Of all the big names resorts on Turkey's Aegean coast, Fethiye is on par with Kusadasi to compete for the dubious honour of having the most boring and lacklustre city centres of them all. In spite of the scenic countryside, the beautiful bays and all the historical sites around Fethiye, I have never been much of a fan of its city centre. Perhaps this has something to do with the feeling that downtown Fethiye is somewhat lacking in character because it is far too modern and a bit short on traditional buildings for my taste.
There are now several newly built luxury hotels along the route leading out of the town centre next to the marina, with expensive dining options, cafes, and open-air bars catering to the rich and the affluent yacht-touring class. For those who are fed up with Turkish food but have no time or place to conjure up your own meal, there is now a place in one of the expensive-looking hotels on the hills overlooking the marina that serves Indian curry. Yes, Indian curry in Fethiye, finally!! As soon as I saw the menu on display outside the hotel, I decided to give it a try. The restaurant is located on the open terrace on the topmost floor, and is very nicely decorated with candle lights, crystal tablewares, nice views of the yachts and the marina, as well as the rolling hills and the bay beyond. As for the food, the chicken korma with rice I ordered is actually quite good considering the fact that it is almost impossible to come across any decent non-Turkish cuisines in Turkey. At least I emptied the plate and all the sauce and left the restaurant feeling rather happy :)
The marinas of Fethiye spread out over a very large area, covering a huge part of the natural open bay. Being one of the departure points of the fabled Blue Cruise, the roads near the marinas are full of tour agencies and cruise offices organzing boat trips and mini blue cruises for all budgets. There are also several backpackers places on the road behind the marina, offering budget accommodations to travellers on a shoestring. From Fethiye's bus station, the Pamukkale bus company offers free shuttle bus that stops at any of these budget backpackers hostels upon request. Simply go to the Pamukkale Turizm bus company office at Fethiye's bus station upon arrival and ask where to board their free shuttle bus to downtown Fethiye.
The centre of Fethiye is full of shops, restaurants, banks and supermarkets that provide provisions for the yachts. There are also some Lycian rock tombs on the cliffs near the city centre, as well as the ruins of a not so well-preserved Roman amphitheatre next to the entrance to one of the marinas. To be fair to this town, most of the resorts are located outside of the town centre, which spared the city centre with the unsightly views of ugly high-rise concrete blocks of apartments and hotels. And the centre is not full of tourists on most days, as most visitors come to downtown Fethiye for a purpose: either to take a boat trip to Rhodes or the nearby Turkish islands, to shop around, to catch a mini-bus to one of the tourist attractions in the surrounding villages, or to have a nice meal out with family and friends.
Still, the whole place feels a bit devoid of something more substantial. There is no beautiful old houses or narrow alleys inside the town centre where one could wander around, or traditional tea gardens where locals gather to have their daily round of chess and backgamon. Most buildings in downtown Fethiye are newly built modern-looking houses and apartments, without much flaire or character, and it reminds me not of Ayvalik but of Alanya. Sometimes I just cannot help but feel that this place has established itself as one of Turkey's most visited coastal towns because of clever publicity efforts and its location as the transportation hub connecting well-known places such as Oludeniz and the Salikent Gorge with the main road to Antalya and Izmir.
One of the redeeming features of Fethiye is its scenic bay. With the silhouette of the hills and the islands in the distant background, the place does have a certain mystical ambience in the dusk, especially when the sun is about to set, the panorama of the Gulf of Fethiye, draped in various shades of green amid the rising mists, looks very much like scenes from oriental waterbrush paintings.
The business opportunity arising from the beauty of the sunset on the Gulf of Fethiye was not lost to businessmen in Turkey. A long line of seafront restaurants and cafes have set up shops along the promenade, where locals and tourists mingle to enjoy their afternoon tea or drinks before their seafood dinner featuring fresh catch of the day. There seems to be quite a high demand for romantic seaside moonlight dinings, as I saw many restaurant waiters began to prepare the tables complete with vase, candles and crystal wine glasses in anticipation of the arrival of diners after sunset. I can very well imagine what a romantic experience it must be to be able to enjoy a candlelight dinner out there under the silky starry Aegean sky with your loved ones :)
So you see, not everything about Fethiye is that negative, after all.
Copyrights@2012. All text and photos by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment