Monday 30 May 2011

where the donkeys roam freely......

Taslica - where the red poppies bloom in the spring, the donkeys of the village roam freely and the end of the peninsula for us.  You can drink tea in the local cafe where the village men will come and say hello to you and shake your hand and where the villagers ask where you are from and when we tell them, they all call out "welcome to Turkey"!
Just outside the village water-wells dating back to the Lycian era are still in use today.  The Village of the Hundred Weeping Wells
, seekers of the archaic and untouched should head to the village of Taslica. Although the village is very dry, its inhabitants found water nearby in abundance and built hundreds of wells – at least one for each family. This is the ‘secret’ that accounts for the village’s survival. During sunrise or sunset, travellers can see the local women dressed in traditional clothing gather the water in this peaceful, yet rather social place. No different from a biblical scene, the women drop buckets on long lines into the wells and then pull them up again to fill plastic barrels strapped to their donkeys or mules.
 
 
 
It also has fertile fields so you will find the locals tendering their crops as well as fishing and making honey from their bees. 

To reach Taslica by car the easiest way is first to head to Orhaniye, then take the road to Bayir where you take the road to Sogut. When you reach the outskirts of Sogut you should take the left crossroad that leads to Taslica, rather than follow the road back down to the sea at Sogut. Though we had come from Marmaris via Orhaniye and then to Bozburun before driving over to Sogut and down to Taslica as seen in the following map:
It is a slow drive but worth it for the views and is a great place to enjoy a picnic along the way as you can see by the following image.
The local 'cash crops' are small scale tourism, honey and nuts. It is the perfect place top get away from everything and just enjoy the friendly people and the majesty of the unspoilt Bozburun Peninsula. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
On the way in to the village you will see a few old and unused windmills - The windmills had a practical use once - they were used to grind flour right up until the 1970's.  The windmills have fallen into some disrepair over the years and most are without any trace of sails.

see the following two images and the (google earth) map will show where this one is located by the 'red circle':
 
 
 
You may also meet yacht sailors who sometimes stop off from yacht cruises around the Peninsula and walk up Taslica for an informal lunch and drinks.

After we left this lovely little village of Taslica, we headed back towards Marmaris, but we couldn't help stopping every time we saw another 'beautiful view' and of course the red poppies blooming, the friendly people, the quaint little stones houses all added to the beauty:
 
 
 
... and remember, Turks enjoy being sociable and some tips for a good night out are - dress smartly, smile frequently, do not mix the national drink Raki (87´ proof) with anything other than water. Say 'Serefe' (cheers) from time to time and eat everything put before you.

We eventually arrived back in the port of Marmaris, but it truly was sad for us to farewell this lovely part of Turkey. The next blog will show you how friendly everyone was as we sailed out of the harbour.


 click HERE for the blog posting end of 
"the road on the peninsula"

click HERE for the
blog posting on the area of Bozburun.
 Click HERE for the blog post on the 
drive from Marmaris to Bozburun.


or the blog post on 
our arrival into Marmaris is HERE.


                        the Bozburun Peninsula - an unspoilt area of Turkey



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