Thank you time.

Thank you to Kam for once again taking care of things at home, love ya.

Many thanks to Nihat and Sadiye for hosting me on this adventure.  More than hosts, they opened their hearts and home,  introduced me to family and friends, and made me a part of their lives.  I would never had known of the particular thermal baths they did, and will be forever grateful to them for giving me this opportunity for my health and wellness.   Love and hugs from frozen Canada.

Home sweet home, but not outside.  This is what I came home to, Old Man Winter paying us an early visit.  The view of my street from the comfort of my living room.  OMG and it is only November 20th. The next five or six months will be life in black and white (yes this is a colour photo), and it is 12:00 noon!!!!

Sunday, after leaving Kusadasi we stopped in Nihat's village to see his cousin's olive oil factory which had just opened for the season a week ago.   It is a very modern, computerized operation.  The farmers bring in their olives, the oil is extracted, and the family keep 10%.  The oil in the green containers is ready for the farmer, the 10% is kept in large 3000 litre containers, and father guards the vault :).

I was the lucky recipient of not only a tour, chai with the family, but also a bottle of their finest olive oil.

It was time to pack and I had two large suitcases completely filled, plus my carry on.  We needed to weigh those bags.  Nihat went to the village to get a scale.

The battery is almost exhausted and I didn't bring the charger with me, so that's it for today.

It's 22C, sunny, and I am going to have another cup of Turkish coffee while I wait for my chauffeur.

We left Sunday morning and planned to spend some time in Kusadasi, but the best laid plans etc.
So, we only did a quick drive through.  That was enough for me, although Sadiye and Nihat really like it there I do not.  It might be any port town anywhere, as far as I'm concerned, and far too touristic.

This trip I really found out just how very much I dislike the high density holiday homes set in "communities" of hundreds and hundreds.  Just thinking about them makes me shudder.

So, Sami and Sermin saying good bye, and the one photo from Kudsdasi.

Photos of our outing.

that's all that was left…..

Finally back at the cafe in Tire, with WIFI.

On Saturday we didn't go fishing, but did do the next best thing.  Sami took us,"About 4km south-east of Euromos (8km north-west of Milas) is a road on the right (west) marked for Kıyıkışlacık (Iasos), about 18km along a twisting road. The Turkish name means 'Little Barracks on the Coast', but Iasos was in fact a fine city set on its dramatic perch several centuries before Christ. Earliest settlement may date from the Old Bronze Age, and may have in-cluded a civilisation much like the Minoan one on Crete.

Today Iasos is a sleepy Aegean fıshing village set amid the tumbled ruins of an ancient city." taken from about Turkey.
We stopped to buy fish and then went to the little restaurant on the water.  The JR Ceyar Restaurant which was fab.

We dined on several kinds of fish, calamari, numerous dips, and other dishes which were all done to absolute perfection.  Some of us washed it all down with Raki.  What a delightful day out. Photos in next post.

Did Sami take us fishing?  He wanted to, but waking up at 5 a.m. was not what any of us wanted so…


Sorry, I'm just too tired.  Have to sleep now because we have an early start tomorrow.  Nighty night!

It is after midnight and I am very very tired, so I'll make this part brief, but will add to it at a later date.
We drove for miles and miles through the countryside.

We stopped at what is a place where there is water (don't know what it is called, will google it), and I was told that in days gone by the camel caravans used to stop at these to water the animals.  The water level never goes down no matter how much is drunk, so the story goes.

We passed an old olive tree, which they say is about 300 years old.

We drove through a tiny village with a very narrow street.

Finally we got to our destination.

Today, we had a fabulous time.
Sermin and Sadiye went picking olives.  They good a pail full and quit.

We drove past some lovely places, then got out and put our feet in the water.  It was warm and I really wanted to go for a swim, but no bathing suit. Our next stop was were Sami keeps his boat.  We stopped to talk with several people they knew.
There were lots of real fishermen there.

The drive to Didim took about four hours, if I remember correctly.  We arrived in time for a BBQ that they had prepared for a late lunch,very late.

Our first view of the sea.

Sermin welcoming us to the terrace and Sami making sure the coals are ready.

The view from the terrace.  The view from the third floor is awesome, but

not for me.  Going up this staircase is just too much.  Although I had been given a bedroom on the second floor with a lovely sea view, I opted to sleep on the sofa in the living room.

Those are red peppers strung up there behind me, and Sermin actually uses them to cook.  I was going to buy some, but they would have been decorative only, in my case.