have signed a sponsorship agreement with Fethiyespor for the 2020-2021 season in ceremony held at the hospital on Friday.
In addition, Esnaf Hospital has undertaken the financial responsibility for match, training and camping products for the 2020-2021 season.
The Fethiyespor shirt will have the hospital name and logo on the chest and back and advertisements will be displayed around the stadium. The hospital is also the Fethiyespor Health Sponsor.
Source: Gerçek Fethiye
Fethiyespor sign more new players
The club signed a 3-year professional contract with Yasin Uzunoğlu, born in 2002. Yasin transfers from the U19 team.
Fethiyespor also signed a 2-year contract with Bülent Kalecikli, a 31-year-old left-back from Ofspor.
The club signed a 2-year contract with Emre Tekin Pınar, a 26-year-old striker.
Pre season training
Fethiyespor are now getting ready for the 2020-2021 season and have started their pre-season preparatory camp in Fethiye.
Covid19 tests conducted before the start of the new season preparation camp and all were negative.
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Turkish Lira (TL) exchange rates
The British Pound bought 9.59 TL by the close of business on Friday. The week before it was selling for 9.64 TL.
The US Dollar bought 7.33 TL by the close of business on Friday. The week before it was selling for 7.36 TL.
The Euro bought 8.64 TL by the close of business on Friday. The week before it was selling for 8.72 TL.
Source: FxexchangeRate.com
Weather Forecast
Here’s your weather forecast for the week ahead.
Source: Living Earth
Today’s featured image: “Patara Beach” by Lyn Ward
